The MkV has me seriously considering selling my Fuchs ODS...

[Deaj]

I think this is the same guy that floods the TGP with Mark V threads if I'm not mistaken.

Guilty as charged.

 

[blackba]

Deaj, Are you using channel 3 much on your mark V?

If you do sell the Fuchs and get an Axe-Fx, I would be concerned about tweaker overload. Between a mark V and an Axe-Fx that is alot of options to tweak, it might be over whelming to some.

Thankfully I don't seem to have the issue of just sticking with one amp, I generally give all my amps about equal playing time. Still its good to know when you have too much.

 

[blackba]

I think this is the same guy that floods the TGP with Mark V threads if I'm not mistaken.

Guilty as charged.

I am surprised TGP has not banned you Deaj, after all posting praise about a mesa mark series amps is just wrong. See rul 5673 "Thou shall not post praise about any Mesa amps, unless its an ED. Posting about Mesa mark series amps will carry the biggest punishment."

More seriously, congrats on finding an amp that works for you.

 

[Deaj]

I think this is the same guy that floods the TGP with Mark V threads if I'm not mistaken.

Guilty as charged.

I am surprised TGP has not banned you Deaj, after all posting praise about a mesa mark series amps is just wrong. See rul 5673 "Thou shall not post praise about any Mesa amps, unless its an ED. Posting about Mesa mark series amps will carry the biggest punishment."

More seriously, congrats on finding an amp that works for you.

Thanks!

Yeah, I'm surprised a 'cork-sniffing mob hasn't tried to run me out of town. ...yet.

 

[dfrattaroli]

What I always laugh at are the comments that use expressions like "the V KILLS the IV" or "the cleans on the V SMOKE the IV". Jesus, if the difference was that staggering why does anyone not own a V yet?

 

[dfrattaroli]

I read all of this "mark IV lead channel DESTROYS the mark V" etc. and I just don't get it. I've had a couple IV's and while they are great amps, they are nowhere near as versatile on the lead channel (or any channel) as the V.

-1

The V doesn't have a Drive control. The interaction between the Gain and Drive on the IV give you subtle and not so subtle changes in tone that the V just can't do. And while I like the IIC+ and IV modes on the V, the Mark IV mode is a mess IMO.

The cleans are excellent on the V and Channel 2 is good too. I'd be more than happy with it. But if I had to choose, and I did, I'd pick the IV. And I did.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I've owned/played pretty much every Mesa MK series amp and the MKIV was my fav of them all...

 

[Mailman1971]

I think its normal to fall in and out of love with amps.
No big deal. Dump the Fuchs if your digging the Mark V and it does all you need.

 

[stratotone]

For Mark series, I love my Coliseum III... has so much clean headroom it makes my fender twin sound anemic at high volumes. Had to do an R2 mod for the 2nd channel, and it's hard to get all three channels to sound great at once. But the lead channel kills.

For modern stuff, I think a good early recto or early rackmount recto is tough to beat too.

I think the modern 'super feature laden' Mesas have lost some soul and tone vs the older ones. Just my opinion... my roadster sounded neutered compared to my rackmount recto. Was the roadster more versatile? Heck yeah! But the high gain on the rackmount just pwned it. If you're buying a recto for the clean tone, you might want to look at something else. It's like buying a fender bassman to cop high gain drop tuning tones.

If I get the chance this weekend, I may do some Quad/Vht 2/90/2 clips and some Coli just to compare the two.

Pete

 

[Deaj]

For Mark series, I love my Coliseum III... has so much clean headroom it makes my fender twin sound anemic at high volumes. Had to do an R2 mod for the 2nd channel, and it's hard to get all three channels to sound great at once. But the lead channel kills.

For modern stuff, I think a good early recto or early rackmount recto is tough to beat too.

I think the modern 'super feature laden' Mesas have lost some soul and tone vs the older ones. Just my opinion... my roadster sounded neutered compared to my rackmount recto. Was the roadster more versatile? Heck yeah! But the high gain on the rackmount just pwned it. If you're buying a recto for the clean tone, you might want to look at something else. It's like buying a fender bassman to cop high gain drop tuning tones.

If I get the chance this weekend, I may do some Quad/Vht 2/90/2 clips and some Coli just to compare the two.

Pete

The 'coloseum' must have a ton of clean headroom! I've yet to play through one.

 

[thiswaythatway]

What I always laugh at are the comments that use expressions like "the V KILLS the IV" or "the cleans on the V SMOKE the IV". Jesus, if the difference was that staggering why does anyone not own a V yet?

The only thing the V has over the IV is the 2nd channel....IMHO of course.

 

[stephen sawall]

I think its normal to fall in and out of love with amps.
No big deal.

I am not sure if this is normal or not ?

You know what is right Deaj .....
But I am a person with more than a dozen amps, so what do I know. Most have not been plugged in for 6 months or more.

 

[Deaj]

I ended up pulling my classifieds post offering the Fuchs for sale or trade. I spent some time playing through it yesterday and I'm not ready to let it go. The Mark V may be a better fit for me at this point but I still find the Fuchs incredibly inspiring to play through.

 

[blackba]

I ended up pulling my classifieds post offering the Fuchs for sale or trade. I spent some time playing through it yesterday and I'm not ready to let it go. The Mark V may be a better fit for me at this point but I still find the Fuchs incredibly inspiring to play through.

Sounds like a good plan.

Still curious how much you are using Channel 3 and if so what your favorite modes and settings are.

 

[Atropos_Project]

It's odd how much bashing the V takes. It's certainly not an amp for folks who want to just plug in and find something amazing in 30 seconds of knob twisting, I will admit that.

On the other hand, I can't think of anything as flexible for the money. And yeah, el34's do sound better in it.

 

[guitarslinger]

whether the Mark V is good or not, you WILL regret selling your Fuchs.

(I can read the future)

 

[gibson5413]

I've owned/played pretty much every Mesa MK series amp and the MKIV was my fav of them all...

This. I owned a IIC+ for a while and I still liked the IV better. Just my opinion. I wouldn't hesitate owning a IV again someday.

 

[gibson5413]

It's odd how much bashing the V takes. It's certainly not an amp for folks who want to just plug in and find something amazing in 30 seconds of knob twisting, I will admit that.

On the other hand, I can't think of anything as flexible for the money. And yeah, el34's do sound better in it.

IMO, Mesa made the V more "plug 'n play" than the IV. I just didn't think it sounded as good on channel 3. I never had a major problem with the RHY channel on the IV either. To me, the options on the V are fun to brag about when you first get the amp but never really use them. I tried them out a couple of times but gave up on the amp when I couldn't get "my" tone on the V. I found my lead tone on the IV fast. The funny thing is a lot of people used to talk about how hard it is to tweak the IV. I never had that problem with the exception of IV combo I tried about 8 years ago.

 

[Deaj]

Sounds like a good plan.

Still curious how much you are using Channel 3 and if so what your favorite modes and settings are.

I really like channel 3! Most of the time I have it set to Extreme mode, 90 watt, Bright switch on, no EQ, Master set to balance with the other two channels, Presence between 9 and 12 o'clock depending on room and output volume, Treble at 10:30, Mid at 2 o'clock, Bass at 11 o'clock, Gain anywhere between 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock depending on intended use.

 

[Deaj]

I think I figured out why I haven't been too into the Fuchs as of late. I have Psoriatic Arthritis and my symptoms have been quite severe for the last three months (the insurance company has been very slow to respond to requests to authorize treatment). The Fuchs is all about subtle dynamics and, while I've developed technique that takes advantage of the amps strengths over the past five years, none of it works very well with severe joint pain. Hell, I'm lucky I can tolerate playing at all right now.

The Mesa is far more forgiving than the Fuchs making it an absolute blast to play in my current condition. I don't mean to insinuate that this is a shortcoming at all - the Mesa is widely expressive in its own way. It's almost an exaggerated vocal-like expressive quality that's pretty easy to manipulate. It can also be made to sound more aggressive than the Fuchs - a lot more! Given how I'm feeling these days I find playing through the Mesa rather cathartic. I'm not having to listen to myself stumble over my own fingers in frustration. Rather I can just bang away at the strings using a subset of my technique and hear really pleasing results! What's not to like?

I can't see the Mesa going anywhere for the reasons stated above. I'll likely cycle in and out of my current condition for the rest of my life. I'm never going to quit playing and I want to be able to make the most of it regardless of how I'm feeling. I was actually feeling quite good when the Mesa first arrived and I was enjoying both amps for their individual strengths. As My condition deteriorated I think I found the Fuchs somewhat frustrating to play through (I've been through this cycle 4-5 times since diagnosed a few years ago). Having the Mesa in house this time around I have found playing guitar a good bit more relaxing when my symptoms are at their worst. The MkV is a hell of a lot of fun to play through regardless.

I took a stripped-down approach to playing last night so that dynamics took priority within my current limitations and found playing through the Fuchs quite rewarding! Not to the same degree as when playing pain-free but certainly better than trying to keep up with my expectations and continually falling short (never fun, that). If I approach the Fuchs with a new mindset during times like this it's most enjoyable to play!

I just started infusions of a new medication today and I'm hopeful that this treatment will provide long-term relief (all treatment options to date have provided only a few months of relief before losing effectiveness). I'm really glad I stopped to reconsider just what I was doing after I posted my Fuchs for sale/trade. I'd get back to feeling good and realize just what I lost had I followed through on it.