Mark V right for me? *update, finally tried it out

[hendrik84]

Might be a silly question but I'll elaborate in hopes of some insightful replies.

I play mostly rock, pop, blues, and gospel and what I mostly need out of an amp is a sparkly clean and some thick crunch. I probably wouldn't even use channel three that much. Although I love Dream Theater, Metallica and Alter Bridge for example and I wouldn't mind being able to nail those tones for home practicing. I would use the amp at home a lot but mostly in a church(fairly small church with about 80 people). So my question is, would the V be too powerful in those settings? Or are you able to get good tones at low volumes? I'm pretty sure I would prefer the 45W or 90W settings as I've never been too fond of class A.

I just keep hearing all those reviews and raves about how the Mark V is the holy grail and you should be able to get all the tones you want. So I guess my question just boils down to whether it would work in my settings in class A/B without having to be set to ear-hurting volumes(think Fender Hot-Rod Deluxe or similar.)

Also, for those of you who have played the Express series, I had been looking into those and I really liked the clean and crunch channel but the turnoff was you couldn't switch between the two(they should make an Express with those two modes and throw away the blues and burn imho). Would the Mark V be able to get similar cleans/crunch?

What say ye, gentlemen?

 

[SteveO]

I had an Express 5:25 head prior to owning my Mark V, and the Mark can pretty well cover everything the Express can do, plus a whole lot more.

As far as low-volume playing, I ran mine into a Recto 2x12 in my old apartment (on the 90W settings), and not only did it sound really good, it did so at volumes below standard apartment television levels. My neighbors never even knew I had it.

Channel three... It can do high gain well (obviously), but those gain knobs go down as well as they go up. You can get a really nice crunch sound out of channel three just as easily as you can out of channel two.

Is it the right amp for you? Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to actually mess around with one to see if it does what you want.

 

[zilla]

I use10 watt mode on channel 3 almost exclusively when I am playing at home with a 2x12 vertical recto cab and I cannot believe how massive it sounds at bedroom levels. I do all of my recordings at this volume level too. The last one I did you can even hear me hitting the strings and it sounds huge.

 

[jmontgomery]

I'd say the Mark V would be perfect for your needs. If money's an issue the 5:50+ would certainly work and sound good doing it. But it's not a V.

 

[Jedro]

Oh, you just think you won't use channel 3. Man, i wish there were two channel 3s.

 

[jb's 52]

I went in with the intention of getting an Express. Fortunately, the shop had a Mark V there as well so I could run 'em side by side. I liked everything about the Mark V over the Express...except the price...

 

[byrdparis]

Oh, you just think you won't use channel 3. Man, i wish there were two channel 3s.

win.

 

[hendrik84]

Thank you for the quick replies!

I had an Express 5:25 head prior to owning my Mark V, and the Mark can pretty well cover everything the Express can do, plus a whole lot more.

As far as low-volume playing, I ran mine into a Recto 2x12 in my old apartment (on the 90W settings), and not only did it sound really good, it did so at volumes below standard apartment television levels. My neighbors never even knew I had it.

That is awesome! So glad to hear that!

 

[hendrik84]

I use10 watt mode on channel 3 almost exclusively when I am playing at home with a 2x12 vertical recto cab and I cannot believe how massive it sounds at bedroom levels. I do all of my recordings at this volume level too. The last one I did you can even hear me hitting the strings and it sounds huge.

I'm surprised to hear that. Is it not thin sounding compared to 45 or 90? All those amps I've tried with power selectors sound so weak on the lowest setting. Take the new Express plus series for example. I would never use the 5 Watts on it because it just sounds so much thinner then the 15 or 25W.

I'm gonna have to just try it out. My local shop has a Mark V but I've just never really looked into it before because I always thought it was just a metalheads amp.

Only problem is they only carry the combo version and I keep hearing people say the combo doesn't sound as good as the head for some reasons..?..

 

[fr0sty]

When I use 10 watt and low,low volumes, I like to have the power mode to variac. That really thickens up channel 2 and 3.

 

[STONEHEAD]

I Have a Express 5:50 2X12 and I Just bought a Mark V and I gotta say i'm not yet impressed with it. It sounds cold, harsh and brittle on almost every channel. I did manage to coax a half decent clean sound out of it. Channels 2 and 3 are quite the challenge to dial in. Maybe its the 1x12 combo but i did expect better than what i am hearing. The 5:50 is so easy to dial in and it sounds huge, warm, and open.
I know i probably need more time with the MKV but It's giving me headaches trying to dial it in (literally). Ill keep trying but i am starting to get a little discouraged with it.

 

[thunder100]

Channel three... It can do high gain well (obviously), but those gain knobs go down as well as they go up. You can get a really nice crunch sound out of channel three just as easily as you can out of channel two.

+ 2

The Mark IIC+ in low gain may become your favorite Crunch amp and (to me) its easier to tame then the Mark I

Is it for you?
hard to naswer but as I play similar style,it covers all
Why do I need more amps then?Purely GAS

my 2 cents

Roland

 

[hendrik84]

Just had a chance to try out the Mark V for the first time and WOW the clean tone is AMAZING!!!! Channel 1 is too die for. I had a hard time getting a bad tone out of clean or fat. And to think I've always just thought the Mark series was for high gain metal heads. What a misconception.

Adam didn't stay for long in paradise though. Enter channel 2 and huh....?...in Mark I mode, I couldn't get this blanket off the amp. In Edge or Crunch it was just mediocre to my ears. I was hoping for that vintage crunch sound I could dial so easily out of an Express 525 but I just couldn't get it. Crunch mode seemed very modern actually. Channel 3 was better I think, I could dial in better sounds more easily, but still couldn't find a crunch I really liked.

It was kinda disappointing BUT I only played with it for an hour. I guess I need more time? Are better tones in it? Can I get a vintage crunch that's open and chimey?

I played the Express plus 525 as well and Wow crunch mode was so Awesome! But then again the clean mode paled in comparison to the MKV. I then plugged into the 550 plus and WOW the clean tone was great!! It almost rivaled the MKV. But then again, the crunch mode was lacking. No vintage chime like in the 525.

Maybe I just need 6L6's for the clean and EL-34's for the Crunch? Or what?

 

[SteveO]

Mark I is a pesky one to dial in, you have to really cut back on the midrange and bass to get it sounding right, and the graphic EQ is really helpful with this mode. Crunch mode is capable of much more than what you got out of it, you just have to get used to the tone pots and how they interact. I can get AC/DC tones out of Crunch mode all day long, but I'm also running a head with EL34s into a Recto 2x12 with V30s.

 

[carlygtr56]

I found in MK I mode to run the channel master full. That takes the blanket off without having to resort to the EQ. Even with the gain at 9:00 it sounds great. Mid at 9:00. bass off, no EQ

 

[Hollis]

Maybe try a RA-100 or Electradyne?

 

[hendrik84]

I will

 

[hendrik84]

Ok wait just a minute!!! I was just browsing through Mesa's site and stumbled upon the Electra Dyne. Checked out the demo and WOW!! The Hendrix rhythm and solo demos are AMAZING.

Sounded very Express 525 to me. So I figured it would have EL84's but no sir they don't!! It's 6L6 AND it has the same speaker as well, the C90!

Maybe more of you have played the Electra Dyne, could the mark V pull this off on channel 2 or 3?

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/electradyne/electradyne.html#gpm1_4

 

[Chester]

Ok wait just a minute!!! I was just browsing through Mesa's site and stumbled upon the Electra Dyne. Checked out the demo and WOW!! The Hendrix rhythm and solo demos are AMAZING.

Sounded very Express 525 to me. So I figured it would have EL84's but no sir they don't!! It's 6L6 AND it has the same speaker as well, the C90!

Maybe more of you have played the Electra Dyne, could the mark V pull this off on channel 2 or 3?

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/electradyne/electradyne.html#gpm1_4

Yep - Ch2 Crunch / Ch 3 MK4 or Xtr with low gain settings

The key to the MKV is time and experimentation. You have to learn to use the range of EQ and gain available without reference to your experience of other amps. Small adjustments = big effect

 

[APEMAN]

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