Hey guys. I've had my new Mesa Mark V:25 head now for just under a couple weeks but wanted to post some initial thoughts now that I've had a decent amount of time with it.
1st off I'm pretty impressed with the cleans, something I honestly didn't give much attention to when demoing this amp several times to see if it was the right fit for me. I was more interested in what this amp had to offer when it came to the dirt side of things. And it was initially the Crunch and IIC+ mode that won me over on this amp. So the cleans were most definitely a pleasant surprise to me when I got this amp.
The Clean mode is clean and clear and precise but not brittle. And it also feels very nice beneath your fingers, although more immediate. I like to say it has an even and clear sound, where Strats & Teles single coil nature can come through clearly and have nice jangle. And I also like how you can push the gain up a bit and get so nice smooth grit/hair on it. The EQ controls give you a lot of control to get your tone to be brilliant, or smooth, or warmer and fatter, etc. They really work well and do significant changes to your tone.
Fat mode thickens things up significantly and gives those single coils more girth/fatness (as it's designed to) and those types of guitar take on a more Les Paul type of character. Fat also makes things hairier than clean and a bit darker. This mode feels to have more gain than clean. And with the lower wattage of this amp, it's easier and quicker to tell than versus the full/normal Mark V. Again pushing the gain up a bit on this mode has a wonderful warm and smooth grit / overdriven sound. Great for bluesy stuff on the neck pickup.
The clean channel also receives my HBOD good as well on both modes, which was a surprise to me. Although I think the Fat mode works better with overdrive pedals.
Crunch mode is just flat out awesome. Great classic rock tone/crunch with a great amount of gain available. This mode is just SO great to have for those classic crunch sounds. I like it so much better than the Brit or tweed sounds of the Roadster I used to have. This mode is fat and FULL sounding. And what's nice about the EQ controls on this mode is that they can be used to give your tone a fatter, slower/saggier response or a more immediate, quick response and more pronounced attack. You can really tailor your tone well. And I have a lot of experience with other amps that advertise this quality but that ability is limited. The Mesa Mark V:25 really delivers this ability in spades.
On to Channel 2. Let me start off by saying I really like every mode in Channel 2, and I enjoy that every mode in this channel has a significant sound and feel difference. Yes, you can tell they are all a part of the same family, but very different siblings exist in that family.
The IIC+ has become my favorite mode in Channel 2 though. I enjoy it's more trimmed, punchy bass and more percussive sound compared to the IV's more compressed, liquid feel. Although the IV's tone does sound significantly bigger and wider. The IIC+ is also crunchier, or is at least more capable of it in its lower to medium gain ranges. The IV mode is more liquid gain sounding and feeling than the IIC+. So I like the IIC+ more cuz I am generally more of a rhythm or hook-lines player. The IV mode feels like a dedicated lead guitar players dream.
The Xtreme mode is vey nice to have for that more "wall of sound" tone. It's thicker, huge bass sounding compared to any other mode in Channel 2. It's like the Modern mode on a Recto but in the Mark series vein. This mode shockingly has LESS GAIN than the Mark IV mode. Usually the gain increases as you "up" the mode in each channel for every Mesa. This is not true for the Mark V:25 (I don't know if it's the same for the regular, full size Mark V). But even though there is less gain, this mode does sound the heaviest and most aggressive. Usually people associate "heaviness" and "aggressive" with more gain, and rightfully so, but in this mode it's not about additional gain - it's more about it's voicing.
Some overall thoughts about the amp:
I really like how every mode is definitely different sounding and feeling. Sometimes mode switches on amps just change gain or volume basically. But in this amp every mode definitely change the personality of the tone and the feel.
I also really like how you can roughly leave all the settings at noon and things sounds pretty decent that way. And then flipping through the modes this way you can quickly get a feel and idea of what each mode sounds like.
This is an extremely versatile, very good sounding amp IMO - and for that reason alone it's worth having. And yes versatile when it comes to tone - but also the features. The graphic EQ and the cab clone w/ its voicings and to be able to run direct out and it sound very decent, selectable wattage (which is common for a Mesa but still a fantastic feature), etc. make this one amazing amp.
