New amp day - Mesa Mark V combo arrived this afternoon!

[Deaj]

I received my Mesa Mark V combo a couple of hours ago in minty clean condition in original factory packing material and with all accessories, original documents, receipt, hang tags, the whole package. I also received a transferable warranty with the amp!

I've been tinkering with it and playing since it arrived. It really is a fantastic sounding amp! I'm finding a wide array of sounds through the graphic EQ. The clean tones are as nice as I perceived them to be during my demo's of the amp. The combo enclosure and C90 speaker sound great too (I hadn't played a MkV combo until today). I may give an Eminence RWB a go in this enclosure at some point - it seems like it might be a great match al the way around. At volume this thing is amazingly responsive and sounds huge! The high frequencies really come into balance perfectly when the volume is up. Using only the treble and presence controls it is possible to dial in great low volume tones without sounding fizzy. I'm having a blast!

This amp covers a lot of sonic territory, sounds not available in my Fuchs ODS. The Fuchs is also a very flexible amp so my sonic palette is immense at this point and the two amps take up very little space. The Mark V combo is a bit smaller than I pictured it. It's pretty compact and, like the Fuchs combo, will work nicely as a grab-n-go on its own.

I gave the effects loop a go with a Boss SE-70 effects processor. I didn't spend a lot of time balancing levels as it was pretty balanced the way it was set. The loop sounds great! I'm probably going to pick up a TC Electronics G Major (& G Minor foot controller) and rig some custom feet to clear the handle for amp top use as I do with the SE-70 and the Fuchs.

For most general applications away from my home studio I'd likely select the Fuchs most times - it is my ideal amp. I'll definitely take the Mesa to the next couple of jams to see how it works out for me in that setting.

Arthritis shut me down for the night a few minutes ago. Hopefully I didn't overdo it too badly so that I can play some more tomorrow (I'm supposed to pace myself but I was having way too much fun!).

I realize that the above impressions are 'honeymoon' observations and that some enthusiasm may wear off over time. And then again it may not. This is seriously a great sounding amp all the way around. Time will tell. Right now I'm very pleased with this purchase!

Here's a pic:

Follow-up:
I'm really pleased with what I'm hearing out of this amp. I put another hour or so into learning how the controls interact on channel 2. I'm dialing in some really great classic rock tones using the crunch mode, 45w setting, and a bump in the mids on the EQ - low gain Marshall JMP crunch tones that feel just riight under my fingers. Sounds and feels right even at low volume. I'm diggin' it!

 

[Jim Ed Love]

Real nice! Have fun. 8)

 

[MusicManJP6]

Congrats! Great amp for sure. If you want some more 'balls' out of the amp try a closed back or 3/4 back sometime. Enjoy!

 

[Deaj]

Congrats! Great amp for sure. If you want some more 'balls' out of the amp try a closed back or 3/4 back sometime. Enjoy!

It's tempting. My demo time on the MkV was through a Mesa 2x12. That combination provided amazing focus and a substantial punch! The problem is I always opt for a combo when I take an amp out for any application and extension cabs get left at home. When I had a large selection of vintage amps (and a THD Plexi for good measure) years back I also owned a Fender Super Champ 1x10 combo and I rarely left the house with anything but the Super Champ. :shock: Then because I prefer to practice through the rig I most commonly employ the Super Champ got used at home while the other amps sat idle. I just seem to prefer the convenience over any sonic benefit from a larger rig. Because of this every extension cab I've ever owned has spent more time collecting dust and then get sold. Then time will pass and it will occur to me that an extension cab would sound great. I buy one, it gets a little use at first, then it gets moved aside for convenience sake, and ultimately sold.

I think I may be lazy. :lol:

The Mark V sure does sound fantastic through the Mesa 2x12!

 

[MusicManJP6]

I use a Mesa 3/4 back with my MV head and it sounds great. I'd like to get a Recto vert 2x12 eventually.

 

[Deaj]

Just a couple more observations:

Running a processor in the loop, even when the unit is in bypass, smooths out the tone and gives the top end a glassy sheen. It's a bit subtle but definitely noticeable. It sounds great regardless of the config (loop hard bypassed, loop active with nothing in line, and with a processor in the loop). I really like the way it sounds with the processor in the loop! It also seems to make overdrive and distortion sound 'chewy' more so than without it. **** this sounds great!!

 

[Anonymous]

congratulations!!!!!!!!and try to get some sleep

 

[MusicManJP6]

Just a couple more observations:

Running a processor in the loop, even when the unit is in bypass, smooths out the tone and gives the top end a glassy sheen. It's a bit subtle but definitely noticeable. It sounds great regardless of the config (loop hard bypassed, loop active with nothing in line, and with a processor in the loop). I really like the way it sounds with the processor in the loop! It also seems to make overdrive and distortion sound 'chewy' more so than without it. **** this sounds great!!

The processor is actually sucking some tone making it darker and smoother. My BOSS DD-3 did this (even in bypass because it is not true bypass) and it annoyed me so I sold it and replaced it with a TC Nova Delay. What a difference! No more tone suck and the delay quality itself is top notch. But, if you like how the processor darkens the tone then run with it!

 

[Deaj]

Just a couple more observations:

Running a processor in the loop, even when the unit is in bypass, smooths out the tone and gives the top end a glassy sheen. It's a bit subtle but definitely noticeable. It sounds great regardless of the config (loop hard bypassed, loop active with nothing in line, and with a processor in the loop). I really like the way it sounds with the processor in the loop! It also seems to make overdrive and distortion sound 'chewy' more so than without it. **** this sounds great!!

The processor is actually sucking some tone making it darker and smoother. My BOSS DD-3 did this (even in bypass because it is not true bypass) and it annoyed me so I sold it and replaced it with a TC Nova Delay. What a difference! No more tone suck and the delay quality itself is top notch. But, if you like how the processor darkens the tone then run with it!

I don't like to run the Fuchs effects loop in series with a processor as the darkening/smoothing you mentioned does take something away from the tone without offering any sonic benefit. The Fuchs has about as glassy smooth top end as can be found anywhere. The Mark V is more aggressive on top and not in a bad way. The subtle change that the processor in the series loop adds seems to tame the more aggressive nature of the highs slightly and adds a top layer that tends to make harmonic overtones slide off the top in a very musical way. If it's sucking tone then it's a pretty subtle subtraction and in just the right way. I would never have expected this to sound good given my past experience with series effects loops but it definitely sounds great to my ears. As widely flexible as the amp is on its own I now have one more trick to add to the pile now. I don't know what's more fun: playing though the MkV or exploring the sonic possibilities with it.

The only other amp I've experienced this kind of discovery with is the Fuchs ODS. The ODS offers a fair amount of tone shaping for a shared EQ channel switcher. The amp is all about expression through subtle dynamic changes in technique. I'd been improving in this aspect of my playing during the decade prior to demo'ing the Fuchs and when I did I found new possibilities every time I plugged into it. This is still happening four years later! After a couple of years I sent the amp back to Fuchs for some circuit updates, some fine tuning of specific traits to better suit my technique, and to add some factory options (4-button footswitch, fan speed switch, switchable alternate mid boost frequency, switchable alternate tone stack values, three position bright switch, value change for deep switch for more subtle change, add a sag switch -same function as Variac on the MkV, add a pentode/triode switch). The resulting amp turned out to be a significant improvement in every way, far more than I thought possible.

The Mark V's dynamic range responds very differently from the Fuchs. Where the Fuchs seems more elastic in the way that allows the player to vary the clipping and compression present in the signal by varying attack the Mark V retains much of its overdrive and compression but allows for some vowel-like expression with changes in technique (the Fuchs also has this 'speaking' quality but in a more delicate way than the MkV which exhibits this trait in an almost exaggerated fashion). This very expressive trait suits the amps more aggressive nature very well and I find it addictive to play!

When my excitement over the Mark V settles I very much expect that both amps will see equal play time, each for its own strengths. This will be a first for me as I tend to bond with a particular sound and lose interest in other amps. I don't think that's possible with these two amps sitting in my home studio.

 

[CudBucket]

The processor is actually sucking some tone making it darker and smoother.

The loop in the amp is doing a fair share of tone sucking too. That's alot of extra circuit.

 

[Deaj]

The processor is actually sucking some tone making it darker and smoother.

The loop in the amp is doing a fair share of tone sucking too. That's alot of extra circuit.

This is true but, depending on the desired results, this can be a good thing. The amp is definitely more forward and presents more bandwidth and detail with the loop bypassed but the additional gain stages do add their own thing as well depending on how they're utilized. Can't have too many options with an amp like this!

 

[Deaj]

After spending the last couple of days playing through the Mark V and discovering some of what it's capable of I did a quick A/B comparison between it and my Fuchs ODS. The amps are so different that a comparison isn't even useful. They're both so flexible and musically expressive but they cover very different sonic territory. They're both also a pile of fun to play through! If I had to sell one it would be the Mesa - the Fuchs is an ideal fit for me and much of what I do musically. Fortunately I don't have to choose - the intent was to have both available as studio tools. The Mesa seems ideally suited to covering much of what the Fuchs cannot and visa versa. Between the two I should be able to find a sound for just about any project I might involve myself with.

Here's a visual that I feel best describes the characteristic differences between these two amps:

 

[Deaj]

One more observation:

Contrary to what I had read about it the Mark V sounds astonishingly good at low volume. As with anything Mesa it's all about learning to dial it in. Given the amount of power on tap and the intended applications for the MkV it's clearly not a bedroom amp by design. But it can be and an excellent one at that! Just one more thing this amp excells at!

 

[Elpelotero]

I've been trying to get Fuchs-type tones out of my C+ rigs. Is it possible? How would you accurately describe the Fuchs tone versus the Mark V in lead modes.

 

[Deaj]

I've been trying to get Fuchs-type tones out of my C+ rigs. Is it possible? How would you accurately describe the Fuchs tone versus the Mark V in lead modes.

The Fuchs is smooth and leans towards a polite sound (though you can give it teeth, crunch, and grind) with more delicate detail, rich harmonic content throughout the frequency spectrum, and notes that bloom effortlessly into harmonic feedback even when set clean. It's overdrive texture is chewy and elastic and it's wide dynamic range allows for the amount of overdrive to be controlled by pick attack. The Fuchs has a fast dynamic response though it's a touch more forgiving than, and not quite as fast as the Mesa.

The Mesa's lead channel is aggressive and raw (though it can be tamed to some degree) with bold texture, extraordinary harmonic content in the upper frequencies, and note bloom that increases as volume and/or overdrive increase. The overdrive has a crushed glass texture supported by tight lows that seem to clip in a more rounded fashion (less aggressive than the upper mids). Dynamic response is startlingly immediate!

Both amps sport huge bandwidth and an amazing array of options to alter tone, clipping characteristics, headroom, and dynamic response. Still with all of these options the character of each amp is different enough that it's not really possible to capture the sound, texture, and feel of one with the other using only the amp. A pedal designed to capture the character of one or the other would give a reasonable approximation in a very musical way but bandwidth and dynamic range, and low frequency punch are sacrificed when using a pedal into the front end of a guitar amp. For use with the Mark V clean channel a Hermida Audio Zendrive or a Custom Tones Ethos will get you pretty **** close to the Fuchs (Dumble ODS) sound. Conversely, a Mesa V-Twin or a MI Audio Tube Zone into the Fuchs ODS clean channel will cop the Mesa lead tones really well.

I hope this helps.

 

[Elpelotero]

Great post! Would you also say the Fuchs is brighter without being ice-picky?

 

[Deaj]

Great post! Would you also say the Fuchs is brighter without being ice-picky?

Not particularly, no. They can both be made to sound very bright and both have extended highs on tap. Due to this both amps can be set such that the treble may become 'ice-picky' but neither strike me as such without intentionally dialing it in. They can also both be set for a dark, thick, fat tone without flubbing out. Both amps have offer a very broad frequency range. The differences are in voicing and texture to my ears.

 

[Elpelotero]

Cool, thank you.