nathan28
Well-known member
Hello guys, I recently traded my Electra Dyne for a Mini Mark V 25, here are my first impressions:
I started my Boogie life in 2003-04 with a Mesa Boogie Recto-verb 50w, sold that and purchased a Triple Rec, sold that and purchased a RoadKing II, The RKII has been my go to amp and other than my reverb tank being replaced has been incredible. In 2012 I wanted a small amp head to run through my Boogie 4x12 for practice and shows(Carrying the Roadking around can take its toll on you)I went a little cheaper and purchased the Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 18. I used that amp for practicing with the band and for every show I played in 2013, for the price that little amp is extremely hard to beat, but definitely not the quality of any of the Boogies I have owned. In late 2013 I still didn't want to carry my Roadking around everywhere and I wanted a better sound live than what I was getting with the Hughes, that led me to purchase the Electra Dyne. The Electra Dyne was an awesome sounding amp, it is a VERY LOUD amp but to me the sound was a little too much hot rodded marshall and not the sound I wanted. A year later in comes the Mini Mark V. I have only used it once last night for about 2-3 hours and I don't have it dialed in yet but here my impressions.
Channel 1 clean and fat clean: Very, very nice sounding, ton of headroom even in 10 watt setting. Very versatile and the tube reverb just sings on this channel. I love it.
Channel 1 Crunch: This is one of the gems in this amp, crank the gain and the mid boost and wow, the sound kinda reminds me of the rec a little bit.
I had zero issues dialing in a good sound on channel one.
Channel 2 mark IIc - Very focused, tons of gain, very tight, but I was having trouble dialing in the low end, ive gotta spend some more time tweaking it. Using the EQ definitely takes this channel to another level.
Channel 2 Mark IV - This channel was my favorite, once again tons of gain, a little more low end and fullness than the IIc. I still had a hard time dialing in the low end.
Channel 2 Xtreme - It definitely is Xtreme, almost seemed like too much.
I used my PRS Custom 24 and I boosted with my OCD and I tried my Xotic Ep Booster.
When I boosted on channel 2, no matter which pedal I used the amp seemed not to like the boost pedals. The OCD made it harsh and fuzzy and the EP booster made it flubby. My Rec really likes the OCD!!!! The Rec does not like the EP booster.
Comparing the Mini Mark V to the Roadking: I never have played through a Mark and I definitely have to work on dialing it in(it took me a long time to master dialing in a rec) it seems that the Mini Mark definitely has no where near the low end of the Rec, but more gain, it is more mid range focused, the rec is a bigger sound. I also can get my rec much tighter than the Mark, this has to be my settings.
Hughes compared to the Mini Mark. The Hughes definitely holds its own when it comes to high gain territory. It doesn't quite sound as hifi. The clean channel is no comparison!! Mark V all the way. But a $600.00 Chinese made amp verse a $1300.00 Mesa, I must say I was a little disappointed the Mark didn't completely destroy it. But the Mark is definitely a much better sounding amp, especially with lower gain settings. And obviously much more versatile. The Hughes is easier to dial in because of less options.
I haven't used the cab clone yet, I have used the red box direct out on my Hughes and it sucks to be honest. Completely Worthless!! I am hoping the cab clone will be better.
I need to work on dialing in the High gain channels, I couldn't in the two hours I played get a high gain sound that I would record with. I know that it is my settings and it is going to take some time.
Some MISC things I noticed, the Mark will make you a better player, it is not as forgiving as the Rec or my Hughes. But the gain seems to have a liquid feeling to it, which feels great to play. Volume will not be a issue in a band situation as it is very loud, I never had an issue with the Hughes either. The Mini Mark is built like a tank and definitely full of quality. It was weird that the Mark did not like either of my Overdrive pedals.
I will update my review when I spend some good quality time with it. I need to learn how to dial in channel 2, especially tighten the low end.
Reading reviews and seeing some with volume issues between the channels, I haven't noticed any issue with volume between channels, channel 1 is a bit louder, but nothing drastic.
I started my Boogie life in 2003-04 with a Mesa Boogie Recto-verb 50w, sold that and purchased a Triple Rec, sold that and purchased a RoadKing II, The RKII has been my go to amp and other than my reverb tank being replaced has been incredible. In 2012 I wanted a small amp head to run through my Boogie 4x12 for practice and shows(Carrying the Roadking around can take its toll on you)I went a little cheaper and purchased the Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 18. I used that amp for practicing with the band and for every show I played in 2013, for the price that little amp is extremely hard to beat, but definitely not the quality of any of the Boogies I have owned. In late 2013 I still didn't want to carry my Roadking around everywhere and I wanted a better sound live than what I was getting with the Hughes, that led me to purchase the Electra Dyne. The Electra Dyne was an awesome sounding amp, it is a VERY LOUD amp but to me the sound was a little too much hot rodded marshall and not the sound I wanted. A year later in comes the Mini Mark V. I have only used it once last night for about 2-3 hours and I don't have it dialed in yet but here my impressions.
Channel 1 clean and fat clean: Very, very nice sounding, ton of headroom even in 10 watt setting. Very versatile and the tube reverb just sings on this channel. I love it.
Channel 1 Crunch: This is one of the gems in this amp, crank the gain and the mid boost and wow, the sound kinda reminds me of the rec a little bit.
I had zero issues dialing in a good sound on channel one.
Channel 2 mark IIc - Very focused, tons of gain, very tight, but I was having trouble dialing in the low end, ive gotta spend some more time tweaking it. Using the EQ definitely takes this channel to another level.
Channel 2 Mark IV - This channel was my favorite, once again tons of gain, a little more low end and fullness than the IIc. I still had a hard time dialing in the low end.
Channel 2 Xtreme - It definitely is Xtreme, almost seemed like too much.
I used my PRS Custom 24 and I boosted with my OCD and I tried my Xotic Ep Booster.
When I boosted on channel 2, no matter which pedal I used the amp seemed not to like the boost pedals. The OCD made it harsh and fuzzy and the EP booster made it flubby. My Rec really likes the OCD!!!! The Rec does not like the EP booster.
Comparing the Mini Mark V to the Roadking: I never have played through a Mark and I definitely have to work on dialing it in(it took me a long time to master dialing in a rec) it seems that the Mini Mark definitely has no where near the low end of the Rec, but more gain, it is more mid range focused, the rec is a bigger sound. I also can get my rec much tighter than the Mark, this has to be my settings.
Hughes compared to the Mini Mark. The Hughes definitely holds its own when it comes to high gain territory. It doesn't quite sound as hifi. The clean channel is no comparison!! Mark V all the way. But a $600.00 Chinese made amp verse a $1300.00 Mesa, I must say I was a little disappointed the Mark didn't completely destroy it. But the Mark is definitely a much better sounding amp, especially with lower gain settings. And obviously much more versatile. The Hughes is easier to dial in because of less options.
I haven't used the cab clone yet, I have used the red box direct out on my Hughes and it sucks to be honest. Completely Worthless!! I am hoping the cab clone will be better.
I need to work on dialing in the High gain channels, I couldn't in the two hours I played get a high gain sound that I would record with. I know that it is my settings and it is going to take some time.
Some MISC things I noticed, the Mark will make you a better player, it is not as forgiving as the Rec or my Hughes. But the gain seems to have a liquid feeling to it, which feels great to play. Volume will not be a issue in a band situation as it is very loud, I never had an issue with the Hughes either. The Mini Mark is built like a tank and definitely full of quality. It was weird that the Mark did not like either of my Overdrive pedals.
I will update my review when I spend some good quality time with it. I need to learn how to dial in channel 2, especially tighten the low end.
Reading reviews and seeing some with volume issues between the channels, I haven't noticed any issue with volume between channels, channel 1 is a bit louder, but nothing drastic.
