NAD: Mark V Head

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dbagchee said:
Congrats! Got rid of the mini?

Thanks!

Yeah, I traded the Mini a couple months ago. It was a great intro to the new features of the V, and I decided at that point that I wanted the full V. Right now I have a lot of work on my hands to get the tone the way I want it. It seemed easier to dial in the mini.

I did start with Petrucci's settings video and managed to nail his sound right out of the gate, which was nice. But I don't actually want his tone, so off I go...
 
Congrats! All the best finding your sound. It only took me about 2 years to finally settle on something on Channel 3 :!:
 
Lol think of it as good thing! there are plenty of awesome sounds locked inside as you know you just gotta find the right combination that works for you. But yeah........that does take time.
 
Oh boy, I'm in trouble. 8) I was going to buy the big V, but right before I did, the V25 was introduced and I bought it instead. I think it's a gateway drug though, as I really want some Mark 1, tweed and just BIG Mark and clean tones.

E, I don't think you'll take long to settle on something on C3, unless you just can't choose which one you like best. I had no trouble at all dialing in all kinds of great stuff in the store with a 2x12 recto cab. Pick your voice and dial it in. I didn't even play much, I just had my friend who works there play, while I twisted knobs on the amp. I'm no seasoned "Boogie guy" and I was dialing in great stuff in seconds. People kept coming over to see what we were playing through it sounded so good.

That said, may be the biggest "RTFM" amp ever. LOL There are a dizzying amount of things it CAN do. And if you want to sit and tweak for months, you can probably do so. But I thought it was relatively quick to dial in in close to what you wanted.

Congrats on the new amp! Can't wait to hear what you think.
 
Thanks for the support! This amp is incredible. It's intimidating at first, but there is a ton of help online. It also helped me to look at the settings in the Mesa demo vids.

The amp actually came out way more mid-forward than I expected. Of course I am also in the middle of switching from decades of playing V30 to wanting more low-end and less buzz and squeal in the mids.

I found settings in a couple of hours of playing that I am pretty impressed with, plus I have a WAY better understanding of how the controls work. Still, it's a lot. I think flying the space shuttle is less complicated.

In comparing cabs and speakers I found:

1. vertical recto 2x12 with C90 + Creamback is too loose. The Creambacks are not for me.
2. vertical recto 2x12 with C90 + V30 is pretty good, but more shriek and scratch than I want.
3. widebody ported 1x12 with C90 sounds great. Adding another with V30 sounds very good and a bit more balanced.
4. horizontal recto 2x12 with CL80 + Creamback, again not great, too loose and too much mid garbage
5. horizontal recto 2x12 with CL80 + G12K85 is INCREDIBLE. So much low end, lots of tunability in the mids and highs via the EQ. This is the one.
6. #5 Plus 1x12 widebody ported C90 on the other side of the room is approaching nirvana

 
Dreamtheaterrules said:
Interesting that the V30/C90 combo sounds much better in separate wide body ported cabs vs one closed cab.

Yeah. I suspect it is because the cab is tuned to accentuate the lows and the mids get rounded off a bit. The louder you play, the more the V30 comes through, though. The V30 dominates in the 2x12 cab at any volume.
 
Just reviewing your favorites, since I didn't even know what a G12K85 was. So now more interesting, that what you seem to have chosen as your favorite is two, at least relatively neutral speakers. Flatter than most, anyway.

If I read this correctly, your second choice appears to be a V30/C90 combo in separate Wide/port cabs. But your favorite has no V30 in the mix.

And not to hijack at all, but that would seem to indicate that in response to my cab/speaker thread, your preferred easiest/best way to add to what I have (1x12 Recto) would be to add a C90 Wide/port.
 
Actually, I didn't know what a G12K85 was either until I asked a friend what he had in his cabs. He has a really nice fat tone.

I certainly think that a WB Ported 1x12 C90 is good for me, but with a recto 1x12 I'd look at a C90 Thiele. The cab size is more compatible for stacking and you'd get a bit tighter tone to better match the recto sound. Essentially it'd add a bunch of tight, punchy low end to it. The WB Ported will add a LOT more low-end, but be a bit looser.
 
And thanks again! I really think the single 12 rec cab doesn't have a lot of bottom at all so I really need to add some if I add another 1x. C90/Thiele is what the Boogie rep recommended to suppliment, or just get the 2x12 Recto.

Back on track now, since you had a V25, when you get more time with the big boy, let us know how you like the things that are missing from the smaller version. Mark I, Tweed, variac, etc. And, the overall tonal difference between the big glass/big iron version.
 
OK, I've been playing with the V for a while now, and had my first rehearsal with it last night.

Overall, I'm glad I switched to the full V. I love that I can get clean, crunch and Mark IV. I'm finding that 3 channels is really good for me. I love the difference in character between crunch and channel 3.

The big V is... more. It seems to be more mid-forward and drives the cabinets with more frequency content than I remember getting from the V:25. However, I think the V:25 seemed to have a bit more prominent low-end. I am still struggling to dial the V in. I had it really nice at home, but it comes out completely different with my band. I have found that different cabinets and different speakers bring out different qualities, but the GEQ on the V can tame pretty much any cabinet I throw at it. I am currently using C90s in widebody closed, 3/4 2x12 and recto 2x12 cabs with it with good results.

In thinking about the V:25, I have been tempted to go back, but I don't want to live without the 3rd channel. And the V is not all that much bigger and heavier. It is nothing compared to my RA100.

As for the other bells and whistles, I don't use any of them.
 

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