Question About Mark V 25 Head

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Will

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Aug 2, 2019
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Myrtle Beach, SC
Hi,

My name is Will. I am new to the Forum and excited to be here! I finally broke through and purchased my first piece of Mesa equipment after over 4 decades as an electric guitar player. My experience entails some pro (3 bands), but mainly recreational. My purchase was the California Tweed 23 1x12 semi-open back cabinet with the Jensen Blackbird alnico speaker. I am currently using it with my Fender Super Champ X2 head, and it sounds beautiful. My main guitars are a 2019 Les Paul Studio, an Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro, a Fender Squier Strat (mid-80s "E" Series MIJ) and an Ibanez AS 93. I don't customarily use pedals and like to change channels from clean to gain when I play a lot of songs.

As a tone chaser, I am continually on the lookout to up-level my sound, and have been considering a Mark V 25 (25/10 watt) head in Cream to match the cab. I am currently rehearsing with an acoustic guitar player/singer (at his house), with the goal to play gigs in small venues as a duo - mainly modern country and southern rock. He plays and sings through a Fishman Loudbox 1x8. My question is as follows: Can I get a really nice sound at relatively low volume with the Mark V on the 10-watt setting? I have an end unit condominium on the top floor and could probably play a bit louder than so-called "bedroom" levels. The neighbors directly below my unit love music and continually encourage me to play, but I don't want to push it. I am assuming, although I could be wrong, that the 25-watt setting would probably not work for me when playing in the condo, and might even be too loud for the prospective gigs I mentioned.

I think I read in one of the Mark V reviews by a Sweetwater purchaser, that he uses a volume pedal at home and that works well for low volume playing, with little if any sacrifice in tone. One thing that prompted me to ask this question and have second thoughts after I had pretty much decided to pick up the Mark V, was a video I saw with the guys from Anderton's Music in England reviewing the amp (quite favorably BTW), and Rob Chapman said, "Make no mistake, this is not the kind of amp you bring back to your flat and play through; this is a GIGGING amp."

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts and expertise, and I apologize if I rambled on too much!
 
Yes.

It'll be fine. The volume controls can get the amp with ripping tone down to whisper levels.
Really handy for any stealth rocking situation even your condo situ.
To be honest the wattage more affects the way the amp drives, 10w or 25w can be brutally loud or whisper quiet.
Its all down to you and your tastes or requirements for the day.

Your cabs will determine much of the control also. a 1x12 sounds about your bag for homeplay or maybe this gig you speak of too.
2x12 or 4x12 for studio/gigs with drummer and bass player etc...
The speaker off/cabclone out/headphone out will also be your friends.
 
Chappers comments were a bit misleading in my opinion, I would say it's more accurate tosay that the Mk 5,25 is not "solely" a bedroom amp but more than capable of hanging with a full band. To second Markageddon, and he should know, these amps can definitely drop down very quiet with a tweak to your loud settings and still sound absolutely great.
 
Absolutely.
He could maybe have worded that perhaps in a way that would have wouldn't have just addressed the upper limit of volume with it, like you said.
25 is ridiculously good at levels equivalent to humming softly to yourself. Even the Big V in 90w can still kick some serious arse,at low vol even without using the master vol working against channel dials.
These amps do it better than any others Ive played through which have always been way better when cranked compared to polite-cough level operation.
It might be because most of the sound is preamp, rather than power amp orientated design seen in say Marshall or even the Dual Rec types.
But its hilarious how powerful the V:25 is, and that is expected to invite comment, rather than the quiet levels it can do which might be taken as granted given the physical smallness of the amp head.
 
Wayne and Markageddon,

Thanks for those further clarifications and insightful comments, and again, I am quite encouraged.

Yes, upon further reflection, I can see how i may have been misled by Chappers' comment. By emphasizing how loud the Mark V 25 can get, he was not necessarily precluding that it sounds good at low volumes. His intent may simply have been to point out, that, unlike, say, a 5 watt Blackstar, that would not have viable applications beyond home or maybe studio use, the Mark V 25 was a beast - very much suitable for gigging, despite its relatively low wattage.

The point about the ability of the amp to sound great at low volumes due in significant measure to its primarily preamp orientation makes sense, thus differentiating it from many other amplifiers which need to be cranked for good tone. One of the first things that struck me in reading the specs for the Mark V 25 was ratio of six (12AX7) preamp tubes to just two (EL84) power tubes.

Thanks again guys. I am happy I joined the Board. I've already learned a lot in a very short time. It will be about 10 more weeks until the head is available from my dealer in the cream color I want, but I'm sure well worth the wait, and now I can buy it with the confidence that it will be eminently suitable for all my purposes, or even if I end up playing with a full band again sometime down the road.
 
I'm very confident you're going to love it. I'd wanted a boogie, specifically one of the Mark series, ever since I first heard Master of Putters back in the eighties but could never afford one. Finally 6 (ish) years ago a landed in a position where I could afford one nd have never looked back. Sure it took some time to get it exactly how I wanted it but it absolutely rocks. My only wish now is that I had more time to play the thing!
 
Mark V:25 in not a bedroom volume amp! Event in 10W it's really loud. You need to take this in consideration. Yes you can tweak it to do a good sounds relatively quiet but it will be not too quiet! :lol:
 
Hi Will

Get the Mk V25, you will love it mate - its great at low volume with a single 12in V30 speaker - I prefer the 25w mode at low volume but you can flick to 10w and you just lose a little bottom end - sure its better with a 4x12 recto cab cranked up (which is what I use most of the time) but it will still float your boat with a single 12in - I don't know how that speaker will go as I have never tried one of them but a new V30 wont be expensive if you were to try it.

I play mostly rock stuff- I have also been getting into bluesish stuff too - kinda john mayerish stuff or Kenny Wayne Shepherd not that I can play their songs - I just solo along with them and I love this amp, its hard to get a bad sound out of it - I always have the eq on - even messing about with the eq its so versatile

Let us know how you go

Casey
 
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