Amazed..

..by a demo video!

Been gasing for the Mark V the last days, not willing to go for it since I'm wanting to get a vintage crunch out of it(similiar to the crunch in Express 525) and I couldn't dial it in at the store(didn't have much time though).

Anyway I was browsing Mesa's website and I saw the Electra Dyne for the first time, checked out the demo videos(which usually suck even with a good amp), clicked the Hendrix Rhythm and WOW!!!!!! Amazing breakup tone!!!! Hendrix Solo as well. Really like the tone I'm hearing in those two demo clips. And pretty much the exact crunch breakup I'm looking for!

What really surprised me too is that the amp has 6L6's and a C90 speaker, just like the 550 and the Mark V. I wasn't able to get a good crunch sound out of the two but I got heavenly cleans, like the best cleans I've ever played. Then in the 525 I got this amazing crunch but the cleans were lacking quite a bit.

So I figured I just preferred the 6L6's + C90 for cleans and the EL-84's + V30 for crunch.

The Electra Dyne now put me back to square one...

So my question is(not sure if I'm gonna get unbiased replies in the ED corner of the board though : ) would the Mark V be able to pull of the ED crunch tone? (purely talking about the Hendrix demo styles). Or is the circuitry way different?(I'm sure it's pretty different actually).

The only reason I'm still looking into the Mark V is that I like the idea of the three channels(I hardly ever use pedals) and the cleans were so amazing,(I've heard the cleans on the ED are incredible as well though). And the idea of a shared EQ on the ED is kind of a turn off....?

I'm really lost on what to do, all I know is that I wanna get a Mesa Boogie as I'm loving the sounds I'm hearing!

All help much appreciated.

ps. the "hendrix" demos are here: http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/electradyne/electradyne.html#gpm1_4

The Electra Dyne is an AMAZING crunch machine but it is also an amp with many faces. It WILL do those vintage rock tones as well as absolutely gorgeous clean tones. Just be aware, it is an incredibly loud amp with a lot of horsepower.

Tonewise I would describe it as a cross between a Mark I and a Vintage Marshall. The clean is vintage fender, Vintage Lo is hotrodded plexi territory, and Vintage HI is hotrodded JCM800, but all with much more tame and musical highs as well as a massive low end. Think thick and chunky.

So what do I mean about 'many faces'?

45watt mode has vintage sag and feel. 90watt mode has a thicker and beefier tone which is more urgent and tracks faster. It is more modern with more emphasis on the low mids.

The other major deal is the preamp vs the poweramp. The preamp has a certain characteristic tone to it which some guys like (they're lucky) and others don't like. The preamp gain has the liquid, musical, and mellow characteristics that I like so much. When the power amp starts to clip, it brings a totally different side of the amp to life. If you like this tone, you can't get a clean tone but it's loads of fun anyhow.

Speakers. I love the 1 x 12 wide body with the c90 but the 2 x 12 with v30s is also worth considering. It still has a fantastic tone but the v30s are brighter and the bass is less tubby.

EQ stack: The Clean Trim pot and the Gain Trim switch help a lot. Also, setting up your pickups in your guitar will also help a lot. I have had no problems but my EQ settings are very conservative so that doesn't count for much.

Will it do hendrix? ABSOLUTELY, and better than any other Mesa amp. Just gotta warn you that the volume MAY be a problem. For me it is not but I happen to like the tone of the preamp.

I would take the Electra over the Mark V any day of the week. I think it has a larger, wider, more complex tone that is way more fun to play than the Mark V which sounds too artificial to me. I would take a Fryette SigX any day over a Mark V, if I wanted the monster 3 channel amp. No need for 3 channels. I would be fine if the ED were a single channel head with clean only available via volume roll-off, which is a lot easier and sounds more natural than switching channels.