Mark V owner, considering of ED?

There is maybe another similar posts here but have to ask anyway. I bought recently Mark V for a heavier stuff we play with my second band, like 80´s metal, Judast Priest, Metallica etc. At the beginning it was okay but after few months i´m starting feel that Mark V sounds very dry and quite boring somehow. Maybe sterile or cold would be the word. Its sitting well in a mix though. The cab I´m using is Bogner 4x12 with V30´s.

I know the Mark V is good amp with many tweaking possibilities and there is lot of happy owners but somehow i´m not so exited after all... its more like confusing all that tweaking. Maybe its just not my thing. Now I understand that I´m more after that classic metal sound of 80? than modern sound what Mark V presents.
I really like British voiced amps. I have had Royal Atlantic about year ago and really liked that amp but it was way too harsh and stiff for my ears. I tried swap speakers and cabinets but it was the nature of that amp. Its nice when you play low volumes with attenuator but I didn´t like it even with attenuator at the volumes that I used at the gigs or rehersals.

If I have understood (and hear) right ED is more thick and darker sounding compared to the Royal. So if the voicing is even close to the Royal but little smoother it could be the answer. I would probably use drive/boost pedals like BB preamp and Suhr Kokoboost with it.

So what do you think, could ED take a care of that 80´s metal territory of sounds well with pedals or should I look different amps for that?. Of course i play also many kind of music from blues, pop, rock and it would be great if i could handle that as well.

Tim

It's probably the way I dial it in, but to me the ED basically skips the 80s by covering both the fatter 70s sounds and the thicker 90s sounds. You can thin the ED out and get more of a compressed 80s sound by hitting it with a tubescreamer, but personally I find the Mark V seems to have more of that 80s vibe in it than the ED does.

IMO you can make pretty much anything sound period appropriate if you plug it into the right set of speakers, so I'd recommend plugging into a few different cabs before you decide to switch amps. I find the stock V30s that the Bogner cabs come with to be fairly fatiguing when a Boogie is fed into them. Mesa's OEM V30s are darker and smoother whereas the standard V30s are brighter and more in your face. That said, if I were going for a classic 80s sound I'd try plugging into a cab loaded with G12M-25s (EVH) or G12T-75s (Marshall 1960).

I do some 80s hair metal with my Dyne. My BB gives just enough gain to push it to the right level. However, I don't think I could truly nail a Priest tone and definitely not a Metallica tone, but that's just my opinion. One thing to consider is that the Dyne is a very LOUD amp. It goes from too quiet to too loud in a very short twist of the master volume. Instead of an attenuator, I use a rack effects unit with its output turned down to tame the volume. But, the Dyne really shines when cranked. Having never played a V, I can not offer a comparison. But, I use WGS British Lead speakers with mine which are comparable to Celestion Classic Lead 80s. For me, it's the greatest tone I have ever gotten from an amp and I have no plans to change my setup. It is exactly what I want and more. But for what you are looking for, I would tend to believe the RA100 is probably closer to what you are seeking. Or maybe a Roadster.

'Dyne definitely has the 70s vibe for sure. It can also handle G&R with ease and with some clever EQ settings, it can get quite heavy. It is Brit inspired but it definitely has its own unique voice going on and like people have said, it is quite loud, PARTICULARLY though a 4 x 12. Generally, the 45watt mode is best for the classic tones with that vintage sag and elastic feel, and the 90watt mode is more direct with phatter low mids and a more modern tone in general. 90watts with the volume at 3:00, presence buried, mids up, treble at like 11:00 and Bass rolled back a bit gives a pretty heavy tone. I think I could do a metal concert live on the Electra Dyne but to be honest, I'd grab my dual rectifier instead.

I use the Electra Dyne for all other music besides metal, and it excels at all of them. I'd love to play in a punk cover band again because it can sound so infinitely punk rock when it wants to.

On the Mark V, they're great sounding amps and super fun to play. It makes me wonder what you're using for a guitar.

screamingdaisy said:

It's probably the way I dial it in, but to me the ED basically skips the 80s by covering both the fatter 70s sounds and the thicker 90s sounds. You can thin the ED out and get more of a compressed 80s sound by hitting it with a tubescreamer, but personally I find the Mark V seems to have more of that 80s vibe in it than the ED does.

IMO you can make pretty much anything sound period appropriate if you plug it into the right set of speakers, so I'd recommend plugging into a few different cabs before you decide to switch amps. I find the stock V30s that the Bogner cabs come with to be fairly fatiguing when a Boogie is fed into them. Mesa's OEM V30s are darker and smoother whereas the standard V30s are brighter and more in your face. That said, if I were going for a classic 80s sound I'd try plugging into a cab loaded with G12M-25s (EVH) or G12T-75s (Marshall 1960).

Click to expand...

Fantastic advice and I agree 100% Why do I even bother posting? =-p

Thanks guys, many good advice here.

I'm using Tokai LC-85 Les paul with passive pickups for heavier stuff i play. Second guitar is Suhr S1 HSS stratocaster.

You mentioned speakers and cabinets and i totally agree, its huge effect to the sound. I have had Stiletto 4x12" and i made comparison between Bogner 4x12" which has more organic and liquid sound to my ears so i ended up to keep Bogner.

Dual Rectifier and Roadster are great amps but like i said i really like british kind of sounds which has that mid punch. I'm not sure can i find that from rectifiers?.

I have heard several complains how loud ED is, do you think its louder than MarkV?.

I was really hoping that ED could nail also those 80's heavy tones but of course i understand its made for something else. I just have to find local shop where i can play that thing and buy it or move on...

Have you tried EL-34s in the Mark V?

Well, I LOVE the Electra Dyne so I say give it a whirl.

Loudness wise, lets just say that it peels paint with a 4 x 12. I have a 27" 1 x 12 that I use with mine and it's awesome.

Anyway, try one, you may be pleasantly surprised, I sure was! It has a lot of tones in it and it's pretty hard to find a bad one.

Little update for this...

I got lucky and founded used Electradyne head. I come to next conclusion after few weeks playing.

Its totally different amp than Mark V, i mean voicing. That probably wasn't big suprise!. Mark V does have more clarity and you can found easily those sounds that suits better for 80s' metal, my opinion of course.

But that's not the whole story! I truly fell in love with Electradyne and it was so good for all the other music styles than metal so my ex-love Suhr Badger 30 had to go. I thought i would never found as good amp as Badger but this happened....

So i searched metal amp and founded Electradyne for other styles and now i am at the starting point! Things didn't went like i planned but the result was perfect. Life is mysterious sometimes... But for the original topic, I think i'll get Marshall JCM800 for that 80s' rock/metal and thats it.

Same with me as I have my Mark V for sale to fund another ED. I had one a while back and was forced to sell it unfortunately and nothing I've had since has been able to compare tone wise, including the Mark V, lol.

Chris

I cannot speak on the ED, I did consider getting one before I settled on the RA100. I tested out a used ED 1x12 combo that was for sale at Sam Ash sometime in November last year. I tied to dial in a tone that I would like to hear. The amp had 6L6GC tubes in it. Seemed a but lacking in the gain department. Not sure if the MC90 contributed. It was tempting but I decided to go with the RA100. In reality, first thing I tried with the RA100 was to hear the difference with 6L6GC. Sounded just as bland as the ED I tried out. Not that there is anything wrong with the ED, I did consider taking it home as it had the tone and character I was looking for and I knew there would be something to gain with different tubes.

The RA100 can be tamed with the right tubes. For the gain channel (hi/lo) I use a Tung Sol in V1 and V2, RFT NOS 12AT7 in V3, EH12AX7 v4 and V5 with a Petna Labs (Chinese) 12ax7 for the reverb V6. V7 (PI tube I typically use LP 12ax7).

I have tried Gold Lion KT77 and SED EL34. The SED EL34 sound the best. As for Cabinet, traditional size 412 is the best option for use with V30 (the smaller cabinet seems to fit well with the V30 than the larger rectifier cabinet.)

As for the MARK V, that amp sounds the best with the old Mesa 12ax7-A Chinese tube. I am looking for alternates that are not costly NOS tubes. As for power tubes, SED 6L6GC are the tops. KT77 and EL34's are great too for the more early British tone. With the EL34 type (EL34, KT77) CH2 and CH3 are similar in character, the exception is with 6CA7.

For as long as I could stand it, I just could not convince myself that the V30's sounded good with this amp. The same goes with the Mark IV. I decided to go EVM12L black label in my recto 412 cab (at least I found a home for the V30, I put them in an Egnator Cabinet for use with the RA100). The EVM12L has plenty of punch, deep as you want it, and crisp if you need it. I had tried the Mark V thought the rebuilt cabinet with the V30, it sounded better with them in the smaller 412 cab but sterile as you described. The convers was true about the RA100 and the EVM cabinet. RA100 and V30 in the right cabinet seems to be the best option. I normally use the RA raw without the use of the power soak. However, for that classic rock tone, especially with a single coil pups the power soak makes a huge difference. Just last night, I tried the Boss ME70 (not the best multi effects on the market, probably one of the worse sounding ones made) and it sounded better than it did with either of my mark series amps. Basically was testing the overdrive feature just to hear the difference. With a good quality pedal in the signal chain, you can easily get that 80's tone. I think the case with ED or RA100, to get the 80's tone you will need some external drive to get there. I am really considering the Flux Drive with EQ for use with the RA100.

Had both amps for 3 months at the same time....I plugged into the ED at least 3/4 of my
playing time. The Mark V is a GREAT amp, but my ED still does it for me. Sold the MV.