So... do you think we'll ever see a Mini-Mark? ;)

With the Mini-Recto being so awesome (I LOVE mine) and Marshall coming out with all those mini amps this year... I can't help wondering and desperately hoping when/if we'll see a Mini-Mark head. Is this in the works possibly? Am I just deluding myself? Do you think that awesome Mark-IV/V lead tone or the IIC+ tone is even physically possible at 5-25W?

I nearly soiled myself with excitement when I found out about the Mini-Recto, I had wished for it for sooooooo long. I called Don @ Haggerty's as soon as they opened and ordered one (I was their 1st pre-order IIRC). Were they to release a Mini-Mark I'd probably be emailing Don hourly with "Can I order yet?!", LOL.

I'm really enjoying my TA-15 and am intrigued by the Mini Recto. But...nothing can compare to the solo tones of a Mark series amp. I'm interested in a Mini Mark and would purchase one in a heartbeat.

I think it's a possibility, just because the lunchbox amps are really hitting the market hard. Carvin released a lunchbox version of the Legacy that can do 100 watts. Orange has that Dark Terror putting out 4 gain stages. Various others are popping up on the radar.

I hope that Mesa doesn't back off this one. If I had to bet, I think they'll do it.

Randall smith is probably working on it now. But I remember reading somewhere that he even felt with the mini rec, it was released 2 years too late, so it could be a while. But what about a Mark VI in a mini format? :shock:

EvilEmuOfDoom said:

I can't help wondering and desperately hoping when/if we'll see a Mini-Mark head. Is this in the works possibly? Am I just deluding myself? Do you think that awesome Mark-IV/V lead tone or the IIC+ tone is even physically possible at 5-25W?

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They already make one (Mark V, 10w singled ended class A mode).

That said, a Mark V Special would be pretty cool (4xEL84s, 5w/15w/30w modes... like the LSS).

What I would like to see is a mini MkIIC+. That's the amp I would buy in a second.

screamingdaisy said:

They already make one (Mark V, 10w singled ended class A mode).

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True, but it's still really heavy and like you said, the 10w setting is Class A only (although I still find it awesome).

screamingdaisy said:

That said, a Mark V Special would be pretty cool (4xEL84s, 5w/15w/30w modes... like the LSS).

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I agree 100%!!!

Nomad100 said:

What I would like to see is a mini MkIIC+. That's the amp I would buy in a second.

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Although I think the perfect version would be 3 FULL Channels (LS Clean, Mark IIC+, and Mark IV), if they came out with simply a mini-IIC+ or mini-IV I would buy either one in a heartbeat!

I like the idea of a Mini Mark II or Mini Mark IV as well! Let's hope Boogie agrees.

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screamingdaisy said:

..... a Mark V Special would be pretty cool (4xEL84s, 5w/15w/30w modes... like the LSS

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Count me in for one of those!

Dom

Koprofag said:

Nomad100 said:

What I would like to see is a mini MkIIC+. That's the amp I would buy in a second.

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Now that's a cash cow! AND it would leave the original alone for the purists.

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My short head Simulclass Mark II that can be choked down to 15 watts IS the closest thing that I want to see to a Mini-Mark. It and a compact 1x12 cabinet are the ultimate "dragonslayer" as far as I am concerned. 8)

JOEY B. said:

My short head Simulclass Mark II that can be choked down to 15 watts IS the closest thing that I want to see to a Mini-Mark. It and a compact 1x12 cabinet are the ultimate "dragonslayer" as far as I am concerned. 8)

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Made me think of this for some reason. :evil:

There isn't any room left inside the head now. No way that would work unless they cut a ton of features that make Mark series amps what they are.

Made me think of these.

I agree:

Scary said:

There isn't any room left inside the head now. No way that would work unless they cut a ton of features that make Mark series amps what they are.

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I hate to rain on the party but how will they fit the 5-band EQ and all those other knobs? Perhaps a scaled down feature version without as many bells & whistles is possible.

... and don't know what you guys' occupations are but if you ever sit in the company's meeting with the 'marketing and R & D meetings' how many arguments comes up when there's a new product to be design and soon to be introduction to the market. The marketing department wants that product out as soon as possible knowing they'll make sells. The R&D department wants a great product out there and wants every tweet, bugs, ironed out. Randall Smith is the later.

He did say his "Dual Rectifier" was two years too late in capitalizing the market but how many companies has made similar unit? Marshall, Carvin, just to name a few. He wanted a great product, not just making fast sales.

RR said:

I agree:

Scary said:

There isn't any room left inside the head now. No way that would work unless they cut a ton of features that make Mark series amps what they are.

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I hate to rain on the party but how will they fit the 5-band EQ and all those other knobs? Perhaps a scaled down feature version without as many bells & whistles is possible.

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This is one of the first things I thought of and I have two points to this:
1) I don't know... but I'm intrigued enough to open up Illustrator and Visio and at least map out a potential faceplate to scale (although obviously this has nothing to do with fitting the internals)
2) It would absolutely HAVE TO be a scaled down version when it comes to features so that it A) could be priced in the ~$1000 range, B) doesn't cannibalize sales from the Mark V, C) can physically fit in a smaller format. I think a perfect mini version of the Mark V wouldn't make much business sense.

I didn't even think about it until someone mentioned it earlier but maybe the best way to do a mini-mark would be to do two separate amps after-all, the IIC+ and IV.

Because of size and price, it would have to be 2-channel, no GEQ or reverb, channel switch only, basic loop only (if at all). Maybe there would be a "scoop" switch in lieu of a full GEQ.

I think that you could get a characteristic Mark tone out of it, but that most people would be disappointed when they tried to actually tweak the tone to match their full-size Mark.

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Koprofag said:

But aren't many of the components smaller in the post-III Marks? I bet a I, II or III could be re-built at half the size using modern components and PCB designs.

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Modern components and PCB designs could very well screw up a great sounding vintage Boogie tone.

elvis said:

Because of size and price, it would have to be 2-channel, no GEQ or reverb, channel switch only, basic loop only (if at all). Maybe there would be a "scoop" switch in lieu of a full GEQ.

I think that you could get a characteristic Mark tone out of it, but that most people would be disappointed when they tried to actually tweak the tone to match their full-size Mark.

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I think you're dead-on with it having to be 2-channel and basic loop for cost reasons. However, I think the graphic EQ is vital to the success of the amp and worth the extra bit of cost. I think the traditional EQ would be near impossible to fit so I drew a mock-up for fun that is very close to scale using small EQ sliders similar to a 15 or 31 band rack EQ. I measured the faceplate of my Mini-Recto and used small knobs from an Analogman pedal that look very similar to the Mark V knobs. Admittedly though, the EQ size is completely guessed as I didn't have an EQ on hand to measure. If someone has one and wants to measure the PRECISE width, length, and spacing I could update the drawing. Honestly though, I'd prefer a way to switch between IIC+ and IV via footswitch but who knows how realistic that is. I did it in the style of the drawings in the Mesa manuals although I drew all the shapes myself without tracing. The layout seemed to fit best when done similar to the Mini-Recto.

I doubt they would strip down their flagship model only to show up a day late to a fad party.