Calling Mesa Mark V owners and Mark series fans

matt1973

I love old Mk series boogie amps but they’re not without flaw. Will a Mark V get me very similar tones to a Mark IIB and Mark III without the laser beam projection? Can it do so without monsterous volume when the master is at ‘2’ and garbage at anything less?

All help appreciated.

webrthomson

Love Mesa Mark amps and I think the Mark V is an absolutely amazing amp – they took the Mark IV and made the control layout, well, sane I guess

I also think the IIC+ mode is pretty spot on for what they were trying to achieve, remembering that it was modelled on a specific IIC+, not all the IIC+’s ever made. Does it wound like a IIB or a Mark III – not 100% the DNA is there and I’m sure you could get close enough that you wouldn’t know in a blind test.

As to the cone of death you get from of all the Mark series combos, the MC90 in the combo to a certain extent does not do this as much as the EV12L does and the Mark V only comes in the wider format combo and head so the smaller format IMHO added lot to this narrow spread. TBH I still bought a head and vary the speaker format as the venue dictates, normally a 2x12, but when using a 4x12 it’s amazing!

I find, for a Mesa, the master volume is surprisingly good – the older marks had a volume taper that was pretty much on / off in some cases. And it sounds good at all level of wattage settings and all volumes – I use mine in the house with no issues. You also have the 90/45/5 watt settings to play with too, thought I find they change the feel way more than the actual volume.

If you like the Mark sound the Mark V is hard to beat, so unless you want the IIC+ sound in which case get the JP-2C, I’d say the Mark V is a more rounded amp.

spirit7

Definitely consider a Mark V:25 too. I run it through the 1x12 slant and it sounds massive and so nicely rounded. As good as my old Mark IV combo but a much wider projection.  I love it...but would love to try a JP-2C or pick up a cheap Mark IV head  

RandallFlagg

I've got the Mark V 35 combo, it's really good. I've no idea how authentic the Mark IIc mode is but it's the more mid rangey of the channel 2 modes but the tone can easily be shaped how you want with the GEQ.

It can be a loud amp, even on the 10 watts setting but the master volume taper is good and I'm currently really enjoying the crunch mode on 25 watts set for a lightish crunch and use it at home volumes no problem. It sounds quite “Marshally” on the crunch mode.

Something I do really like on the 35 (it's on the Mark V 25 too) is the active mid/gain boost on the channel 1 mid control, which starts to work as you dial past 12 o clock, it can get the clean mode clipping nicely for a Texas Bluesy driven Fender type thing.

Another useful feature is the 2 independent footswitchable solo boosts on each channel, these can be set to reduce volume as well as boost, it's like having 2 clean boost pedals in the fx loop. 

if I was gigging I would probably add a Thiele 1x12 to sit underneath.

 

prlgmnr

I run the Mark V into a 2x12 with v30s and it sounds great at just about every volume level, with tweaking. This is just on the channel master without the FX loop volume, I tend to keep the loop out of the circuit as I've convinced myself it sounds better.

RandallFlagg

popular these Mark Vs aren't they!

uncledick

RandallFlagg said:

popular these Mark Vs aren't they!

There aren't going to be many who've had a 2B or 3 as well as a Mk5 to compare.  I've recently bought a Mk5 and it's an awesome beast.  I'm particularly struck by how well the stock speaker works across such a wide range of tones.

matt1973

uncledick said:

RandallFlagg said:

popular these Mark Vs aren't they!

There aren't going to be many who've had a 2B or 3 as well as a Mk5 to compare.  I've recently bought a Mk5 and it's an awesome beast.  I'm particularly struck by how well the stock speaker works across such a wide range of tones.

Well I have now that I’ve bought one. I can’t really say how close it is until I’ve used it in action but the Mark series karma is, as others have suggested, very much in evidence.