Anyone else notice this...

[theweatherman]

I had a mkv back in 2009. an early version. i didnt like channel 3. now i have a new version and i LOVE channel 3. seems like mesa made a few stealthy changes. I also remember on the early version the graphic eq light on the front was red, now it is orange. Am i the only one noticing this? i feel like im taking crazy pills!!

 

[eudaimonia02912]

Someone else posted a thread like this about 2 months ago, so I guess that means the answer is yes.

 

[Rkorn]

Is the amp that different???
I know mine 38** sounds like a 6**

Or maybe its just a light bulb that's different.

 

[satch4u3]

I have to say, I noticed this too. When the first Mark V came out I wasn't in love with it like I am now. I actually returned it and revisited it again later. My current serial number is in the mid 4000's and it has a black grate tube protector so it is one of the newer ones. I found most of the channels alot better... especially channel 3.

On a side note... I am not sure if any production models left the factory this way but on Mesa's website but if you look at the photos of the Mark V from the rear under "The Full Story" section, the rotary knobs for the Channel select and the loop assign are the same type knobs used on the front. Totally unrelated I know, but I thought I'd mention it as one of the things I noticed that was different. Again maybe none left the factory this way.

 

[Boognoob]

Holy ****. Look at the LEDs on this vid: This is looks like a post-004000, judging by that orange EQ change...

And listen to the lowend brutality and extra thickness even in 2c+ mode... Definitely seems to be a different voicing to my old 0008XX, to my ear...!

Channels 1 and 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-u1AmMvGHw

Channel 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF97MKByOi8
(Go to 7:47 for a close up showing the LEDs in question better)

 

[theroan]

I don't know man. I recorded this with my under 300 serial number Mark V. Extreme on one side and Mark IIc+ on the other. Sound pretty brutal.

http://www.roestudios.com/dump/New.mp3

 

[Rkorn]

Pretty brutal!!!!!
The Mark V is the ultimate amp for high gain!!!!! Maybe chuga chuga Rec is best... but all the rest!!!! What an amp!!!

Mine is 38** and it has a black grill also... I thought all of them were like this!! Is there a picture of a non grill one???

 

[Boognoob]

I don't know man. I recorded this with my under 300 serial number Mark V. Extreme on one side and Mark IIc+ on the other. Sound pretty brutal.

http://www.roestudios.com/dump/New.mp3

Tasty...!! But a different sound that that vid kicks out. IIc+ mode sounded way more brutal and pissed off like maybe in the pre-stage and/or post stage or something. Sounds more aggressive than in the audioclip or any sound I ever got out of my V.

I wasnt saying the old ones were ****, just that the one in that clip was more intense, bigger lower sounding than anything Ive heard from an older model V..

Who knows? Im gonna have to join the "Call me crazy, but..." queue for now...
Nice clip!

 

[theweatherman]

The change doesn't seem like a big one, but big enough for me to notice and like the newer mkv better. I have a 39## and it has the black tube cage. I'm glad im not the only one noticing these subtle changes. Of course boogie would never admit to the voicing changes even if we asked them

 

[satch4u3]

Holy sh!t. Look at the LEDs on this vid: This is looks like a post-004000, judging by that orange EQ change...

And listen to the lowend brutality and extra thickness even in 2c+ mode... Definitely seems to be a different voicing to my old 0008XX, to my ear...!

Channels 1 and 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-u1AmMvGHw

Channel 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF97MKByOi8
(Go to 7:47 for a close up showing the LEDs in question better)

Thanks for posting these links. I really enjoyed watching them. These are probably the best vids that I have seen that actually showcases how I hear my Mark V. I enjoyed the Petrucci vids a while back but I didn't feel that they captured the actual tone that I hear from a Mark V. Yes he was playing through a Mark V but to me there sounded like that there were other things happening as far as how he was getting his sound. Anyways, i didn't mean to hijack the thread. As you were.

 

[Boognoob]

Holy sh!t. Look at the LEDs on this vid: This is looks like a post-004000, judging by that orange EQ change...

And listen to the lowend brutality and extra thickness even in 2c+ mode... Definitely seems to be a different voicing to my old 0008XX, to my ear...!

Channels 1 and 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-u1AmMvGHw

Channel 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF97MKByOi8
(Go to 7:47 for a close up showing the LEDs in question better)

Thanks for posting these links. I really enjoyed watching them. These are probably the best vids that I have seen that actually showcases how I hear my Mark V. I enjoyed the Petrucci vids a while back but I didn't feel that they captured the actual tone that I hear from a Mark V. Yes he was playing through a Mark V but to me there sounded like that there were other things happening as far as how he was getting his sound. Anyways, i didn't mean to hijack the thread. As you were.

You're most welcome.

 

[Boognoob]

Been obsessed by this thread all day.... nice one weatherman! :lol:

 

[phyrexia]

My 518 sounds better than the new one we have at work. I think it's all a tube issue and I'm not so sure if there is actually a circuit change.

I bet if we took a really early V and a brand new one and put the same tubes in each amp they'd sound pretty close.

 

[Vogelsong]

Pretty brutal!!!!!
The Mark V is the ultimate amp for high gain!!!!! Maybe chuga chuga Rec is best... but all the rest!!!! What an amp!!!

Mine is 38** and it has a black grill also... I thought all of them were like this!! Is there a picture of a non grill one???

Min is a 2700, it has a grill but its white.

 

[phyrexia]

The tube grille is just for UL regulations.

 

[iceman]

I noticed also that "Variac" power is labeled "Tweed" on this picture on Mesa's site (linked from the mesaboogie.com/news)

http://mesaboogie.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/m5_centersm-750x370.jpg

Obviously this is cosmetic.. but I guess who knows what else is a changing.. Also I'm not sure if Tweed is the new label or Variac is.

 

[MBJunkie]

I bought my MkV combo in September 2009. I have played it as my main amp for practicing at home, rehearsals and gigs until about 2 or 3 months ago.....when I experminented with other brand "x,y,z" amps....some of which I also like for my needs.

Anyway, this past weekend.....I fired up the MkV again.....and immediately realized and appreciated how great of an amp it really is. Having set it aside for a while and playing other amps made me appreciate it more after playing through it again. Some of the same new feelings that I had toward the V (after a brief sidelining) may be similar to others who previously parted ways with their V and came back to it recently. Just a thought.

The point that I am trying to make is that while it is possible that MB may have significantly changed the MkV design since Sept. 2009...I seriously doubt it. It is also possible that those that have "come back to the V" after playing alternate amps for a while....have just happened across some settings that sound devine which they didn't previously find. After all, most MkV owners do realize the vastly different sounds achievable from the V, and some times it is just a matter of a slight turn of a particular knob in a particular mode. At least this has been my experience.

Historically, MB is fairly good about "anouncing" major changes to their products, and in my opinion......the MkV has only seen some very minor changes since its inception.

Does anybody own both a "vintage" MkV (earliest release) and a recent release to make a true comparison? Please chime in if you do. IMO, that would be the only way to do a true comparison between the "original MkV" and the current MkV.

 

[lollo80]

Hi everyone, I'm new.

I'd like to tell you my story: I have a mark V #3xxx (bought in aug 2010) and since I heard about this "stealth" modification I became a bit upset just thinking about the money I've spent for this awesome head. So, when I had to send it to the technical assistance for addressing another problem, I also wrote to the technicians that I knew about some modifications since the #4000 and, if that was true, I asked to update mine to that latest version. They replied me saying that no modifications were made and that my head is identical to all the mark V's in production since the beginning. My head sounds quite good though, but I had to get around those harsh high frequencies (see another post in the boogie board) and what initially I thought was a lack of gain in ch.3. Let me say that now I've become more confident with the controls (including the eq) and I'm getting very cool sounds from my amp (loaded with a 2x12 recto vert). As someone already said, could it be all a suggestion? I hadn't got the chance to try another (newer) mark v yet.

 

[Boognoob]

I noticed also that "Variac" power is labeled "Tweed" on this picture on Mesa's site (linked from the mesaboogie.com/news)

http://mesaboogie.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/m5_centersm-750x370.jpg

Obviously this is cosmetic.. but I guess who knows what else is a changing.. Also I'm not sure if Tweed is the new label or Variac is.

My combo had "Variac" on it, and that was a 00008xx

 

[thunder100]

My take on + 30 years of tube amp playing ,and having now my 2nd Boogie and my first Mark V (played Mark I long time ago but wasnt mine) is that amps with the serial number one after the other(3007-3008),which are handwired like the Mark V are,will never sound same-sound very similar but not same.I cannot proof this on Mark V but could do so in the past with seveal Marshalls

The only think what let me guess on an update is that the old manual has been renewed from May 2010,but this may be the poping noise on channel switch-->And new manual replace all elder

Roland