breaking in the Mark V

[wnlively]

After Purchasing the Mark V . I had mixed feelings, How could a Amp that sounds so good have so many problems?

Static and Popping noises when you first turn the amp on.
Hissing Noise in all 3 channels.
Itermeidate popping when switching channels (10w 45w and 90w).
Clicking noise like the fan is hitting some thing (with the fan off) Which I belive are the switchig relays, because the noise quit after i unpluged the footswitch
Loud pop when turning the amp off.

I belive that in a effort to cut cost (or get the mark V out the door )that mesa got a bad bunch of tubes pre and power.

I use the Mark V live and after quite a few hours of stage time all of the problems have gone away , except for the channel pop.
So it is my feelings that the Mark V needs a break in period.

If you are having problems , hang in there my Mark V got better the more its been played.

wnlively

 

[Nermel]

First off...glad most of the issues went away

Secondly..I had popping problems but that was fixed with new Power Tubes...talk to you dealer

 

[Shang Chi 66]

I,ve experienced some slight "popping" when switching channels, but nothing major. Thanks for letting folks know you guys that a tube swap may clear up the probelm.

I quess only time will tell as we go if reliability will turn out to be a concern. Mesa has an fairly good track record, so I,m not particularily worried about it.

I never wrote a full review because I,m one of the last here to get their amp, and most here have already heard the " pros & cons" of it...just allow me to say that so far, with limited hours on it, I am throughly impressed.

Beautiful, full cleans, nice in-between just clipping tones, classic rock sounds, liquid lead solo tones, skull crushing rhythm work capability, it,s all there.

I won,t get into the arguement of it versus the IIC+ or IV. I,ve never owned or played those models, but I,m sure they are great amps. Are they "better" than the latest Mark? Can there be a final, absolute answer to such a question with so many variables & opinions at stake? With this amplifier being brand new against those 20-30 year old iconic models?

I really don,t believe how that would be possible...at least not now.

But mainly because, you like what you like, and go with (use) that! That,s my mantra!


I come into Boogie land with a clean slate, and state of mind so to speak, able to judge the Mark 5 strictly by it,s own merits and sounds.

And if it,s not a dead on dupe of it,s predecessors in every way, for me that,s not important...in that, besides clips, I don,t know, but mostly, don,t care.

It is what it is for me. A nice, toneful amp that has met my expectations.

I,m very pleased that I stuck it out and waited...

 

[lesterpaul]

I,ve experienced some slight "popping" when switching channels, but nothing major. Thanks for letting folks know you guys that a tube swap may clear up the probelm.

I quess only time will tell as we go if reliability will turn out to be a concern. Mesa has an fairly good track record, so I,m not particularily worried about it.

I never wrote a full review because I,m one of the last here to get their amp, and most here have already heard the " pros & cons" of it...just allow me to say that so far, with limited hours on it, I am throughly impressed.

Beautiful, full cleans, nice in-between just clipping tones, classic rock sounds, liquid lead solo tones, skull crushing rhythm work capability, it,s all there.

I won,t get into the arguement of it versus the IIC+ or IV. I,ve never owned or played those models, but I,m sure they are great amps. Are they "better" than the latest Mark? Can there be a final, absolute answer to such a question with so many variables & opinions at stake? With this amplifier being brand new against those 20-30 year old iconic models?

I really don,t believe how that would be possible...at least not now.

But mainly because, you like what you like, and go with (use) that! That,s my mantra!


I come into Boogie land with a clean slate, and state of mind so to speak, able to judge the Mark 5 strictly by it,s own merits and sounds.

And if it,s not a dead on dupe of it,s predecessors in every way, for me that,s not important...in that, besides clips, I don,t know, but mostly, don,t care.

It is what it is for me. A nice, toneful amp that has met my expectations.

I,m very pleased that I stuck it out and waited...

....

 

[primal]

When you guys say popping are we talking about the same type of pop you get when going to channel 3 on Roadster or Road King?

If one of you guys who have heard the Roadster or Roadking channel pop, let me know how they compare.

My Mark IV has an ever so slight channel pop when going to channel 1. But it is barely audible.

The RoadKing/Roadster when switching to channel 3 can wake the dead! Doesn't happen all the time but I have heard it on the Roadster and Road King 1 and 2.

 

[JohnDNJ]

I,ve experienced some slight "popping" when switching channels, but nothing major. Thanks for letting folks know you guys that a tube swap may clear up the probelm.

I quess only time will tell as we go if reliability will turn out to be a concern. Mesa has an fairly good track record, so I,m not particularily worried about it.

I never wrote a full review because I,m one of the last here to get their amp, and most here have already heard the " pros & cons" of it...just allow me to say that so far, with limited hours on it, I am throughly impressed.

Beautiful, full cleans, nice in-between just clipping tones, classic rock sounds, liquid lead solo tones, skull crushing rhythm work capability, it,s all there.

I won,t get into the arguement of it versus the IIC+ or IV. I,ve never owned or played those models, but I,m sure they are great amps. Are they "better" than the latest Mark? Can there be a final, absolute answer to such a question with so many variables & opinions at stake? With this amplifier being brand new against those 20-30 year old iconic models?

I really don,t believe how that would be possible...at least not now.

But mainly because, you like what you like, and go with (use) that! That,s my mantra!


I come into Boogie land with a clean slate, and state of mind so to speak, able to judge the Mark 5 strictly by it,s own merits and sounds.

And if it,s not a dead on dupe of it,s predecessors in every way, for me that,s not important...in that, besides clips, I don,t know, but mostly, don,t care.

It is what it is for me. A nice, toneful amp that has met my expectations.

I,m very pleased that I stuck it out and waited...

You have it lucky friend. Do yourself a favor and never touch a real IIc+ or IV.

 

[cdnboogie]

With My Mark V combo I get the following: (It's from the first run of Mark v's)

-NO popping when switching between the 3 channels.
-slight popping when flipping through the wattages (10/45/90)
-crackling noises from my tubes when warming up and as they are being turned off.

I'm most concerned about the crackling noises from the tubes - is this normal?

 

[Nermel]

Yeah that's normal...just metal and/or glass expanding from the heat

 

[Nermel]

You have it lucky friend. Do yourself a favor and never touch a real IIc+ or IV.

Man these stupid "real IIc+ or IV" comments are getting **** old...it's been said a million times that original IIc+ or IV owners like there amps better...and you know what, that's great.

I think it's probably about time that you either...A) stop posting negative info in this section of the forum (unless it's new info)...or B) Post your comments under the Vintage Amplifier/Mark IV or IIc+ area.

 

[scott7d]

Sorry if this has already been said, but if you read the manual, the popping noises from switching wattage is normal, and unavoidable. But, it also says it will in no way hurt the amp.

Sorry to hear about the rest of the problems. Mine has been working just fine :?

 

[Shang Chi 66]

You have it lucky friend. Do yourself a favor and never touch a real IIc+ or IV.

Man these stupid "real IIc+ or IV" comments are getting **** old...it's been said a million times that original IIc+ or IV owners like there amps better...and you know what, that's great.

I think it's probably about time that you either...A) stop posting negative info in this section of the forum (unless it's new info)...or B) Post your comments under the Vintage Amplifier/Mark IV or IIc+ area.

And you know, that,s alright, really...it,s to be expected. These folks have had the luxury of owning/playing those wonderful, previous models for years now, and their opinions are what they are...

I do agree that it is kind of a shame that some shag what another likes (sometimes over & over), seemingly for no other reason than to try to, "rain on the parade" so to speak...what,s wrong with letting folks taking the time (on a forum specifically dedicated to it) to enjoy what they like? 5, IV, IIC+, there are great Boogie amps for everyone to own & celebrate!

If one has stated that they feel the previous Marks to be superior in some way, that,s great, and I appreciate their opinion. But I,m not one to dog out another players amp just to try and make some foolish apperance that, "hey ya,ll, your new amp isn,t what you think, THEY CAN,T TOUCH AMP X!" What,s the point to that?

In the end, who ever it may be is still going to believe in what they like, and I,m definately still going to like my amp! Because at the end of the day, it,s always going to wind up, to each his/her own!

.... [/quote]

And yeah, thanks Les...you were one of the cats that kept saying, just be patient Shang and stick it out, it,ll be worth it...and you were dead on my man!

 

[WillPlayForFood]

Hey wnlively, Thanks for the info on the break-in period. I only have a few hours on it now and there are a few little things, pop here and there, yet I am so totally stoked that I really don't care!! I will try it out at a gig this weekend...can't wait!!

FWIW, I have 2 Mark IV's and I love them. I am not selling my Mark IV's because I have a Five, I want it all, HA :lol:

What's real is I love the sounds I am getting from the Mark V and feel like I will be able to cover most, if not all of the Mark IV sounds I love with the Mark V, given enough time. I mean really, I don't know how many hours I have spent tweaking my Mark IV's. I have an early 80's, A model, and a B model (not sure of the year). Each is just enough of an individual character that I honestly would hate to speculate on how much tweaking has been done. That said, I feel like I want to really take my time with the Mark V and get to know it. I really dig the cleans in channel 1 and the crunch on channel 2. Those are easy to dial in and provide tons to work with just there. I will need to spend some time with channel 3 before I draw any conclusions, lot's to play with there though. I haven't really even had much time to fiddle with the EQ set-up. Plus, the various wattage options, diode/tube choices, and normal/bright switches.

Regardless, I am just happy to have a sweet new amp!! Oh yeah, I am liking the solo button on the foot switch. The Mark IV foot switch doesn't have that and it's a great feature.

Hope you all enjoy getting to know your new amps and have as much fun as I am having, exploring...

Peace

 

[wnlively]

It just seems that the more hours I put on the Mark V. The better it gets.
As far as the popping goes it happens every now and then when I switch channels
and it happens no matter what voltage im using. ( i can live with it)

On stage im using the 90 watt setting, mostly using channel 1 & 2.
I love the solo feature and really use it more than i do channel 3.

When it comes down to all of the whinning from the IIc+ owners , that claim that the Mark V doesnt sound Like a IIc+.
Well guess what ? Its a Mark V !!!. The IIc+ circut on channel 3 sounds cool x 10 no matter
what you might think.

wnlively

 

[cam]

I have the popping too. ANd the 5 is sounding much better the more I play it... until...
Fri night, middle of 2nd set it's like the sound was crackely and shorting out then NO SOUND. Checked tubes Sat and the Rectifier Tube was BAD. Replaced it, played with it for 1/2 hour or so... sounded great... took it back to the gig last night.... warmed up for 45 mins or so, 1st song and 1st note of the lead ride... 1/2 a note and NO SOUND.

You guys have any idea? I'm sure the new Rect Tube is bad again but something is causing this besides the tube!

 

[Nermel]

Might be bad electricity

 

[cam]

It's a place with not the best electricity but I played there last month with the amp w/o problems. I always have the amp on a voltage regulator too.

 

[Nermel]

Is that the same thing as a power conditioner?? might want to talk to you dealer about it

 

[MarkIVwidebody]

I had popping sounds the first 2 or 3 times I turned on my amp but then never again. No popping during channel switching at all. The same for my friend's Mark V-no problems.

 

[cam]

Is that the same thing as a power conditioner?? might want to talk to you dealer about it

Yeh it's the Furnman AR 15 II conditioner/voltage regulator. Definitely gonna call the dealer again tomorrow, prob will have to deal with Mesa though... gonna be big time phuqued if I have to send it for repair... no backup Mark 5!!! Can't say I'm happy!

 

[Masterof1angel]

yeah, mine's doing the same kinda ****. it pops randomly (not often) when switching channels with different power settings, usually the first time you switch it, and also, randomly cycles through the 3 channels quickly while clicking and no sound. this happens when you hit eq, then change from channel 2 to 3. to make it do it again, click back to 2, hit eq 2x, then go to 3 again. I switched midi cables and it stopped so maybe it's that.