ED player thinking about jumping ship, a few questions...

[firefly1235]

If any of you are interested in my tonal strife lately, I've got an active topic in the Electra Dyne section you can check out.
Long story short, I hate my ED...

I'm almost sure I'm going to sell it, I might try and make it work one more time, but I'm at the end of my rope with that thing.
If it does go, I've had my eye on the Mark V ever since Boogie came on my radar a few years back. So I have a few, very basic questions about it.

1. Does the 1x12 combo lack bass response? I found that in certain Mesa 1x12's (specifically the LSS and Express amps) lack general girth in the low frequencies. Does the MKV suffer from this at all?

2. I realize that dialing in a Mark series amp is a serious time commitment, that is not for the impatient, and I'm okay with that. The basic sound I'm going for is a warm, smooth clean from ch1, a tight, punchy, fat crunch from ch2 and a violin-esque, THICK, liquid lead tone from ch3...Are these tones available out of the MKV, or would I be better off looking at another amp, if they're in there, I don't mind meticulously twisting knobs and modes until I find it.

3. Is there any delay or pop when switching channels? I use a TC G-System to switch channels on my amp and I've found that it amplifies these qualities in amps that have them, will this be a problem with the MKV?


Thanks for your time guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[eudaimonia02912]

1. Compared to a closed back combo or a 4x12, yes, but it has more bass than an Express. I pair my combo with an external cab.
2. That should be a piece of cake.
3. Some people have pops; others don't.

 

[Rkorn]

1. Compared to a closed back combo or a 4x12, yes, but it has more bass than an Express. I pair my combo with an external cab.
2. That should be a piece of cake.
3. Some people have pops; others don't.

These pops aren't audible at any volume outside home volume.

 

[dudleydawson]

what do you hate about the ED? i came to my V by way of ED-->LSC-->mkV. maybe i can provide some insight...

 

[MBJunkie]

firefly....
My quick answer to your questions are similar to others that have posted but here goes:

1. Yes, my MkV combo lacks bass compared to my previously owned ED 1x12 combo (which I owned for 8 months), but I consider that a good thing. I had to set the bass on my ED lower than 10 o'clock (usually closer to 9 o'clock) to obtain a good tonally balanced sound when footswitching between all modes of the ED. That being said, I am not after chest rattling bass response for the style of music that I play. The MkV offers plenty of bass response for my needs without engaging the GEQ, but can also provide much more bass response when engaged if that is what you desire. Still....the ED is definitely inherently more bass heavy.
2. Piece of cake! The V offers 3 channels with completely independent gain, tone and presence controls.....and each channel has 3 modes to choose from.
3. I haven't experienced any "pops" when footswitching between any modes of any channels as long as each channel is set to either 45W or 90W. It can be any combination of this. I also haven't experienced any "pops" when footswitching between all 3 channels when ALL of them are set to 10W mode. However, others posters have indicated their experiences to be otherwise. I have also not used a G System or any other devise that offers effects and channel footswitching other than using the stock footswitch provided with the V...so can not be of much help with that question.

However, what is it about the ED that isn't working for you? This would be helpful information to the MkV forum members to provide you with their honest opinions.

In my case, the ED didn't work for me as a rehearsing/gigging amp because I struggled to achieve a nice balanced footswitchable clean, crunch, and lead sound (tone and volume) with my ED. While many praise the ED for ease of dialing in good sounds.....I found the amp to lack in the flexibility that I needed while playing during rehearsal or live situations, and it needed to be played quite loudly to achieve the great sounds it is very capable of achieving.

With the V, I can taylor each of the 3 channesl to my specific needs and have the added features of footswitchable reverb, GEQ, effects loop and solo boost. I also find the V to sound surprisingly good at low volumes which is a nice plus.

I have owned my MkV combo since Sept. 2009 and have had zero problems thus far! It continues to be a great amp for my needs!

I hope this helps and best of luck whatever you decide!

 

[firefly1235]

I figured some people would ask what my misgivings about the ED was when I started this thread...

In short, I find that as the master volume goes up all of the fattness and punch vanishes, the amp gets extremely tight and bright. At lower volumes (master at 8-8:30) it sounds wonderfully thick and creamy, but lacks gain. When I turn the volume up, I get the gain that I want, but all the tone goes away and I am left with a stiff, brittle, thin sound. Everything sounds very dry, and while there is lots of gain, the general tone sounds and feels weak.

More info is here
http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=52024

 

[JOEY B.]

Your speaker and cabinet type will greatly affect how you ED sounds as the volume is increased. I found this out tonight with the EVM-12L loaded 1x12 thiele. It is one of my favorite cabs used with the Mark series. The ED did not pair with it very well.

 

[jeppekristoffer]

To answer your question about the delay thing!
There is a delay in the reverb when you switch channel. That is when you hit a channel switch button the sound from the guitar is NOT delayed but the reverb in the channel you switched to is cut of for a second or so and then "swelles" back.
I talked to Mesa about it and YES it´s intentional in the build structure.

Take care!
Regards/Jesper

 

[ixoye777]

2. CH1 is easy to dial in. CH2 is excellent but unlike almost everyone else here I think the crunch mode is the weakest of the three available. It sounds like a poor mans Marshall crunch to me. Edge and Mark1 are amazing. CH3 is by far the most difficult to dial in for me and I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with it.

3. My V pops when changing channels.

 

[satch4u3]

I came from an ED head to a V head. Here is my expereince.

Like you I found the amp to be dry and sterile once I got the volume and gain they way I wanted it. but it had to be loud. To loud for gigging and jamming for my band. I to found to very hard to dial in decent tones across all three channels. Something always had to suffer to get a really good tone on one of three channels.

Back when the Mark V first came out I was fortunate enough to be able to go to my local music store and bring home a Mark V combo and do a gig with it. I found that it did lack a little bass at first until I learned how to properly dial in the Mark 1 mode! Bottom line is it won't have the bottom end gurth that the ED has. In reality you don't need that in a live situation. Your bass player has that covered! Although once you pair it an external cabinet you get a more rounder sound. I run mine with a Horizonal Recto 212 cab and I have all the bass I need.

When it comes dialing it in, it will take time to find your sound. But once you do it's soooo worth it. This is the type of amp that grows with you as the sound in your head changes over the years. There are so many tones to be had it can drive a tone chaser mad!

I don't expereince any pop unless like previous posters have mentioned: I come from a channel in 10 watts to a channel in 45 or 90. As indicated in the owners manual this is normal.

Good luck with your decison!

what do you hate about the ED? i came to my V by way of ED-->LSC-->mkV. maybe i can provide some insight...

What was your expereince with the LSC? I have been very interested in this same amp from watching the Andy Timmons videos. Sounds like a dream! I have never had the pleasure of hearing one in person.

 

[BoogiePete]

1. Does the 1x12 combo lack bass response? I found that in certain Mesa 1x12's (specifically the LSS and Express amps) lack general girth in the low frequencies.

I have no experience with the LSS but my Express 5:50 1x12 kicks out an awful lot of bottom end. With the contour set at around 2pm and bass controls around 10am there is almost too much. My combo is sat on the floor (wooden) which I guess helps with this. On the Burn channel with gain at 2pm and MV at 9am it makes the stuff on my shelves rattle with the amount low end being kicked out! I'd say an Express that isn't kicking out enough low end isn't very well at all. I realise you're only putting across your own experience with the Express though.

I've only had about an hour with the MKV combo but I found the Graphic to be an awesome tone shaping tool. There was plenty of low end 'ooomph' available with the two combos I tried. As I mentioned earlier, I think the combos really benefit from being on the floor as opposed to a stand etc.

 

[boogieman60]

As Far as bass response with the combo, any open back amp or cab is not going to have the thump of a closed back cab. Thats why I decided to get the widebody thiele closed back as an extention cab for my MKV combo. Stacked it has a huge sound for just 2 12's If you separate them, Its great too. Giving you almost a stereo type sound because of the differant response of the bottom ends...hope that helps.

 

[theweatherman]

I just came from a ED back to the mkv. If you think the ED was thin then you are REALLY gonna have a hard time with the mkv at volume. The V is a lot thinner, but for me its what i wanted, and for most guitarists it is a good thing. The fatness of the ED gets lost in a mix and the bass response too HUGE. The mkv has the perfect amount of bass when dialed in right with the GEQ but also has the right voicing and mids to slice through a mix (granted you dont bottom out your 750 slider). Other guitarist in my band has a marshall jcm 2000 and he ate my lunch when i used my ED. But now, with the V i cut through as good as his marshall but also have more low end and an overall sweeter tone. So if you are gigging id say the mkv is your best bet. Also, a 4x12 really fattens up the mkv. it is an amazing amp.

 

[firefly1235]

I just came from a ED back to the mkv. If you think the ED was thin then you are REALLY gonna have a hard time with the mkv at volume. The V is a lot thinner, but for me its what i wanted, and for most guitarists it is a good thing. The fatness of the ED gets lost in a mix and the bass response too HUGE. The mkv has the perfect amount of bass when dialed in right with the GEQ but also has the right voicing and mids to slice through a mix (granted you dont bottom out your 750 slider). Other guitarist in my band has a marshall jcm 2000 and he ate my lunch when i used my ED. But now, with the V i cut through as good as his marshall but also have more low end and an overall sweeter tone. So if you are gigging id say the mkv is your best bet. Also, a 4x12 really fattens up the mkv. it is an amazing amp.

Ok, that makes me think that there is something wrong with my ED...

The amp sounds fine at very low volumes but as soon as the master creeps up past 11 o'clock all of the girth and thickness disappears. Also, it is a lot crunchier than I want...I'm looking for a smoother tone.

 

[theweatherman]

I just came from a ED back to the mkv. If you think the ED was thin then you are REALLY gonna have a hard time with the mkv at volume. The V is a lot thinner, but for me its what i wanted, and for most guitarists it is a good thing. The fatness of the ED gets lost in a mix and the bass response too HUGE. The mkv has the perfect amount of bass when dialed in right with the GEQ but also has the right voicing and mids to slice through a mix (granted you dont bottom out your 750 slider). Other guitarist in my band has a marshall jcm 2000 and he ate my lunch when i used my ED. But now, with the V i cut through as good as his marshall but also have more low end and an overall sweeter tone. So if you are gigging id say the mkv is your best bet. Also, a 4x12 really fattens up the mkv. it is an amazing amp.

Ok, that makes me think that there is something wrong with my ED...

The amp sounds fine at very low volumes but as soon as the master creeps up past 11 o'clock all of the girth and thickness disappears. Also, it is a lot crunchier than I want...I'm looking for a smoother tone.

Maybe...the fact that you are turning it up to 11 o'clock and have lived to tell the tale says something. My ED was as loud on 45 watts and master at 9 o'clock as my mkv cranked to midnight on the output and in 90 watts. way too loud for a band, and way too loud in a room. check your tubes. the ED is the LOUDEST and FATTEST amp ive ever played.

 

[phyrexia]

Also, it is a lot crunchier than I want...I'm looking for a smoother tone.

i dont know if the ED is meant to be a smooth sounding amp. british amps aren't that smooth are they?

 

[Neptical]

Bro---get the Mark V and don't look back.

Your describing everything you want that the Mark V has.

Tight, thick, punchy,chunky, warm, smooth, sweet sustaining leads, crystal cleans.

ALL the tone you could ask for in an amp.

You said you didn't mind twisting and turning dials--****, you'd be in heaven. If you like that, you'll keep finding different tones for years to come. Not that it's hard to dial in either--but, there's so much variety that it'll be hard to stay on one particular setting for each channel.

The only thing I would recommend upon arrival is throwing some Winged =C='s in the power section and a mixture of Tungsol's and EH 12AX7s in the preamp section. That makes the amp so sweet and juicy it's ridiculous.


~Nep~

 

[Birdy]

Well....Last year I had both amps at the same time for 3 months.
Both great amps.
I always instinctively went for my Electra-dyne about 75% of the time
for various reasons....mainly the tone.
I've had my ED for over a year now....STILL love it every time I play it.