I picked up the Mark V head Friday at a local music store.
Channel 1... I have a Mark I reissue, and I think they pretty much nailed it. I think I actually prefer the Mark V over the Mark I. The EQ is a very nice addition as well. For my ears, to use the preset EQ the Preset Depth needs to be turned down pretty low. Comparing it with my Roadster, which allegedly has cleans similar to the Mark 1, the Mark V does a much better job IMO.
Also... maybe just my imagination, but the cleans sound very good thru a 4x12. I played thru a recto 4x12 in the store and an Engl at home (both w/ v30s). Usually, I highly prefer open-back cabs for cleans... in this case, comparing a Mesa 3/4 back 1x12 beside a 4x12 closed back, I found either one to be very usable. In general, this amp seems less finicky than many others.
Channel 2... Same comments on the Mark I. The Mark I has separate gains for each of the two cascading pre-amps, so I'd imagine there are sounds the Mark I has that might not be reproducible on the Mark V, but for my usage, it accomplishes everything I needed from the Mark I.
Channel 3... So many great sounds here. The gain is not extremely high, but has a lot of power. I don't think there's any way to get Rectifier sounds out of this (with the amp alone), but great lead tones, and heavy rhythm tones galore. I found a lot of tones I liked with minimal tweaking... it seems to take far less effort to get very usable sound from the Mark V compared to the rectos.
Another note, unlike my Roadster, I found each of the the 3 setting for each of the three channels very usable.
I've never owned a Mark IV so I can't make any comparisons there. I'm loving this amp!!
Channel 1... I have a Mark I reissue, and I think they pretty much nailed it. I think I actually prefer the Mark V over the Mark I. The EQ is a very nice addition as well. For my ears, to use the preset EQ the Preset Depth needs to be turned down pretty low. Comparing it with my Roadster, which allegedly has cleans similar to the Mark 1, the Mark V does a much better job IMO.
Also... maybe just my imagination, but the cleans sound very good thru a 4x12. I played thru a recto 4x12 in the store and an Engl at home (both w/ v30s). Usually, I highly prefer open-back cabs for cleans... in this case, comparing a Mesa 3/4 back 1x12 beside a 4x12 closed back, I found either one to be very usable. In general, this amp seems less finicky than many others.
Channel 2... Same comments on the Mark I. The Mark I has separate gains for each of the two cascading pre-amps, so I'd imagine there are sounds the Mark I has that might not be reproducible on the Mark V, but for my usage, it accomplishes everything I needed from the Mark I.
Channel 3... So many great sounds here. The gain is not extremely high, but has a lot of power. I don't think there's any way to get Rectifier sounds out of this (with the amp alone), but great lead tones, and heavy rhythm tones galore. I found a lot of tones I liked with minimal tweaking... it seems to take far less effort to get very usable sound from the Mark V compared to the rectos.
Another note, unlike my Roadster, I found each of the the 3 setting for each of the three channels very usable.
I've never owned a Mark IV so I can't make any comparisons there. I'm loving this amp!!
