i don't like metal, but.....

[papersoul]

I think I want a Mark V. Do you all think it works well for alt rock tones, and 90s rock and grunge?

I almost bought an electradyne or royal Atlantic but those are too similar to my new 20th anniversary Bogner Shiva and PWE event horizon.

So I am into getting something more American sounding and that does 6L6s well.

Thanks!

 

[jmontgomery]

I think the Mark V can work very well for ANY type of music.

 

[SteveO]

I don't play metal, and I'm very happy with mine. I don't think the gains hardly ever get pushed past noon.

 

[bluestometal]

Mesa amps are absolutely NOT metal-only amps. Of course if you think at Rectos you'll think to NuMetal bands and if you think to Mark's you'll think to Metallica but, with a minimum research, you'll find out that artists of every genere uses Mesa amps. Just think that Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen uses a Mark 2c+ (the main Metallica tone amp), Sting uses a 400+ Bass amp, the guitarists from bands like Black Eyed Peas, Shania Twain, Alanis Morisette, Natalie Imbruglia and so uses Mark's and Rectos. The Mark V is an extremely versatile amp, you can control the tone shaping under every aspect, this makes the amp less immediate-dialing but allows you to obtain that tone you hear in your head. That also depends by what's for you "not-metal-sound", I mean, I've heard pop guitarist using a more saturated tone that what I use in my metal band. Think to Mesa's as extremely reliable amps, very well made, very tweakable and, most of the time, very loud that plays like a charm in every context and situation. My main advice is: try it, play wit it, if you like the basic "substance" of the tone then the rest's only "fine tuning".

 

[Tuna141]

I don't play metal and own a Mark V. The Mark V can cover a lot of ground.

 

[Jackie]

I think the Mark V can work very well for ANY type of music.

Have TriAxis/2:90 rig which is basically Mark V's older cousin in terms of versatility and such. Completely agree, can't go wrong with a Mark type amp.

 

[masque]

when i bought the mark v i was actually surprised at how "non-metal" it is.........to me it's just a great sounding rock amp......click on the tweed in channel one and run the gain up to about six or seven with a strat and you will be in rock heaven.

 

[dante]

I would have to say any Mark series amp can do what you need.

I am not a 'metal' guy, I play in a cheezy cover band, so versatility is paramount. We were learning Don't Stop the Sandman and I needed a decent metal tone. I was also shopping for an amp with warmer cleans than my current one, and I found the DC-5

My DC-5 hits the Metallica genre well with the trademark V-shaped EQ, but it really shines as a rock amp without the EQ (or with it set differently than the V). I could literally do a whole gig with one sound just by rolling down the volume knob and using picking attack variations. That's 4 hours of stuff from 70s Disco to 80s Metal to 90s Grunge to 00's Alternative stuff.

Extremely versatile amps, IMO.

 

[papersoul]

I don't want to have to be a tech head to get a good sound. I live that my Bogner Shiva is plug n play. I would love a Bogner XTC but that is a lot of money for a bedroom wanker in a cover band. I might just go Electradyne. We had a local guy who's Mark V caught fire and that scares me.

 

[scubasteve319]

I play alot of metal and I love my Mark V. I originally got it to obtain the sounds from Lamb of God's guitarists Mark Morton & Willy Adler. Since i've owned the amp I've been dialing all across the head and realized it has more choices than I've ever seen on another amp. Great clean settings, fun rhythm channel, and a hard enough lead channel for anyone's style.

The 5-band EQ is definately a plus... Not only do you have 9 stock 'amps' (3 prime settings per channel), you also have the option to shape it anyway you want without the addition of an EQ pedal or processor... It's wonderful.

Get the V and start living the way life should be lived.

Cheers

 

[bluestometal]

The MKV has ever been an allaround amp choose by any genere guitarist but if you do some research you'll find that near every amp from Mesa has been used by different genere guitarists, just think the Royal Atlantic came out as Rock/Hard Rock amp and then became famous for being used by Mike Morton (who switched from the MkV), same for the Express, the Nomad or the Lonestar. I've seen Dual and Triple Rectifiers in Rock, Metal, Pop and even Jazz contexts.

 

[screamingdaisy]

John Scofield
Robben Ford
NoFX
Pennywise
Offspring
Keith Richards
Bruce Springsteen
George Thorogood
Chevelle

None of these dudes has a particularly metal sound.

 

[Vittrup]

John Scofield
Robben Ford
NoFX
Pennywise
Offspring
Keith Richards
Bruce Springsteen
George Thorogood
Chevelle

None of these dudes has a particularly metal sound.

I add Walter Trout. He also uses a Mark V.

 

[Scary]

The Mark V is a swiss army amp if I ever saw one. It's got tons of tricks up it's sleeve, and you can play metal, jazz, or whatever using any of the channels if you tweak them right.

 

[papersoul]

Thanks guys, I ameris and played another Mark V yesterday. I just can't stand tweaking amps and I think I prefer the tone of my 20th Shiva and PWE, plus I played the Electradyne and thought it is way more plug n play and side by side, sounded wider, and more 3D than the V. With an OD boost, I could get the ED as thick and heavy as I could ever need.

 

[skoora]

I played one at length today and feel it's an amazing jazz/blues/rock/hard rock amp and not really a great metal amp at all. My favorite high gain, chug sound was actually using the MK 1 setting on Ch 2 (also the QEQ of course) :lol: I found Channel's 1 and 2 easy to dial in and the variety of tones on CH 1 alone are incredible. I found CH 3 very difficult to dial in a metal tone I liked at all but was able to dial in some good hard rock and chewy slide tones. I think they should have cloned CH 1 for CH 2 and tweaked CH 3 to have better gain and it would be a home run. Granted I still think it's a great amp and wouldn't kick one out of bed for eatin' crackers :mrgreen:

FWIW I didn't try different guitars to see if different pickups helped the 3rd channel. The Gibson SG I was playing sounded very good on the first two channels so I couldn't be bothered changing it.

I would seriously consider one but my Stiletto covers so much of what it does that I like.