I'm doing it... Trading my Electra Dyne for a Mark V

[DWAKO]

So a couple days ago I found a very nice looking Mark V on craigslist. So just for giggles I hit the guy up seeing if it would even be of interest to make the swap for my Electra Dyne. To my surprise he wanted to, so tomorrow I'm meeting up with him to trade my ED for his Mark V with me throwing an additional $200 on top, I think it's a more than fair deal.

Here's the thing, I REALLY like the ED, however it definitely excels in the clean and British low to mid gain crunch. I play aggressive hard rock, with some technical metal riffs here and there. I can get the ED to do what I want, but after going to GC and trying out the Mark V head on the 2X12 Rectifier cab (I had only played the combo previously) with the Petrucci settings as a starting point, I was easily sold. It has a much more American feel that I really have missed. Plus I was getting a little bored with the ED, I like to tweak my amp (I enjoy the learning experience) and with the ED once you get things set, they are set. For most players this is great, and it is, but I miss having a ton of knobs to play around with, and discovering new things about an amp daily. So, the Electra Dyne is an amazing amplifier, one of my favorites, but it's definitely time to move on and try something new. This will be my first time actually owning a Mark series. The guitar player in my old band had a Mark IV and I LOVED it, so I feel I'll be more the happy with the Mark V.

I have two shows this weekend, I'll update how it goes with the Mark V.

 

[exbest182]

Welcome to the Mark Club... the Mark V is a great amp, with tons of tonal possibilities... Feel free to ask any questions you have!

 

[thunder100]

And you will get more tweaking then you expect.And many directions high gain to start from Extreme or Mark IV or Mark I (this for many)

Welcome and have fun

Roland

 

[satch4u3]

I went from an ED to a MV and have never looked back. I forsee tweaking in your future. With so many great sounds to be had you can't resist tweaking here and there. Well.... I can't anyways. This can be a curse at times. Just the other day I had this killer tone going and started tweaking to see what else I could coach out of the amp. In the end I didn't like the sound that I had and forgot to make note of the previous settings. I had a gig that weekend and managed to get my great tone dialed back in. My point here is that it's hard not to constantly want to tweak this amp. Enjoy!

 

[Chester]

Plus I was getting a little bored with the ED, I like to tweak my amp (I enjoy the learning experience) and with the ED once you get things set, they are set. For most players this is great, and it is, but I miss having a ton of knobs to play around with, and discovering new things about an amp daily. So, the Electra Dyne is an amazing amplifier, one of my favorites, but it's definitely time to move on and try something new.

My Stiletto gave me the same satisfaction for years until I thought the MKV would give me "more" and then some. And it proved to be everything I expected. What I didn't bank on was how frustrating the V can be at times, and 18 months in, I still haven't found "my" sound in CH3. But that is down to me not investing time and energy in getting it right, not the amp

Incredible amp, but when frustration sets in, I flip to the Lonestar which is a lot easier to dial in when swithcing between different guitars

Have fun :mrgreen:

 

[DWAKO]

So I got the Mark V today (I'll post pics later) and I cannot tell you how much I love this amp! I'm in no way dismissing the Electra Dyne as a amazing amplifier, however so far I have absolutely no regrets and I doubt I'll be looking back! The Mark V fits my needs perfectly; where I had to REALLY work with my ED to get it sounding how I wanted. I definitely rely on a solid high gain versus clean; the ED's cleans may be a little better; but I dont miss it. I got some great crunch tones on channel 2 and channel 3 makes the amp worth buying alone!

I began with Petrucci settings as a starting point. Ch. 1 fat mode with bold on 90 watts, Ch. 2 Crunch mode with sliders engaged 90 watts, Ch. 3 I began in Mark IV but over time switched it to Extreme mode 90 watts bright switch on with silders on in pentode. I know many people have difficulty dialing in this amp, however I had done a lot of research before getting the Mark V and in under 30 minutes I had it pretty much dialed in how I like it. Why did I not get this head sooner?! I really like all of the settings on the amp, the Mark I had some incredible lead tones, and I love all of the modes on channel 3 with Extreme being my favorite due to its percussive yet musical attributes.

There is so much more to discover in this head, and that excites me! But I'm glad I was able to dial in GREAT tones so quickly. I honestly don't understand any flack this head has received, it's truly incredible. I don't see my self ever selling it.

 

[MusicManJP6]

That's great news. It's always nice when a trade makes you happy. Have fun!

 

[DWAKO]

I played 2 shows is past weekend with my Mark V and I had traded for it the previous day. It performed amazingly well! I've always played and owned Mesas, (with the exception of a Uberschall) so I think over the years I've finally began to understand how to EQ Mesas. I was extremely happy with how it sat in the mix and how aggressive it is in comparison to the ED. Also my mistakes seemed to be more evident to my ears, I am able to get a more articulate upper mid range out of the V, so that may be why. I'm not complaining, it'll make me a better player. I can only speak great things about the Mark V.

 

[Neptical]

Dwako,

Good to hear/see you happy with a Mark V! Great amps fer sure. I think you made a great move actually. You got the best of all worlds right there!

 

[ifailedshapes]

it'll make me a better player

I can't count the number of times that has been said about Mark series amplifiers. Congrats!

 

[MusicManJP6]

it'll make me a better player

I can't count the number of times that has been said about Mark series amplifiers. Congrats!

This is VERY true. Mark amps do not hide your mistakes at all! It's a blessing and a curse I suppose. Haha. Love the articulation 99% of the time though.

 

[roushracer]

Just sold my Electra Dyne as well and I'm now on the hunt for a Mark V head. Wish me luck!

 

[DWAKO]

Just sold my Electra Dyne as well and I'm now on the hunt for a Mark V head. Wish me luck!

Good luck! You won't regret it... It's been a few months and I'm still in love with my Mark V. I have found the IIC+ to hold my main setting. I skipped over it at first and and went straight the the IV and Extreme settings, but I love the midrange of the IIC+ setting and how it does have as much sizzle on the top end in comparison to the Mark IV and Extreme settings. I really enjoyed reading how Doug West pursued to make this mode as amazing as it is. I agree with Doug that it enhances was the IIC+ already was.

 

[YellowJacket]

You know, when you were saying you wanted a modern tone with a tighter voice / better cleans / lead tone I never thought to mention the Mark V but DUH, it just makes a whole lot of sense!!! Mesa amps in general have a very similar sort of a voice and the difference from one amp to another is really hair splitting in the grand scheme of things. I can dial in some variation of 'my tone' with a Mark V, Dual Rectifier, or Electra Dyne. I'm currently loving the low / mid gain crunchiness of the Dyne and I think that you'll get a lot of mileage out of the Mark V in the future. My one encounter with a Mark V convinced me that it is one of the best production amps available, hands down. They sound incredible but the tone just isn't for me. If they released an Electra Dyne with as much flexibility as the Mark V I'd be sold in an instant. At any rate, ENJOY!!!

 

[DWAKO]

You know, when you were saying you wanted a modern tone with a tighter voice / better cleans / lead tone I never thought to mention the Mark V but DUH, it just makes a whole lot of sense!!! Mesa amps in general have a very similar sort of a voice and the difference from one amp to another is really hair splitting in the grand scheme of things. I can dial in some variation of 'my tone' with a Mark V, Dual Rectifier, or Electra Dyne. I'm currently loving the low / mid gain crunchiness of the Dyne and I think that you'll get a lot of mileage out of the Mark V in the future. My one encounter with a Mark V convinced me that it is one of the best production amps available, hands down. They sound incredible but the tone just isn't for me. If they released an Electra Dyne with as much flexibility as the Mark V I'd be sold in an instant. At any rate, ENJOY!!!

Yeah, for sure. I don't really know why I looked over it initially. I think I tried the combo and wasn't a fan of the combo "bark". I recently tried to head on a 2x12 and was blown away. I have really grown to LOVE the 2C+ setting, extremely tight, focused, and very little sizzle.

 

[DWAKO]

Just an update after having the Mark V for a while and playing a good amount of shows with it. I still absolutely love it! I have found a love for the edge setting, it has an incredible mid range crunch with a nice high end shimmer. I've also drifted back toward the extreme setting as my main tone, it's everything I want out of an aggressive tone. It's extremely transparent, not saturated and "heavy", it's amazing. Only good things to say about this amp!

 

[rabies]

Mesa amps in general have a very similar sort of a voice and the difference from one amp to another is really hair splitting in the grand scheme of things.

I've owned and played quite a few mesa amps and I'm not sure I agree with that statement. e.g. recto vs. stiletto? low-mids vs. hi-mids. yes most of the hi gain mesa amps have that distinctive growl (vs. the Marshall bark/crunch) but they're all different voicings.

marshalls all sound the same. mesas don't. bottom line.