I bought my mark V new in 2010. And I've had six wonderful years with it. In that time I became a mesa junkie. I learned everything about the company, especially that mythical amp, the c+. It was only made for a short time before being replaced with the mark III, mesa's first 3 channel amp. Then the IV, which was even more versatile. And finally the V, the ultimate in flexibility. I can't help but think that mesa sacrificed some tone for all the flexibility in the V.
The V wins, hands down, in versatility. It does so much so well. From power amp overdrive for that old school crunch, multiple flavors of clean and slightly dirty. Lots of different lead sounds that are very different in tone and especially feel. And I could go on, the V is truly a jack of all trades. But, tone goes to the JP, hands down, no contest. Mesa threw all the bells and whistles out in trade for tone. And I'll take tone all day in my world.
At first, I thought I'd miss the versatility of the V. I was worried about selling it. Would I miss my V down the road? But I feel better and better about the JP everyday I play it. The tone simply outshines the versatility the V offers, and it completely annihilates V's tone, and I love the V's tone! I'm not bashing the V's tone at all, it's amazing, but the JP is in a different league. It's drive is more ballsy, throatier, clear, and just better. I bought the V because of Metallica, and it's flexibility. I wanted the black album and garage days tone. And the V got me closer than I'd ever been, but it was never close enough, it was good but not great. I'd hear songs on the radio that used those old mark tones, like white snake, Metallica and others, and I could never get the V over the edge, something was always missing. I just thought is was recording techniques or studio magic or EQs. But now, with the JP, I'm right there. I can hear the magic I thought was done in the studio, it was in the amp all along. Still might need an EQ to get AJFA tones, lol :lol: There's a great clip on A Year and a Half with Metallica where James is playing where ever I may roam in the studio. I could never get my V to do that tone. James' tone had the growl to it, something extra. It was rounder and more open than anything the V could do. But the JP has it. It's hard to describe, we all hear things different, and I have a bag full of adjectives I could use. But the best way I think to put it is like if you put a new, borla, cat-back exhaust on your v8. It opens up the sound of the engine, it's louder, fatter and more clear and open. You still hear your engines tone, it's just a lot better now. When I play the V, I can hear the JP in there. It's just congested.
In the Mark V manual, Doug says they use his C+ for the tone in the V. His c+ doesn't have a GEQ and those use a different cap that lets less bass through. The GEQ versions use a cap that lets more bass through and slows the attack a little bit. You can hear that in the JP. You know what he's talking about when he says the V's c+ mode is tighter and faster than c+'s that have a GEQ. There's a frequency of tone that is identical in the V and the JP. Kinda in the middle frequency range of both amps you hear the same fundamental tone, but the JP just adds from where the V leaves off. I think that's some of the difference, almost half. The other half is the inherent tone in the V. It's in every channel, every mode. It's this lower treble, upper mid thing. It's basically why I hate edge mode in channel 2. That ugly pointy tone can be heard in all the modes. It's on top of your cleans, making them narrow. It sits in your drive and makes it thin and harsh. It made the amp sound boxy and honky some said. The JP has no hint of this, and it's tone, void of that pointy midrange, is so much fatter and open. Hell, I can play the JP without the GEQ engaged and get a tone I love. That's something I could not do with the V, at all. The V was just plain ugly to listen to without the GEQ, imho
I'm not a big clean tone person, but the JP is warmer and more open than the V. A much more pleasant clean tone.
I have loved my V for 6 years, and I still do. It has never let me down and I've always loved the tones I got out of it. I think the V is safe. People will keep buying them and keep falling in love with them. It's versatile and has its own killer tone and it's not scared of its new sibling. But I have both sitting in front of me and I have to pick one. The JP's tone is telling me to say goodbye to the V. I don't need all the modes and options the V offers. I just need that crunch the JP delivers so well. I can't imagine a better tone than what I'm getting out of the JP2C. Thanks for reading! I don't know too many guitar geeks so this is my place to get my thoughts out. :mrgreen:
The V wins, hands down, in versatility. It does so much so well. From power amp overdrive for that old school crunch, multiple flavors of clean and slightly dirty. Lots of different lead sounds that are very different in tone and especially feel. And I could go on, the V is truly a jack of all trades. But, tone goes to the JP, hands down, no contest. Mesa threw all the bells and whistles out in trade for tone. And I'll take tone all day in my world.
At first, I thought I'd miss the versatility of the V. I was worried about selling it. Would I miss my V down the road? But I feel better and better about the JP everyday I play it. The tone simply outshines the versatility the V offers, and it completely annihilates V's tone, and I love the V's tone! I'm not bashing the V's tone at all, it's amazing, but the JP is in a different league. It's drive is more ballsy, throatier, clear, and just better. I bought the V because of Metallica, and it's flexibility. I wanted the black album and garage days tone. And the V got me closer than I'd ever been, but it was never close enough, it was good but not great. I'd hear songs on the radio that used those old mark tones, like white snake, Metallica and others, and I could never get the V over the edge, something was always missing. I just thought is was recording techniques or studio magic or EQs. But now, with the JP, I'm right there. I can hear the magic I thought was done in the studio, it was in the amp all along. Still might need an EQ to get AJFA tones, lol :lol: There's a great clip on A Year and a Half with Metallica where James is playing where ever I may roam in the studio. I could never get my V to do that tone. James' tone had the growl to it, something extra. It was rounder and more open than anything the V could do. But the JP has it. It's hard to describe, we all hear things different, and I have a bag full of adjectives I could use. But the best way I think to put it is like if you put a new, borla, cat-back exhaust on your v8. It opens up the sound of the engine, it's louder, fatter and more clear and open. You still hear your engines tone, it's just a lot better now. When I play the V, I can hear the JP in there. It's just congested.
In the Mark V manual, Doug says they use his C+ for the tone in the V. His c+ doesn't have a GEQ and those use a different cap that lets less bass through. The GEQ versions use a cap that lets more bass through and slows the attack a little bit. You can hear that in the JP. You know what he's talking about when he says the V's c+ mode is tighter and faster than c+'s that have a GEQ. There's a frequency of tone that is identical in the V and the JP. Kinda in the middle frequency range of both amps you hear the same fundamental tone, but the JP just adds from where the V leaves off. I think that's some of the difference, almost half. The other half is the inherent tone in the V. It's in every channel, every mode. It's this lower treble, upper mid thing. It's basically why I hate edge mode in channel 2. That ugly pointy tone can be heard in all the modes. It's on top of your cleans, making them narrow. It sits in your drive and makes it thin and harsh. It made the amp sound boxy and honky some said. The JP has no hint of this, and it's tone, void of that pointy midrange, is so much fatter and open. Hell, I can play the JP without the GEQ engaged and get a tone I love. That's something I could not do with the V, at all. The V was just plain ugly to listen to without the GEQ, imho
I'm not a big clean tone person, but the JP is warmer and more open than the V. A much more pleasant clean tone. I have loved my V for 6 years, and I still do. It has never let me down and I've always loved the tones I got out of it. I think the V is safe. People will keep buying them and keep falling in love with them. It's versatile and has its own killer tone and it's not scared of its new sibling. But I have both sitting in front of me and I have to pick one. The JP's tone is telling me to say goodbye to the V. I don't need all the modes and options the V offers. I just need that crunch the JP delivers so well. I can't imagine a better tone than what I'm getting out of the JP2C. Thanks for reading! I don't know too many guitar geeks so this is my place to get my thoughts out. :mrgreen:
