just bought a used/mint Mark V

[rabies]

awaiting the crush as I've only played this amp very briefly. going to sell the stiletto 2 so hit me up if you're down.

 

[shredhead72]

Good luck with the amp. Its a beauty and can get a ton of different tones. Let us know how you like it.

 

[rabies]

I seem to like the IIC+ mode the best so far with gain cranked past 3 o'clock - does get a bit muddy of course (only tried all modes in all channels in 10 watts and spongy voltage). animal shredder.

I need to crank at the studio with my Mesa 412 to really tell how I like it. seems very flexible so far but I like the stiletto better for marshall tones. the crunch doesn't really do it even with EL34's.

 

[Neptical]

Congrats! It's a hell of an amp that's capable of destroying everything in it's path.

 

[rabies]

So I jammed alone at the studio with my Mesa 412 (halfback 600 watt cab). It was very loud at 45 and 90 watt settings.

But even with EL34's wasn't getting the mid-range compression/crunch I was expecting. It's a very tight amp much like the III and IV I had.

Also noticed that when I disengage the effects loop with the G Major, the amp is much louder. This is with the effects send set at neutral or slightly positive.

The extreme mode is way louder than any other mode.

So I may end up selling this one, guess I'm more of a Stiletto or Marshall guy. maybe 412 greenbacks would make a difference as would changing guitars.

 

[JOEY B.]

So I jammed alone at the studio with my Mesa 412 (halfback 600 watt cab). It was very loud at 45 and 90 watt settings.

But even with EL34's wasn't getting the mid-range compression/crunch I was expecting. It's a very tight amp much like the III and IV I had.

Also noticed that when I disengage the effects loop with the G Major, the amp is much louder. This is with the effects send set at neutral or slightly positive.

The extreme mode is way louder than any other mode.

So I may end up selling this one, guess I'm more of a Stiletto or Marshall guy. maybe 412 greenbacks would make a difference as would changing guitars.

If you dive-bomb the 750Hz slider like a bunch of the other guys do with the Mark series amps, I can see why you would have an issue with "crunch" As I have said before, take a slegdehammer to that effects unit. The next time that you crank it loud with your halfback or Genz-Benz 2x12, try these settings and tell me how it lacks crunch.http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37701&hilit=SHOOTOUT

 

[MusicManJP6]

It is not a plug and play amp so if I were you I would give it some time, plug straight up with no FX, and really give it a chance. If it's not for you then no biggie - just ditch it and go back to your Stiletto!

 

[rabies]

I ran it for 1.5 hrs (half w/ efx, half bypassed). W/ and w/o 5 band EQ engaged (various settings, mostly V-shaped). And I tried various EQ settings (bass/mids/treble/presence) as well as triode and pentode in ch3.

master and output were both b/n 9 and 11 o'clock the entire time. that's the typical sweet spot with mesas that i've experienced.

it's a very tight amp and doesn't seem to get a decent blues tone although I did see a nice clip of a M5 on youtube that showed decent blues tones.

I honestly liked the IIC+ and IV modes the best (as well as the clean modes in ch1). Not too crazy about ch2 except for mark 1 mode (thick).

 

[rabies]

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1220385&content=music

more crappy Mark 5 clips from yesterday with the DR-08. I think the G major #27 was effective in both clips. not sure which channels but obviously either ch2 or 3:

000119_0022.mp3
000119_0023.mp3

 

[rabies]

I had to share this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzYH6FpsmFQ&feature=related

www.snideramps.com

same guy i think.

sick convulsing, true musician.

 

[Chester]

it's a very tight amp and doesn't seem to get a decent blues tone although I did see a nice clip of a M5 on youtube that showed decent blues tones quote]

I've owned a few Mesa amps and the MKV has been my most frustrating experience with any amp - ever. But the rewards have been outstanding once I learned to experiment

I don't do metal, but go from blues to rock. Ch 3 was my nemesis, and I could not get it to open up and lose the spiky hard edge until I dimed the channel master (past 4 oclock) and dropped the gain to 10 oclock or less. EQ to match pups etc

Extreme opens up beautifully, and produces a great, responsive blues tone. Ditto for MK 1 mode in Ch 2. Mk 4 is a little tighter, but still outstanding. I ride my guitar volume knob a lot, and go from sweet blues to driving rock on the same setting. Add a good OD pedal up front, and it's all there

I have EL34 WCs under the hood which I prefer for mid range response and break up, and driving the tone with the power amp has broken the MKV curse for me

Good luck and Happy NY to all

 

[rabies]

I always wondered with Mesa amps. The relationship b/n master volume per channel, in the case of M5, and output volume (when efx loop is active).

I typically run them both the same (e.g. output = 10 o'clock and master = 10 o'clock).

What's the diff b/n maxing output and minimizing master vs. maxing master and minimizing output?

Anyways, at this point I'm considering selling my M5. The Stiletto has decent cleans for an EL34 amp. And then maybe buy a Marshall. The Mark III green I had had a very sick, raw distortion sound to it when cranked (IIRC it had IIC+ output tranny). Should have kept that one.

 

[rabies]

i just tried the petrucci settings on all 3 channels. the clean channel is very good on this amp. his settings are very loud for 90 watts especially. But the crunch channel didn't really match up with led zep when i played along. And the Mark IV settings are ok maybe for his style of music or metallica but not much else. lamb of god tone sucks to me.

anyways, i tried the mark 5 and stiletto II both again for a few hours tonite and i decided the mark 5 definitely simply does not suit me and it's going to go. it's so damn loud man in the house. the stiletto I can get excellent sounds out of in the house no problem in 50 watts. fluid drive is pretty good but i'm hoping i can get more of a marshall crunch in the stiletto with a boost in front of some sort.

 

[rabies]

So I jammed alone at the studio with my Mesa 412 (halfback 600 watt cab). It was very loud at 45 and 90 watt settings.

But even with EL34's wasn't getting the mid-range compression/crunch I was expecting. It's a very tight amp much like the III and IV I had.

Also noticed that when I disengage the effects loop with the G Major, the amp is much louder. This is with the effects send set at neutral or slightly positive.

The extreme mode is way louder than any other mode.

So I may end up selling this one, guess I'm more of a Stiletto or Marshall guy. maybe 412 greenbacks would make a difference as would changing guitars.

If you dive-bomb the 750Hz slider like a bunch of the other guys do with the Mark series amps, I can see why you would have an issue with "crunch" As I have said before, take a slegdehammer to that effects unit. The next time that you crank it loud with your halfback or Genz-Benz 2x12, try these settings and tell me how it lacks crunch.http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37701&hilit=SHOOTOUT

I jammed it again at the studio with the gflex 212 cab. This time I had watched the petrucci mark 5 settings video and used his settings (although I think he's running 6L6 but he didn't specify). Anyways, it sounded very decent with 90 watts in all three channels and I ended up using IIC+ and extreme the most (pentode). Fat clean is excellent for an EL34 amp. You can totally shred the hell out of this amp even with the g major engaged with the IIC+ mode. That's a great mode for rhythm and lead. It's like it's always ready for the next chord or note.

I think I'll not be selling this amp now. It really seems like a good deal esp. if I can get a decent Marshall sound from ch 2 (still hasn't happened - I'll need to check out the settings in that post).

Petrucci did state that dropping 750Hz slider all the way down kills it so you can't cut thru so his setting on that slider is just above the lowest line.

Only problem is I started smelling a sorta fishy smell in that studio room that wasn't there when I walked in and the amp didn't have any issues at all but I'm hoping there are no power tube or OT issues for any reason.