Mark V:25 vs Mark V:35

[little-b]

Just spent close to 3 hrs in all out dual off demo of the 25 & 35 into same cab.All controls set the same,no five band used until end of demo,both set at 25 then 10 watts.Done in store and supervised by owner.Not sure if it was recorded or not,but 3 employees watched and checked in over the course.There "is" a difference in the 25 & 35 w/ all knobs set the same.Its mainly in ch 2,ch 1-all modes on both almost always sounded and "felt" the same... so scary close.On ch 2,(again with all knobs the same +wattage the same)the 35 "felt"a bit different-its hard to describe:maybe a mouse hair tighter,but tone-wise the 35 had a bit more aggressiveness,cut,tightness,& maybe another mouse hair of openness.Again-these differences were barely noticeable between the two amps-perhaps the cork sniffers "might" notice,and that's questionable.Thats how close they are.The 35's 35 watt setting was nice,and just as expected,added more bottom and openness and punch.Both amps were brand new.Really comes down to 4 vs 2 84s and what they bring to the table + the boosts.(side note on the boosts:while the 35 has individual boost knobs which is way cool,You can get even more out of a boost pedal in effects loop w/ even further eqing/gain/tone shaping goin on with the boost pedal).
Personally,Id be at home with either one,I loved them both,I really did.Idk,I might just buy both.Mesa did a great job on both.The store owner said they sell way more 25's than 35's for really no other reason than its just smaller/lighter.Tone wise(which is what im after-the 35 has a "mouse hair" of edge there..Hope this helps,and if it was filmed I'll post if i'm allowed to.

 

[Nicklotsaguitars]

You know what, when comparing 2 amps like the 25 and 35. I'd ignore microscopic sound differences. Put it down to the different proximity and orientation of the amps to your head and ears.

 

[little-b]

For me,I'm sure I'll probably end up buying both.The a/b we did at the store speaks for itself,all present did hear some differences in them. I'm just greatful and thankful to have been a part of it.There was no "loser" in that a/b. They both win in everyone's opinion that was there that day.It was a blast playing thru both.

 

[GuyB]

Thanks Littleb for your comments. I'm about to buy one of those and your comments give me a very good start - if not a definitive response - to my own research.

 

[mace]

I'm curious... when you double the output wattage the increase in sound pressure is 3 dB. So, in theory, the perception in actual sound pressure level (at max wattage) between the V:25 and V:35 would be neglible. I'd be interested to know what else is going on? Is it the 4 vs 2 output tubes (less power tube clipping from the V:35)?

 

[SamuelJ86]

It's no surprise they sound so similar, the preamp should be pretty much identical. The only real difference is the power amp. You're going to have to turn the amps up pretty loud to get the characteristics of their power amps to become more noticeable. Mainly getting the transformer and power tubes working fairly hard. The louder you go, the more differences you would find. It would also be interesting to compare just the output section overdriving on the clean channels. And when each amp begins to clip. Because headroom would be one of the main decisions to make when choosing between the 35 and the 25. That and obviously price, weight and if you want a combo or not.

 

[little-b]

I'm curious... when you double the output wattage the increase in sound pressure is 3 dB. So, in theory, the perception in actual sound pressure level (at max wattage) between the V:25 and V:35 would be neglible. I'd be interested to know what else is going on? Is it the 4 vs 2 output tubes (less power tube clipping from the V:35)?

.....Im with ya on that..you would think that's how it works

 

[little-b]

It's no surprise they sound so similar, the preamp should be pretty much identical. The only real difference is the power amp. You're going to have to turn the amps up pretty loud to get the characteristics of their power amps to become more noticeable. Mainly getting the transformer and power tubes working fairly hard. The louder you go, the more differences you would find. It would also be interesting to compare just the output section overdriving on the clean channels. And when each amp begins to clip. Because headroom would be one of the main decisions to make when choosing between the 35 and the 25. That and obviously price, weight and if you want a combo or not.

................agree with that too.makes sense to me..in the a/b test, when we cranked em up a bit,the 35 did take on some different characteristics...and to make things even tougher for the buyer,they both sounded great cranked!..

 

[doublescale1]

For me it was all about what the extra features on the V:35 brought to the gig. What I find most useable is the built-in individual channel clean boost's - I use that to compensate for the vol. loss when switching from humbuckers in Series v. Parallel, no need to mess with any vol. pots, just hit the boost to bring the vol. up to where it was with full HB's. I use this too, for the same vol. loss compensation when playing a SSS Strat and HB's during a gig. For solo bosst I use a Durham Sex Drive on my board. The amp size difference did not make a difference to me, I got the 1X12 combo. The Ch2 OD free's up space on my board for more specialty type OD boxs, like a Fuzz or an SFT for Stones type OD sound. I did put a Celestion Neo-Creamback in the amp to lighten the load a bit, and have found that speaker to be mostly indistinguishable from the stock C90 for tone, to me the amp still sound like it did when I got it. For the kind of gigs I'm doing, small to med bars/clubs, corp. parties in Hotel or Country Club rooms, the Mark V:35 is an ideal amp (certainly no shortage for needed volume anytime, anywhere).

 

[synthetic]

I'm looking at one for a recording amp, so the channel switching doesn't matter. But I might go with the 35W anyway to get the nicer transformer. It's not much more money (especially compared to the price difference of the 90W).

 

[TaoInMotion]

For me, the main advantage, and it's a substantial one between the 25 and 35 is the foot switchable solo boost for each channel. Can be used in several different ways. Along with the EQ it's a lot of flexibility and in conjunction with the guitar volume knob enables a lot of clean, crunch and lead tone options from those two channels.

The tone differences, from what I've heard playing both, don't really show up until the volume is really loud. The 35 is tighter at high volume and unless you've playing pretty good sized venues, you may not even get to those volume levels.