Mark V 25w Mini Head

[MusicManJP6]

I think this amp is destined to bring me back to the tube world!!

 

[siggy14]

You have yet to know what suffering is until you have to play live with a Marshall JCM800 2203 where you have to roll the volume back for cleans and throw a pedal in the loop when you solo and dont forget about trying to tame how loud you have to have it in order to sound good.

Some of the best music created was with one channel amps with no solo boost... 60's and 70's and 80's....Musicians today are so spoiled, for crying out loud throw a pedal in the loop for your solo boost or run a pedal into the clean channel for more versatility....

Does your 2203 have a loop ? :wink:

My 2203 does not but there are plenty out there with them or been modified etc..

 

[Jimmer_5]

Sorry, I wasn't aware that "Wow!" "Cool!" "I want that!" were the only acceptable reactions to this amp. But apparently we are in North Korea and everybody who doesn't agree or whose enthusiasm isn't convincing enough will receive public flogging.

Face it, this amp, just like any other, simply isn't for everybody. That doesn't mean it isn't a great amp; I'm sure it is. It just means that one size doesn't fit all.

Agreed. But remember that these few interactions were in response to a poster concluding the amp had an "unfortunately limited feature set", which centered around his perceived need for a pedal because the V:25 didn't have a third channel or solo boost (even though the graphic eq and some creativity could probably solve both). Given this amp's multitude of features in such a small, portable package, I wouldn't describe it as limited, but I guess it's technically not wrong to characterize something that does not have everything we want as being "limited". I don't know of any piece of gear that is "perfect" or could not be improved upon (e.g., I wish my girl had bigger...), so therefore everything has a limited feature set, thus rendering the original comment redundant or moot! Any sarcasm that followed was meant only to underscore the point and hardly rises to the level of a public flogging.

It's not about flogging someone who's not in lock-step love for the amp, and it's perfectly OK for someone not like it. Hell, I don't know if I'll like it, but I'll wait until I actually PLAY it before making any judgments about it.

I have hesitated to comment in this thread because I am a bit divided on this amp. My first "real" amplifier was a Mark IV, and it's easy to get spoiled when you have three foot switchable channels. It's also easy to start feeling like you can't live without all three of them just a footswitch click away. There are certainly lots of ways to skin this particular cat (like a clean amp, OD pedal, and distortion pedal), the Mark IV and the Mark V do it particularly well.

So, at first blush, it's easy to be disappointed that the Mini Mark V doesn't have the full sized amp's signature feature - three foot switchable channels. However, in my opinion, it's not going to be a deal breaker to most people, even those of us with full sized Mark Series amps.

Think about it - how often to you really use a sparkling clean, mid-gain crunch, and high gain distortion all in the same song? In most of the music I play, I may use a combination of the two, but often just I need distortion and the same distortion but louder (ie, a solo boost). Yes, the amp doesn't have a solo boost either, but that's solved with a single pedal if you can't just use your volume knob. I am sure I am oversimplifying this for some people, but most of us have been making do with two channels for a long time.

I will reserve my judgements for when I get to play the amp. If there's anything that I AM frustrated by, it's the fact that Guitar Center no longer stocks Mesa products. Now there is just one small shop that stocks Mesa showing up on the dealer locater. I will probably have to "buy it to try it", and that has been the card a lt for me in the last few years.....

 

[steve_k]

Mine should be here in a day or so. Can't wait to dig in and will set it up with a 2:90 with the CC output to the FOH and the 2:90 to stage. Just hope the 84's hold up to a pegged MV and it sits in the mix OK. For sure, it will be tough to topple the MkV.

 

[ReIgnition]

Sorry, I wasn't aware that "Wow!" "Cool!" "I want that!" were the only acceptable reactions to this amp. But apparently we are in North Korea and everybody who doesn't agree or whose enthusiasm isn't convincing enough will receive public flogging.

Face it, this amp, just like any other, simply isn't for everybody. That doesn't mean it isn't a great amp; I'm sure it is. It just means that one size doesn't fit all.

Agreed. But remember that these few interactions were in response to a poster concluding the amp had an "unfortunately limited feature set", which centered around his perceived need for a pedal because the V:25 didn't have a third channel or solo boost (even though the graphic eq and some creativity could probably solve both). Given this amp's multitude of features in such a small, portable package, I wouldn't describe it as limited, but I guess it's technically not wrong to characterize something that does not have everything we want as being "limited". I don't know of any piece of gear that is "perfect" or could not be improved upon (e.g., I wish my girl had bigger...), so therefore everything has a limited feature set, thus rendering the original comment redundant or moot! Any sarcasm that followed was meant only to underscore the point and hardly rises to the level of a public flogging.

It's not about flogging someone who's not in lock-step love for the amp, and it's perfectly OK for someone not like it. Hell, I don't know if I'll like it, but I'll wait until I actually PLAY it before making any judgments about it.

I have hesitated to comment in this thread because I am a bit divided on this amp. My first "real" amplifier was a Mark IV, and it's easy to get spoiled when you have three foot switchable channels. It's also easy to start feeling like you can't live without all three of them just a footswitch click away. There are certainly lots of ways to skin this particular cat (like a clean amp, OD pedal, and distortion pedal), the Mark IV and the Mark V do it particularly well.

So, at first blush, it's easy to be disappointed that the Mini Mark V doesn't have the full sized amp's signature feature - three foot switchable channels. However, in my opinion, it's not going to be a deal breaker to most people, even those of us with full sized Mark Series amps.

Think about it - how often to you really use a sparkling clean, mid-gain crunch, and high gain distortion all in the same song? In most of the music I play, I may use a combination of the two, but often just I need distortion and the same distortion but louder (ie, a solo boost). Yes, the amp doesn't have a solo boost either, but that's solved with a single pedal if you can't just use your volume knob. I am sure I am oversimplifying this for some people, but most of us have been making do with two channels for a long time.

I will reserve my judgements for when I get to play the amp. If there's anything that I AM frustrated by, it's the fact that Guitar Center no longer stocks Mesa products. Now there is just one small shop that stocks Mesa showing up on the dealer locater. I will probably have to "buy it to try it", and that has been the card a lt for me in the last few years.....

Maybe Mesa will offer an optional larger / more robust footswitch later on.

 

[8d2studios]

This should be good...Its in Ola's hands now, get ready!-

 

[ryjan]

WTF is an "Ola"?

 

[fr0sty]

https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse

He does some of the best gear demos on youtube.

 

[siggy14]

https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse

He does some of the best gear demos on youtube.

Yeah but he does too much post processing and most of his demo's all sound the same, it is amazing how he gets the same great tone out of every amp.....

 

[8d2studios]

https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse

He does some of the best gear demos on youtube.

Yeah but he does too much post processing and most of his demo's all sound the same, it is amazing how he gets the same great tone out of every amp.....

There is a huge fan base that follows him and he focus on the kind of tones he likes to play, don't expect a full dynamic range of tones showcasing every single possibility of any given amp, unfortunately there are just but a few guys that really like to explore the amps full range of tones, we need more people doing good quality demos, but unfortunately we are over saturated by people demanding demos then doing them.

 

[ryjan]

https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse

He does some of the best gear demos on youtube.

I'm assuming he demos his recording and mixing gear because you're definitely not hearing the actual sound the amp makes. :lol:
Wayyyyy to much post processing, multi-tracking, and other nonsense going on for anyone to take seriously as an amp demo.

 

[fr0sty]

I am interested in how amps sound multi tracked and in a mix, so I enjoy his demos.

 

[Rectifried]

He also does 'playthrough' demos which are just the amp (and of course his miking setup and his room), pretty sure he does not post-process those.

 

[ryjan]

I guess it depends on what you intend to do with the amp. If you just played at home to your computer then his demo would show the potential the amp has for that.
Since I play with a band and very seldom record the demos don't really show me much other than you can make pro quality recordings with this amp as your foundation.
Suppose it's all about context.

 

[fr0sty]

He also does 'playthrough' demos which are just the amp (and of course his miking setup and his room), pretty sure he does not post-process those.

Yep, there are some of those as well. Mark V https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdJP7kHWWh8

 

[siggy14]

https://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse

He does some of the best gear demos on youtube.

Yeah but he does too much post processing and most of his demo's all sound the same, it is amazing how he gets the same great tone out of every amp.....

There is a huge fan base that follows him and he focus on the kind of tones he likes to play, don't expect a full dynamic range of tones showcasing every single possibility of any given amp, unfortunately there are just but a few guys that really like to explore the amps full range of tones, we need more people doing good quality demos, but unfortunately we are over saturated by people demanding demos then doing them.

Oh I am not taking away from Ola, he is a monster of a player, however he likes his sound and he knows how to get it out almost any amp. I am just saying when post processing and EQ'ing and cab IR's etc.. does not give you the true sound of most of the amps he demo's. So basicaly what you said, he has a style with many followers of that styel.

 

[Shai`tan]

Actually heard a tone I didn`t like of a Mark V 25 setting. It was called Pop Rock. Showed up as a vid link on my FB today. I really hope it was the particular guitar they used that made the amp sound that way. Not flattering at all to my ears.

 

[ReIgnition]

did anyone get theirs yet ? it'a about that time...

 

[MBJunkie]

Still anxiously awaiting....

 

[paulg2uk]

I got mine and its awesome! Here's some pics for you guys.

Enjoy guys.