Mark V 35 at band levels

[Bentaycanada]

I've just picked up a Mark V 35 and I won't be using it with my band anytime soon, but I am curious how the 4 EL84's hold up at band volumes?

Anyone had any good / bad experiences?

 

[doublescale1]

I've had my MV:35 for just over a year now. I play in an R&B/Blues Rock horn band - 9 piece. we mic everything. I usually play guitars with P90's, or low wind HB's, I have a Strat but the Tele gets more rotation time. I put a Celestion Neo Creamback in my 1X12 combo, so it's now sitting at about 37lbs. The sound of the Neo Creamback, at least to me, is close enough to the original Mesa speaker that I can't tell a difference between the two. We keep our stage volume down on stage and let the FOH do all the heavy lifting to the audience. As a rule in bars or clubs, I've mostly kept the amp at 10 watts, and both channels are close to half volume - that still gives me a lot of clean headroom for funk strumming and I use the MK IIC ch2 for OD with the gain set at about 11 o'clock. This past holiday season we played a couple of big corporate holiday parties, with big stages, the rooms were like 100X120 so I went to 25 watts and it was fine - I have yet needed to go with the full 35 watts, maybe this summer at some outdoor gigs. Our drummer is always at full tilt for gigs, so even at 10 watts I've never had an issue hearing myself, I usually have vocals and the guitar from the other side of the stage in my monitor. Pay attention to the suggested amp settings in the manual - those will let you dial in a pretty good sound easily and you can tweak from there. Mesa tone knobs do not react like Fender or Marshall tone pots. I also use the Vintage setting on the cab clone for my FOH feed, and the amp sounds just perfect in the live recordings of the band from the FOH board. Enjoy your MV:35, I've found it to be a really smartly designed gigging amp.

 

[elpingua]

I think the Mark V 35 loudness question is mostly a problem/concern for rock and metal guys. Why? Because rock and metal drummers like to pound their drums like maniacs (we love you for it tho).

I am also curious on if a 35 is loud enough. Long ago I used to have a Mesa 22 watt amp and I jammed with a metal drummer and it seemed like it was just 10% shy of the volume it needed. This makes me think a 35 watt amp would be enough....but I don't want to be wrong when talking about a almost $2k expense.

Anyway OP's question is a fair one. I hope another rock/metal guy will chime in and confirm/deny 35watts is loud enough.

 

[Pongo]

I've just picked up a Mark V 35 and I won't be using it with my band anytime soon, but I am curious how the 4 EL84's hold up at band volumes?

Are you playing a large room with a beast of the drummer who just can't/won't hold back?

Are you sharing stage with another guitarist who's always pumping 50+ watts through a 4x12" cabinet?

Is your band exclusively loud and aggressive metal with no compromise for venue or personnel?

Situations like that, and you'll wish you had a little more oomph. Not much more, but if we're being completely honest... you'll wish you had a little more.

Any other situation, however, the vast majority of situations, and you should be more than fine. For me, the Mark V:25 was more than enough except on a few heavier songs. The V:35, even in 10 and 25 modes, has more body, especially in the mids (well, at least mine did), which is great if you want your guitar to be heard in the mix.

And of course, if you are mic'd up to a halfway decent PA, it'll never be an issue anyway.

I hope another rock/metal guy will chime in and confirm/deny 35watts is loud enough.

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer; it really depends on your definition of "metal" and who you're playing with. It definitely will be enough for most situations, but if you want to be 100% sure, I'd suggest finding a used 90 watt V.

So consider your context.

For me, it'd absolutely be enough. But I'm the only guitarist, while my "metal" drummer has a strong jazz and funk background, is a great listener, and is able/willing to dial things back just a touch if necessary. On the other hand, there's a band (two guitars, bass, vocals, huge kit) I hear practicing in the unit next door each weekend that literally shakes my walls.

If your context is similar to mine, a V:35 would certainly be enough (more than enough, really). But you'd have issues keeping the V:35 afloat in my neighbor's band, especially the lower frequencies.

 

[boogiemk535]

Hi Guys, new here, not new to Boogie, just this board. Anyway....

I just purchased a brand new Mk5 35w, I also have a Mk3 which I have used many times in gigs with no issue. I will be gigging with the new MK5 35w this coming Saturday May 26th. We are a classic metal/hard rock cover band with 2 guitars, bass and drummer. The other guitarist uses an ENGL Powerball 2 with 4x12, I will also be using a 4x12 cab. My drummer is not a big time hitter, but still some of the tunes are aggressive. Metallica's Creeping Death for one. Unfortunately I have not been able to use this new 35w for practice yet, so this gig will be the first time playing it in a full band situation. From what I can tell by just jamming with it in my house, this thing is very loud. I play it at 35w, MK4 channel and it doesn't take much Master volume to get it cranking, I don't use an OD pedal on it as it really needs no help. So...after this weekend I will certainly chime in again and let you know my thoughts. I still have 2 weeks left to return it, so if I feel it doesn't cut it, I will dish out the extra cash and buy the 90w. The three reasons I went with the 35w over the 90w was weight/portability, the extra gain/mid boost on the Crunch channel which the 90w does not offer, and I have played a 15w Orange Dark Terror (also EL84 tubes) in this band for rehearsals and never had any volume issues, however I would never attempt to play out with the Orange. All in all, I love this amp and from what I hear so far, I don't anticipate any volume problems. But we shall see....

 

[royslead]

My own experiences with lower powered amps, includes a Mesa Express 5:25 1x12 combo. I played it in a somewhat loud rock band that mic'd everything as well. It fell short on headroom just slightly (and I'm talking very slight). This was with a loud drummer, too. I was interested enough and did some research that indicated to me, the V:35 would be sufficient, and I was going to buy it, when a good deal on a practically new V:90 came along. I bought it instead, but I believe the V:35 would also have suited me fine.

 

[boogiemk535]

As promised, I am back with a review after playing out with the Mark 5 35w head last evening. As stated above, I play in a classic metal/hard rock band with another guitar player with an ENGL powerball 2 head and a drummer who doesn't hit vary hard. We play Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Metallic and so on. First thing I will say after hearing the live recording off of my portable Tascam recorder that I place out on the floor (we were all mic up), the tone is absolutely killer. As far as stage volume coming out of a venue supplied Tech21 4x12, I heard everything the same as I did with my Mark 3 head and my Orange Dark Terror 100watt head. I was on 35w mode and did have to raise that master volume a bit more then I did at home when I was sampling possible stage volumes. This did cause some feedback but thats to be expected and nothing I couldn't control with the volume knob or just moving away. I used the MK4 channel with settings as follows:

Gain - 2 o'clock
Treble - 2 o'clock
Mid - 9 o'clock
Bass - 10 o'clock
Presence - 2 o'clock
Master - 10 o'clock
EQ - Basic V with top sliders meeting the top line and middle slider meeting the bottom line.

I also used the SOLO boost which performed as expected. Solo's were there and very clear and loud.

All in all, the 35watts performed well. I was actually louder (cut through better) then my ENGL partner in the live recorded mix, and had no problem cutting through out there. Stage volume...maybe I could have used a little bit more punch, just maybe, but nothing to be concerned about. The 35watts handled the job well and I feel no need to purchase the 90watt head. However I do plan on purchasing the 90watt full version if I find one is great shape used. I would like the 35w for more portability reasons, and the 90w for extra power and channels. Its all the amps I would ever need.

 

[boogiemk535]

As promised, I am back with a review after playing out with the Mark 5 35w head last evening. As stated above, I play in a classic metal/hard rock band with another guitar player with an ENGL powerball 2 head and a drummer who doesn't hit vary hard. We play Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Metallic and so on. First thing I will say after hearing the live recording off of my portable Tascam recorder that I place out on the floor (we were all mic up), the tone is absolutely killer. As far as stage volume coming out of a venue supplied Tech21 4x12, I heard everything the same as I did with my Mark 3 head and my Orange Dark Terror 100watt head. I was on 35w mode and did have to raise that master volume a bit more then I did at home when I was sampling possible stage volumes. This did cause some feedback but thats to be expected and nothing I couldn't control with the volume knob or just moving away. I used the MK4 channel with settings as follows:

Gain - 2 o'clock
Treble - 2 o'clock
Mid - 9 o'clock
Bass - 10 o'clock
Presence - 2 o'clock
Master - 10 o'clock
EQ - Basic V with top sliders meeting the top line and middle slider meeting the bottom line.

I also used the SOLO boost which performed as expected. Solo's were there and very clear and loud.

All in all, the 35watts performed well. I was actually louder (cut through better) then my ENGL partner in the live recorded mix, and had no problem cutting through out there. Stage volume...maybe I could have used a little bit more punch, just maybe, but nothing to be concerned about. The 35watts handled the job well and I feel no need to purchase the 90watt head. However I do plan on purchasing the 90watt full version if I find one is great shape used. I would like the 35w for more portability reasons, and the 90w for extra power and channels. Its all the amps I would ever need.

Just wanted to add something to this, after listening back again...my stage volume was actually too loud. That was probably the reason why I was feeding back a bit. So I could have come down a bit in overall volume...this head is loud enough for metal and hard rock gigs.