Mark V for me?

[hendrik84]

I haven't had the chance to try one out actually as no local shops carry it but reading reviews makes me think this might be the little(yet HEAVY!) do it all amp I've been looking for.

Thing is I tried the Express 5:25 112 the other day and really liked it, the only reason I haven't bought one yet is because it was lacking one tone a little bit, which is a tone I need to have from time to time(SRV pride and joy etc).

So I'm wondering, would the Mark V cover the Express plus the SRV tone?

Also, I'm not a metal player(even though I listen to metal) and the heaviest sound I would need would be in the alter bridge region.

So is buying a Mark V an overkill if you don't play metal(cause this amp seems to be really popular among metalheads)? Any V owners here who don't play metal?

I'm mostly searching for a Clean like rhcp-under the bridge, john mayer-slow dancing in a burning room. Gritty Clean like andy timmons-resolution, srv-little wing and lenny. Crunch like Andy timmons-electric gipsy, srv-pride and joy.

What do you say?

 

[JAZZGEAR]

I haven't had the chance to try one out actually as no local shops carry it but reading reviews makes me think this might be the little(yet HEAVY!) do it all amp I've been looking for.

Thing is I tried the Express 5:25 112 the other day and really liked it, the only reason I haven't bought one yet is because it was lacking one tone a little bit, which is a tone I need to have from time to time(SRV pride and joy etc).

So I'm wondering, would the Mark V cover the Express plus the SRV tone?

Also, I'm not a metal player(even though I listen to metal) and the heaviest sound I would need would be in the alter bridge region.

So is buying a Mark V an overkill if you don't play metal(cause this amp seems to be really popular among metalheads)? Any V owners here who don't play metal?

I'm mostly searching for a Clean like rhcp-under the bridge, john mayer-slow dancing in a burning room. Gritty Clean like andy timmons-resolution, srv-little wing and lenny. Crunch like Andy timmons-electric gipsy, srv-pride and joy.

What do you say?

Not gonna get an authentic SRV tone out of a Mark amp, you really need to be looking at the Lonestars for that.

 

[screamingdaisy]

So is buying a Mark V an overkill if you don't play metal(cause this amp seems to be really popular among metalheads)? Any V owners here who don't play metal?

Mark's are known for metal tones because that's how Metallica used them, but they were originally designed with jazz and blues in mind. The idea was to give guitarists horn like sustain when soloing, which is probably why they were popular with fusion players.

I believe the Mark V carries on this tradition. While it does have some incredible high gain tones that work excellent for metal they included many features that were meant to sag and smooth the amp for more legato uses, as well as a number of voices that excel at lower gain tones.

 

[J.J]

I'd have to say straight up, the MKV has some great SRV tones. Channels 1 and 2 have the most amazing range of clean, edgy clean and lo gain tones. The Lone star is also very capable, but not as versatile. About the only tone the 5:25 has that I am not sure about in the MKV is the burn mode. That mode seems to lean towards the rectifier side rather than MKV. I'm happy to be corrected about that by an MKV owner though.

I'm a blues player and love SRV. After a year and a half of owning my Express 5:25 I gave up trying to get the SRV tone and fully agree that the 5:25 is not a good amp for that. I didn't choose an MKV for my next amp as I couldn't find the lead tone I wanted, but it sounds like it would have everything you have asked for here covered.

If you can, go an spend a few hours playing one. It does take a long time, even to just sample all the channels and modes on offer. One setup I particlarily liked is the 10 watt mode with the preamp set clean and the power stage overdriving. Great blues tones on offer right there.

 

[paulg2uk]

I haven't had the chance to try one out actually as no local shops carry it but reading reviews makes me think this might be the little(yet HEAVY!) do it all amp I've been looking for.

Thing is I tried the Express 5:25 112 the other day and really liked it, the only reason I haven't bought one yet is because it was lacking one tone a little bit, which is a tone I need to have from time to time(SRV pride and joy etc).

So I'm wondering, would the Mark V cover the Express plus the SRV tone?

Also, I'm not a metal player(even though I listen to metal) and the heaviest sound I would need would be in the alter bridge region.

So is buying a Mark V an overkill if you don't play metal(cause this amp seems to be really popular among metalheads)? Any V owners here who don't play metal?

I'm mostly searching for a Clean like rhcp-under the bridge, john mayer-slow dancing in a burning room. Gritty Clean like andy timmons-resolution, srv-little wing and lenny. Crunch like Andy timmons-electric gipsy, srv-pride and joy.

What do you say?

I'm a big metal fan myself, but I don't play that sort of stuff in the bands I'm in. I do a lot of covers and getting a variety of tones is very important to me. All those tones you mentioned you can get from the Mark V. I get a great bluesy tone from channel 2 on the mark 1 setting it sounds very smooth and I love it. If you can try one before you buy then it will be worth it definitely. You'll get all the tones you need from it and I'm sure every other mark v owner on here will say the same.

I was a road king 2 head user for years and now recently changing to the mark v, I've decided to get rid of the road king as the mark v has all the tones I need. And its less heavier to cart about. I was surprised how loud it was just going thru a 1x12 cab and I'm used to 2x12 cabs. I'm even thinking of adding another 1x12 cab just cause I can lol

 

[hendrik84]

Not gonna get an authentic SRV tone out of a Mark amp, you really need to be looking at the Lonestars for that.

An answer I expected. It's just that the Mark seems so much versatile. Plus I've not been to impressed with the blues tone from the Lonestar I've heard on youtube. In Andy Timmons setup I even prefer his Stilletto sound.

 

[hendrik84]

Mark's are known for metal tones because that's how Metallica used them, but they were originally designed with jazz and blues in mind. The idea was to give guitarists horn like sustain when soloing, which is probably why they were popular with fusion players.

I didn't know that. That's very interesting.

 

[hendrik84]

About the only tone the 5:25 has that I am not sure about in the MKV is the burn mode. That mode seems to lean towards the rectifier side rather than MKV.

Those are great news for me cause I didn't see me using the burn channel anyway. But everything else I loved(especially the cleans and crunch!).

 

[hendrik84]

I'm a big metal fan myself, but I don't play that sort of stuff in the bands I'm in. I do a lot of covers and getting a variety of tones is very important to me. All those tones you mentioned you can get from the Mark V. I get a great bluesy tone from channel 2 on the mark 1 setting it sounds very smooth and I love it. If you can try one before you buy then it will be worth it definitely. You'll get all the tones you need from it and I'm sure every other mark v owner on here will say the same.

I was a road king 2 head user for years and now recently changing to the mark v, I've decided to get rid of the road king as the mark v has all the tones I need. And its less heavier to cart about. I was surprised how loud it was just going thru a 1x12 cab and I'm used to 2x12 cabs. I'm even thinking of adding another 1x12 cab just cause I can lol

You guys are almost pushing me off the edge.

Couple other questions though if you please, Is it too powerful for home use and a small church setting? I'm aware that there is a 10W setting but many amps I've tried that have a power option tend to lack the punch in the low Watts settings. Do you guys use it at home as well? What setting do you keep it on?

Also I was thinking of getting the combo if I get it, any reason I shouldn't? Is it boxy sounding?(seems small)

Thanks for all the replies btw!

 

[paulg2uk]

I'm a big metal fan myself, but I don't play that sort of stuff in the bands I'm in. I do a lot of covers and getting a variety of tones is very important to me. All those tones you mentioned you can get from the Mark V. I get a great bluesy tone from channel 2 on the mark 1 setting it sounds very smooth and I love it. If you can try one before you buy then it will be worth it definitely. You'll get all the tones you need from it and I'm sure every other mark v owner on here will say the same.

I was a road king 2 head user for years and now recently changing to the mark v, I've decided to get rid of the road king as the mark v has all the tones I need. And its less heavier to cart about. I was surprised how loud it was just going thru a 1x12 cab and I'm used to 2x12 cabs. I'm even thinking of adding another 1x12 cab just cause I can lol

You guys are almost pushing me off the edge.

Couple other questions though if you please, Is it too powerful for home use and a small church setting? I'm aware that there is a 10W setting but many amps I've tried that have a power option tend to lack the punch in the low Watts settings. Do you guys use it at home as well? What setting do you keep it on?

Also I was thinking of getting the combo if I get it, any reason I shouldn't? Is it boxy sounding?(seems small)

Thanks for all the replies btw!

The mark V has a great power section I run everything on 90 watts even at home just because I like the openness of the way it sounds. 10 and 45watts still sound good to me and 10 watts is great for playing at home and not disturbing anyone. I think the mark v still keeps it sound no matter what power setting your on. You can get some great bluesy sounds from the 10 watt setting.

If you can get the head and a wide body 1x12 cab. Its sounds a lot better. I was gonna buy the combo but thanks to the members on the forum they persuaded me to buy the head. And I don't regret it at all. Its a monster sound thru the small 1x12 and I could hardly believe my ears lol.

You won't regret buying it trust me. I had similar questions and doubts which definitely paid off.

 

[jmontgomery]

I'm a Strat guy who plays mostly blues. I only have one Strat that has a bucker in it. And I play at home 90% of the time. I have a Timefactor and a Modfactor in the loop. I think the Mark V is the perfect amp for my uses.

I also thought the 5:50 I had could get some killer SRV blues tone.

 

[screamingdaisy]

You guys are almost pushing me off the edge.

Couple other questions though if you please, Is it too powerful for home use and a small church setting? I'm aware that there is a 10W setting but many amps I've tried that have a power option tend to lack the punch in the low Watts settings. Do you guys use it at home as well? What setting do you keep it on?

The Mark V has a really good master volume. It also has a built in variac that drops the internal voltage from ~120v to ~90v. This browns out the sound and induces some sag into the amp, which helps make it feel better to play at lower volumes.

Also I was thinking of getting the combo if I get it, any reason I shouldn't? Is it boxy sounding?(seems small)

Sounds great with a band, but on it's own it's a little... boxy.