Hendog said:
The guys that say that thier Mark IV is better are the same ones that have owned that Mark IV for years and years and have not only tweaked it to perfection (for thier ears) but also become very comfortable with the sound.
Then they plug into a Mark V, put it in "Mark IV" mode and cant figure out why it's not EXACTLY like thier real Mark IV.
Spend some time with the Mark V and most people will agree that it is an all around better amp.
Interesting points that you make. I know EXACTLY why some people make those comments. There are some features that MESA felt that they needed to delete from the Mark V versus the C+ and Mark IV. This was a business decision on the basis of cost and the desire to keep the new amp easy for the "newcomer" to the Mark series to dial in. I think it was a great move on their part, as it allowed them to sell more amps. I can't count the stories that I've heard about the Mark IV being hard to dial in. If you are a seasoned Mark series user, as I am, the Mark I mode on the Mark V was very easy to dial in. Some of the first guys to get the Mark V became very frustrated with the Mark I mode. It just took a little explaining of how the tone stack signal chain differs from the later amps. The Mark V offers a different version of tweaking (modes, wattage, and Variac) than the push-pulls of yesteryear, and a better reverb, for sure. For a gigging amp used to cover a multitude of styles, the Mark V is hard to beat. In the studio though, the vintage amps will reign supreme. You just might need 3 or 4 of them to get to all the sweet spots of your tone. :wink: To each their own. All that talk about an "exact" replica of the C+ circuit in the Mark V manual, I will have to agree to disagree about.