Mark VII Walkthrough

[The Guitar Nerd]

Hey All, I recently acquired a Mark VII - I'm so impressed with the tones this amp produces I made a little walkthrough video. I've always been a Marshall guy but if I'm being completely honest, I might just have a new favorite amp in this Mark VII - it sounds incredible and feels even better!!!!!

 

[bandit2013]

Great video on the Mark VII. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rarebitusa]

I agree... it gave me more VII GAS, which I really don't need right now.

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

Great video on the Mark VII. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

 

[The Guitar Nerd]

I agree... it gave me more VII GAS, which I really don't need right now.

Hahaha! Such an amazing amp!

 

[rarebitusa]

@The Guitar Nerd ... Question for a Marshall guy. What voicing on the VII gets close to a Plexi like tone? I hear this question alot from a few of my Marshall buddies

 

[bandit2013]

The Mark VII sounds even better when you have two of them. Very easy to control both amps with one footswitch (it is outlined in the manual how to daisy chain them) Very simple and works well if all of the toggle switches are set the same, channel switch has to be on CH2. Connect the Primary amp to the Mesa supplied footswitch. Then connect a midi cable from midi out to the midi in of the second Mark VII. Change the midi channel on the second Mark VII to any channel but 0. Power up sequence usually begins with the amp that has the footswitch. Just turn it on, then the second amp and there you go. Best to have stereo FX units and run them in the loop of both amps. That is what gave the Mark VII a big WOW for me. The inputs are rather sensitive though. The least thing you need is to isolate one of them, say with a Lehle P-split III. Most ABY switchers with an isolated channel will work too. I mostly use the Mesa Switch track as both channels are isolated.

If you like the crunch and MVII modes on the amp, Mesa did make a hybrid of that circuit in another amp, called the Badlander. It is part Mark and part Recto in one package. Not quite a Marshall circuit as it does not have a cold clipper. I have as much love for the Badlander as I do for the Mark VII. When I am eager to go full tilt nuts, I will run two badlanders and two Mark VII at the same time in a quasi-stereo format. I could easily get away with just one Mesa Switch track and two P-Splits but wanted to improve on the stereo field with another Mesa switch track so I can use a stereo fx unit on the front end and retain isolation between the amps. I personally recommend the BAD100 as it has three power modes you can select that are similar to the Mark VII. 100W/50W/25W. BAD is primarily an EL34 based amp but can also run 6L6 tubes (has a bias switch). Same for the Mark VII but found there was not much of a change in tone comparing EL34 and the 6L6 tubes. (Picture was taken during setup of the 4 amp rig). Note the Mark VII with the JP2C badge (one on the right), I used the Faceplate I bought for the JP2C to match the cabinet. Perfect fit so why not use it? I am one of those Boogie Nuts you may come across in here. I do own a Marshall Silver Jubilee 2555x and 2551AV 412 cab. (it sonically matches the Mesa Royal Atlantic RA100). I am not a Mesa snob so other gear is fine with me. Floor is dirty due to family dog.