Marshall or Mesa or ?

[madryan]

The Stiletto always reminded me of a JCM 800 made by Mesa with all the bells and whistles of a Mesa.

My Stiletto is a Series One Trident .... Series One is more vintage sounding than Series II. There is a mod done by Mesa that makes Series One more like Series II for I think $100.

I am thinking about selling mine (mint with original box) if anyone is interested PM me.

I feel a Mark II, III or IV is better than a V in many ways. So do most people. But they are not being made any more. ..... they are easy to find used.

I have not played the other amp enough to commit.

I like my Mark V better than either my old Mark III (red stripe) or any of the various Mark IV's I've played over the years. It's easier to dial in and it's got 3 very usable channels.

Here's the big secret... pitch the crap mesa tubes, at least V1 and the PI and put in a nice NOS Jan 5751 in V1 and a Jan 12AT7 in the PI and the amp is absolutely awesome. The quality of mesa's preamp tubes aren't anything like what they used to be.

 

[Scary]

The Stiletto always reminded me of a JCM 800 made by Mesa with all the bells and whistles of a Mesa.

My Stiletto is a Series One Trident .... Series One is more vintage sounding than Series II. There is a mod done by Mesa that makes Series One more like Series II for I think $100.

I am thinking about selling mine (mint with original box) if anyone is interested PM me.

I feel a Mark II, III or IV is better than a V in many ways. So do most people. But they are not being made any more. ..... they are easy to find used.

I have not played the other amp enough to commit.

The jury is still out on what "most" people think. Alot of people on this board including myself prefer the FIVE over older series Mark amps. The pure tone of a II+ may be better to those lucky enough to be in 'the know', but it cant compete with the amount of awesome tones available in the FIVE.

Marks are odd amps to dial in. Take alot of what you hear about them with a grain of salt. I have a friend that says my Mark IV is the best one he's heard. I'm pretty certain it's just dialed in well.

 

[madryan]

The Stiletto always reminded me of a JCM 800 made by Mesa with all the bells and whistles of a Mesa.

My Stiletto is a Series One Trident .... Series One is more vintage sounding than Series II. There is a mod done by Mesa that makes Series One more like Series II for I think $100.

I am thinking about selling mine (mint with original box) if anyone is interested PM me.

I feel a Mark II, III or IV is better than a V in many ways. So do most people. But they are not being made any more. ..... they are easy to find used.

I have not played the other amp enough to commit.

The jury is still out on what "most" people think. Alot of people on this board including myself prefer the FIVE over older series Mark amps. The pure tone of a II+ may be better to those lucky enough to be in 'the know', but it cant compete with the amount of awesome tones available in the FIVE.

Marks are odd amps to dial in. Take alot of what you hear about them with a grain of salt. I have a friend that says my Mark IV is the best one he's heard. I'm pretty certain it's just dialed in well.

Personally, I love the Mark V because it's a great grab-n-go amp that'll get you three really useful sounds without resorting to anything but the footswitch. It's also got a Solo boost and mute built in which is also awesome. What's not to love.

 

[stephen sawall]

The statement was only made from my experience .....

Do you guys really feel the lead channel on the V is as good as the lead channel on the II, III or IV ?
I did not.

I think the V is a great amp. Channel 2 I feel is better and the clean I felt was about as good as the other ones.

I have amps that cover the lower gain range as good or better than any Mark amps to my ears. The only channel I was worried about was the lead myself.

Besides what I think does not matter much ...... as in the only thing that really matters is the person playing the amp. If it works for you great. I would feel fine doing a gig with a V. I can not say that about a lot of amps.

The reason I say "most" is the couple polls I have seen always had the V at the bottom. Up from there III and the IV and II about the same. Don't believe me ~ start a other poll here on the forum if you want. Does it really make any difference.

And it is not like I do not know the Mark amps I have always owned one since 1982 ~ a II, bought a III as soon as they came out and am the original owner of the 12th IV made.

I gave the V a chance .... I was pretty hyped on it at one time. This thread I started is I believe is one of the largest ever for any Mesa amp ..... 18,433 hits on it as of today and people are still posting on it.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=492312

 

[madryan]

The statement was only made from my experience .....

Do you guys really feel the lead channel on the V is as good as the lead channel on the II, III or IV ?
I did not.

I think the V is a great amp. Channel 2 I feel is better and the clean I felt was about as good as the other ones.

I have amps that cover the lower gain range as good or better than any Mark amps to my ears. The only channel I was worried about was the lead myself.

Besides what I think does not matter much ...... as in the only thing that really matters is the person playing the amp. If it works for you great. I would feel fine doing a gig with a V. I can not say that about a lot of amps.

The reason I say "most" is the couple polls I have seen always had the V at the bottom. Up from there III and the IV and II about the same. Don't believe me ~ start a other poll here on the forum if you want. Does it really make any difference.

And it is not like I do not know the Mark amps I have always owned one since 1982 ~ a II, bought a III as soon as they came out and am the original owner of the 12th IV made.

I gave the V a chance .... I was pretty hyped on it at one time. This thread I started is I believe is one of the largest ever for any Mesa amp ..... 18,433 hits on it as of today and people are still posting on it.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=492312

IMO, part of the deal with the Mark V is the absolute crap tubes it comes with. Older mesa amps came with better tubes. I haven't seen tubes as bad as the recent Boogie preamp tubes. My buddy bought a brand new Road King and 3 of the tubes in the thing were sub-standard within 8 months.

Put good tubes in the Mark V and it absolutely slays. I'd say it sounds better than my Mark III ever did.

 

[stephen sawall]

The statement was only made from my experience .....

Do you guys really feel the lead channel on the V is as good as the lead channel on the II, III or IV ?
I did not.

I think the V is a great amp. Channel 2 I feel is better and the clean I felt was about as good as the other ones.

I have amps that cover the lower gain range as good or better than any Mark amps to my ears. The only channel I was worried about was the lead myself.

Besides what I think does not matter much ...... as in the only thing that really matters is the person playing the amp. If it works for you great. I would feel fine doing a gig with a V. I can not say that about a lot of amps.

The reason I say "most" is the couple polls I have seen always had the V at the bottom. Up from there III and the IV and II about the same. Don't believe me ~ start a other poll here on the forum if you want. Does it really make any difference.

And it is not like I do not know the Mark amps I have always owned one since 1982 ~ a II, bought a III as soon as they came out and am the original owner of the 12th IV made.

I gave the V a chance .... I was pretty hyped on it at one time. This thread I started is I believe is one of the largest ever for any Mesa amp ..... 18,433 hits on it as of today and people are still posting on it.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=492312

IMO, part of the deal with the Mark V is the absolute crap tubes it comes with. Older mesa amps came with better tubes. I haven't seen tubes as bad as the recent Boogie preamp tubes. My buddy bought a brand new Road King and 3 of the tubes in the thing were sub-standard within 8 months.

Put good tubes in the Mark V and it absolutely slays. I'd say it sounds better than my Mark III ever did.

I saw your post above and had planned on giving it a try.
I still have about 40 mesa preamp tubes NOS from the 80' and 100's of other old tubes.

The time I spent with the amp was in a store .... with the stock tubes. Truth is if I was going to pick up a other Mark amp it would be a IIc to go along with my IV.

I do not use my Mesa amps near as much as my Sig X and THD's ... Series One Plexi, Bivalve and Flexi.

The next amp I well buy is going to be a Fortin or Dave Friedman piece.

 

[madryan]

The statement was only made from my experience .....

Do you guys really feel the lead channel on the V is as good as the lead channel on the II, III or IV ?
I did not.

I think the V is a great amp. Channel 2 I feel is better and the clean I felt was about as good as the other ones.

I have amps that cover the lower gain range as good or better than any Mark amps to my ears. The only channel I was worried about was the lead myself.

Besides what I think does not matter much ...... as in the only thing that really matters is the person playing the amp. If it works for you great. I would feel fine doing a gig with a V. I can not say that about a lot of amps.

The reason I say "most" is the couple polls I have seen always had the V at the bottom. Up from there III and the IV and II about the same. Don't believe me ~ start a other poll here on the forum if you want. Does it really make any difference.

And it is not like I do not know the Mark amps I have always owned one since 1982 ~ a II, bought a III as soon as they came out and am the original owner of the 12th IV made.

I gave the V a chance .... I was pretty hyped on it at one time. This thread I started is I believe is one of the largest ever for any Mesa amp ..... 18,433 hits on it as of today and people are still posting on it.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=492312

IMO, part of the deal with the Mark V is the absolute crap tubes it comes with. Older mesa amps came with better tubes. I haven't seen tubes as bad as the recent Boogie preamp tubes. My buddy bought a brand new Road King and 3 of the tubes in the thing were sub-standard within 8 months.

Put good tubes in the Mark V and it absolutely slays. I'd say it sounds better than my Mark III ever did.

I saw your post above and had planned on giving it a try.
I still have about 40 mesa preamp tubes NOS from the 80' and 100's of other old tubes.

The time I spent with the amp was in a store .... with the stock tubes. Truth is if I was going to pick up a other Mark amp it would be a IIc to go along with my IV.

I do not use my Mesa amps near as much as my Sig X and THD's ... Series One Plexi, Bivalve and Flexi.

The next amp I well buy is going to be a Fortin or Dave Friedman piece.

I'm loving my Titan modded Marshall...

 

[stephen sawall]

Titan .... I would love to check out some of his work.

The new one looks killer .... clean / Hot rod Marshall tones / Soldano based lead channel with a lot more bass .... sounds like three channels I would like.

 

[madryan]

Titan .... I would love to check out some of his work.

The new one looks killer .... clean / Hot rod Marshall tones / Soldano based lead channel with a lot more bass .... sounds like three channels I would like.

He actually based the middle channel on my JMP.

 

[stephen sawall]

Titan .... I would love to check out some of his work.

The new one looks killer .... clean / Hot rod Marshall tones / Soldano based lead channel with a lot more bass .... sounds like three channels I would like.

He actually based the middle channel on my JMP.

Very cool.

..... My THD Series One Plexi is THD's JMP and easy my favorite amp.

 

[madryan]

Titan .... I would love to check out some of his work.

The new one looks killer .... clean / Hot rod Marshall tones / Soldano based lead channel with a lot more bass .... sounds like three channels I would like.

He actually based the middle channel on my JMP.

Very cool.

..... My THD Series One Plexi is THD's JMP and easy my favorite amp.

There's really something amazing about that circuit. Mine's so touch sensitive that even rolling the volume up and down makes noise where other amps you don't hear it. It's just the input sensitivity of the amp. If I lay my wrist over the bridge pickup I can hear my pulse through the amp. The upside is every little nuance of your playing comes through. You can't hide a thing.

 

[stephen sawall]

If you like the JMP I recommend checking out a THD Flexi. I do not know of a guitar amp that has as much dynamic range or touch sensitivity. Much more than any amp I know of.

This is something I have posted on a few forums ....

The design was all about getting British voiced distortion and a great clean from one amp.

With the switches there are a number of clean voices to choose from.
I like the clean sounds I get with the boost on best.

No matter how distorted you run the amps preamp and or poweramp you can use the volume on the guitar to get a good clean.

I feel a Hot Plate with the amp is very practical because a lot of the sounds from this amps are about the power amp being turned up.

The tone controls are not very interactive and have a large range that works.
Baxandall bass/treble. Very strong mid control.
No presence but the cut is similar but does not add gain.

The clean to clean break up on the amp is amazing.
I am sure the huge dynamic range of the amp helps.
When using a pick or my fingers it responses more to my right hand more than any other amp I have played on.

Headroom is not something that I have had a problem with.

What preamp and poweramp tubes you use gives different colors and headroom.
Setting the bias a little hotter or cooler also changes things.

This is a comparison of a Flexi 50 to a JMP.
It would be similar comparing it to a lot of amps.....

You well want a Hot Plate or what you like to use with these amps.
We are talking about power amp distortion here.

The Flexi has more bottom and low mids if you want, the Marshall's sound kind of thin side by side with the THD.

The mid range on the two are different. Both sound good in a mix/live.
There is way more dynamics and control with your right hand with the Flexi.
The Marshall well be more compressed with a equal range of gain.
The Flexi may be the most dynamic amp made for guitar.

The Flexi has more gain on tap as it does have a boost.
You can get more gain than a single channel 800 with the boost on the Flexi.

You can put a lot of different tubes pre/power in the Flexi.
Without much time spent doing it.

The clean sound in my ears has a lot more of that old Fender tone, feel.
You can back off the volume on the guitar down to clean and does this with every guitar I have put into it.
With a Marshall if you back off too much it just gets thin and weak.

The tone controls on the Flexi have a huge range and sounds good with a lot of range.
Many voices that all work very well.

There are more voice options with the THD.
Input - Hi/Lo
Bright - on/off
Boost - on/off
50w/20wMaster - on/off
These are all tools I use.

You can get in the ball park of many English tones, even the Vox tones.
I did say ball park. That is with the right pre/power tubes.

The harmonics that come from the Flexi are un-real.I have only heard a few amps that come close.

The THD is very well built and I run it full blast without thinking twice about it
if I want that tone / gain/ feel.

Good luck finding a Marshall that does not have some bad mod done to it. If you don't know THD stands by there amps.

The problem with the effect loop is the same as all amps that get a lot of the distortion from the power amp. Distortion after the effect does not sound good with a lot of effects.

My father fixed amps on the side when I was a kid (70's,early 80's).I have played thru a lot of the classic amps.
The harmonics, punch, attack envelope, tone range and most of all the way it reacts to my right hand.The dynamics are key to the way I play.
I feel the Flexi is equal or better than anything else I have played on for a lot of things.
THD builds my favorite amps.

The Marshall sounds like a Marshall and I love that sound.But I do not miss the ones I have had that much, even my JMP and Super Lead. The Flexi just does a lot more.

..... I guess we all know there is some good modification and a lot of bad ones.

 

[Tommy_G]

The Nomad is a low-price option for tones that are somewhere between classic and modern. However, it is extremely flexible for a cheaper gigging amp.

Think:
Channel 1: Fendery cleans
Channel 2: Mesa-ish tones more leaning to classic mark signature but with a british tonestack
Channel 3: Marshall-y.

Or, maybe a Roadster or Road King is an answer for you. The most diverse amp on earth, with a big big wide voice.

Preamp tube selection is pretty critical with tube amps to get them to sound right. Expect to invest a few years finetuning your amp to where it has the potential to go. Expect to spend over $500 building a tube library.

Or, get a modeller like Axe-FX. Probably a simpler, less frustrating, and overall - cheaper route. And I should mention that I've had a really difficult time trying to find a lead tone that sounds as good as my $30 Peavey Hotfood HFD-2 pedal. I don't use pedals as a rule, but that one is perfection.