Mesa Boogie Mark V Reliable?

[Grindjazz]

I am interested in the hearing how reliable the Mark V has been since for users. The Mark V has been out for about 5 years now, so there should be good idea of some of glitches if there are any? My Roadster has been really reliable, only had one tech issue with it. I am looking to get Mark V, but I want to see how it holds up seeing the amp is much more complicated then the Roadster.

 

[4406cuda]

I have had my head since mid 2009. I have gigged many times with it and I transport it to rehearsals. Never had an issue with it . I changed the stock tubes soon after I got the amp. I am using Winged C's and Tungsol preamp tubes. I have always transported the head in a head case..

 

[cradlefish]

Mine has been rock solid! No problems whatsoever for 2 years!

 

[jb's 52]

Had mine since 3/2010 been solid through
many gigs and rehearsals. Did blow a fuse
once, but found it was a bad receptacle and
bad wiring.

 

[Chester]

4 years ++ and no issues at all

Never missed a beat. Any minor niggles were tube related, not technical or design related - bombproof :mrgreen:

 

[MarkV]

I have read interviews with Mark V users on the road who have dropped their Mark V off a loading dock and it kept going. Mine has been a tank and has not issues with transport including shipping.

 

[boogieman60]

Had mine since 2009 dropped it over in the van..no problems with it. Must have 300 or more gigs on it. Plus practice, studio gigs..,been rock solid. I have the combo with a wide body cab. Great duo.. set them 12 feet apart or so HUGE sound.

 

[babow2]

Ditto for me on the rock solid reliability. I move my chassis between my original hardwood combo and a headshell. I gig with it, and move it from rehearsals. I have had no issues with it at all. Flawless.

 

[Tuna141]

I bought a used Mark V combo about 3 years ago. It has primarily been a bedroom amp but has gotten out of the house for an occasional rehearsal or gig. I have not any any issues and it has always worked flawlessly.

The same is true for my other Mark amps - IIC which I gigged with for about 20 years, my Mark III, and my IV which gets gigged just about every weekend.

The only Mesa product I can recall having an issue which wasn't tube related was a bad cable on a Triaxis a long time ago. After the cable was replaced, it worked flawlessly for years until I sold it.

 

[DangerMoney]

I'm holding a Mesa warranty hang card in front of me, It's says:

5 year warranty transferable
5 years parts & labor (includes footswitches)
3 years on speakers
6 months on tubes
Transferable to Subsequent Owner

I don't think you have to worry about reliability on any Mesa product. I've got a Mesa pre-amp/power-amp/ footswitch that are over 20 years old and they've never had a problem.

 

[scott7d]

I've got one of the first 500 made, not one issue what-so-ever. Most dependable tube amp I've ever owned.

 

[Mark V]

I got the first combo in Belgium when it got out a couple of years ago.
The **** thing kept blowing fuses out of the blue, took it to the shop where I got it, and they didn't find a reason why the fuses blew.
As it kept blowing fuses, I sold it.

Then I bought the head version of the Mark V. That one was working without issues (besides the fact that the reverb on the clean channel was barely audible, even if you turned it 100% up), but that didn't bug me.
Last month while playing, It cut out while playing and white smoke emerged from it.

Took it to the shop, who shipped it to the distributor, where they had it for little over a month. No idea what happened as there were no technical details about the repair.

Needless to say, although I always wanted a Mark series, this one's going up for sale. I'll stick with my Diezel VH4 .

 

[Authorized Boogie]

I got the first combo in Belgium when it got out a couple of years ago.
The **** thing kept blowing fuses out of the blue, took it to the shop where I got it, and they didn't find a reason why the fuses blew.
As it kept blowing fuses, I sold it.

Then I bought the head version of the Mark V. That one was working without issues (besides the fact that the reverb on the clean channel was barely audible, even if you turned it 100% up), but that didn't bug me.
Last month while playing, It cut out while playing and white smoke emerged from it.

Took it to the shop, who shipped it to the distributor, where they had it for little over a month. No idea what happened as there were no technical details about the repair.

Needless to say, although I always wanted a Mark series, this one's going up for sale. I'll stick with my Diezel VH4 .

This is simply an issue of a failed power tube, which took out a screen resistor. An inconvenience, yes - but not that uncommon in any tube amp when a power tube shorts severely. Its a matter of replacing the resistor and the tube that was shorting, and you're good to go. Keep in mind a tube failure is related to the tube, and doesn't mean the amp failed.