MINI MARK V

[Vigo1999]

Hey Kippie! I was wondering if you please could take the mini preamp (via effects loop) to your IIC+ power section to check if the IIC+ tone is really there on the mini. that will be revealing 8)

 

[MBJunkie]

Hello Kippie,
What type of guitar(s) have you played through the Mark V: 25w?
I don't think you mentioned it nor do I think this question has been asked?
I listened to a clip in the "Fat Clean" mode using a Tele that I just think kills! :mrgreen:

 

[cho]

Kippie, thanks for the great review!

Another question from the crowd: Did the amp come with a footswitch? Is it a new design for the Mark V 25, or is it the Express-type or generic footswitch?

 

[8d2studios]

With EL84s, it does not sound like a Boogie.
In my opinion, 6V6s would have been the proper power amp tubes choice. That would have been perfectly in line with the Boogie tradition.

You can always buy the big Mark V in all its 6L6 glory!!!

IMO, Mesa will have a HUGE success with this EL84 platform because lets face it, ITS A REAL MESA too. Those that have a problem with the sound of EL84 tubes remember you have an integrated EQ and if that is not enough you can put a PEQ on the loop and duel out that EL84 sound and just get the rich harmonic saturation they give!.

I have a 5:50 Plus head that i can virtually make it sound like a C+, Fat mode etc using a clean boots and the EQ so i really don't need any other amp at the moment, im just happy with it. But there is no denial that the small form factor of this little Mesas is just too convenient not to take advantage of, they deliver amazing sounds and just makes for such a portable solution, its a no brainer!.

 

[dodger916]

Hey Kippie! I was wondering if you please could take the mini preamp (via effects loop) to your IIC+ power section to check if the IIC+ tone is really there on the mini. that will be revealing 8)

Bumpity-bump for a great idea. I'd really like to hear kippie's review of this combination. Maybe he's been too busy loving his V:25 to respond? :wink:

 

[dodger916]

Kippie, thanks for the great review!

Another question from the crowd: Did the amp come with a footswitch? Is it a new design for the Mark V 25, or is it the Express-type or generic footswitch?

It's a two-button TRS unit that switches channels & EQ.

 

[kippiejr]

Played three hours with it last night at practice. It was loud but it was almost maxed. Held up against a Mark III, SVT3 Pro and Live drums just fine. Funny you should mention re-amping. Since it was almost maxed I was thinking of venues where I might need more BOH support. I would not have any left since it was almost maxed. I thought about putting through a C+ power section, But if I brought the C+ I would use the C+. for obvious reasons. Then I though about r-eamping through my 2:90 or Simul-Satillite. Might try both but the beauty of the mini is that it is mini. The Tone is almost a C+ and could gig with it happily but the only thing out weighing my other gear, is how simple and light weight the mini is. As soon as I have to carry any more weight than the mini, Out comes the C+..
I will re-amp today through the power section of my C+. The mini gets almost there in Mark IV mode. The C+ mode in the mini because of the EL84's is not there. To thin and not enough drive when pushed as I set my real C+. The Mark IV and the EL84's is close enough to say. "I can gig with that!" It might lose its magic if pushed through something else, but we will see. It just weird to hear it sound so good with el84's and a have a top to volume. Something I am not used to being a MESA. I was amazed last night how thick, rich and chunk-a-lick it sounded out of only 2 EL84's through a recto 4x12. It's like a C+ and Mark IV had a baby. I think Mesa stumbled onto another anomaly. Going to try a 1x12 recto as well. Bet I lose than Big bottom. Tip: Just think of the channel 2 toggle switch as Up=IIC Middle IIC+ Down=Mark IV/Xtreme. To me anyway.

Last Nights RIG: MINI V} G-Major } OS Mesa 4x12 } Gibson SG} EMG 81 Bridge and Gibson 60 Neck Active & Passive. Awesomeness.
Might try MINI V} AXE FX II} 2:90} 4x12....but why?
OR MINI V } AXE FX II} 2:90 } 2 @ 1x12's. but why? But if I am lugging all that its GOING to be C+} G Major or AXE FX II } 4x12. Best Gig set up for function and portability and tone.

I guarantee the Mini V will leave you shacking you head in amazement.

 

[elvis]

For more volume I run my Mini Recto through a JDX to FOH. Works fantastically well and also great for recording direct. The V 25 already has a cab clone built in, and I expect to run that to FOH for sure.

I have gigged my MR without running through the PA, and will do that at a gig in a couple weeks, but I really prefer to run lower volume on stage and still be able to crush the room. It also helps to reduce the directionality of guitar, an issue since we are a 3-piece plus vox.

 

[kippiejr]

For more volume I run my Mini Recto through a JDX to FOH. Works fantastically well and also great for recording direct. The V 25 already has a cab clone built in, and I expect to run that to FOH for sure.

I have gigged my MR without running through the PA, and will do that at a gig in a couple weeks, but I really prefer to run lower volume on stage and still be able to crush the room. It also helps to reduce the directionality of guitar, an issue since we are a 3-piece plus vox.

YEAH! As I mentioned early, with FOH support your home free if you get a competent sound guy who cares. Hard to find in LA. Cab Clone mini direct to PA needed a bit of EQing for my liking. But sounded great afterwards. The best is the combo of the 2.

 

[dodger916]

Thanks again, kippie. I sooo wish they'd put 4xEL84s in it (listening Authorized Boogie? ), but I will remain optimistic, or at least open-minded.

 

[Shai`tan]

Got my Mrk V 25 ordered. Gonna pair it with a Thiele loaded with a Zakk Wylde EV 12. Should be interesting.

 

[ryjan]

Got my Mrk V 25 ordered. Gonna pair it with a Thiele loaded with a Zakk Wylde EV 12. Should be interesting.

That's my plan too.
I'm going to need to save my pennies for a couple months so I was going to try my hand at woodworking in the meantime. I have the plans for the 806 Thiele cab (maybe even a 2x12) and a garage full of tools.

 

[8d2studios]

This should be good...Its in Ola's hands now, get ready!-

 

[kippiejr]

Hey guys,
Spent some more time with the C+ mode. Its really all in the presence,treble and gain, much like the real C+, sounded pretty good but had to peg the gain to get it there. not like a real C+ 8 is plenty. Getting a lot smoother as the tubes break in. Will report back after another practice. Still going to try the C+ power section. Stand by!

Gibson SG} EMG 81 and Passive 60

Mesa Recto 4x12 OS so far

 

[elvis]

Please post settings!

 

[kippiejr]

Ask you shall receive..

Well sounded pretty darn good. But it took some dialing. But after thinking it sounded pretty good which it did. I plugged back directly into the C+ and the skies parted and the angels sang!

The Mark IV setting sounded mean through the C+ power section. The fact is the mini preamp is designed for its power section and is missing something I like to call RP-11A.

It was still a different degree of awesomeness. But there is still and always be only one.

But I will take the mini anytime if can't simply roll right up on stage.

 

[ryjan]

Hey Kippie,
How does your Mark IIC+ compare to the IIC+ mode in a full size Mark V?

 

[kippiejr]

My friend,
Although a gallant effort by Mesa in both the big and mini Mark V and both have many usable tones found in the C+ mode. There is only one C+. Although they claim the circuits where copied exactly and that well may be. They are missing 30 years. The C+ modes sound great but have a "modern sound" while the other has that smooth vintage tone that when you hear it, just sounds right. Mark V mini and monster C+ modes are the closest thing to date at a fraction on the price. Remember all Mesa's are hand wired and just like some of the C+'s, they all will have their variants. I have many friend that i have tried to explain it to, once they have or played the real deal they say, Kipper, " I get it now." For example. My mini has more drive than the big V, My friends Mark V drive squashes mine. In a perfect world you could plug into as many as the store had and pick the one that gives you that smile.....

 

[dodger916]

My friend,
Although a gallant effort by Mesa in both the big and mini Mark V and both have many usable tones found in the C+ mode. There is only one C+. Although they claim the circuits where copied exactly and that well may be. They are missing 30 years. The C+ modes sound great but have a "modern sound" while the other has that smooth vintage tone that when you hear it, just sounds right. Mark V mini and monster C+ modes are the closest thing to date at a fraction on the price. Remember all Mesa's are hand wired and just like some of the C+'s, they all will have their variants. I have many friend that i have tried to explain it to, once they have or played the real deal they say, Kipper, " I get it now." For example. My mini has more drive than the big V, My friends Mark V drive squashes mine. In a perfect world you could plug into as many as the store had and pick the one that gives you that smile.....

Thanks again, Kippie. Very helpful stuff. What you're saying describes in general my experience of almost every Mesa I've played made in this century. Yes, there are plenty of useable tones in these amps, but except for Lonestars, I just don't "bond" with them. Earlier this year I bought a T/A 30 head hoping to replace my Orange Dual Terror (also a two channel 4xEL84 with switchable power configs) with a more versatile amp. On paper the T/A looked like it, but after a week and several speaker trials, I just could not dial-out something about it that bugged me. I really can't describe it beyond that. It just didn't sound "right" to me. In terms of balancing the pure tone of a simple circuit, single-purpose, truly hand wired point-to-point amp with the flexibility of channel switching and pull-pot shifting, I don't think there is any amp that surpasses the Mark II. In my admittedly uneducated view, the more components added to the signal path, the more "congested" an amp sounds to me. I could be entirely wrong, but I do find myself relying more and more on the simpler clean channel of amps.

In my view, saying Mesas are hand-wired is somewhat of a misnomer. Hand wiring implies actual point-to-point wiring and soldering of all circuits, meaning no circuit boards. Mesa has used printed circuit boards for over 40 years. True they are hand "assembled" in Petaluma, and that requires a lot of manual soldering, but I would not consider Mesa a "hand-wired" amp, at least not the way that term is used today. I think the components used today might sound different than those used 40 years ago, but I don't know that for sure. But, I do believe today's tubes are not equivalent tone-wise to the vintage tubes, and I think that is the cause of much of the tone differences between amps. Engineers design circuits around whatever new components are available "today", so new Mesa circuits are designed around modern tubes just like the Mark IIs were designed around 1980's preamp and STR415 power tubes.

Thanks again for your excellent reviews! I'm still eager to demo a Mini V.

 

[elvis]

I disagree with the circuit board hypothesis.

I believe that you could take any hand-wired amp (by dodger's definition) and recreate it perfectly with a PC Board. The 1965 Deluxe reverb reissue is a great example. I put my real 1965 up against a reissue and they were indistinguishable. The circuits are indistinguishable EXCEPT that they fixed the reverb switch by moving where it connects to the circuit.

NOTE: this was with a new speaker and late-model tubes in both. If you want to make the case that the magic is in the vintage components, fine, put NOS tubes and speakers into the new PCB amps and you should recreate the vintage tone just fine.

As for aging of components, it would be easy enough to measure all the components in a vintage amp (I believe Mesa has done this many times, and they write about it in the King Snake bio) and chose those values.

The circuits are very rudimentary and not difficult to reproduce. The components were generally chosen as the cheapest available and had wide tolerances (+/-20% or more in some cases) as did the tubes. Even NOS tubes have wide tolerances.

So if a true vintage amp has a different RP-11A factor than a reproduction, it is my opinion that this is due to a decision to make a more modern-sounding amp or to cure known warts in the vintage amp's tone rather than a failure to capture the vintage amp's mojo.