And doesnt this come down to what each player regards as what is "heavy", or "metal" enough? For some, that could be, Ozzie, Sabbath, or Megadeth. For others, it could be, Kings X, Dream Theater, or LOG... newer Metallica, Meshuggah, etc...and of course, it gets heavier that that.
There are thousands of recorded guitar tones, and blanket statements about which ones are best will never be completely agreed on. And then you have folks (like me), who don,t even care about trying to emulate Petrucci,s or Hetfields tone. We,re after sounds of our own, something we hear in our heads. I,m hopeful that the Mark 5 will get me there, and if it doesnt, you simply move on to a different amp.
I mean, I admire JP,s tone, but I don,t want it. That,s his sound, that he hears and what works for him.
At the end of the day, folks are going to like what
they like, and thats fine. We all find things differently, and admire certain players, music, and tones. And we don,t always like the same things, and thats, great...thats what these forums are for. I,m not a straight up metal guy, and I,ve learned some eq tips for it right off of here.
Personally, I think Ty Tabors tone on Dogman to be one of the best ever, but thats as heavy as I like my music. For a Sepultura fan, thats probaly pop rock!
As far as using the Mark 5 exclusively for metal... to me, what a shame and total waste of an amp that would be. Especially since there are other amps out there designed specifically for just that genre of music. All those nice clean and inbetween tones, sitting in there, going to waste!
I,m sure that Mr. Smith designed this amp to have something for everyone, from a jazz/funk player, to the classic rock/metal guys.
My amp will see everything from Prince/Return To Forever, to Hendrix/Planet X and beyond!