For the last five years (well, up until November 2009) I've been using a hand tuned and factory modded Fuchs ODS-50 1x12 combo as my primary amp (and only amp aside from a Crate Power Block as an emergency backup). Since acquiring my Mesa Mark V at the beginning of November 2009 my Fuchs has been getting less and less use. I can't cop the Fuchs' tone/response with the MkV necessarily but it works as well as the Fuchs with its own strengths / attributes. I don't like the Fuchs any less but I'm just finding more and more that the MkV is a better fit for me and my approach every time I A/B them for any particular application. The traits that drew me to the Fuchs and kept me there are all present in the MkV and, in some cases more so than the Fuchs:
* seemingly endless sustain clean or dirty
* chewy overdrive texture with clear string-to-string note definition/separation
* thick and distinct overdrive texture in the lows and low mids that never sounds muddy / mushy
* sounds fantastic at any volume
* may be used as a channel switcher or a single channel amp in live applications
* great sounding reverb
* great sounding effects loop
* core tone ideal for many genres
I was sure when I was demo'ing and as I was purchasing the Mark V that I would be using it as an alternate and secondary amp to the Fuchs ODS (though I should have known through past experience that this was unlikely). The more I play through the Mark V and he more familiar I become with the controls and their interaction the more I find the Mark V taking over the Fuchs' job. I'm still playing through the Fuchs a little almost every day but, again, less and less as time passes. I'll find myself going back to the MkV before I shut everything down and realizing that it fits me better. This has been building up for five months now and I'm now beyond the 'honeymoon' with the Mark V.
I should have known that I would eventually reach a decision point between the two amps - no matter how many great amps I might have owned at any one time in my life I have always gravitated towards my favorite of the bunch and the rest eventually sit idle / unused. The only exception to this was when my primary amp was a Rivera Jake combo and I owned a Rivera Rake head (same amp) as a backup - I played through the Rake often. When I was gigging I kept a backup capable of taking over on the spot. I'm not gigging at all right now and have no plans to get involved in any project that would require regular gigging due to health complications. During the last five years when the Fuchs was back at the factory for mods or tuning I found myself using a software amp sim instead of an alternate amp (borrowed) or backup amp (Power Block + pedals). I couldn't afford and never considered a second tuned and modded Fuchs ODS - one was expensive enough and there's a lot of specific work in that amp that would be difficult to have duplicated exactly. If I found myself gigging again I could afford to pick up a factory stock Mark V head as a backup - yet another upside to the MkV.
The Mark V has clearly taken over as my primary amp and, as in the past with other alternates, I'm fast losing interest in the Fuchs simply because when I'm plugged into it I'd rather be plugged into the Mesa. I'm thinking about trading it or selling it for a Fractal Audio AxeFX Ultra rig (AxeFX unit / single or stereo pair powered FRFR monitor wedge / MIDI foot controller). This would end up replacing the software amp sims for late night / headphone practice, provide me with an additional recording tool for both bass and guitar, and provide me with some additional outboard effects for use with my DAW or with the Mark V. While I haven't really ever made regular use of more than one amp during any period of time I have used stand alone modelling in hardware or software form over the years regardless of amp used.
* seemingly endless sustain clean or dirty
* chewy overdrive texture with clear string-to-string note definition/separation
* thick and distinct overdrive texture in the lows and low mids that never sounds muddy / mushy
* sounds fantastic at any volume
* may be used as a channel switcher or a single channel amp in live applications
* great sounding reverb
* great sounding effects loop
* core tone ideal for many genres
I was sure when I was demo'ing and as I was purchasing the Mark V that I would be using it as an alternate and secondary amp to the Fuchs ODS (though I should have known through past experience that this was unlikely). The more I play through the Mark V and he more familiar I become with the controls and their interaction the more I find the Mark V taking over the Fuchs' job. I'm still playing through the Fuchs a little almost every day but, again, less and less as time passes. I'll find myself going back to the MkV before I shut everything down and realizing that it fits me better. This has been building up for five months now and I'm now beyond the 'honeymoon' with the Mark V.
I should have known that I would eventually reach a decision point between the two amps - no matter how many great amps I might have owned at any one time in my life I have always gravitated towards my favorite of the bunch and the rest eventually sit idle / unused. The only exception to this was when my primary amp was a Rivera Jake combo and I owned a Rivera Rake head (same amp) as a backup - I played through the Rake often. When I was gigging I kept a backup capable of taking over on the spot. I'm not gigging at all right now and have no plans to get involved in any project that would require regular gigging due to health complications. During the last five years when the Fuchs was back at the factory for mods or tuning I found myself using a software amp sim instead of an alternate amp (borrowed) or backup amp (Power Block + pedals). I couldn't afford and never considered a second tuned and modded Fuchs ODS - one was expensive enough and there's a lot of specific work in that amp that would be difficult to have duplicated exactly. If I found myself gigging again I could afford to pick up a factory stock Mark V head as a backup - yet another upside to the MkV.
The Mark V has clearly taken over as my primary amp and, as in the past with other alternates, I'm fast losing interest in the Fuchs simply because when I'm plugged into it I'd rather be plugged into the Mesa. I'm thinking about trading it or selling it for a Fractal Audio AxeFX Ultra rig (AxeFX unit / single or stereo pair powered FRFR monitor wedge / MIDI foot controller). This would end up replacing the software amp sims for late night / headphone practice, provide me with an additional recording tool for both bass and guitar, and provide me with some additional outboard effects for use with my DAW or with the Mark V. While I haven't really ever made regular use of more than one amp during any period of time I have used stand alone modelling in hardware or software form over the years regardless of amp used.
