NAD Mark V and Mark IIB in the same day!

woodbutcher65 · Feb 4, 2023

I've got a table at the Orlando Guitar Show, this weekend, buying and selling some gear. I ended up trading my Mark IVB combo even for a Mark IV 90 and later in the same day, got a screaming deal on a very clean Mark IIB combo, hardwood cabinet, wicker cane grille, and road case, that I could not pass up.

I can tell now that while the Mark IVB is excellent, it didn't give me the raw aggression that was so addictive in the blue stripe Mark III I had a couple of years back, but the Mark V gets it. My initial experiences with the Mark V are nothing but positive. There's a learning curve to it, of course, and I'm sure there are things about it I have to get accustomed to. But even this early in the game, it's the most impressive amp I've yet owned..

rarebitusa · Feb 5, 2023

Nice... Which voicing is giving you the "raw aggression" are you digging?

woodbutcher65 · Feb 5, 2023

Still exploring it. There's not a bad voicing in it. Of course I'm playing with the IIC+ voicing as much as any other.
I'd be foolish to say this has exactly the same aggressive tonality as the blue stripe Mark III. It's been almost two years since I had that amp in my possession and I would have to have them side by side to really be sure.

I'm still looking to reacquire a blue stripe Mark III. I have no objection to owning more Marks. I'd have kept the Mark IV if I could afford to do so. The more the merrier!

rarebitusa · Feb 6, 2023

Cool... there are so many sounds in the V:90... even though I've had mine for years I continue to find new ones. Kudos to Thaymz for talking me into one

woodbutcher65 · Feb 7, 2023

This thing does everything that my Rectos did. (I've had two Triples and a Dual) But better. And it does a lot more than that. I can hardly think of a tone that's not there somewhere. In fact, it's the single most impressive amp I've ever laid hands on, without question. I'm absolutely thrilled with it. Took long enough to get it, but worth the wait.

woodbutcher65 · Feb 25, 2023

Things just keep getting better for me. I've now acquired another blue stripe Mark III long head model in a trade, and so I've kept the other Mesas I currently own. Now I can really compare the Mark V to the Mark III blue stripe. And....gotta be honest here, the Blue Stripe is substantially more aggressive than the Mark V can get. The V is amazing but the Blue III is absolutely over the top. However, the V is a more versatile amp and I have absolutely no plans to get rid of either.

Having played with the Blue III a lot over the past few days, I can say that, based on my own experiences plus a number of youtube videos showing various Mesas being compared, I think that the Blue III covers the tones of the legendary IIC+ well enough that I'm completely satisfied in that respect. I'm not tempted to dig into my savings to seek out a IIC+. Near as I can tell, the Blue does that tone almost perfectly. If that secret gets out, then the price of Blues is going to skyrocket.

And not only that...but I also acquired a Mesa Blue Angel, an amp that's been on my bucket list since the 90s. I got a few chances to spend some time playing a Blue Angel back in the day and loved everthing about it. It's low gain, no master volume, one channel only, and is meant to be set up with the volume turned high and you control it with the guitar volume and tone controls. Being a lower powered amp, this can be done without punishing anybody's ears. Now that I have one, I've been playing with it and it's even better than I remembered, at least. It's a superb amp for controlled feedback and its transition from clean to overdriven is the smoothest and most subtle I've ever experienced. It has a range where I'm not sure if the tone is overdriving or not, and that's one thing I've been seeking for pretty much forever. Totally in love with the Blue Angel, just as much as I love the Mark III Blue Stripe, but for different reasons.