mr_dj07
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- May 5, 2009
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Here's my own review of the Mark V.
Recently I've been spending like crazy on gear. Got a Charvel model 5, modded it with fixed kahler and EMG 81tw and 85, bought a Mesa 4x12 Rectifier cab with V30s, and some pedals, like a sonic maximizer by BBE.
CHANNEL 1
Known as the clean channel, this channel is simply fantastic. Some of the most beautiful clean tones I've heard in my life. I head the clean channel is comparable to the Lonestar Classic. Very articulate, very bright and warm. The three modes on this channel are Clean, Fat and Tween. Clean and fat are pretty similar, but the fat mode gives you a lot of bottom end and a lot of warmth. The tweed mode is really cool, gives you a kind of vintage fenderish clean, and a lot more gain than the two other modes. The clean and fat modes have a lot of headroom. In general, that channel is to die for.
CHANNEL 2
This is the first dirty channel. The modes are Edge, Crunch, and Mark I. Personally I found to prefer the Crunch mode, because of it's badass mid punch. Edge is very bright, not very usable for me. And the mark I channel is supposed to have the exact circuit of the older Mesa Mark I. The Mark I mode is reaaaaally dark and thick, and has tons of gain too. I haven't had the amp for a long time so I haven't been through 100% of the tones I could get yet. I found a great tone with the crunch mode, but I'm still searching for something that suits me with the Mark I. I mostly use this channel for classic/hard rock. It's got balls !
CHANNEL 3
Now this channel is pure insanity. I'm really into metal, and this channel delivers. The three modes are Mark IIC+, Mark IV and Extreme. The extreme is a Mark IV in some "extreme" mode. More volume, more gain, more bottom end. I found the extreme mode to be a little too much, since I'm already geared up to get perfect tones with the two other modes and with the mix of my pedals and cab. The Mark IIC+ mode is great. Has this very clear, very tight distortion. In addition to the graphic EQ, here comes scopped mids land. I can EASILY get that Master of Puppets tone, at least something pretty close to it. The Mark IV mode is quite similar to the MarkIIC+, but with a little more gain on top, and less defined. More edgy. Definitively has that Lamb of God tone. That one is really easy to get with the Mark V. And as I said, the extreme mode is... pretty extreme. Similar to the Mark IV mode but with more volume, more gain and a lot more bottom end.
One thing I was aware before buying the amp, is that even if could consider this a high gain amplifier, it doesn't have the huge bottom end the Rectifier models are known for. Of course you can tweak is, but it's not the same bottom end. Though the bottom end on my Mesa cab is 1000 times more powerful than my traynor 40w combo I plugged on the cab, it's not as "moderne", tone-wise. It really has that edgy distortion a lot of metalcore bands have (think Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, ect ect ect), and also those older thrash metal bands of the 80's tones.
I never played a mark series amp before, but read a LOT while I was waiting for it to come up to the store. The thing is that these amps a pretty special, veeeery touchy feely EQ and you gotta know some things about your amp to tweak YOUR sound. Unlike a Marshall Plexi, you cannot crank everything to 10, thinking this ****** will drive me crazy ! You really have to fine tune your tone. Some weird comportments, like pushing the treble to a certain point only adds gain. You can't put too much bass or it'll sound flubby, a bunch of stuff like that.
Recently I've been spending like crazy on gear. Got a Charvel model 5, modded it with fixed kahler and EMG 81tw and 85, bought a Mesa 4x12 Rectifier cab with V30s, and some pedals, like a sonic maximizer by BBE.
CHANNEL 1
Known as the clean channel, this channel is simply fantastic. Some of the most beautiful clean tones I've heard in my life. I head the clean channel is comparable to the Lonestar Classic. Very articulate, very bright and warm. The three modes on this channel are Clean, Fat and Tween. Clean and fat are pretty similar, but the fat mode gives you a lot of bottom end and a lot of warmth. The tweed mode is really cool, gives you a kind of vintage fenderish clean, and a lot more gain than the two other modes. The clean and fat modes have a lot of headroom. In general, that channel is to die for.
CHANNEL 2
This is the first dirty channel. The modes are Edge, Crunch, and Mark I. Personally I found to prefer the Crunch mode, because of it's badass mid punch. Edge is very bright, not very usable for me. And the mark I channel is supposed to have the exact circuit of the older Mesa Mark I. The Mark I mode is reaaaaally dark and thick, and has tons of gain too. I haven't had the amp for a long time so I haven't been through 100% of the tones I could get yet. I found a great tone with the crunch mode, but I'm still searching for something that suits me with the Mark I. I mostly use this channel for classic/hard rock. It's got balls !
CHANNEL 3
Now this channel is pure insanity. I'm really into metal, and this channel delivers. The three modes are Mark IIC+, Mark IV and Extreme. The extreme is a Mark IV in some "extreme" mode. More volume, more gain, more bottom end. I found the extreme mode to be a little too much, since I'm already geared up to get perfect tones with the two other modes and with the mix of my pedals and cab. The Mark IIC+ mode is great. Has this very clear, very tight distortion. In addition to the graphic EQ, here comes scopped mids land. I can EASILY get that Master of Puppets tone, at least something pretty close to it. The Mark IV mode is quite similar to the MarkIIC+, but with a little more gain on top, and less defined. More edgy. Definitively has that Lamb of God tone. That one is really easy to get with the Mark V. And as I said, the extreme mode is... pretty extreme. Similar to the Mark IV mode but with more volume, more gain and a lot more bottom end.
One thing I was aware before buying the amp, is that even if could consider this a high gain amplifier, it doesn't have the huge bottom end the Rectifier models are known for. Of course you can tweak is, but it's not the same bottom end. Though the bottom end on my Mesa cab is 1000 times more powerful than my traynor 40w combo I plugged on the cab, it's not as "moderne", tone-wise. It really has that edgy distortion a lot of metalcore bands have (think Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, ect ect ect), and also those older thrash metal bands of the 80's tones.
I never played a mark series amp before, but read a LOT while I was waiting for it to come up to the store. The thing is that these amps a pretty special, veeeery touchy feely EQ and you gotta know some things about your amp to tweak YOUR sound. Unlike a Marshall Plexi, you cannot crank everything to 10, thinking this ****** will drive me crazy ! You really have to fine tune your tone. Some weird comportments, like pushing the treble to a certain point only adds gain. You can't put too much bass or it'll sound flubby, a bunch of stuff like that.
