Pre MK V purchase questions

[Norrie]

No longer needed

 

[elvis]

It shouldn't be like that. I don't think a Stiletto is even that high-gain.

What happens if you switch guitar cables or turn the volume off on your guitar? Could be input noise.

Could also be a ground loop. Does it do it with just guitar straight into amp, no other connections for effects, either in front or in the loop?

Next bet is bad preamp tube. Try tube-rolling.

 

[Norrie]

No longer needed

 

[miqueas92]

Well, "no noise" is a little to much to hope for.

I mean, if you have the gain up on ch 3 there is some noise, but, very little considering what will be coming out when you hit an open chord. :twisted: :evil: :shock:

Buy it!!!!

Mick

 

[elvis]

Better to check with a guitar plugged in, guitar volume turned off. No input cable will leave the input to float, which allows for noise to be picked up by the amplifier. You want to shunt the input to ground, either with a guitar or with a shorted cable or plug.

 

[diddlydan]

Ive had a stiletto ace and dont remember it being very noisey(different amp though i guess) but the gain channel did sound kind of like white noise.very very bright white noise ha.i have a mark v and i cant recommend it highly enough.incredible amp.feels great sounds great and the versatility is unreal.dont even think about getting one just get one and i promise you you will be very happy.ive been through a lot of amps and this is the final one.as far as noise goes i have the loop engaged and the volume up a good bit and the noise is barely audible.with the loop bypassed i can hear more noise.probably cos its a lot louder though.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I have only great things to say about the Mark V. The main thing that I have learned is that the amp is very sensitive to your playing and your guitar. I had a problem with fret buzz coming through but only with my Mark V. None of my other amps projected any buzz at all from any of my guitars. The buzz was there on the guitars. So I sat down with each one and went through and adjusted them and it was just the guitar. Oh and it will cause you to practice because it projects every little thing you do wrong because the amp is very dynamic. How hard you hit a note, or don't comes through so you may learn that you are not as consistent on your picking as you thought you were.

 

[bandit2013]

What preamp tubes do you have in your Deuce? white noise or hiss can be common with JJ or Mesa JJ tubes after a few months of use.
It may just be a preamp tube causing you the grief. That being said, I have had similar issues with Mark V and Mark IV, as well as RA100. Not yet with the Roadster. Tube rolling is one way to fix or find the cause of the hiss. Characteristics of most current production 12ax7 tubes will change with use, some will get the onset of white noise (JJ and Chinese), some will develop parasitic hum (prone with Russian tubes TS, EH, Mullard, etc....), and all of the above may get popcorn noises. Note that Rectifier series amps have two Cathode Follower circuits (tone stack and Effects loop, do not use any Russian tubes in those positions, only JJ or Chinese).

If unrelated to preamp tubes, it may associated with bypass cap on a gain stage, or carbon composition resistor (which tend to be noisy in audio circuits). Tubes may test okay since most tube testers do not listen to the tubes, they only check gain compared to applied voltages. I would definitely tube roll your Deuce, a tube may make hiss in one position but not in another. Keep in mind that with some channels or gain shift, there is also a voltage change so that may make a difference. Considering the Mark V, I was getting parasitic hum with CH1 clean, and CH3 but totally quiet in CH2. The Mark V shifts voltage levels to some tubes which is higher for CH1 and CH3 and lower for CH2. Now it is very quiet on all three channels with no guitar input, took me a while to find tubes that remained quiet with all modes and channels. When it comes to tube amps, there will be some noise and will not be dead quiet with very high gain settings but it is possible to find tubes that sound great and yet remain stable and quiet without any signal applied.

The Mark V is an incredible amp. I have had mine for 2 years now and it still has the WOW factor. The Roadster is still new to me and is getting more attention at the moment, when I power up the Mark V and get lost in a host of satisfying tones I do not want to play though anything else. Perfect amp for Humbucker or single coil guitars. The only thing I have not tried through it is a Semi or hollow body guitar. What is even more exciting is the response to different preamp tubes if you so desire. I actually prefer the Mesa Stock preamp tubes in this amp over anything else. In all honesty, I love the Mark V, Roadster and RA100 equally. if there was an amp with specific character, gain structure and tone to be used as a bench mark to compare all others too, I would consider the Mark V to be it. Definitely something to try out at a local Mesa dealer. I am not trying to plug the Mark V, I am just offering my opinion.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

The only thing I have not tried through it is a Semi or hollow body guitar. .

I have used my Howard Roberts Gibson Jazz Fusion with the Mark V and it sings. I have used the Fusion at jobs to see how it worked and it was a nice change of pace. Watching peoples reaction is priceless. The Jazz Fusion doesn't look like it can rock...but it can and very smooth Blues too. But the band I'm working in plays everything and the Fusion, well, she don't twang country at all, not even close.

 

[bandit2013]

I don't twang country either.... Good to know about semi hollow's, I have been itching to get one just because it is different.

 

[thunder100]

as long as your electric grounding is really decent a Mark V is really low noise (even in CH3 extreme with gain and presence up)

if not you get 50-60 hz hum easily ( but no white noise)

It is much more quiet then my JVM 410 or the Carvin V3
Its also a bit more quiet ( a tad) then my mini recto
The Mark V on my AxeFX is more noisy then my tube one

my 2 cents

Roland

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I don't twang country either.... Good to know about semi hollow's, I have been itching to get one just because it is different.

Oh...yea...do it. Plus they are light on the shoulder.

 

[bandit2013]

I do admire some techniques used in country music. Some really cool riffs I have noticed in some other forms of styles came from old country masters. Never too old to learn...

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I do admire some techniques used in country music. Some really cool riffs I have noticed in some other forms of styles came from old country masters. Never too old to learn...

I'm kind of a musical wh*re. If they are payin I'm playin don't care what type of music. Country music is lots of fun to play but it's a totally different thought process. Gota know your chords and all the different positions up and down the neck. I don't usually play the original recorded leads in anything, just the feel. A real good country player will do things you never thought to do. Take a listen to John 5, here are a couple. Not total country but he's very good and interesting how he mixes the techniques. He also speaks music in a way I can understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBAkBG8raMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4eqMm_2k8

Playing different types of music also has an added benefit not many people think about. Excuses to buy more guitars and amps. Going to play a country job, gota have a couple of Telecasters. If I were going to a Country job I wouldn't take the Mark V I would take my boogie F-30 or Fender Hotrod Delux. A dinner Session at a nice restaurant would call for the Gibson Jazz Fusion. All out rock job could call for the Ibanez 7 string. I have a different flavor guitar for every occasion. Make money with them and they pay for themselves.

I have come to love Telecasters. I can play any job with a Tele I have two. Most versatile guitar I have. One is a 52 reissue that I put a little into. All new up dated hardware, Fender noiseless pickups, wiring, pots and it freakin screams. The body, neck and pickgard are all that is original... and it's gettin pretty worn.

 

[bandit2013]

I can understand your reasoning behind the tele. I found one a few decades ago that I had to have but did not commit to it. Very nice guitar and had a different tone and character that what I was used too. At that time all I cared about was heavy metal, and hard rock. Things have changed since getting back into playing again. I am focusing more on technique and various styles. Learning how to become expressive and connected to what I am playing. Reason behind getting to Carvin Bolt guitars which are basic super strats. One with HSS and the other SSS.

When it comes to the clean channels, I thought the Mark IV had an incredible tone and character when playing with low gain settings. Mostly due to the Combo open cavity speaker. I originally had a Mark V head but wanted to increase the versatility of this amp so I converted it to a combo. So far nothing has surpassed the clarity and voice of the Mark V combo in terms of clean channel tone. Best thing about a combo, it comes with a speaker, you can always add other cabs, one 8 ohm extension cab and you are set, if that is not enough, use it as a head (un plug the combo speaker) and drive up to two 412 cabs. The only issue is the weight of the combo. There are other cab options of the head version too. At least my rig can be all of the above. Just nothing like driving two 412 cabs though this amp, that is nirvana.

Only suggestion is to find a location that has Mesa amps and try them out in person. I originally was after the Roadster head and when I went to test it out I came home with the Mark V. (controls on the Roadster were not as intuitive as the Mark V, The V seemed more familiar to me since I already had the Mark IV.) I would definitely compare both Roadster to the Mark V. If you are after really high gain potential, the Roadster is capable of delivering the goods well over and beyond what the Mark V can dish out. Understanding how the controls work is key to great tone and character. The person I had assisting me at the time I was ready did not understand either amp, so best to have someone who knows how to set them up for a better comparison. Even though there is more gain potential in the Roadster, it seems to be less noisy than the Mark V in terms of nuisance noise (hiss, hum, etc.) Sure this can be present in all amps, primarily due to tube quality and AC line noise or transients that may wind up in the signal path. If it is the TWEED tone you like, so far, nothing I have played though sounds as awesome as the Roadster TWEED voice. It has taken me some time to figure out the amp, still learning the tweaks, the more I discover, the more I like the amp over the others. Even though the Roadster and Mark V are quite different in character and tone, they are both worth while to consider. Now there is the Mark V:25 to consider as well. Definitely worth the wait to find out how it stacks up. Choosing an amp can be a tedious task especially if you are on the fence about something.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I can understand your reasoning behind the tele. I found one a few decades ago that I had to have but did not commit to it. Very nice guitar and had a different tone and character that what I was used too. At that time all I cared about was heavy metal, and hard rock. Things have changed since getting back into playing again. I am focusing more on technique and various styles. Learning how to become expressive and connected to what I am playing.

Here is a good one. Back in the early 80s I was a guitar instructor and I was looking at getting a new guitar. The owner of one of the music stores I taught at puts a Telecaster in my hands and says "This is the only guitar you will ever need." But nooo I had to have humbuckers and a Whammy bar. I was a stupid kid. It took me 20+ more years before I got a Telecaster. I got it because it didn't have a bar, so I would work on my technique. Then I began to really like the tone. I tweaked them a little, pickups, pots, well everything except the wood. Now all I hear is "how do you get a Tele to sound like that?" They really cook.