Question on a used Mark V head

msuscorpio · Mar 1, 2012

Hello, I'm obviously new to the board and looking for some information on this Mark V head I came across….I have been looking at getting one for a while and recently came across a used one for a great price at a shop that is relatively close to me but still a bit of a drive. So as of now I’ve only seen pictures of it until I can make a trip out there this weekend. Every thing looks to be in order except for this picture of the rear of the amp http://i40.tinypic.com/1553zn7 it looks different than other pictures Ive seen, specifically with that aluminum looking cross bar instead of a grill like in this picture, http://www.leadmusic.com/media/products/original/mesa-boogie-mark-v-head-2.jpeg Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

fr0sty · Mar 1, 2012

The aluminum cross bar was used earlier production V's. I purchased mine new several years back and it has the same bar. The newer ones have the silver grill. There are no differences in the internal working of the amp between the two versions.

msuscorpio · Mar 1, 2012

Excellent, thanks for the reply. So i assume this one was probably manufactured sometime in 2009?

screamingdaisy · Mar 1, 2012

If I remember correctly it was 2009 when Mesa converted all their amps from the single aluminum bar to the tube cage. I heard it had something to do with a change in EU regulations.

msuscorpio · Mar 1, 2012

Thanks guys. I called the factory and it looks like this one was shipped on October 24th 2009.

SteveO · Mar 1, 2012

The cool thing about the bar is that you can loop the footswitch cable around it and relieve most of the downward stress at the connection.

msuscorpio · Mar 2, 2012

Good tip....I never understood why companies don't use right-angle connectors more.

screamingdaisy · Mar 2, 2012

I don't know why they don't switch to a Cat5 cable. They're cheap, easy to come by and they lock in place. Plus they're way easier than trying to find a replacement DIN cable on the road.