Spent quality time with Mark V at GC side by side Mark IV

[primal]

Spent some quality time with the Mark V today and I have to say, I am starting to become a believer.

The guys at GC in Raleigh are great. They let me take my Mark IV in with me today and A/B it against a Mark V. They had a Recto slant cab, and I just went back and forth between the two amps.

Some observations

I was actually able to get an almost identical tone out of the Mark V in extreme as my main setting for the Mark IV on the lead channel. I say almost identical, to the point that I probably got them as close as I could get any two Mark IV's to sound like each other.

First times I had tried the Mark V I had felt it was thin in comparison to the Mark IV and lacked low end. I think I know why now.

It seems the bass knob on the mark V is tappered considerably different then the bass knob on the Mark IV. I was actually able to set the preamp bass on the V much higher then I would ever dare set the preamp on the Mark IV. Once I turned the preamp bass up, I was able to get some great tones out of the Mark V.

I was there for a full hour A/B ing them. What has held me back from going ahead and getting the V was that I love the lead channel of the Mark IV, and I would have to part with it to pick up a V. And regardless of how great channels 1 and 2 are on the V, if the lead channel was a step back, I just couldn't do it. But today I felt that I was able to get an equal tone (to my ears anyway) out of both.

I haven't made my mind up yet. I still felt that the Mark IV lead channel at the very least matched the Mark V lead channel. But the first two channels on the V are much better on the first two on th IV. And having a usable channel 2 on a Mark series amp really has me thinking.

I do think there is something to that bass knob taper. I had been running it farely low earlier times I had tried it because that is how low I ran it on my IV and also how low I have run it when testing out a Mark III.

Now I am all stressed out trying to figure out what I should do. I'm just scared when ever I sell high end gear to pick up other high end gear that I will regret it later.

 

[MBJunkie]

Great. It really isn't just hype IMO as some have said. The V really is incredibly versatile and offers so many different great tones in each channel....including Ch3.

Personally, I seriously doubt that you would regret trading your IV in for the V, but do understand your dilemma. Here is what I would suggest.

Go to the MB website and download the MkV manual. The manual is very well written and it will give you a much better understanding of all of it's features and modes. For example, there really is a huge difference between pentode / triode selection of Channel 3. This switch only applies to all modes of channel 3 and is located in the back of the amp. Do you know whether or not you were in pentode or triode mode while A/Bing to your IV today? My preference is triode, but probably just as many prefer pentode. To each their own....the point is you have a choice.

I feel that you will find it informative, and will allow you to do a "more informed test drive" of the MkV the next time you visit the store.

 

[MesaManBoogie]

There is no way you will regret it, I sold my Mark IV head and I don't miss it at all, two things to keep in mind between the two, there's no recording out and you cannot mix el34's and 6l6's on the Mark V.

I got the combo by the way. Good Luck

 

[LPJunky]

What was the recording out on the MarkIV? Because on the V you can use the tuner out to extract the preamp signal silently or you can use the slave output to get the signal after the power stage at the same time you're driving your cab. In both cases you don't have a speaker emulated signal.

 

[th0rr]

There is no way you will regret it, I sold my Mark IV head and I don't miss it at all, two things to keep in mind between the two, there's no recording out and you cannot mix el34's and 6l6's on the Mark V.

I got the combo by the way. Good Luck

Actually I believe you can. I'm pretty sure there was a thread here on it. IIRC there is danger, as in damaging, if the amp is switched to 10watts when combining tubes.

 

[MesaManBoogie]

What was the recording out on the MarkIV? Because on the V you can use the tuner out to extract the preamp signal silently or you can use the slave output to get the signal after the power stage at the same time you're driving your cab. In both cases you don't have a speaker emulated signal.

Following the enormous success of this feature in the Quad and Studio Preamps, where they’ve been used on numerous professional- and countless home recordings, this proven recording circuitry has been included into your new MARK IV. This recording circuitcan be used while performing live or silently at all hours of the night. Do not unplug thespeaker when you wish to record silently - merely use the SILENT RECORDING pull switch(located on the amplifiers Front Panel).Even though the RECORDING OUT has its own LEVEL control, the amount of signal availableis determined by the MASTERS and the OUTPUT LEVEL control. You’ll find that the RECORDINGOUT does a pretty remarkable job of simulating the complex function

 

[LPJunky]

... You’ll find that the RECORDINGOUT does a pretty remarkable job of simulating the complex function

I'm not sure I'm following. Do the recordingout simulates the complex filtering a speaker would do on the signal?

I had a peak at the Mark IV schematic and apart from a few components that may behave like some sort of filter (I'm no expert on signat processing) it is the same philosophy as the Tuner out on the MarkV. Signal comes after the Global EQ which is fed by the preamp only. I use the tuner out all the time to play silently and I love the result I get with some simple speaker sim hardware.

When I gig I usually mike the amp and at rehearsal I feed the Slave out (coming from power stage) to the board going through an inexpensive UltraG direct box which to a decent job of simulating a 4*12" (for the price/purpose).

 

[MBJunkie]

Primal,

I provided my MkV vs. MIV direct comparison on a post originally sent by toddf007 entitled "Mark V vs. Mark IV for ease of use...finding the tone". Sorry folks, but I do not know how to attach the link! Some schooling would be most appreciated! :wink:

I do agree that the tone pots between the two amps may be tapered differently. However, more importantly, my observation is that the channel volumes and master volume pots are tapered differently...especially the master volume. I don't just mean they are tapered differently on the V between the modes of each channel either.

For example, when I A/B'ed the IV with the V in channel 3.....I found my channel volume and especially my master volume settings needed to be set higher on the V than the IV to achieve the same overall volume level. The IV is quite loud at 2-1/2 while the V gets there at 3 or 3-1/2. I consider this to be a plus for the V because it allows greater flexibility between channel volumes and master volumes at reasonable, but loud, output levels.

The point being.....be sure to experiment with Channel Volume versus Master Volume levels with the V in all modes of each channel. I am discovering my "best sounds" of the MkV with judicious balancing of Channel Volume to Master Volume. Generally speaking, I do not find this to be the case with the MkIV nearly as much because the master volume comes on strong much sooner.

Hope this helps.

 

[MBJunkie]

One more very important note when comparing the MkIV channel 3 to the MkV channel 3 (in either of its IV or Extreme Modes).......the Gain setting of the V needs to match the Drive setting of the IV! I normally run my IV in channel 3 at a Gain setting of about 8 (pulled) and a Drive setting of about 6 (pulled). For this scenario....the gain of the V (in either of its MkIV or Extreme Modes) should be set to 6...NOT 8 to get a fair comparison. Very important!

 

[ESP123]

Spent some quality time with the Mark V today and I have to say, I am starting to become a believer.

The guys at GC in Raleigh are great. They let me take my Mark IV in with me today and A/B it against a Mark V. They had a Recto slant cab, and I just went back and forth between the two amps.

I bought that Mark V from there right after you did that. Small world?

 

[MBJunkie]

Congratulations ESP123!

I know that many guitar players do not like to read manuals. However, the well written MkV manual will help out tremendously in your overall understanding of the amp, and your ability to quickly dial in the sounds that you are after. Read through it a couple of times for good measure because it provides a lot of useful and accurate information.

Hint: The modes of channel 2 cover a very wide range of sounds and each deserves special attention. For example, DO NOT expect to toggle between the 3 modes in Ch2 without significant preamp and/or GEQ/PEQ settings to obtain good results. This is also true for Ch1 and Ch3, but to a much lesser extent.

I still haven't decided on my favorite modes for Ch1 or Ch3 after 8 months of ownership. All modes in these channels are exceptional as far as I am concerned. I gravitate toward "Tweed or Fat" for Channel 1 and "IIC+ or IV" for Channel 3, but I am still experimenting and have recently been really enjoying the Extreme mode as well!

The crunch mode of Channel 2 is my favorite, but mostly because it covers such a wide range of sounds with different preamp settings...

I have owned a lot of great amps in my life, but honestly.....the MkV is the bomb for me!

Enjoy!

 

[primal]

Spent some quality time with the Mark V today and I have to say, I am starting to become a believer.

The guys at GC in Raleigh are great. They let me take my Mark IV in with me today and A/B it against a Mark V. They had a Recto slant cab, and I just went back and forth between the two amps.

I bought that Mark V from there right after you did that. Small world?

Small world indeed. Was the head still in the back room when you bought it?

Those guys at that GC are great. They let me take my hotplate there a few weeks ago and me and three of the guys that work there were in the sound proof room with the Marshall JMP dimed for like 30 minutes. I told them from the get go I wasn't buying anything, just wanted to see if I could get a good less then ear bleeding volume tone out of the JMP.

 

[phyrexia]

It seems the bass knob on the mark V is tappered considerably different then the bass knob on the Mark IV.

I stopped here, and will continue reading, but I have been saying that for 9 months now.

 

[ESP123]

Spent some quality time with the Mark V today and I have to say, I am starting to become a believer.

The guys at GC in Raleigh are great. They let me take my Mark IV in with me today and A/B it against a Mark V. They had a Recto slant cab, and I just went back and forth between the two amps.

I bought that Mark V from there right after you did that. Small world?

Small world indeed. Was the head still in the back room when you bought it?

Those guys at that GC are great. They let me take my hotplate there a few weeks ago and me and three of the guys that work there were in the sound proof room with the Marshall JMP dimed for like 30 minutes. I told them from the get go I wasn't buying anything, just wanted to see if I could get a good less then ear bleeding volume tone out of the JMP.

I think so. I was out there a day or so before playing it and when I came back to pick it up it was still back there.

 

[bradg]

Very true about the taper on the bass, vol and master knobs. If you eq the V like the IV and expect to get the same tones on channel 3, you'll be very disappointed. The V is its own beast and since buying mine and learning how to tweak it propery (forgetting what I know about other Mark amps), I haven't even thought about the IV's I used to have. 8)