The benefit of a Mesa "in shop" demo

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Laskyman

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I remember when the V came out. The Dyne was introduced at the same time. When the shop got each of these in (2009), I remember checking out the V, literally perplexed at how boxy thin it sounded, and ended up falling in with the Dyne.
Later, Rich Longacre from Mesa came to town to do a demo of the amps, and said a couple things that I completely understand now-

1) Marks are "in your DNA", or they aren't...

and

2) "You have to know the recipe to get this thing cooking"

Fast forward 4+ years later, I realize that the Mark "is in my DNA", and its because I "understand the recipe"

I am really enjoying the Mark V. It may be considered a "amplifier", but it is very much a "musical instrument".

This amp is not plug and play, but the sweet spots are sweeter than most other amps. So many usable tones, in any genre of music. OD pedals? Pffft...aint nobody got time for that...
 
screamingdaisy said:
Every time I start to think I know everything there is to know about my Mark V it does something new that I didn't know it could do.

yes...I was verbally hard on this thing. Now I realize I was only sounding like an idiot. Not the amps fault I couldn't dial it in....
 
You don't know how many times I've dialled a Mark in thinking, "This is it. It can't get any better than this"...

...then in a few hours/days/weeks/months I'll stumble on something better.
 
screamingdaisy said:
Every time I start to think I know everything there is to know about my Mark V it does something new that I didn't know it could do.

I have the same thing going with mine, and I bought it in 2009!
 
It definitely does take a bit of time to tweak. After spending time with my Mark IV, it was actually easier dialing the V once i got the feel of the other features. As you know it's a Mark, so there's a never ending quest for new tones. It's never a dull moment with the V or IV.

I traded my Bogner Shiva for the V and have absolutely no regrets! Love the amp!
 
I am on Mark DNA I think (MK IIC+-->Mk IV-->Mk V)

And still no master to dial in

Also I think Marks change tone depending on tube lifetime and warming up proceedure

And Cliff** says: "Having owned multiple Mark IV's, multiple Triaxis's and a variety of other Boogie products, I can tell that the Mark series in general are a ***** to dial in. Once you figure them out though they are great amps. IMO, the key to a MKIV is to use the TMB to get the feel and the EQ to get the tone"

Roland

**Cliff mastermind and owner of Fractal Audio
 
Cliff is right. He also makes the best effect processor on the planet. Using hum buster cables with the Mark V, the Fractal is easily worth 2 or 3 times the price. And the Mark is no slouch.
I let the tubes warm for about 2 minutes of so before taking off standby- as you play, the amp starts sounding even better. There is a life in the actual Mark that is missing in the axe (not a knock on the axe, just my opinion) that makes the real thing very addictive.
 
Have to agree and do NOT want to derail a Mark thread

Especially on Mark IIC+ that pick attack sensitivity and the lead fluidness is not fully in the Axe yet

But in NO case I will split with both of them, Mark and Axe-so it doesnt matter

Roland
 
thunder100 said:
Have to agree and do NOT want to derail a Mark thread

Especially on Mark IIC+ that pick attack sensitivity and the lead fluidness is not fully in the Axe yet

But in NO case I will split with both of them, Mark and Axe-so it doesnt matter

Roland

Curious- do you run the V and Axe together? I had a set of humbuster cables made, and it is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous to be able to use the 2 together in 4CM. Without the new cables, I experienced a terrible amount of noise (as is well documented with many amps in 4CM with the Axe), but these cables take care of it- And you are spot on with the pick attack and the real amp- you may not be able to "hear" the difference in a recording, but you can "feel" it when playing. I hope I don't have to part either piece out- both are phenomenal at what they do...
 
Yes I use 4CM-->effects as well as with the JVM410

had same issue.

main point I think is how good your house electric ground is-->on circuit plug in silent(and also Mark V can be noisy) other circuit nightmare hum and crackle-->humbuster 90% gone-->renew ground cables-->100% gone

Roland
 
I gave my friend's Mark V an honest playthrough when we were rehearsing the other day. The thing is honestly all sorts of shades of amazing. I particularly like the tightness, brightness, thickness, and responsiveness. It just 'feels' great to play and when playing leads / solos, the notes just jump right off of the fretboard. The rhythm work is also huge, percussive, and flawless.
As much as I love Rectos and prefer their recorded tone, the Mark V is way more fun to play. It makes me wonder why all people knocking Mesa for use with Metal AB their favourite heads against a Recto? I'd say the Recto is more of a rock amp while the Mark V is built to do metal, among all the other tones it does so flawlessly well. Colour me impressed! Maybe not impressed enough to sell my Electra Dyne but impressed enough to comment. I'm glad I finally 'get' it.
 
YellowJacket said:
I gave my friend's Mark V an honest playthrough when we were rehearsing the other day. The thing is honestly all sorts of shades of amazing. I particularly like the tightness, brightness, thickness, and responsiveness. It just 'feels' great to play and when playing leads / solos, the notes just jump right off of the fretboard. The rhythm work is also huge, percussive, and flawless.
As much as I love Rectos and prefer their recorded tone, the Mark V is way more fun to play. It makes me wonder why all people knocking Mesa for use with Metal AB their favourite heads against a Recto? I'd say the Recto is more of a rock amp while the Mark V is built to do metal, among all the other tones it does so flawlessly well. Colour me impressed! Maybe not impressed enough to sell my Electra Dyne but impressed enough to comment. I'm glad I finally 'get' it.

Glad you finally had a chance to play with the V. It's killer amp! I haven't had any GAS for an amp for quite some time now. The ED is also a great amp! No need to get rid of it! I did sell my Recto about two months ago as i feel I'm not playing it as much as my Mark amps.

Good to see you again!
 
cradlefish said:
Glad you finally had a chance to play with the V. It's killer amp! I haven't had any GAS for an amp for quite some time now. The ED is also a great amp! No need to get rid of it! I did sell my Recto about two months ago as i feel I'm not playing it as much as my Mark amps.

Good to see you again!

Yup, it's an unbelievable amp. Like I can't believe that people form their opinions of Mesa as an amp company based on a very successful experiment (Dual Rectifier) when there is an iconic amp that represents everything they've brought to the music industry over the last several decades (Mark V). An amp that can do everything, but excels particularly well at phat, tight, liquid, cutting, and fully customizable / original Metal guitar tones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxPKrt5i-M

After playing my Electra Dyne today, I'd still get an Electra Dyne over a Mark V but if I was to play metal seriously, I'd get a Mark V as well. I'd also get a different guitar but that's a whole other story.
I also think that I'd take a Mark V over a Recto BUT I don't want to sell my 2 channel cuz 'nostalgia' and the other guitarist I jam with has a Mark V so the Recto is the perfect partner for massive wall of sound chords. We definitely like building huge complex chords between two guitars which is amazingly fun!! But, I'm glad I 'get' it now.

I thought there was an eerie similarity between the Mark I mode and Vintage Hi on the Electra Dyne. The Electra Dyne sounds more 'british' but the overall tone / feel is still much the same. Way cool!!
 
I love the Dyne. EASILY my second favorite Mesa. Spent several years with one, and it really was a fun ride. The blue channel low is one of my all time favorite amp tones. My problem with the ED is that it doesn't have a bedroom volume. And I need a bedroom volume amp if I want to plug in at home. The V owns at bedroom volumes, and only sounds better when opened up.
My dream rig would be a triaxis style rack, where you could choose the modes- i had a big discussion about this with Rich When he came to town and he said it wouldn't happen as the rack movement was dead...sad, because I think that the Triaxis and ED were designed by the same guy....

eerie similarity between Mark 1 mode and the High mode on the Dyne

Holy crap- this makes total sense to me now- the Mark 1 mode was the mode that originally "redeemed" the V before I understood how to dial it in. Great observation.
 
YellowJacket said:
cradlefish said:
Glad you finally had a chance to play with the V. It's killer amp! I haven't had any GAS for an amp for quite some time now. The ED is also a great amp! No need to get rid of it! I did sell my Recto about two months ago as i feel I'm not playing it as much as my Mark amps.

Good to see you again!

Yup, it's an unbelievable amp. Like I can't believe that people form their opinions of Mesa as an amp company based on a very successful experiment (Dual Rectifier) when there is an iconic amp that represents everything they've brought to the music industry over the last several decades (Mark V). An amp that can do everything, but excels particularly well at phat, tight, liquid, cutting, and fully customizable / original Metal guitar tones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxPKrt5i-M

After playing my Electra Dyne today, I'd still get an Electra Dyne over a Mark V but if I was to play metal seriously, I'd get a Mark V as well. I'd also get a different guitar but that's a whole other story.
I also think that I'd take a Mark V over a Recto BUT I don't want to sell my 2 channel cuz 'nostalgia' and the other guitarist I jam with has a Mark V so the Recto is the perfect partner for massive wall of sound chords. We definitely like building huge complex chords between two guitars which is amazingly fun!! But, I'm glad I 'get' it now.

I thought there was an eerie similarity between the Mark I mode and Vintage Hi on the Electra Dyne. The Electra Dyne sounds more 'british' but the overall tone / feel is still much the same. Way cool!!

I don't see why you would lose the ED unless you've had uncertainties about the sound. When I tried out the Mark after a band session is when i knew it was the mesa sound I was after among their other models...so far. The V can do just about anything except that wall of sound that the rectos are famous for. I don't play V for metal, but it's good that it has that versatility. I mainly use mine for medium gain so it's perfect for me. Nice to know that there is more gain on tap when i needed.

Maybe you should consider getting the V down the road with your ED...:)
 
I have a MKIIC and sold the MKV.

Not an issue of knowing how to dial in an amp, sometimes you just prefer one amp voice over another.

Unfortunately I sold it to someone I jam with that loved it, and I have to hear it often. Oddly enough, I think he dials it in poorly! Ha! But he loves it that way. I can respect that. If we all liked the same amp voice then we would only have one thing.

It's just rock and roll though.

I took my DSL over to jam one time and he plugged in to it. The LP sounded glorious. He thought it too mid range heavy....

:lol:

Play what you like and rock on brah....
 

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