The mark V hype

[danyeo1]

When captain crunch comes out with a chocolate flavored cereal are all these IIC+ dorks going to sit down with a bowel and A/B it with a real chocolate bar? I'll be getting one of these amps next year probably. And its because of the way it sounds and the features it has, not the names on the faceplates. Doesnt anyone have a beating a dead horse smiley?

Say what you want. The 2 Mark IIC+ heads i owned completely smoked the Mark V. Let's leave out the talk of how close the V can get and just judge them as different amps. The Mark V sounds and feels congested, harsh, boxy. The IIC+ sounds and feels tight, liquidy, organic, you know, all the good stuff. Most everyone i know has sold off the V's and moved on, or gone back to IV's or IIC+'s.

Funny how i see people compare and while they say the V gets close, they always pick the IIC+. And forget comparing combos, if you like the sound of an open back 1x12 for high gain then i can't relate to you at all.

 

[Nermel]

When captain crunch comes out with a chocolate flavored cereal are all these IIC+ dorks going to sit down with a bowel and A/B it with a real chocolate bar? I'll be getting one of these amps next year probably. And its because of the way it sounds and the features it has, not the names on the faceplates. Doesnt anyone have a beating a dead horse smiley?

Say what you want. The 2 Mark IIC+ heads i owned completely smoked the Mark V. Let's leave out the talk of how close the V can get and just judge them as different amps. The Mark V sounds and feels congested, harsh, boxy. The IIC+ sounds and feels tight, liquidy, organic, you know, all the good stuff. Most everyone i know has sold off the V's and moved on, or gone back to IV's or IIC+'s.

Funny how i see people compare and while they say the V gets close, they always pick the IIC+. And forget comparing combos, if you like the sound of an open back 1x12 for high gain then i can't relate to you at all.

I love a band wagon...maybe I should get a IIC+...

I guess you can argue that about the MK V also

Moral of the story: Play what you freaking like

 

[dodger916]

I wonder if Mesa knew the controversy they'd stimulate with their use of references to the C+ and IV in their marketing "hype" (original topic)? I mean, they practically called out the C+ owners! They might be laughing their butts off watching us "debate" this, or maybe they don't give a hoot.

Either way, the consesus seems to be that the V sounds real close to a C+, but it does not capture the same feel and dynamics, although the Alabama Mafia was highly impressed at their shootout. Many V owners don't care because they love their amp with its boundless array of great tone. The die-hard C+ owners love their amps also for "the right reasons" and refuse to give up the ghost. About right so far?

 

[th0rr]

When captain crunch comes out with a chocolate flavored cereal are all these IIC+ dorks going to sit down with a bowel and A/B it with a real chocolate bar? I'll be getting one of these amps next year probably. And its because of the way it sounds and the features it has, not the names on the faceplates. Doesnt anyone have a beating a dead horse smiley?

Say what you want. The 2 Mark IIC+ heads i owned completely smoked the Mark V. Let's leave out the talk of how close the V can get and just judge them as different amps. The Mark V sounds and feels congested, harsh, boxy. The IIC+ sounds and feels tight, liquidy, organic, you know, all the good stuff. Most everyone i know has sold off the V's and moved on, or gone back to IV's or IIC+'s.

Funny how i see people compare and while they say the V gets close, they always pick the IIC+. And forget comparing combos, if you like the sound of an open back 1x12 for high gain then i can't relate to you at all.

Congested, harsh, boxy? :roll: I do not get that at all.

Look I understand IIC+ owners love their amps. What I don't understand is all the butthurt some seem to express over the Mark V. Seriously, I mean these arguments are starting to become as relevant as Ford vs Chevy. Even more ridiculous since tone is so subjective and personnel.

Oh and while we're at it, My dad can kick the nuts off of your dad.

 

[Bullen]

I just picked up my new Mark V head this morning. I´ve played it for about a hour, and I really like it.
The clean modes are really great. Ch 2 is a big step up from the IV and the IIC+ mode sounds really great, whether it´s close to the real thing or not.

But I do understand some of the comments made by old school Mark users, the ch 3 modes do sound slightly different from what I´m used to as a long time Mark user. I think it has something to do with the midrange, but I can´t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it´s more mid scooped or something. I´m not saying it´s better or worse than it´s older siblings, just different.

I do admit that the hype got to me as I didn´t really need a new amp. Especially a new Mark series amp, but so far I´m happy with it.

 

[MasterTrax]

When captain crunch comes out with a chocolate flavored cereal are all these IIC+ dorks going to sit down with a bowel

....Won't they need their stomachs too?

Kudos to Randall and Co.....I have never seen anyone push the envelope like they do. They bring us fresh designs continuously to please our intestines

 

[ryjan]

Hype or not, it worked. How many "waiting" threads were on this board 6 months ago. People actually went without amps for several months to finance thair Mark V. God knows I almost did and would have if I done it without the wifey's knowing. :wink:
My brother in law has one that I jam on quite a bit and I have full plans on buying one once I can get a deal on a used one or a revision comes out. I can care less what the modes are named. IIC+, modern, burn, LD-2 yellow... The only thing I know is the thing sounds amazing though my 2x12 cab.

 

[phyrexia]

if the modes had been labeled like this

clean/fat/tweed
edge/crunch/smooth(syrup? hah)
dry/wet/extreme (big/bad/ugly hah)

this all would be a nonissue. You guys are getting too worked up over roman numerals. I think the Mark V is probably the best amp I've ever played, and I've played several IIC+s.

 

[Scary]

When captain crunch comes out with a chocolate flavored cereal are all these IIC+ dorks going to sit down with a bowel and A/B it with a real chocolate bar? I'll be getting one of these amps next year probably. And its because of the way it sounds and the features it has, not the names on the faceplates. Doesnt anyone have a beating a dead horse smiley?

Say what you want. The 2 Mark IIC+ heads i owned completely smoked the Mark V. Let's leave out the talk of how close the V can get and just judge them as different amps. The Mark V sounds and feels congested, harsh, boxy. The IIC+ sounds and feels tight, liquidy, organic, you know, all the good stuff. Most everyone i know has sold off the V's and moved on, or gone back to IV's or IIC+'s.

Funny how i see people compare and while they say the V gets close, they always pick the IIC+. And forget comparing combos, if you like the sound of an open back 1x12 for high gain then i can't relate to you at all.

My Mark 5 sounds ANYTHING BUT congested.

Harsh? With this many options you can make it sound like a toilet bowl flushing if you want too, but it's easy to smooth it out in a couple seconds of twisting.

Boxy? I've noticed this, but it's easy to get rid of. At a certain point, any amp can sound bad. You have to tweak it for what it CAN do instead of what it cant.

 

[gplex]

Hype or not, it worked. How many "waiting" threads were on this board 6 months ago. People actually went without amps for several months to finance thair Mark V. God knows I almost did and would have if I done it without the wifey's knowing. :wink:
My brother in law has one that I jam on quite a bit and I have full plans on buying one once I can get a deal on a used one or a revision comes out. I can care less what the modes are named. IIC+, modern, burn, LD-2 yellow... The only thing I know is the thing sounds amazing though my 2x12 cab.

Right on. People are very passionate about thier beloved originals. I get that. I am sure they have some different traits and sound different in some ways. They will also only appreciate in value, and become harder to find. If I had one I would keep it.

I think Mesa named the modes in an attempt to market players who want that IIc+, IV tone, but have never played them. It worked on me. It is the best sounding most versitile amp I have ever played. On IIC+ mode I can get a very convincing early Mettallica tone. It's close enough for me. On MKIV mode I get a really good Lamb of God tone. It sounds right to me. The clean's and sudo cleans are scary good also.

As for the complaints about solder and it's lead %, the pots, etc. Go check out a Marshall JVM. I could see complaints there. The pots are soldered to the circuit board and don't even have an attachment to the chassis face plate. You can push them in, they are spongy. Orange amps also mount the pots to the board, but are fixed to the faceplate. Mesa still uses pots chassis mounted, and wire tap's, if they break, it's an easy repair. I read a post saying this is the end of an eara. That is a foolish statement. All in all Mesa amps are made better than most of the new production amps, and in the same price range as Marshall and Orange.

As far as the bug's that have been reported ( I had some too ). It is a brand new product. I don't care if it's a new model car, snowmobile, or motorcycle, new products always have bug's. They will straighten it out. I alway know full well when buying the newest thing on the block, it might have some bugs. Regardless of what it is. Usually I wait a year or so. I just could'nt wait with this. It is fantastic.

 

[MrMarkIII]

I thought he meant "bowl". I could see sitting down to check out a Mark V with a bowl or two :lol:

 

[Nermel]

As for the complaints about solder and it's lead %, the pots, etc. Go check out a Marshall JVM

eh...yeah Have to agree with that...while my Marshall JVM 410C was a sweet amp...it's construction was a more than a step or two below that of my MK V...Mesa's quality is just fantastic...Marshall cut so many corners it's not even funny...(don't know why that'd ever be funny, but meh)

 

[theroan]

When I had a Mark IV, I was driving to practice one day with my combo in the back seat. I braked hard and the combo slammed into the back of the passenger seat. In so doing pushed the power switch inward and rendering the amp useless in the process. When I brought it in to be fixed, the tech said I was lucky it was a Mesa because on most amps that accident would have broken the circuit board.

I think there are a lot of complaints here because the Mark has a big history to follow. But ElectraDyne is a brand new offering and everyone seems to love it. The Lone Star, The Road King, Roadster? Mesa hasn't rested on their laurels at all. They keep delivering.

 

[vae]

Say what you want. The 2 Mark IIC+ heads i owned completely smoked the Mark V. Let's leave out the talk of how close the V can get and just judge them as different amps. The Mark V sounds and feels congested, harsh, boxy. The IIC+ sounds and feels tight, liquidy, organic, you know, all the good stuff. Most everyone i know has sold off the V's and moved on, or gone back to IV's or IIC+'s.

Funny how i see people compare and while they say the V gets close, they always pick the IIC+. And forget comparing combos, if you like the sound of an open back 1x12 for high gain then i can't relate to you at all.

Wow -- this seems to be a bit on the harsh side.

I went backwards (have a Mark V head and recently picked up a original loaded IIC+) and while they do have differences between them I wouldn't use those adjectives.

My IIC+ is at Boogie getting checked out by MB (also getting a hardwood head cabinet made, pretty stoked) so once it comes back I plan on doing a better review discerning the differences between the two -- but from my 4 days with the IIC+ the findings that were stated in the original V vs. IIC+ shootout are pretty spot on.

So now that my IIC+ is gone, I'm back to my V which I'm loving all over again. I started to dive into the Mark IV mode a bit which I'm really digging.

 

[gplex]

When I had a Mark IV, I was driving to practice one day with my combo in the back seat. I braked hard and the combo slammed into the back of the passenger seat. In so doing pushed the power switch inward and rendering the amp useless in the process. When I brought it in to be fixed, the tech said I was lucky it was a Mesa because on most amps that accident would have broken the circuit board.

I think there are a lot of complaints here because the Mark has a big history to follow. But ElectraDyne is a brand new offering and everyone seems to love it. The Lone Star, The Road King, Roadster? Mesa hasn't rested on their laurels at all. They keep delivering.

You got that spot on. +1

 

[JOEY B.]

the findings that were stated in the original V vs. IIC+ shootout are pretty spot on.

And there you have it. 8) If you did not have the original DRG C+ to comare it to, right then and there, I could see how frustration would set in for Daneyo. When we first started to compare the two in the shootout, it was not even close, but with enough tweaking a very similar tone could be acheived. As far as the "feel" goes, the original C+ has a juicy quality that I have not heard from any Mark series lead channel since 1985. There, I said it, and it is only my opinion, so keep the flaming to a minimum, please. :twisted:

 

[Scary]

the findings that were stated in the original V vs. IIC+ shootout are pretty spot on.

And there you have it. 8) If you did not have the original DRG C+ to comare it to, right then and there, I could see how frustration would set in for Daneyo. When we first started to compare the two in the shootout, it was not even close, but with enough tweaking a very similar tone could be acheived. As far as the "feel" goes, the original C+ has a juicy quality that I have not heard from any Mark series lead channel since 1985. There, I said it, and it is only my opinion, so keep the flaming to a minimum, please. :twisted:

I can't imagine having a tone more juicy than channel 1 tweed on the Mk5. I have to get my hands on a IIc+ one of these days. The Mk4 is not calling me back I can say that at least.

 

[JOEY B.]

I can't imagine having a tone more juicy than channel 1 tweed on the Mk5. I have to get my hands on a IIc+ one of these days. The Mk4 is not calling me back I can say that at least.

Notice that I spoke of the lead channel in the later Marks. The MkV tweed mode, channel 1 with the gain low and the master cranked was very close to the DRG C+ with all STR-415 tubes. The fat clean on the V did not have the "Spank" that the tweed mode did, for sure. A very nice tone, indeed.

 

[gplex]

the findings that were stated in the original V vs. IIC+ shootout are pretty spot on.

And there you have it. 8) If you did not have the original DRG C+ to comare it to, right then and there, I could see how frustration would set in for Daneyo. When we first started to compare the two in the shootout, it was not even close, but with enough tweaking a very similar tone could be acheived. As far as the "feel" goes, the original C+ has a juicy quality that I have not heard from any Mark series lead channel since 1985. There, I said it, and it is only my opinion, so keep the flaming to a minimum, please. :twisted:

No flaming here. Don't you think the V sounds great though. I am sure it's different, but all in all, pretty awesome, huh?

 

[JOEY B.]

No flaming here. Don't you think the V sounds great though. I am sure it's different, but all in all, pretty awesome, huh?

Absolutely! If you will notice there are others that talk about the "feel" of the original C+. I am not dogging the MarkV, nor am I trying to sell a C+. There is no reason for me to spout off some bullshit like "tone sucking EQ" or any other fallacy. It's all good. 8)