The next Mark - what would we need?

[Ulf2]

Hmm, does no one love the Mark I mode?

 

[stephen sawall]

1 Lone Star clean channel
2 English crunch channel (Mesa has already done several)
3 Dual Rectifier
4 Mark Lead

2 GEQ's

 

[LesPaul70]

1 Lone Star clean channel
2 English crunch channel (Mesa has already done several)
3 Dual Rectifier
4 Mark Lead

2 GEQ's

...5. All that, and not heavier than a RK 2x12 combo. Mission impossible?

Seriously, to do the Recto any justice at all, you would need a different power stage for your channel 3. Its tone relies heavily on the power amp. With a Mark power amp, you would just end up with a slightly different sounding Mark tone.

But if you're going to include different power amps, I'd much rather just take Progressive Linkage. That'd be much more doable and useful than a Recto imitation in a Mark package.

As for the Edge mode vs Crunch mode, don't expect to get many stellar tones from the Edge mode with 6L6 tubes. It was designed for EL34 tubes, and with them you can get great mildly distorted 70s rock tones from Blackmore to early AC/DC. The same thing applies to Crunch mode as well, IMO. You have no idea what it is capable of until you try it with EL34s.

Of course, if the Mark V had Progressive Linkage, you could easily try that...just switch your channel 2 to EL34 power.

Which is why I think Progressive Linkage would be the best imaginable new feature for Mark Next.

 

[Nicklotsaguitars]

I love Mark1 mode. But only use it when I have my G system plugged in. So I can use the G's eq to sort the nonsense bass out.
As for putting a Marshall sound in a Mesa, forget it. Marshall have gone too high gain and they just sound bad now, in a bid for a more American sound. I think that both companies need to stick to their specialities. And yes, Marshall shouldn't have done another design since the 2203.

 

[Ulf2]

I still demand:

Give me a Mark VI with MIDI switching
and the option to also use the IIC+ sound in channel 2

or better make it a four channel equivalent to the Roadking 2
Clean, Crunch, High Gain 1, High Gain 2
If you had three voicing options per channel it would just be great.
and you could add the progressive linkage if you make the head bigger.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Hmm, does no one love the Mark I mode?

I LOVE the Mark I channel! As much as i love the IIC+ and IV channels for leads, lately I've been messing with a more open high gain rhythm tone from the Extreme, then switch to Mark I for leads. KILLER STUFF!!!

Heck, I love the Mark 1 so much it's gotten me interested in a King Snake.

 

[elpingua]

Interesting question you ask OP. I think the Mark 5 is a real winner and am pretty pleased with mine. If I could make changes it would be: Add Midi. I'd also add to the combo the ability to covert open/closed cab and definitely a different speaker. So I'd like these features implamented in the next Mark 6 however....

I suspect the Mark V won't get touched for a while. Why? There are lots of Mark V variants and those are pretty new. The JP is a Mark lineage so I tend to think Boogie will focus on their other lines. Either the Rectificer line or what would also be awesome is the Triaxis to get revamped/redone. They include Recto, Lonestar and Stilletto tones into that pre-amp then it would be sweet.

 

[Ulf2]

I sold my triaxis for the Mark V. Although it is so versatile, compackt and fully programmable, I missed that extra quality compared to the Mark V.
Personally, I believe the Mark V outperforms the Triaxis in Clean, Crunch and modern High Gain sounds.
I would be in for a four channel preamp with real knobs though.

 

[dlpasco]

I need to explore Crunch a little more. It seems like the IIC+ setting with some hair taken off.....

Thats it is, but it has some balls about it.

I'm the opposite I have hardly used Edge it sounds very harsh to me. Maybe I'll spend some more time with it today.

I've gotten a lot more interested in both Edge and Crunch since I put the cabinet on the floor and disabled the fx loop. Edge sounds a lot less harsh to me now and Crunch is beastly https://soundcloud.com/dlpasco/the-wait-intro

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Wow, that sounds great D! Is that the settings you were telling me about the other day?

 

[dlpasco]

Wow, that sounds great D! Is that the settings you were telling me about the other day?

Yes - the "this should be so shrill it drills through your skull" settings. Sounds surprisingly good.

 

[Dreamtheaterrules]

Indeed!

 

[barryswanson]

Why not add power soak from the Royal Atlantic series while where at it.

 

[kraftwerkd]

The only thing I want in addition to what the Mark V currently has is an isolated 1/4" jack for a mute switch, right beside the Tuner Out jack. I use the Tuner Out and just mute the amp when I want to tune, but as I'm trying to get away from having the footswitch on stage, I can no longer get silent tuning unless I keep the tuner in the pedal chain.. but the whole reason I started using the Tuner Out was to keep the damn thing out of the chain.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

Maybe drop the power a bit and have a 6L6 and EL34 power section that you could choose from for each channel. It would be real cool if you could switch from one to the other from the pedalboard but is that type of thing even possible? I love the 6L6 and the EL34 in the Mark V.

 

[Nicklotsaguitars]

Maybe drop the power a bit and have a 6L6 and EL34 power section that you could choose from for each channel. It would be real cool if you could switch from one to the other from the pedalboard but is that type of thing even possible? I love the 6L6 and the EL34 in the Mark V.

OH GOD YES. Like the progressive linkeage thing.
Though I suspect that takes up room.
I've just gone from EL34's back to 6L6's in the Mark V. The clean sound sold it to me. I can get good high gain using em too. If I want EL34 crunch I've amps to do that. But damn would it be nice to have it in a Mark series amp along with 6L6's.
The only other thing I'd add is midi.
Or maybe even as Marshall do it on the JVM, programmable footswitches. That bring in your choice of channel, reverb,loop and volume with one button.
But I wouldn't want to give up individual selection to make room for it

 

[bandit2013]

I can probably jump on this one.....
For starters, I would base the next gen Mark series off of the JP platform. It can still be in the medium class head as it is now.

1. power supply from JP, if this is what makes it so tight and responsive (based off the IIC+ coliseum 100W head).
2. Midi control that also replaces the simple logic controller for the footswitch. The footswitch on the JP is tied into the midi function. It works flawlessly. Mark V footswitch tends to misbehave sometimes, mostly cable related but have had more issues with it using variac power mode.
3. Dual 5band EQ is much better than the single with presets.
4. Keep the multi watt settings, and the full or variac power.
5. There is a lot already going on in the Mark V, what could really be next?
6. Instrument level friendly FX Loop is a must. The line level FXLoop on current V is not compatible with most effects.
7. switchable power amp, if possible, Simul-Class extended Class A push-pull that can be changed to full Class A/B. Call it Multi-Class

At least #2, #3, and #6 would be better than nothing.

 

[Ulf2]

I can probably jump on this one.....
For starters, I would base the next gen Mark series off of the JP platform. It can still be in the medium class head as it is now.

1. power supply from JP, if this is what makes it so tight and responsive (based off the IIC+ coliseum 100W head).
2. Midi control that also replaces the simple logic controller for the footswitch. The footswitch on the JP is tied into the midi function. It works flawlessly. Mark V footswitch tends to misbehave sometimes, mostly cable related but have had more issues with it using variac power mode.
3. Dual 5band EQ is much better than the single with presets.
4. Keep the multi watt settings, and the full or variac power.
5. There is a lot already going on in the Mark V, what could really be next?
6. Instrument level friendly FX Loop is a must. The line level FXLoop on current V is not compatible with most effects.
7. switchable power amp, if possible, Simul-Class extended Class A push-pull that can be changed to full Class A/B. Call it Multi-Class

At least #2, #3, and #6 would be better than nothing.

Great... I fully agree. I would also add that a Mark V should be able to do two high gain sounds. Possibly switch the Mark IIC setting with the Mark I in position?
Many other great thought in this thread, too, like progressive linage.
Personally, I use the Fat clean, the extreme and the Mk IIC sound most. A second EQ would be a dream but I can live with the pots quite good.
Of course, MIDI switching the voicings would be a real killer feature since it would turn the unit into a multi channel beast.

 

[midifail]

1 Lone Star clean channel

Fat Mode ist the Lonestar Clean, according to this:
https://youtu.be/P-u1AmMvGHw

 

[conrad79]

The manual says fat mode is derived from input 2 on the Mark I...I guess that is where the LoneStar clean also comes from then.