Thinking of buying a Mark V - seeking opinions

[Toon]

My first time back here in 3 years after owning an Express.

Thinking of buying a Mark V after hearing so many great things about them.

Can someone send me a link to reviews pls and some opinions and experiences on owning one. Interested in the head version. Located in UK so price will be double USA I guess

Looking for HONEST opinions with good, bad and ugly please.

My current rig is http://toon.smugmug.com/Music/My-music-stuff/5487493_cCuiG#335560389_Mxemy

Thanks
John

 

[Heritage Softail]

My first time back here in 3 years after owning an Express.

Thinking of buying a Mark V after hearing so many great things about them.

Can someone send me a link to reviews pls and some opinions and experiences on owning one. Interested in the head version. Located in UK so price will be double USA I guess

Looking for HONEST opinions with good, bad and ugly please.

My current rig is http://toon.smugmug.com/Music/My-music-stuff/5487493_cCuiG#335560389_Mxemy

Thanks
John

It is a very versatile amp. I have a set of EL34's to put in it to get even more variety. It is a quite flexible amp, it will not do a Recifier and it gets pretty good in the cleans. Everything it does has a Mesa flavor to it. IMO it is not the ultra high gain amp. Even a Recto is not that by some of today's standards. Will do country, blues, rock, metal. Get a Wampler Triple Wreck and it will do all your Rectifier stuff via stomp box. It is not a modded Marshall tone but with EL34's the Edge mode gets close.

Either you can take it as a good or bad thing, there are sooo many ways to shape your tone. I spent the first month mainly tweaking the amp. You almost need a 'setting diary' with it to capture settings since there are so many. The EQ and tone pot relationship is very dynamic. Tweak time to be spent there.

Great amp, but be prepared to spend some time learning how to dial it in to fully use the tone shaping power inside.

 

[Barry]

The MV is an amazing amp . Alot of the magic lies in the EQ . I see you are from Hants . My cousin lived in tadley before immigrating here 10 years ago . My mum is from Reading

 

[fjk1138]

I had a Roadster and traded it for the Mark V. It took me a while to "de-Rectify" myself in terms of knob settings, but once I got used to the controls, I can honestly say I enjoy playing through the Mark V more. The dynamics are really spectacular.

Considering you already have a Mesa amp now, I think it will probably come down to just a matter of finding a tone that you like on the Mk V versus what you are used to hearing now. There isn't really anything that I can say is bad about the Mark V.

If you want to see some demos/reviews, check You Tube. There's a bunch on there.

I also found one on Harmony Central:

http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/125618

There are probably more out there, but this is a good start. Just be sure to spend a good deal of time trying the Mk V out in the store, and if possible try it with both open and closed back cabs. Anyone that says the amp sucks either didn't spend enough time trying it out or has a different tone in mind altogether.

 

[Digirat]

I myself upgraded from an Express 5:50 combo to a Mark V head earlier this year. I had been pretty happy with the Express, but getting the Mark V was a revelation - like going from a Skoda to a Lambourghini ! Honestly, the variety of killer tones on offer is staggering, this amp really does everything (or pretty much everything) very well. The double channel master + universal output volume control options are a godsend too if you want to use the amp at home - the Mark V sounds much better at home studio volumes than the Express - even in 5W mode I had to attenuate the hell out my Express.

The only "down" side with the Mark V is that there are so many options available that you can easily spend more time playing with all the tone options and tweaking your favourites than writing or recording with your guitar :wink: I just find this amp addictive though and despite the caveat just mentioned, have spent far more time playing than I did before. I know it sounds like MESA marketing hype, but the Mark V is so expressive that it really does inspire new ways of approaching your instrument. I'm currently using mine with Ch1 - Fat, Ch2 - Crunch and Ch3 Mark IIc+ (rhythm)/ Mark IV (lead), altough that changes from week to week! I also replaced the power tubes with EL34s after a couple of months and for me, that gives a better sound overall. I also run a Nova Repeater dealy in the loop, but that's it for effects. Good luck if you decide to go for it!

 

[Scary]

I've had mine for over a year, and I love it as much as the day I got it. The variety of sounds are great, but more importantly they all have spectacular tone and are very usable. It's not like some rack piece that has a ton of options but only 3 sound good! I have still kept my Mark IV, as I plan on using it with 6v6 in the future.. but the FIVE gets as much playtime as I have. Very inspiring, and capable of getting the tones I want to use fairly quickly.

Bear in mind that using it takes some time, and there are easy ways to make it sound bad. It is very important to have a guitar that's tone is good, because you can't disguise anything with the amp. Your mistakes, old cables, cheap pedals will all severely effect your tone.

As for negatives, no ext. footswitch jack for FX loop.

 

[SBG200]

Well you're not exactly going to get unbiased opinions coming here, but I'll say that if you like the Mark sound in general, you'll love this amp. If you don't like the Mark sound, you probably won't. If you don't know what the Mark sound is, you might want to check into that before getting the V. Some people love it, some hate it. This amp (like all Marks) is most practical if you spend a lot of your time playing in a band or at least with other musicians, as this amp really excels in a mix. If you're just a bedroom player, I think this amp is way overkill, but that's a matter of opinion.

 

[DrummerChas]

When I first got this amp, I struggled with my decision to keep it because I thought maybe I could just turn it on and turn a few knobs and be good to go. Well that wasn't the case and I ended up spending a lot of time and a little extra money to get it where I wanted it. The guys on this forum are very helpful and knowledgable about this amp. Reading through previous posts and asking questions made a big difference.

Ultimately I found that reading the manual multiple times and really listening with my ears instead of worrying about what the settings looked like was critical. I tried clean boosting and eventually switched the tubes to EL34's to get the tones I wanted. Now I just use a little delay and reverb and the tone I get out of the Mark V is sooooooo sweeeeet! I absolutely love this amp and every time I plug in and turn it on, it just seems like it gets better and better. For me it also took a little time for my ear to adapt and get used to hearing a quality amp versus the lesser grade stuff I had been playing. Once you get used to this kind of quality it's tough to go back.

If you get this amp, you will need to spend some time really getting to know it, reading the manual several times and experimenting with the settings to get your desired tone. But once you get there, with this much flexibility, it may just be the last amp you ever need.

 

[screamingdaisy]

If you get this amp, you will need to spend some time really getting to know it, reading the manual several times and experimenting with the settings to get your desired tone. But once you get there, with this much flexibility, it may just be the last amp you ever need.

+1.

Most Mesas - Marks in particular - are instruments unto themselves. And, just like the guitar a person really needs to sit down and learn how to play their amp.

 

[ave]

Keep the Blackstar cab and the V head will match perfectly. I'm in Worcester UK and it took me 8 months of waiting to upgrade from mk 1V combo to the V head but it was well worth the wait. Read, digest and follow the manual until you are familiar with what this thing can do and try to remember that the smallest of tweaks can alter the sound considerably.No real need to swap out to EL34 tubes as the 'edge' mode on channel 2 will give you all the Brit you want ( if indeed you want any more of that considering your locale ). Wind the amp up, use the loop for the time-based effects ( see this board for carbon copy advice ) and control the whole lot from the guitar's volume knobs and it really is Les Paul heaven. Good luck.
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Mkv head
2x 1x12 Boogie 3/4 back (EVs)
2x 1x12 Mesa Thieles (EVs)
1976 Gibson Les Paul De Luxe
1984 Gibson ES 175
1962 Fender Stratocaster

 

[Toon]

Thanks for all the advice folks. You all make some great points. I think my topline summary would be :

1 Make sure you like the "Mark sound" (I don't know if I do or don't yet)
2 Take time to RTFM and then read it again and again
3 Don't rush into it - make a considered decision

I will audition a Mark V in the next few days with my own guitar, cab and board and let you know the outcome. My current rig is a EL84 sound and I have gotten used to that so a move to 6L6 may prove a big change for me. Let's see. I see quite a few folks talking about swapping out the 6L6's for EL34's in the Mark V.

On the subject of pedals............ this amp has so much stuff in it I am left asking the question "Do I need pedals at all?" This would be a shame as I have a substantial investment in pedals and a good board but am slightly concerned it would be surplus to requirements with the Mark V. Opinions please?

Just so as you know, I am auditioning the Mark V against another high end boutique head - the Fuchs Overdrive Supreme 30 (fitted with 6V6's) - both heads are about the same price here in UK but quite different voices. I am a big Robben Ford fan and love his tone so the draw of the Fuchs is very strong. (If only I could play like him eh????)

However, the ODS 30 could be viewed as a bit of a "1 trick pony" - something that the Mark V is definately NOT!

 

[ave]

Ave again fellow Englishman, yes the Fuchs will be a one-trick pony (albeit a Derby winner).The Mark V wins by virtue of it's ability to win on the flat and over the jumps.
Versatility is the cornerstone of the Mark series and the V is equally at home with my Les Paul at full chat doing The Who and my 175 doing Joe Pass, and yes it will more than satisfy a prediliction for Robben Ford type tones if you are prepared to spend the necessary time dialling in the sounds to suit your own trademark sound whilst referencing the benchmark tones of your heroes, it's all there and it takes time but it is so worthwhile.
On the pedal aspect opinions vary but in my view the overdrives/distortions are totally unnecessary as the onboard facilities and judicious application of the solo function more than cater for all but the most extremist tastes. A delay in the loop, the inbuilt spring reverbs set to suit the surroundings, a decent wah and some quality cables, wind it up and you have everything you will ever need. The mark V is a gigging instrument in itself and quite possibly the last link in the rig of your dreams.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mkv head
4x1x12 boogie cabs (two 3/4 back and two Thieles - all EV12L).
Gibson Les Paul De Luxe 1976
Gibson ES175 1984
Fender Stratocaster 1962
Dunlop cry baby
Boss DD7
MXR Phase90

 

[litesnsirens]

Well I guess it's possible that some people wouldn't like the "Mark Tone" as there are people out there who don't like ice cream, pizza, beer etc. I think they are just few and far between. This amp is a smorgusboard of tone. I am absolutely in love with it. I do use effects with it, just because if you consider the 3 channels set up say as clean, crunch and drive, an OD or distortion pedal set with just a little extra oomph will give you a nice barely broken blues lead on the clean channel, dirtier lead on the crunch and then a nice singing sustaining lead on the drive channel. It's just more options. I do some covers in my bands that use some specific chorus or phaser sounds as well so I have my rig set up to allow me to cover that spectrum. I love the reverbs in the amp, but still use external for some stuff. I have the combo but also have an extra 1X12 cab for occasions when I need it.

I just noticed the John Petruccis setting thread on here today and am kind of looking forward to trying out his settings... he knows a thing or 2 about tone and those settings might be a good place for you to start when you audition the amp rather than just guessing. The amp sounded good enough for me to buy it just playing around in the store but after coming on here and really learning from others about the finer points of tweaking a Mark series amp I was really able to unlock the magic. I haven't tried EL34's in the amp, I guess I should just in case I were to love it but I am extremely happy with the way this amp sounds with the stock 6L6's.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

The Mark V does many different things excellently, many other things well, and few things poorly. With an overdrive or two handy, you can pretty much get any tone you want out of it.

It can be a pain to dial, and slight adjustments can thin out a fat tone or transform a great tone into a mediocre tone. It's not an easy amp. It has a learning curve. It's best to understand how a Mark works before touching one for the first time.

If you buy a combo, be prepared to add an external cab, especially if you play metal or hard rock. Not many metal players use 1x12 open back cabinets. So, if you need a massive sound, you need to add an external cab of the right sort to the Mark V.

 

[eudaimonia02912]

I just took a look at your rig. Most of those pedals will sound great with the V. I'd toss the Metal Zone, though. No need for that, even if you're using it as a nearly clean boost. I'd keep the Blackstar HT-Dual. You can treat that as a pseudo-fourth channel and then dial in channel 2 on the Mark V differently than you otherwise might. (I have an DistX myself for this purpose.)

The ISP Decimator works well, on the Mark, as the last pedal in front of the amp.

 

[Deadfall]

Opulence...I has it.

 

[jb's 52]

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

V equals versatility. There's sooooo many good sounds out of
this amp.

It's hard to settle on one for very long. As others have stated, I
can easily spend more time fine tuning the amp than playing.

Ugly, 'cause this amp is addictive!!! You will want to play more,
you will be anxious for band practice, and you'll get pissed if
a gig, practice or jam doesn't happen :lol:

 

[Rkorn]

I don't know what these guys play most of the time.
I have a Peavey 6505, everyone says it's the Metal amp itself.
Let me disagree on that one. I saw you have a Metalzone, it means you like high gain distortion, but with the Mark V you will not need it, and this amp kicks 6505 ***. If someone tells you something different, is because they just want some "chuga chuga" (is this what you call it??) and they don't like definition. The 6505 is a great amp if you have a great guitar and only play this chuga kind of metal, for Death, Black, Thrash, Doom... everything... this amp is for you!!! No Dual Rec, no Triple Rec, just the Mark V.
Every band that say they only use a 6505, they also use something else... no 6505 will cut through the mix like a Mark V...
I know I'm a bit dissapointed with the 6505, but it's my honest opinion.

www.myspace.com/nocturnalreveries

 

[Hendog]

It's my favorite amp and I have had some pretty nice heads.

Only 2 problems...

1. I cannot seem to get my clean channel volume loud enough.

2. You have to dial it in. Some amps sound good with all of the knobs at noon. Do that on CH3 and you dont even have a usable tone.

 

[Chester]

+1 on having to work hard on getting your sound out of Ch 3. Still havent invested enough time on fixing that issue yet

CH1 + 2 are more naturally "home" to me 8)