What tones can you NOT get from a Mark V?

[Longer]

Hi guys! 
First post, been a lurker for some time now. 
About to pull the trigger on a Mark V, very excited, but I gotta ask...

All the V's I've played have been with 6l6's. If I go with 34's, could I get close to a JTM? Close to a 800? Close to an AC30? (yes, different tubes, but still)

Anyway, I got a great idea of what it can do, but what can't it do?
Thanks! 

 

[Heritage Softail]

A Rectifier or stock Marshall. It is an attempt to recreate the more popular slices of Mark Series amps of the past.

Some say Mesa is the definition of the anti Marshall. I agree for the most part. Although some of the more aggressive Marshall mods sound a bit like the MKIIC+.

YMMV

Good luck on the tone quest!

 

[Longer]

Yeah, not trying to be delusional I love that it is a collection of Marks, I just can't help but think that with all the tone shaping capabilities, it could get you the "vibe" of most anything. 

It's easy to get into Fender territory on the clean channel. So can you get into British territory with el34s? 

 

[Heritage Softail]

Yeah, not trying to be delusional I love that it is a collection of Marks, I just can't help but think that with all the tone shaping capabilities, it could get you the "vibe" of most anything. 

It's easy to get into Fender territory on the clean channel. So can you get into British territory with el34s? 

I rolled EL34's thru it. Ch2 lost some mojo to my ears but ch3 got crunchier. It is a very complex amp. So changing tubes is a give and take. I also ran various preamp tubes thru it with similar give and take.

If you want a Marshall tone, the DSL100, old original line, is hard to beat. It is the best selling Marshall line of all time for good reason. I hear that on the Marshall forum frequently. It is cheap too!

The MKV is not a Marshall and will not sound like one IMO. Trying to get it to sound like one may lead to frustration with the amp.

There are lots of options available on it to get quite a few vibes. If you are happy with being less but not exact, the Carl Martin Plexitone pedal is quite popular and well reviewed, many YT vids.

You can accept the Mesa properties of the MKV and stomp on the Plexitone for a Marshall tone.

 

[SteveO]

The two main reasons it's tough to get a Marshall sound out of a Boogie is because 1). Marshalls drive the power section much harder than Boogies do, so their power tubes contribute to the crunch, and 2). Boogies have an emphasis on lower mids, where Marshalls have more upper mids.

Having said that, it is possible to get into the ballpark if you twist the knobs right, but I have never gotten it to where it was "perfect". Channel two crunch mode with an overdrive pedal in front (to push higher mids) works pretty well.

 

[thunder100]

Yeah, not trying to be delusional I love that it is a collection of Marks, I just can't help but think that with all the tone shaping capabilities, it could get you the "vibe" of most anything. 

It's easy to get into Fender territory on the clean channel. So can you get into British territory with el34s? 

NO at leat not myself

Therefore I have a JVM410 too

Although the liquid leads you can Play on a MkIIC+ are similar ,if you look only to gain ,like the OD1 Orange on JVM410 still Sound is very different and picking resonse also.

And that even if i Play both through a V30 cab.

if you can Play ver yloud and get the EL34's into distortion ist closer but still WAY OFF.And on my usual cab (EVM12L thiele) it becomes a very dofferent animal

My 2 Cents

Roland

 

[Chester]

Ch 2 Crunch or MK1 modes with a Fulltone FD 2 gets close, depending on your chain / pups etc. I found very small adjustments in mids got me close to the sound I wanted, which was slightly more "compressed" and rounder than a TSL or VM I owned in the past. The Dual Rec offers up a bit more of that bite

But it's more versatile and much more satisfying than the Marshalls which could get impolite and brittle IMO. That is why I now own 3 Mesa heads, and no Marshalls. I kept Marshall cabs because I like their response with mids set slightly higher than seems to be the norm, but that is my preference

The MV is an awsome instrument, and it takes time to appreciate it's tone shaping potential

 

[huje]

could I get close to a JTM? Close to a 800? Close to an AC30? (yes, different tubes, but still)

 

I would say diffetinitely not ! But with a "marshall-in-a-box"-pedal, you can get close on channel 1 or "edge" mode.

But Vox ? No

 

[Jedro]

I use EL34s. I think in Ch2 Crunch I'm in British territory. But I also use a different cab and speakers from most guys on here and I also use lower output pickups.

Maybe I'm actually in retro territory rather than British, but I can play some classic Priest and it's very believable.

I have no idea what a newer Marshall sounds like.

I love the MK5. It's just a good all-around amp and once you get a good tone, it's hard to stray from that.

 

[mule#1]

I think Ch 2 in Crunch Mode with the gain cranked all the way is very British sounding. I am using 6L6 tubes. If you use the graphic EQ you can get very close to a JCM 800 tone. You have to bump upper mids a bit on the sliders. Being a Boogie guy that is close enough for me! I considered a JVM 410H for a while but the thing is you are limited to tone shaping with the Marshall's. When you turn a knob on a Boogie you actually are shaping tone. IMHO large sweeps on the tone controls of Marshall's change very little.

 

[SteveO]

I use EL34s. I think in Ch2 Crunch I'm in British territory. But I also use a different cab and speakers from most guys on here and I also use lower output pickups.

Maybe I'm actually in retro territory rather than British, but I can play some classic Priest and it's very believable.

I have no idea what a newer Marshall sounds like.

I love the MK5. It's just a good all-around amp and once you get a good tone, it's hard to stray from that.

I can get a pretty good AC/DC thing happening in Crunch mode with EL34s and V30 speakers, but the mids are still voiced a bit lower than Marshalls. Still, it's close enough for rock and roll. Just crank the volume and it's ALL rock and roll.

 

[bandit2013]

Tone of a dying duck, Set channel 3 to 45w mode, plug in a 412- V30 cab (note speakers must be 13 years or older), you also need an old Digitech 2000 delay hooked up to the effects loop. If you are unlucky like I was, tone will immediately reveal itself but masked with the delay loop as one of the stock Mesa tubes self oscillates into Red Plate mode. Then followed by the tone of utter silence.

New tubes and speakers later, I can get many usable tones from the Mark V. This amp responds well to change in preamp tubes. Very easy to tailor the tone to your liking.

 

[borisson]

I use EL34s. I think in Ch2 Crunch I'm in British territory. But I also use a different cab and speakers from most guys on here and I also use lower output pickups.

Maybe I'm actually in retro territory rather than British, but I can play some classic Priest and it's very believable.

I have no idea what a newer Marshall sounds like.

I love the MK5. It's just a good all-around amp and once you get a good tone, it's hard to stray from that.

I can get a pretty good AC/DC thing happening in Crunch mode with EL34s and V30 speakers, but the mids are still voiced a bit lower than Marshalls. Still, it's close enough for rock and roll. Just crank the volume and it's ALL rock and roll.

for me the edge mode works better for Marshall sound...very close to 1959 super lead when i did the A/B test

 

[boogieman60]

A Marshall is a Marshall and a Boogie is a Boogie..I really think the Mk 5 has a sound all its own.. I don't even try to emulate other amps..this thing is far superior to all the others put together. Enjoy it..make new sounds break new ground

 

[mule#1]

A Marshall is a Marshall and a Boogie is a Boogie..I really think the Mk 5 has a sound all its own.. I don't even try to emulate other amps..this thing is far superior to all the others put together. Enjoy it..make new sounds break new ground

+1

 

[Jackie]

A Marshall is a Marshall and a Boogie is a Boogie.

+1, that's why I have

Marshall JVM410H
Mesa 2:90/TriAxis rig

and I have tried a buttload of other amps but I have absolutely no real GAS for anything. Anything in between I just get from combining the power section of one with the preamp of another

 

[Longer]

Thanks guys. 
I just got my Mk V head today, so I'm starting the exploration. Loving it, and I've only scratched the surface. 

 

[bandit2013]

Enjoy the amp! There is a lot in there. I have had my amp for 8 months now. Never had any issues with it since I replaced power tubes and replaced speakers in the cab. The amp responds well to different preamp tubes. What is more impressive, is different power tubes.

Like others have said, you may get close in tone to other amps, it is very versatile with all of the voicing for each channel. Considering the number of knobs and switches it may appear intimidating, but this amp is easy to use and to set up. I test drove a Rectifier Roadster head. I could not dial in a tone that I liked while in the store. I had no interest in the Mark V at the time but why not try it out. I was blown away with it. I am sure that the Roadster is a great amp, it just did not fulfill what I was seeking. I feel that the Mark V is more complete than any other Mesa guitar amp made.

If you have another amp that is different, try a signal splitter and run both the V and the other amp simultaneously. I just recently did this with my Mark IV and the Mark V. I have not tried the slave out on the V yet. I may give that a try this week.

 

[danyeo1]

Well you can't get IIC+ tones, that's for sure.

 

[TimeSignature]

A Marshall is a Marshall and a Boogie is a Boogie..I really think the Mk 5 has a sound all its own.. I don't even try to emulate other amps..this thing is far superior to all the others put together. Enjoy it..make new sounds break new ground

This is it right here.

It has its own sound. It can "do" any type of tone you want (blues, rock, metal, jazz, etc) but cant emulate any other amps... other than Mark series amps.