Wow! I just played through a Mark V!

[kiff]

Well, one guy who played it said the Mark IV voicing sounded exactly like his Mark IV. And according to Petrucci's tech, JP said he thought the IIC+ mode was very accurate.

Sigh... well, there goes my kids' college fund

 

[Silverwulf]

Sigh... well, there goes my kids' college fund

:lol: I would take what most people say with a grain of salt, but if Petrucci thinks the IIC+ mode is very accurate, who am I to disagree? He's probably spent more time recording/gigging with one than most guys have.

 

[Silverwulf]

Can't verify this, but it's been said the price will be $1999 for the head and $2299 for the 1X12 combo.

 

[Supreeth]

Wow, thanks for the great review. I can't wait for it to come out!

One question. Does the Mark V have a direct recording out like the Mark IV does?

Thanks!

 

[nitrous2400]

Ughhhhh lucky :lol: where can an east coaster try one out

 

[denrad]

For anyone that's tried it, does the Mark V have switches for bright, treble shift, deep, presence, and fat as the Mark 2C+ and IV do?

Are there switches for harmonics/mid-gain and class A/simulclass?

What remote switches are on this amp (other than channels, EQ, FX loop)?

And how many and what type of power tubes are in this?

The anticipation is killing me! I suppose the next best thing to playing the thing is getting to know more of it's features.

 

[boogietone]

The most important question on the MKV is...does it have the "Boogie" emblem on the front?
Seriously, curious as to how good the reverb is? And does it screw with the lead channel like on MKIVb's?

 

[Restless Rocks]

I've a funny feeling there's no more simulclass output. Probably uses the output tranny from the Lonestar. 90watts(all four tubes), 45watts(two tubes), 10watts(one of each pair in single ended class A like lonestar/express).

 

[cho]

I just read another review of the Mark V, filling in some more of the holes:

http://bbs.espguitars.com/showthread.php?t=32501

Apparently, there are three reverb knobs on the back, one for each channel. Sweet!

The most important question on the MKV is...does it have the "Boogie" emblem on the front?
Seriously, curious as to how good the reverb is? And does it screw with the lead channel like on MKIVb's?

Yes, it does have the Boogie logo. You can kind of see this in the Petrucci rig picture. The head had the same style cab as the recent Mark IV, that is, with the metal bands on the top to hold the amp. There was also a clamp type screw in the back that supported the transformer (or was it the reverb...my memory fails me..).

I forgot to check to see if the footswitch clamped into the chassis, like the Mark IV, but I don;t remember seeing screws on the footswitch itself, so probably not.... I did notice that the footswitch had the cable built-in, like the Mark IV.

I am wondering if they will sell their cabinets with the same Boogie logo/style. A head with matching 2x12 or 4x12 cab would be sweet!

is this a simul-class amp? not mentioned yet. classA switch, etc.???

can you sub in EL34's in the outer sockets?

The amp did say “simul-class” on the back. But since it did not have the same kind of switching as the traditional Mark simul-class (ie. Class A vs. Class AB) and since it has the same power settings as the Lonestar, I would have to agree with the poster who said that it seems more like the Lonestar setup than the traditional Mark…I don’t know…do the Lonestar amps say “Simul-class” on them? Do they allow for different tube types (6L6, EL34, 6V6) like the Mark IV?

For anyone that's tried it, does the Mark V have switches for bright, treble shift, deep, presence, and fat as the Mark 2C+ and IV do?

Are there switches for harmonics/mid-gain and class A/simulclass?

What remote switches are on this amp (other than channels, EQ, FX loop)?

And how many and what type of power tubes are in this?

I did not see switches for treble shift, deep, or presence. Each channel had unique voicing switches.

Another review (here):

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f30/mesa-boogie-mark-5-a-85513.html

clarifies one of the voicings for each channel:

channel 1 voicings- Clean, Fat Clean, Tweed
channel 2 voicings- Edge, Crunch, Mark I
channel 3 voicings- Mark IIc+, Mark IV, Extreme

In addition, there was a Bright/Normal switch on channel 1 (like the old Fenders, I suppose) and the Mark I switch on channel 2, which made it fat and bassy. I forget what the second voicing switch was on channel 3…

Glad you all liked the review! Sorry if it inspired a spike in GAS! :roll:

 

[yarzo]

Great review indeed. Thanks for the additional info. I'm looking forward to trying it out at the local shop in the next couple of months

 

[cho]

only the Mark series are simul-class AFAIK. Since somebody is finally saying the Mark V is simul-class, but apparently there are no classA/simul switch or pentode/triode, then most likely you can run 4x6L6 or 2x6L6+2xEL34 and it's fixed either pentode or triode in outer sox and fixed simul (no class A option which turns off the inner class A/B tubes in a Mark IV).

is all this guessing really worth it?

I can't say if guessing is worth it, but if I were to guess, I would say the Mark V is like the Lonestar, where the 45W and 90W modes are Class AB, and the 10W mode is Class A. This is not like the traditional Marks, but does not seem limiting (to me), given the ability to select the power settings independently for each channel.

After playing with it for a bit, I was really surprised how different each amp sounded. In part, I think this was due to the power setting. I ended up with the clean channel on 90W, the crunch channel on 45W, and the lead channel on 10W. I never played an amp that lets you do that! If that ain't "simul-class", I don't know what is! :wink:

(Also, there is a Triode/Pentode switch, on the back, for the Clean channel only. For me, the real question now is if it can use a variety/combination of power tubes! )

 

[danyeo1]

Hey Cho, do you know if the amp allows you to footswitch between the modes for each channel? I have the funny feeling the answer is no because i remember hearing Randall Smith's explanation for the reason the Stiletto's can't do that.

If the amp doesn't allow that, then that really sucks since the Marshall JVM does allow that and i was hoping the Mark V would one-up the JVM in EVERY category. I mean, we all know it's going to sound a lot better than a JVM. I'm holding out hope that with a MIDI pedal the V will allow it.

 

[cho]

Hey Cho, do you know if the amp allows you to footswitch between the modes for each channel? I have the funny feeling the answer is no because i remember hearing Randall Smith's explanation for the reason the Stiletto's can't do that.

What do you mean by modes? If you mean triode vs. pentode, then no, I don't think you can't change that via the footswitch. But if you mean power settings (10W/45W/90W), then yes...each channel has its own power setting toggle switch, accessible on the front of the amp. If you set the different channels to different power settings, then it will be changeable via the footswitch, by changing channels....

Come to think of it, there very well could have been additional 1/4" jacks on the back for additional footswitch functions, like the Mark IV has...I only looked at the back briefly.. I noticed the rectifier switches, but didn't even notice the reverb knobs... :roll:

 

[cho]

what you're describing is not simul-class. simul-class means running 2 power tubes in class A/B and 2 power tubes in class A simultaneously.

what you're describing sounds more like duo-class, which means you can run the amp in class A or class A/B, but not both simultaneously.

Yeah, you are right...Does the Lonestar say Simul-class on it, or Duo class? I am sure that the Mark V said Simul-class, so it very well could be running both Class A and Class AB in the 45 and/or 90W settings..this would suggest that different tubes could be used too, like the Mark IV. I am really looking forward to this amp.

Only question now is (and I am sure I am not alone here...) which amp will I sell to get one...? Which Boogie amp(s), if any, will become obsolete after having a Mark V? :lol:

 

[kiff]

Hey Cho, do you know if the amp allows you to footswitch between the modes for each channel? I have the funny feeling the answer is no because i remember hearing Randall Smith's explanation for the reason the Stiletto's can't do that.

What do you mean by modes? If you mean triode vs. pentode

I think he was wondering, as I am, if you can change the modes on each channel via footswitch. Like channel 3's IIC+ and MarkIV modes.

 

[Whoopysnorp]

Hey Cho, do you know if the amp allows you to footswitch between the modes for each channel? I have the funny feeling the answer is no because i remember hearing Randall Smith's explanation for the reason the Stiletto's can't do that.

What do you mean by modes? If you mean triode vs. pentode

I think he was wondering, as I am, if you can change the modes on each channel via footswitch. Like channel 3's IIC+ and MarkIV modes.

You cannot.

 

[denrad]

That's it. Then I'm gonna send mine to Bendinelli to have it made to switch between voicings...hehehehe

But seriously, if we had that option we would then probably ask for separate EQ between all voicings.

 

[mule#1]

I would like to see a combo of this in flame maple and a wicker grill! I sure hope the IIC+ sounds accurate.

 

[danyeo1]

Hey Cho, do you know if the amp allows you to footswitch between the modes for each channel? I have the funny feeling the answer is no because i remember hearing Randall Smith's explanation for the reason the Stiletto's can't do that.

What do you mean by modes? If you mean triode vs. pentode, then no, I don't think you can't change that via the footswitch. But if you mean power settings (10W/45W/90W), then yes...each channel has its own power setting toggle switch, accessible on the front of the amp. If you set the different channels to different power settings, then it will be changeable via the footswitch, by changing channels....

Come to think of it, there very well could have been additional 1/4" jacks on the back for additional footswitch functions, like the Mark IV has...I only looked at the back briefly.. I noticed the rectifier switches, but didn't even notice the reverb knobs... :roll:

No, i was hoping you could footswitch between IIC+ to IV to Extreme with the footswitch. Sounds like we can't which really sucks. Why can't Boogie wrap it's head around this idea? So then, it's basically no more versatile than a Mark IV for live gigs. I'm guessing then that switching modes such as going from IIC+ to extreme may have an impact on the volume? If so, then Boogie should have addressed this. Perphaps it's MIDI assignable but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[kiff]

They probably just had to draw the line somewhere as far as complexity, price and number of parts. Assuming it's safe to switch the modes while playing, it could be modded. Anyone want to crack open theirs when they get it? :lol: