Wow! I just played through a Mark V!

[newfinator]

Assuming this is all accurate info, I love the fact that there is so much control over the amp. I do, however, believe that without being able to switch modes on the fly via a foot pedal that, other than selecting one for my main channel sound, I would eventually find the others redundant.

What I tend to do is fiddle with each channel until I get the sounds I like and then pretty much leave them alone. I don't tweak much after I'm satisfied. So, for me, which ever mode proved the best for me would win and I'd likely almost never use the others unless I could access them by stomping on something.

 

[cho]

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.

I didn't notice a big volume change when switching modes. (ie. IIC+ to IV). Come to think of it, I really didn't notice much of a volume change when switching power settings too...not like I would expect going from 90W to 10W.... I wish I had taken a closer look at the back to see if there were extra 1/4" jacks for switching, and/or midi....It seems to me though, that it should be an easy mod to add/modify a jack for switching a voicing toggle.... this amp is not even out yet, and we are already talking about mods...! :lol:

 

[danyeo1]

with all these options, i can see this amp having issues right away and then there being updates and stage 2, etc.

who will be the guinea pigs???

pay full price + tax to be QC?

Maybe the same people who bought one of the first Rectos and has people offering them more than it cost new since they're considered the best Rectos.

Or the guys who have a Mark IV A version since those are the sweeter sounding ones that sound the most like a IIC+

 

[stephen sawall]

I plan on getting one right off the get go. I have about a dozen amps so if I have a problem it well not slow me down.

 

[dodger916]

If they can fit Lonestar cleans and C+/Mark IV liquid in one box, I'm there! I'll probably wait until they work out the bugs though.

 

[dmcguitar]

cho, going from 90 watts to 10 watts, doesnt change volume like one would expect. at least while playing alone. It will affect saturation and tonal character more. Practice amps that are 5-15 watts are still to loud to listen to in a room by yourself without ear protection.. ie really loud.. Put in a band situation, and thats wehre it is different, the drums will drown it out. but if you are recording just a guitar traack you can crank away at 10 watts and get a fully saturated sound, unlike 90 watts which, unless you have a pro studio where you can crank it to 6+, and thats really really loud stage volume.

 

[Aart]

with all these options, i can see this amp having issues right away and then there being updates and stage 2, etc.

who will be the guinea pigs???

pay full price + tax to be QC?

Or the guys who have a Mark IV A version since those are the sweeter sounding ones that sound the most like a IIC+

owned both Mark IV versions and the difference is very small, the A is still more compressed than a C+. I liked the B better btw and kept that one.

 

[Sixstringpsycho]

I'm really curious to test drive one of these puppies. we'll see what it can do. it may have issues or it may be solid and become a highly sought after amp. time will tell. if you try it and love it i say go for it.

 

[kiff]

As much as I'd like to grab #00001, I'm sure I'll wait at least a few months. Get some time to save the $, let the reviews come in, and possibly a price drop due to the economy.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

As much as I'd like to grab #00001, I'm sure I'll wait at least a few months. Get some time to save the $, let the reviews come in, and possibly a price drop due to the economy.

I don't know if I ever saw Mesa drop prices unless it was a discontinued item. Sure wouldn't hold my breath. Besides, they know what junkies we guitar players are and that if we want something they have bad enough we'll find a way to get it.

 

[Elixir]

I'm hearing the Mark V has a modern mode? is this true? What does the recto diod option do? Seriously, I'm about to buy a recto-verb to supplement my Mark IV, but if i can get a Mark IV with a more modern high gain option... i'd **** in my pants.

 

[stephen sawall]

If you read the threads here and the few links on it you well know as much as most of us.
No Recto sounds.
But a new lead tone that is very modern voiced.

 

[cho]

Looks like I had it wrong about the pentode/triode switch. This is for Channel 3 only, not Channel 1. (I guess that makes more sense...) The diode/tube rectifier switches are for Ch. 1 and 2.

Also, it looks like that it runs in Simul class mode (Both Class A and Class A/B) in the 90W mode, Class A in the 45W mode, and single ended Class A in the 10 W mode. Sweet!

 

[cho]

I would have preferred class A/B for the 45 watt mode or selectable...

As has been stated, there is a typo on the website. One place, they say the 45W mode is Class A, and another they say it is Class A/B.

I am starting to think that it is really Class A/B. The Mark's that had Simul-class ran 15 Watts in Class A (triode) or 25 Watts Class A (pentode), so I would imagine that you would need to have Class A/B to get 45W watts from two 6L6's... (Can an electrical engineer chime in here?) Also, they say the 10W mode is single-ended Class A. But aren't all Class A configurations single ended? (Please pardon my ignorance).

 

[cho]

Very strange... Here's a blurb about the Electradyne on the website:

"Choose between the Simul-Class quartet of 6L6 for 90 watts of authority or, switch down to the Class A pair for a bouncy, easy to clip 45 watts."

This also suggests that they get 45 Watts from a Class A configuration.

Can someone at the NAMM show verify the configuration of the 45W mode?

 

[TemporarilyStairs]

Well, I got about 15 minutes of intimate time with the Mark V on Saturday: and by intimate, I mean standing in front of it playing while thousands of people were wandering around NAMM, screaming, making noise, watching... we're talking intimate in the "Paris Hilton having sex" meaning of the word. But anyway

Mark V Head into a 1x12 Widebody cab. Guitar was some sort of Strat or reasonable facsimile, HSS. Yes, that's correct, I didn't even look. I'm also not really a Mark series player: I used to play a Quad, but I've only got passing experience on former Mark series amps.

Overall thoughts: this thing is like, scary versatile. The voicing switches coupled with the power switches really make it seem like there's a good eight trillion (give or take) sounds to coax out of this thing. Strangely despite all the versatility, this might mark the first time I plugged into a Mesa and with virtually no tweaking, was able to get some solid tones. Can't tell if that's a TRUE plus or minus, but I'm sure it's a plus for anybody who does sales or anything like that Perhaps it was just because of all the hype and whatnot, but my main disappointment was that this amp doesn't do absolutely everything. I fully demand an entirely separate channel mimicking the Recto tones, except, with some added features. Also, it should have wifi and make me sandwiches.

Ch 1: Beautiful, as you'd expect. FAT really seemed to be the treasure here, but that may be my ears playing tricks on me, and particularly since I was playing through a 1x12. CLEAN and FAT seemed very similar, but FAT just obviously dialed in some more low end, and seemed to make the whole thing more shimmery. I wish I could describe these things better, but I don't think anybody is at all going to be disappointed in Ch 1. TWEED was a fun little departure, especially dropping down to 10w. TWEED actually could've passed for a whole separate channel, it sounded so different to me heh.

Ch 2: Didn't spent a ton of time on all of these modes. EDGE and CRUNCH seemed quite similar, and both were hyper-responsive, which is what I absolutely love about mid-gain tones. These two modes sounded a bit more, though I hate to use vague terms, 'british' than I would've expected to hear, which is actually pretty sweet. MARK I mode, well, I can't tell you how authentic it is, but it was a lot of fun. Huge, thick, soupy lead stuff is fun

Ch 3: And again, good stuff all around here. The Mark IV mode (again, I remind you that I spent a tiny amount of time with these things) didn't stand out to me as much as the other two. The Mark 2c+ mode was quite sweet, as you'd expect. Dialed in a bit of a V on the EQ and I couldn't help but play Orion. Flipping over to Extreme was just a blast. At first the gain was around 12 o'clock, and it was awesome: slam the strings and get huge chunkiness, but when you lightened up it cleaned up beautifully, to nothing more than a slight drive to it. I didn't really go insane with it, but after the gain was kicked up to around the 7 or 8 that was all I needed. It'd be interesting to hear it through some hotter pickups and dialed in a bit, because while it had more than 'enough' gain for my tastes, let's just say 'extreme' wasn't the first thing that sprang to mind

Really, overall, this thing is just a beast of an amp, and I don't think there will be many Mark users disappointed in the new incarnation. Quite sweet.

 

[Elixir]

I must know more about the extreme channel!

 

[rcc]

I must know more about the extreme channel!

Same here... almost no reports or discussions about this new mode that I've seen aside from here. I'd love to know how much gain it has compared to the IV and IIc+ modes, as well as it's tonal characteristics (more recto-ish?, etc...).

 

[TemporarilyStairs]

I wish I had more to report on it I only played on it for about 2 minutes obviously, but to give the worst, most vague answer possible, it really just seemed like a sorta hyped-up mark tone. It had a different voicing to it that sounded... I guess a bit more 'modern' if you will, but it didn't really give me a recto vibe at all or anything along those lines. Who knows though, 2 minutes in a loud convention center doesn't mean hardly anything. The gain as I mentioned was hard for me to get a handle on since I was playing an unknown guitar and never cranked it or anything.

I can't wait till these things start hitting the market and we start seeing a bunch of 'OMFG Mark V Clips l@@k!' to check out

 

[simonich]

As has been stated, there is a typo on the website. One place, they say the 45W mode is Class A, and another they say it is Class A/B.

I am starting to think that it is really Class A/B. The Mark's that had Simul-class ran 15 Watts in Class A (triode) or 25 Watts Class A (pentode), so I would imagine that you would need to have Class A/B to get 45W watts from two 6L6's... (Can an electrical engineer chime in here?) Also, they say the 10W mode is single-ended Class A. But aren't all Class A configurations single ended? (Please pardon my ignorance).

I'm pretty sure that Vox AC30 and Mesa Mark IV/V "Class A" designs are "poseur" class A designs but somebody may shoot me now. uh oh. The old school "real" class A circuit designs use single-ended (SE), like a single EL84 or 6V6 that doesn't get a break in the cycles and thus runs hotter. In a push-pull circuit with two power tubes (like the Vox or Mesa Mark), I'm guessing they must simulate that and do run hotter than class A/B power tubes.

There are other threads already on this "fake class A" topic....

The bottom line is that the class A mode of power in the Mark IV does sound compressed/squishy sounding to me, which is what the real SE class A tube amps sound/behave like....

NOTE: it may be that the Mark V actually runs only one power tube in 10 watt mode, I'm not too sure, then it's an SE class A. How does the Lonestar achieve this?

EDIT:

Both these circuits run Pure Class A in a Push-Pull configuration. But what really makes this Lone Star Special is its ability to switch down to five watts of single-ended power bliss (patent pending).

http://mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Lonestar/LonestarSpecial.htm

There are actually 4 things at play in the design of what people refer to as "Class A" amps. First is the actual operating class of the tube. Second is the power amp topology, single-ended or push pull. Third is the feedback design. Last is the bias circuit design.

All four of them are INDEPENDENT design decisions in the strictest sense. It's important to understand that part. That said, there are several "typical" configurations that get branded under the "Class A" heading.

So let's look at the first one - tube operating class. The definitions are really pretty clear, and they have nothing to do with guitar amps really. It's all about how the tube is setup to operate. Class A simply means that tube is working during the entire cycle of the wave form (measured at max volume before distortion occurs). In Class A/B a tube will be "resting" for part of the wave form.

Ok, now for topology. Output sections can be setup as single-ended, or push pull. Obviously any of the single output tube amps are by definition single ended. It's hard to scale power in a single ended amp, so a vast majority of amps today are designed in a push-pull topology. This design choice has nothing to do with the tube operating class. Except that any single ended amp must be class A, as there is only one tube to do the work. Class A push-pull amps still have both tubes working during the entire cycle of the wave form.

Next is the feedback loop design. Amps can either be designed with a negative feedback loop, which injects a bit of the output signal back into the input of the power amp, or with no feedback. Many of the "class A" amps have no negative feedback loop. This design choice leads to a distinctive sound.

Last is the bias, either fixed, or cathode biased. Amps like the LSS and the AC30 are cathode biased. Others (most MESAs) are fixed bias (but can have a bias adjust pot - still fixed bias, it's just adjustable as to where it's fixed).

The reality is there are a lot of "Class A" designs that are cathode biased with no negative feedback. A lot of these designs are not true class A in the strict sense (AC30). So too much is wrapped up in the marketing of these amps.


On the LSS question - yes, it does go to 1 tube in 5W mode and is therefore single ended and Class A (true). The LSC does not go to 1 tube, but IS in a single ended topology, just with 2 tubes, so is also true Class A. If it were not class A at that point the signal could not be amplified properly. Note, this does NOT mean the amp operates in class A when in the higher power modes.

Sorry for the long post. It's hard to describe all the details without writing a book (or a chapter). And yes, I realize it's complicated. I can barely keep it straight and I have a EE degree.

Hope that helps somewhat though...