Mesa Mark V finally unveiled!
- Thread starter Temps
- Start date
J.DavisNJ
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Yeah the Marks are definitely not for everyone. A very specific sound for sure...
Also the cab that they are paired with is pretty damn important. I heard a Mark IV through one of those old boogie cabs with the metal grille and it was SWEET!
-Joe
Also the cab that they are paired with is pretty damn important. I heard a Mark IV through one of those old boogie cabs with the metal grille and it was SWEET!
-Joe
from my experience with the road king, changing the power sections, and even wattage seemed to make little difference in sound with this amp. maybe something was wrong with it? but i have removed tubes from my dual rec, and ran it at half power, and used different types of power tubes (el34/6l6) and it was a MUCH noticeable difference.
I WILL HAVE TO HEAR CLIPS BEFORE i can decide whether it would be a better idea just to go pick up a used mark iv rather than buy this thing.
think: jmc 900
peavey 6505+
3 channel recto`s (to a lesser extent)
pretty much ever amp that attempts to recreate another amp
but you never know with mesa
J.DavisNJ
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Jaymz
Stymphalian Productions
aramism
Member
marks just have different gain voicing than rectos. no matter how hard you try you can't get it to sound brittle. it's so fucking smooth and has more mids than the earths core.
the thing with the mark amps is they don't really kick into optimal tone range unless you really drive the power tubes a lot. they have more gain believ it or not in the front end of the amp and you can get a good lead tone at lower volumes but to really get it growling and screaming you gotta have some physical space to crank it.
the lead tone is hands down the best, on a iic+ and iv. IMO it is unrivaled in any amp ever. the rest of it is very good also. its just extremely clean and defined unlike more high gain modern amps where you need all types of stuff to get that.
the thing with the mark amps is they don't really kick into optimal tone range unless you really drive the power tubes a lot. they have more gain believ it or not in the front end of the amp and you can get a good lead tone at lower volumes but to really get it growling and screaming you gotta have some physical space to crank it.
the lead tone is hands down the best, on a iic+ and iv. IMO it is unrivaled in any amp ever. the rest of it is very good also. its just extremely clean and defined unlike more high gain modern amps where you need all types of stuff to get that.
RockGuitarX
Miles of Machines
+1 on the mids and lead tone.
I'm really interested in trying out the Mark V... Although I doubt I'll ever see one anytime soon.
Ermz
¯\(°_o)/¯
@J.DavisNJ: I can't remember, sorry! It was the guy's Rhoads. Could've been a JB or something of the like. I know the neck had a Holdsworth pickup in it. Drop B tuning, hence the floppiness. The cab was a Recto Standard (Oversize). We were tightening it up with my custom TS.
@The_Shred: Glad to hear it! Yes the amp records very well. It has a super pleasant smooth midrange character that translates amazingly well to recording.
@The_Shred: Glad to hear it! Yes the amp records very well. It has a super pleasant smooth midrange character that translates amazingly well to recording.
J.DavisNJ
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Thanks Ermin! Great sounds...
Also let me mention that the Mark series have such unconventional tone controls. They work in such a strange way. If you demo one of them with the mindset of Marshall tone controls you are in for an epic fail moment lol.
When I had mine, my mids were at zero or 1, treble higher (around 7-8, it also controls some of the gain), and lows were quite low, maybe 2-3 on the dial. The graphic EQ on those amps is indispensable.
Also I think Lamb of God's tone sucks personally! Those amps can sound so much thicker and bigger than that tone.
-Joe
Also let me mention that the Mark series have such unconventional tone controls. They work in such a strange way. If you demo one of them with the mindset of Marshall tone controls you are in for an epic fail moment lol.
When I had mine, my mids were at zero or 1, treble higher (around 7-8, it also controls some of the gain), and lows were quite low, maybe 2-3 on the dial. The graphic EQ on those amps is indispensable.
Also I think Lamb of God's tone sucks personally! Those amps can sound so much thicker and bigger than that tone.
-Joe
