DavidE Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 I thought people here might be interested in the review of the Mark V posted on www.birdsandmoons.com: flyingvee Dazed and Confused Join Date: Jan 2009Location: Stranded in IowaPosts: 699 My first crack at a Mk V - boy am I happy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yes, I am ecstatic. Because at least from first play, I have absolutely no desire to go grab a new Mk V. It is very versatile and has buckets of various sounds and options - but at least from first go round, the majority of them are not pleasing to my ear.backstory - I had a Mk I in '77; I have had at least one Mk ever since, plus a half dozen or so other Mesa products. I'm currently gigging with a Mk IV, Lonestar Special, Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R and a Bogner Shiva EL34.Back to the V. And before I get into detail, let me point out the one thing that struck me more than anything else - on the V, more than any other Mesa amp I've used, the difference between the 10/40/90 watt settings are huge. We're not talking about a touch more or less amp saturation here - the difference is more like going from my Gibson Skylark to a 100 watt Super Lead. The 40 watt setting is usable - I could probably voice one channel at 40 watts, another at 90; but at least from one short audition, I wouldn't be using the 10 watt setting for anything except bedroom playing. 10 watts isn't just more saturated, with "Class A boutique goodness" - it is more like indistinct, undefined mooosh. I'm using a couple Class A amps - there is no comparison. Sry, Mesa.That said, I do like channel 1. That is where I started, and frankly, if I owned a Mk V, that is where I'd spend most of my time. With the toggle set at fat, the clean channel was pretty sweet. Musical, nicely rounded. "Clean" was a bit antiseptic, and "Tweed" was just too tweedy - almost a parody of a real Fender tweed.And that, to my ears, was where the Mk falls down. In trying to emulate 30 years of Boogies, it doesn't really come a lot closer than the Heartbreaker did 10 years ago. The Mk 1 settings in channel 2 don't sound like either of my Mk 1s; and in channel 3, the Mk IV setting sounded like my IV in the hands of an neophyte, and the IIc+ setting was just plain weak.I'm sure Mesa will sell a lot of them; but I'm willing to bet that they turn up used in almost equally great numbers, as users find that there just aren't any great sounds to be had. Again - it seems to me like another Heartbreaker, albeit with a more options. And if I hadn't been burned by the promise of the Heartbreaker, I might be more excited. But the V, like the Heartbreaker (an aptly named amp if I've ever owned one) sounds ok in the store - lots of variations, few of which are actually very good or usable, but all of which keep whispering into your ear "Buy me, take me home, play with me, tweak me, and I'll be a goddess." When really, all you have are 50 sounds, of which 45 or so are worse than what you already have.My Lonestar Special does the class A thing much better than the V; my Hot Cat 30 does saturated leads with far more depth and complexity than the Gain channel of the V; and my Shiva does everything better than any channel or setting on the V.My two cents. Luck to everyone who has one; I'm sure you'll find something to justify dropping 2k. I just couldn't. (and lord knows, I wanted too. )
KH Guitar Freak Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Funny, first review I've seen by which the reviewer is overall not impressed...
RobB Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Yipes. Sounds like he really took the time to ring out the V. As it IS the first version, I'm sure RSmith/crew will be doing revisions ala the Stilettos. Seems, like most Boogie multi-channel amps, it would be a good choice for covers/Top40/casuals, etc., having plenty of tones but not the most "ideal" ones. Comparing it to Bogner/Matchless/Lonestar is pretty heavy company.Maybe this is why Line6 has had so much success with the SpiderValve amps? They may not have PTP snob-appeal, but you've got a literal encyclopedia of classic sounds at your command. A half-stack for half the price of a boutique head? Seems like a no-brainer.That said, I know more than a few RoadKing owners who really think Boogie nailed it with that model.
Lockbody Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 That said, I know more than a few RoadKing owners who really think Boogie nailed it with that model. Until the Roadking II came out
edgar_allan_poe Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Until the Roadking II came out Disagree...I have a RKI and wouldn't trade it for TWO RKIIs. Channel 2 on the original RKI set to EL34, triode, tube rectified, 50 watts, with the master cranked is old school EL34 heaven. I spend a lot of time on that channel and IMHO it is damn near perfect. The RKII voiced the channel differently and IIRC removed the pentode/triode switch for the EL34s.The only thing that the RKII has that I would want is a tuner out option on the FS.
lesterpaul Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I own a V-disagree on several areas-I love the Mark series and this does not dissapointthe 10 watt setting shines on channel one-the amount of breakup really surprised me-if you play classic rock/blues/country, you can do it all with channel one or twoI have a/b'd with a C+..so far, it pretty much nails it, at least on the lead channel(he doesnt strike me as someone who has played too many Marks..they need some dialing in,and you can easily get lost if you are a Mk noob...)-I have 2 buddies who owned a Mk 1-they say it nails the Mk I10 watts just for bedroom playing??he DIDNT spend a lot of time with this amp-the 10 watts are plenty loud and sound sincredible with a Tom Anderson Hollow T,Les Paul Standard, Fender Strat, and my Hamer Calias always, mileage varies, but this isnt a clone amp-its a workhorse IMO-my C+'s are going to be staying under lock and key while this goes to the smokey barsIIC+ plain weak??I a/b'd them,tweaked them(I own two C+'s...) plain weak my ass-his review is plain weak-bottom line, his op...but I would not give a "review" after a short time with an amp with so many options-I have spent approx. 12 hours with mine since I got it last week,and I am happy ..very happy so far..as we all know, mileage will vary
KH Guitar Freak Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Until the Roadking II came out Disagree...I have a RKI and wouldn't trade it for TWO RKIIs. Channel 2 on the original RKI set to EL34, triode, tube rectified, 50 watts, with the master cranked is old school EL34 heaven. I spend a lot of time on that channel and IMHO it is damn near perfect. The RKII voiced the channel differently and IIRC removed the pentode/triode switch for the EL34s. The only thing that the RKII has that I would want is a tuner out option on the FS. Maybe they went in a slightly different direction, cause everyone at that time was bitching about how it didn't sound like a Marshall or whatnot...
Brownsound Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I started to get turned off when the amps started to look more like the cockpit of an airplane than the control panel of a guitar amp. I will aggree with him on most of the low watt settings on the recent Mesas I have tried. The overdrive turns to moosh quite early on.
MCChris Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Recently I finally got around to trying out the Tremoverb head I bought from Bubs at the Minneapolis Jam in April. I was pretty disappointed with the High-Gain modes, both Vintage and Modern. WAY too much compression. The Clean and Blues modes are terrific. Reminded me why I prefer single channel amps: I don't see the point of having multiple modes at my disposal if several of them are unusable to me.
edgar_allan_poe Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Maybe they went in a slightly different direction, cause everyone at that time was bitching about how it didn't sound like a Marshall or whatnot... rolleyes.gifExactly, the guys who were bitching were complaining about the lack of gain on the channel. The old school EL34 sound is not about gain, it is about power tube breakup and this nails it. The RKII has a lot more gain on channel 2 and removed the pentode/triode switch. It sounds like a modded JCM800 IMHO and that isn't what I need or want out of channel 2. YMMVIt would be unfair of me to not mention that I have a set of NOS Tesla 12ax7s for my pre tubes and a pair of NOS Sylvania 6CA7s for my EL34s. The amp was great before the swap, but after the swap...whoah...absolutely insane amp. People also complained about the lack of headroom on the clean channel and with the stock 6L6s is *was* a bit too compressed and flat sounding. A quad of NOS Sylvania 7581As solved that problem.
KH Guitar Freak Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 Maybe they went in a slightly different direction, cause everyone at that time was bitching about how it didn't sound like a Marshall or whatnot... rolleyes.gif Exactly, the guys who were bitching were complaining about the lack of gain on the channel. The old school EL34 sound is not about gain, it is about power tube breakup and this nails it. The RKII has a lot more gain on channel 2 and removed the pentode/triode switch. It sounds like a modded JCM800 IMHO and that isn't what I need or want out of channel 2. YMMV It would be unfair of me to not mention that I have a set of NOS Tesla 12ax7s for my pre tubes and a pair of NOS Sylvania 6CA7s for my EL34s. The amp was great before the swap, but after the swap...whoah...absolutely insane amp. People also complained about the lack of headroom on the clean channel and with the stock 6L6s is *was* a bit too compressed and flat sounding. A quad of NOS Sylvania 7581As solved that problem. I have a Roadster head, with is essentially the same for the channel 2 Brit mode. I love mine, when the gain and treble is around the 3 o'clock mark, it's like a Marshall Vintage Modern, only fatter and better sounding. Turn down the gain, you can get into some old school JTM45 to semi Plexi like tones...
lesterpaul Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 I started to get turned off when the amps started to look more like the cockpit of an airplane than the control panel of a guitar amp. I will aggree with him on most of the low watt settings on the recent Mesas I have tried. The overdrive turns to moosh quite early on. THE 10 WATT is killer on the clean channel-dime the gain ,flip her down into variac/tweed, and its a great class A style tone the manual would scare alot of cats away...60 plus pages/and a player needs to actually read those pages/if the amp looks like a cockpit to you, then the manual might look like WAR AND PEACE!..on 10 watt in chan 2/3, you gotta tweak it differently to avoid that "moosh"
carfish7 Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 These are helpful reviews all. I had entertained the notion of auditioning the MKV when it arrived, and could probably swing the buy-in if I sold my MKIIC+. But when I can get all the tones I need on both sides of the clean and dirty spectrum, and only have 7 knobs to deal with (O.K., there are a pair lurking on back, too), I think I'll stand pat. The disadvantage is not having them all available at once, but toss in a couple dirt boxes to augment the gold that is already being mined and the rest look like a waste of engineering chops for the sake of added complexity.Simple simply rules in my book.The Roadster would be sweet for a gigging cat, no? Maybe the MKV will do a bunch of stuff well too, but will it have any "signature" tone that becomes legendary like a couple that have come before it?Z
Mindseyes Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 And I'll stick with my Chuga-Chuga-Chuga 150watt T-rec!!!!! I think it looks like a fun amp though, I just like Mesa stuff in general. Out of all the different mesa's ive played the only one i could not find a sound i liked was the Rocket 44 or something like that.
lesterpaul Posted June 24, 2009 Posted June 24, 2009 These are helpful reviews all. I had entertained the notion of auditioning the MKV when it arrived, and could probably swing the buy-in if I sold my MKIIC+. But when I can get all the tones I need on both sides of the clean and dirty spectrum, and only have 7 knobs to deal with (O.K., there are a pair lurking on back, too), I think I'll stand pat. The disadvantage is not having them all available at once, but toss in a couple dirt boxes to augment the gold that is already being mined and the rest look like a waste of engineering chops for the sake of added complexity. Simple simply rules in my book. The Roadster would be sweet for a gigging cat, no? Maybe the MKV will do a bunch of stuff well too, but will it have any "signature" tone that becomes legendary like a couple that have come before it? Z i am not selling my C's!!But, the V will be the gigger!!I like the crunch mode on channel 2/extreme reminds me of part rec/part mark...signature tone??nothing totally new to me/just loving the flexibility and the ability to let my sound shine through(whateverthehell that is...)the dynamics are good...very good(I owned a IV B and I like this better...NOT a IV slam,fellas!!helluva amp..it sounded a little sterile next to a C+..this sounds better to my ears...) -gonna do the 6L-EL combo next few days..stay tuned
edgar_allan_poe Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I have a Roadster head, with is essentially the same for the channel 2 Brit mode. I love mine, when the gain and treble is around the 3 o'clock mark, it's like a Marshall Vintage Modern, only fatter and better sounding. Turn down the gain, you can get into some old school JTM45 to semi Plexi like tones... The Roadster doesn't have EL34s and has the RKII channel 2. The reason I didn't like it is as follows...1. It sounds like a modded Marshall, and I can get *close* to that on channel 3 with the gain down a tad and 50 watt EL34s selected.2. True, you may be able to get close to that sound by turning the gain down on channel 2 but when I am gigging I don't want to be twiddling with knobs.3. Turning the gain down will only work if you crank the master, and again, I don't like to twiddle on the fly.Here is how I have my RK set up.1 Ultra clean = Fat, 4x6L6, SS rec. 2. Old Marshall = Brit, 2XEL34, tube rec 3. Modded Marshall (80s tone) Raw, 2xEL34, SS rec 4 Insane Boogie = Modern, 4x6l6, tube recI would say that 80% of the time I am on channels 2&3. I also have the amp set to Bold and the EL34 section on Triode.
Scottcrud Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I won't be buying one. Frankly I'd rather stick with my .50 Cal+ or my Studio Pre/2:90 rack set up. Plus, the fact is that Boogies aren't built as well as they used to be. But I guess that's what happens when you sell millions of amps, the QC goes down instead of up.
carfish7 Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I won't be buying one. Frankly I'd rather stick with my .50 Cal+ or my Studio Pre/2:90 rack set up. Plus, the fact is that Boogies aren't built as well as they used to be. But I guess that's what happens when you sell millions of amps, the QC goes down instead of up.Are they not built as well or are they just that much more complex? I mean, as I said, my IIC+ has 7 knobs on the front where the V has 20 or so! All that switching of power sections and mini toggles changing circuits - there must be a TON of wire and accompanying connections in there. More stuff to go wrong, yes, but I'll wager the actual QC at Mesa is still pretty good. Maybe not built as well as the earlier MK series stuff (with those big, shiny double-sided PC boards), but pretty solid I'd wager. Their stock tubes are often suspect, however.Z
KH Guitar Freak Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 I have a Roadster head, with is essentially the same for the channel 2 Brit mode. I love mine, when the gain and treble is around the 3 o'clock mark, it's like a Marshall Vintage Modern, only fatter and better sounding. Turn down the gain, you can get into some old school JTM45 to semi Plexi like tones... The Roadster doesn't have EL34s and has the RKII channel 2. The reason I didn't like it is as follows... 1. It sounds like a modded Marshall, and I can get *close* to that on channel 3 with the gain down a tad and 50 watt EL34s selected. 2. True, you may be able to get close to that sound by turning the gain down on channel 2 but when I am gigging I don't want to be twiddling with knobs. 3. Turning the gain down will only work if you crank the master, and again, I don't like to twiddle on the fly. Here is how I have my RK set up. 1 Ultra clean = Fat, 4x6L6, SS rec. 2. Old Marshall = Brit, 2XEL34, tube rec 3. Modded Marshall (80s tone) Raw, 2xEL34, SS rec 4 Insane Boogie = Modern, 4x6l6, tube rec I would say that 80% of the time I am on channels 2&3. I also have the amp set to Bold and the EL34 section on Triode. That's some cool shit indeed. As for me, it doesn't bother me, as it does sound British like, and I'm going to purchase a Stiletto Deuce II head down the road anyway. Stereo goodness... These are helpful reviews all. I had entertained the notion of auditioning the MKV when it arrived, and could probably swing the buy-in if I sold my MKIIC+. But when I can get all the tones I need on both sides of the clean and dirty spectrum, and only have 7 knobs to deal with (O.K., there are a pair lurking on back, too), I think I'll stand pat. The disadvantage is not having them all available at once, but toss in a couple dirt boxes to augment the gold that is already being mined and the rest look like a waste of engineering chops for the sake of added complexity. Simple simply rules in my book. The Roadster would be sweet for a gigging cat, no? Maybe the MKV will do a bunch of stuff well too, but will it have any "signature" tone that becomes legendary like a couple that have come before it? Z I own a Roadster, and don't gig. Still sounds sweet the last time I checked...
Scottcrud Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 Are they not built as well or are they just that much more complex? I mean, as I said, my IIC+ has 7 knobs on the front where the V has 20 or so! All that switching of power sections and mini toggles changing circuits - there must be a TON of wire and accompanying connections in there. More stuff to go wrong, yes, but I'll wager the actual QC at Mesa is still pretty good. Maybe not built as well as the earlier MK series stuff (with those big, shiny double-sided PC boards), but pretty solid I'd wager. Their stock tubes are often suspect, however.ZAll I know is I've never had one problem with my .50 cal, Studio preamp, MKIII's from the 80's. Are there Dog MKIII, .50's or other Mesa Boogie from the 80's, probably. I bought a Dual Recto brand new in 1994, right out of the box the fx loop did not work. Had to send it back to Boogie. My amp repairman is a certified Mesa Boogie tech, the only one in Austin, owns his own amp company Austin Tone Lab, He's one of the most knowledgeable amp guys I've ever talked too, he's friends with Randall Smith, and Mike Bendinelli, has called Mike while I was at his shop... He told me that he's repaired 20 times more Boogies than he ever has, that all the LDR's, simul class, modes, switches, half power, tweed power etc. is just too much stuff going on. Remember when you got you're MKIIC's? How long did you tweek your amp before you were completely happy? A few weeks, months? My.50 cal took me a year to figure out, same with my MKIII's. The new Boogies, you can get a good tone out of in 15 minutes (on 1 channel). And I agree, the stock tubes do suck.
lesterpaul Posted June 25, 2009 Posted June 25, 2009 with Mk II's, if you understand the shared controls, it doesnt a lot of tweaking I have sent mine back for the Mike B. touch, but hey, they were made in the 80's/knocking on wood, but all of mine have been in great shape/I do a lot of homework before plopping $$ on one/it pays off-I wouldnt buy one if I couldnt play through it/inspect/etc...but I have been very lucky in that respect/all buys have been local
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