View other reviews for this product:
jkessel « Amazingly versatile, 9 amps in 1 box!!! »
Published on 05/07/12 at 11:05Mesa Boogie Mark V. All tube preamp and 4 power tubes, simulclass so it can be 4x6L6 or 2x6L6 and 2xEL34. 3 channels, 3 modes to each channel, switchable 90/45/10 watts, full power and variac power switch, individual channel EQ as well as programmable graphic EQ for each channel. Individual channel reverb, tube or transistor rectifier, pentode or triode switching for the lead channel, all controllable via midi foot switch (included). This amp can replace an entire rack of amps and EQ's. It's just amazing all the things they put into this and still made it cheaper than other boutique style amps. Made here in the USA in California.
UTILIZATION
Mesa Boogies have been known for being notorious at setting up. Takes quite a while to get a good tone but once you do it's amazing. This breaks that chain, it's very easy to setup and get a great tone. Each channel has tons of options but very easy to understand. Simple controls: Gain, treble, bass, mid, presence, volume. Then there's the modes. Channel 1 has: clean, fat, tweed. Channel 2 has: crunch, edge, Mark I. Channel 3 has: IIC+, IV, extreme. The manual, like all Mesa manuals, are very descriptive and explain everything in great detail. Makes the amp very easy to understand.
SOUNDS
Clean is a normal mesa style clean which is similar to a Fender, very bright, sparkly, and shimmering. Fat is similar but thicker so works well with single coil pickups. Tweed shifts the treble and mid controls to a lower frequency so along with it being slightly hotter it just has a overall different sound.
Crunch is the first of the mid gain modes. Slight overdrive to it, similar to a overdriven marshall but not as much. Edge is the same but with more gain on tap. Mark I is a recreation at the legendary Mesa Mark I used by artists such as Santana. Very thick, creamy, and smooth with huge low end. Great for bluesy leads, this mode has much more gain than the other 2 modes.
IIC+ is a recreation of the also legendary Mesa Mark IIC+. Used widely in metal music by artists such as MetallicA and John Petrucci of Dream Theatre. Much higher gain, very tight, and more aggressive than the other channels. It's not dead on to a real IIC+ but it's got a very similar voicing. IV is again a recreation of the Mesa Mark IV. Also widely used by artists such as MetallicA (debatable), John Petrucci of Dream Theatre, and Lamb Of God. This has much more gain that the IIC+, is tighter, but isn't as smooth sounding. Extreme is also based off the Mark IV but on the original Mark IV the presence knob was push/ pull. Pulled out was normal mode, pushed in increased gain and made the amp brighter with a sharper attack, so basically a more extreme sound.
OVERALL OPINION
There's not really anything I can say I dislike about the amp. It has less gain and is less aggressive than my Mark III but that's expected, it's not recreating the aggressive Mark III, rather the smoother IIC+ and IV. So that's not a downside to me. This may not recreate each amp perfectly but it does a great job and has a sound all it's own. I'd strongly recommend it to anyone for any style.
UTILIZATION
Mesa Boogies have been known for being notorious at setting up. Takes quite a while to get a good tone but once you do it's amazing. This breaks that chain, it's very easy to setup and get a great tone. Each channel has tons of options but very easy to understand. Simple controls: Gain, treble, bass, mid, presence, volume. Then there's the modes. Channel 1 has: clean, fat, tweed. Channel 2 has: crunch, edge, Mark I. Channel 3 has: IIC+, IV, extreme. The manual, like all Mesa manuals, are very descriptive and explain everything in great detail. Makes the amp very easy to understand.
SOUNDS
Clean is a normal mesa style clean which is similar to a Fender, very bright, sparkly, and shimmering. Fat is similar but thicker so works well with single coil pickups. Tweed shifts the treble and mid controls to a lower frequency so along with it being slightly hotter it just has a overall different sound.
Crunch is the first of the mid gain modes. Slight overdrive to it, similar to a overdriven marshall but not as much. Edge is the same but with more gain on tap. Mark I is a recreation at the legendary Mesa Mark I used by artists such as Santana. Very thick, creamy, and smooth with huge low end. Great for bluesy leads, this mode has much more gain than the other 2 modes.
IIC+ is a recreation of the also legendary Mesa Mark IIC+. Used widely in metal music by artists such as MetallicA and John Petrucci of Dream Theatre. Much higher gain, very tight, and more aggressive than the other channels. It's not dead on to a real IIC+ but it's got a very similar voicing. IV is again a recreation of the Mesa Mark IV. Also widely used by artists such as MetallicA (debatable), John Petrucci of Dream Theatre, and Lamb Of God. This has much more gain that the IIC+, is tighter, but isn't as smooth sounding. Extreme is also based off the Mark IV but on the original Mark IV the presence knob was push/ pull. Pulled out was normal mode, pushed in increased gain and made the amp brighter with a sharper attack, so basically a more extreme sound.
OVERALL OPINION
There's not really anything I can say I dislike about the amp. It has less gain and is less aggressive than my Mark III but that's expected, it's not recreating the aggressive Mark III, rather the smoother IIC+ and IV. So that's not a downside to me. This may not recreate each amp perfectly but it does a great job and has a sound all it's own. I'd strongly recommend it to anyone for any style.