Karl Houseknecht
Power User
Have both. A Mark V combo which I sometimes played through my 212 recto cab, and the AxeII which gets played through same cab, but with a Carvin poweramp. Problem is, I really can't afford to keep both. I was floating the Axe rig until I either sold it or deemed it worthy enough to keep, in which case I'd sell the Mark V. Something I was loathe to do because of how much I love that amp.
The Mark V is just one amazing amp. It can do anything. Any style I'd throw at it. Any guitar I'd throw at it. Tone-wise, there's just no downside to it. One amazing amp that, by rights, I should keep for the rest of my life. The only problems with it, for me, are practical. It's loud. Too loud to play at home. So it only gets played when gigged. I was taking it to church, and it does well there, but still borders on loud. Not that we don't like loud. Also, it's heavy. Granted, it's in a wheeled road case so load in isn't really a problem, but we're still talking the 100 lb range. Last, without some kind of MIDI switching system, it is difficult to use with an MFX and do channel switching. Sure, I could build a complete analog board and mount the footswitch on it. But that's a lot of money, a lot of tap dancing, and a little less flexible than the MFX approach.
On the other hand, here's the AxeII rig. It's got every sound the MarkV has and then some. The USA Lead Brt + IS the sound of my MarkV's 3rd channel on Extreme mode. I mean, it nails it. Feel-wise and all. And with the addition of the Mark style 5-band EQ in the last firmware, there's not even any guesswork to dial it in. I can set the amp controls and Mark EQ by eye and it's right there. Not to mention pretty much ANY other amp sound I want, and all called up seamlessly through the foot controller. Total integrated solution.
So the Mark V went out the door the other day. No more tubes here. At least for now. Because I'm sure I'm going to regret this and want another real amp. But practically and tonally, I just couldn't justify keeping the MarkV around. Not when there are bills to pay. Now I have the AxeII, the Carvin poweramp, MFC, and my recto cab. I also have an Eleven Rack as a backup that could get me by if something happened to the Axe. I'm on the MFC waiting list for a passive wedge.
So here we go again. Hopefully this time it takes. Although I will say that I've been FAR more successful in this go around with the Axe than I was the first time. It's either experience or the AxeII is just that much better than the Ultra. I'm leaning more towards the latter.
The Mark V is just one amazing amp. It can do anything. Any style I'd throw at it. Any guitar I'd throw at it. Tone-wise, there's just no downside to it. One amazing amp that, by rights, I should keep for the rest of my life. The only problems with it, for me, are practical. It's loud. Too loud to play at home. So it only gets played when gigged. I was taking it to church, and it does well there, but still borders on loud. Not that we don't like loud. Also, it's heavy. Granted, it's in a wheeled road case so load in isn't really a problem, but we're still talking the 100 lb range. Last, without some kind of MIDI switching system, it is difficult to use with an MFX and do channel switching. Sure, I could build a complete analog board and mount the footswitch on it. But that's a lot of money, a lot of tap dancing, and a little less flexible than the MFX approach.
On the other hand, here's the AxeII rig. It's got every sound the MarkV has and then some. The USA Lead Brt + IS the sound of my MarkV's 3rd channel on Extreme mode. I mean, it nails it. Feel-wise and all. And with the addition of the Mark style 5-band EQ in the last firmware, there's not even any guesswork to dial it in. I can set the amp controls and Mark EQ by eye and it's right there. Not to mention pretty much ANY other amp sound I want, and all called up seamlessly through the foot controller. Total integrated solution.
So the Mark V went out the door the other day. No more tubes here. At least for now. Because I'm sure I'm going to regret this and want another real amp. But practically and tonally, I just couldn't justify keeping the MarkV around. Not when there are bills to pay. Now I have the AxeII, the Carvin poweramp, MFC, and my recto cab. I also have an Eleven Rack as a backup that could get me by if something happened to the Axe. I'm on the MFC waiting list for a passive wedge.
So here we go again. Hopefully this time it takes. Although I will say that I've been FAR more successful in this go around with the Axe than I was the first time. It's either experience or the AxeII is just that much better than the Ultra. I'm leaning more towards the latter.
