Mesa Mark V

P

plexi59

Guest
Holy crap Randy's really put out a masterpiece with this one. It has more knobs than space shuttle, but all of them make sense and it sounds awesome, in all modes on all three channels. That's quite a feat, IMO. Previous Marks were all deficient in at least something (i.e. crunch channel sucked ass, or cleans weren't good). I had numerous Mesa amps in the past (Mark IV, Triaxis, Tremoverb, Express, Stiletto Ace, Subway Rocket; used Mark IV for years, everything else was gone after a few months), but this one eclipses them all. I generally don't believe the hype, but in this case it's well deserved IMO. My wallet is still hurting, though.
 
This amp is very high on my list too. Unfortunately, none of the stores around me can keep it in stock. I'd have to special order it.
 
I got it online from Sweetwater, and it was out of stock even there. Their shipping on it was just $47. Mesa raised Mark V prices by a hundred bucks or so in the past couple of weeks, possibly to reduce demand somewhat.
 
plexi59 said:
I got it online from Sweetwater, and it was out of stock even there. Their shipping on it was just $47. Mesa raised Mark V prices by a hundred bucks or so in the past couple of weeks, possibly to reduce demand somewhat.

My personal guess is that don't want to decrease demand as they seem to have an active ad campaign going on to promote it. :cool:
Did you get the combo?
 
I have the Mark V combo and a Lonestar Special combo. Loving my Axe-FX, but no plans to sell either of those amps as they are both great amps and it's nice to change things up once in awhile.
 
acwild said:
plexi59 said:
I got it online from Sweetwater, and it was out of stock even there. Their shipping on it was just $47. Mesa raised Mark V prices by a hundred bucks or so in the past couple of weeks, possibly to reduce demand somewhat.

My personal guess is that don't want to decrease demand as they seem to have an active ad campaign going on to promote it. :cool:
Did you get the combo?

So? They still can't make them quickly enough, but apparently situation is not bad enough to reduce advertising. I only had to wait for mine for a couple of weeks.

I got the head. I had a Mark IV and Stiletto Ace combos before, and one thing I learned is Mesa combos are ridiculously heavy. Ace in particular was so heavy, I (a pretty strong 6'2" dude) really had to strain to lift it off the ground.
 
I had a chance to spend some time with one after they first came out. It wasn't deficient in anything that I could find. It was a good amp, but nothing about it struck me as great. The guy who owned it thought it was the best Mesa he had ever had (he's endorsed by them if I remember correctly).

I was a big Mesa fan for years, and still am in some regards. I've been happier with my Axe-FX for most things though. I did gig a Lonestar not too long ago, and I really liked it.

D
 
I have a Stilleto Ace 1 x 12" combo that I would love to sell, but the damn thing is so heavy that I would have to mortgage my house to pay shipping. Very cool amp though...but a little too bright sounding for my taste.
 
That's their strategy to eliminate the secondary market. :) I bet there's a good size lead ingot mounted inside its closed back cabinet.

To really hear what Ace is supposed to sound like, you have to crank it. This is why I got rid of mine. Great amp, really well built, but only sounds good when paint starts peeling off the walls.
 
mickdoo22 said:
I have a Stilleto Ace 1 x 12" combo that I would love to sell, but the damn thing is so heavy that I would have to mortgage my house to pay shipping. Very cool amp though...but a little too bright sounding for my taste.

Yeah I agree- mine had this brittle quality I could not EQ out no matter how hard i tried, a searing sound that fits the name- I did end up shipping it for like 85-90 bucks i believe... worth it to me in order to free up the cash.

And Id love to try the Mark V.. just looks amazing!
 
bolts said:
Sure is a beast!

I've been looking at replacing the axe with one, still undecided!


Try it first. On paper, I was loving the amp. In real life at stage volumes, I was a little underwhelmed.

It's a cool amp, just not everything I expected it to be. I'm quite a bit happier with my Axe-FX actually. I wasn't looking to replace the Axe-FX. I was just considering getting the Mark V for the heck of it.

D
 
dk_ace said:
bolts said:
Sure is a beast!

I've been looking at replacing the axe with one, still undecided!


Try it first. On paper, I was loving the amp. In real life at stage volumes, I was a little underwhelmed.

It's a cool amp, just not everything I expected it to be. I'm quite a bit happier with my Axe-FX actually. I wasn't looking to replace the Axe-FX. I was just considering getting the Mark V for the heck of it.

D


Yeah have set aside some time this weekend to try one out - they are hard to come by down under, but one store has one in.

I play along with a guy who run's a mark 11c+ through a 2x12, and I just cannot get the feel (or connection etc _insert word here_) that his amp has, no matter how hard I try, just something missing.

I dont doubt for a second that its more my progamming / lack of programming that is causing this. Maybe just not for me :)

Big decisions!
 
One thing I don't get about the Mark V is ... No MIDI connectivity??? In this day and age??
That seems like a serious oversight.

But yeah, I want to try one too!

Any recommendations on a good 1X12" or 2x12" to mate with the head??
 
The thing I hated about the MK IV combo I used to own was that the knobs were too hard to see and too hard to get too in most of the positions that I would want to place the amp.

The new Mk V's are even worse in that regard.

I've owned my Ultra since Nov. 2008.
When the MK V's came out I couldn't have been less interested.
Normally I would have been all over that sucker.
 
One weekend is way too little time to get familiar with this amp, even if you just use the settings provided in the manual.

And yeah, replacing Axe FX with it wouldn't be a good idea, seeing that it only has a spring reverb, and Axe is worth the cost just for the effects alone.

As far as cabs, I use a closed back 2x12 with Celestion Vintage 30's in it. It's a convertible cab, and I have also tried it with open back, which did not sound good. Closed back thickened up the low mids, and the tone overall. Sounds great now.

I'm guessing the best speaker for it will be Mesa C90, which this amp was voiced for, but I don't have it. I do have a pair of EVM12L's coming in, though, which should be even better.
 
Back
Top Bottom