Off Topic Mesa Boogie Mark V - suitable for home use?

[jzeijen]

Hey guys,
While waiting on my PDN Y2D I was looking into amplifiers (not that I can afford it right now, but anyway..). I'm really drawn to the Mesa Boogie Mark V, but I was wondering if this is an amp suitable for home use. I only gig occasionaly, so it would mostly be used at home. Does anyone here have input/experience on this? Thanks!

 

[TNT]

The Mark V is suitable for the "TONE"!!!

 

[ScoobySteve]

My local club has a Mark IV combo loaner and its Frigging loud. Like. LOUD.

I cant attest to the tone at bed room levels, but you could also look into too end attenuation like Aracom. But to be honest I had trouble managing 20watts at home.

There are tons of great amps out there for the purpose of being a home player most of the time.

 

[welshboyo]

I have a IV and a III that I use at home for practice, they can be tamed to house levels quite easily due to the channel masters AND the global master.

 

[mikeller]

No experience with the Mark's at all, but I wish I could tame my Electra Dyne to even club use!!! The sucker is off or loud.

 

[ErnieJohn]

i bought a mesa ta30 this year, have a look on utube for the andy timmons demo, its perfect for home use, 30 or 15 watts at the flick of a switch, or check out the new mesa express 5:25. But given the chance i would love to get my hands on a Mark V too! EBMM + Mesa is a killer combination.

 

[Adrian-XI]

I had a mark v and it was very nice for bedroom use

 

[bkrumme]

Mark V is great. I had one right before I switched to an Axe-Fx. Switch it down to 10 watts and you can get great tone at a decent volume. Lots of tonal options as well.

 

[Dr.Strangenote]

I have a Mark V head and 4x12 cab which is overkill for a home practice amp (which is why I use the 11r for that), but like bkrumme suggested, the 10 watt power option is great for bedroom levels, especially when you crank the gain and lower the master. It would work out just fine.

 

[Minoin]

I have used my TriAxis and 2:90 (similar power-stage as the Mark IV) combo at home. I must say the 2:90 has that "limit" where the power tubes kick in and stuff gets loud. That's probably to much, so you have to keep it at around 8 o'clock. The sound is great either way, thick Mesa growl. However, it starts to really impress when your power tubes are on fire

 

[Roubster]

I think it's doable with an attenuator as ScoobySteve mentioned. Otherwise if you are not pushing the tubes hard enough you wont have the same tone as it is meant to have turned up.

It's also possible with the right attenuator to hook it up to a mixing board and have it go into headphones. But what I find is that with headphones your ears get fatigued pretty quick.

 

[ohdamnitsdevin]

I really want a mark v. Is it worth the money? Is it a bad idea to purchase used? Like off Craigslist.

 

[DrewH]

I really want a mark v. Is it worth the money? Is it a bad idea to purchase used? Like off Craigslist.

Being worth the money depends on personal preference. It's a gigging machine and thrives in that setting. For home use, it's too much of a beast even in 10 watt mode. I've owned one. Channel 2 is horrid. Channel 3 is awesome and the channel 1 is passable. The guy who bought mine (craigslist by the way) ran into some issues with the footswitch and a couple of other things. I've heard similar stores of reliability issues. Another thing with the Mark V is it is just too complicated. They shoved so many switches, knobs, eq, etc in that thing that you really do need about 6 months with the thing just to figure out how to dial it in. I'd take 2 Orange lunchboxes (Dark Terror for dirty, and tiny terror for clean) an amp switch, and a small cab over the Mark V any day of the week if I had to do it over again.

You can't go wrong buying used because the warranty is transferrable. Just make sure you get the original receipt from the person you purchase it from. Even if Mesa can confirm it's within the 5 year period with the build date, they WILL NOT honor the warranty without that receipt.... that is if it was never registered with them in the first place. If it was registered, then no issues. However, someone might say it was registered just to make the sale which is why you need to make sure you get that receipt.

 

[Dr.Strangenote]

I use channel 2 of the Mark V for most of my sets, very rarely making into ch3 mark iv mode. I think it's a very organic Mark I sound besides a true Mark I. I've never had a single issue with mine what so ever. I think it's worth it as Mesa gear tends to retain their value pretty well over the years.

 

[Fro]

The Mark V sounds great at home volumes. It looks complicated but I find it a simple amp to dial in. I just treat each channel as its own single channel amp. First turn off the EQ, dial in a tone you like using only the channel gain, treble, mid, base, presence, master. So far it's easy. Then ad in either the sliders or the contour knob to fine tune or sweeten your tone, then use the amps master and solo boost to set the overall volume. Simple.
Like all tube amps it comes alive when its cranked but it has a very good master volume that sounds great at home volumes.

 

[spkirby]

Lets be honest, a Mark V is overkill for a home setup, there are much much cheaper, lower power amps that will sound better in that situation as they can be made to work and breathe without inducing tinnitus...at gig levels in a club it may be a different answer.

In your position I'd recommend going for something cheap with good clean tones, like a fender blues junior or similar, then buy a few pedals to suit your tonal taste, a Blues Jnr does metal with the right pedals if thats your thing.... you'd certainly have cash left over and a better tone than the Mark V amp set firmly on "1" imo.

 

[French Kiss]

Lets be honest, a Mark V is overkill for a home setup, there are much much cheaper, lower power amps that will sound better in that situation as they can be made to work and breathe without inducing tinnitus...at gig levels in a club it may be a different answer.

In your position I'd recommend going for something cheap with good clean tones, like a fender blues junior or similar, then buy a few pedals to suit your tonal taste, a Blues Jnr does metal with the right pedals if thats your thing.... you'd certainly have cash left over and a better tone than the Mark V amp set firmly on "1" imo.

Agree ; try a V3M Carvin amp, your neighbourhood will be greatfull

 

[jzeijen]

Agree ; try a V3M Carvin amp, your neighbourhood will be greatfull

That is an option I also looked into. But I don't know if 7 watts versus 10 watts makers that much of a difference? Sure would hurt my bank account less though!

 

[Miqueas92]

Killer tone at any volume is attainable with the MKV.
Set your channel, tone, volume, then set the graphic eq to flat and start moving it down and you will retain great tone
and at low volume, even a whisper, if you want.

The MKV's tone is not so much generated by the power section as it is the pre amp section. But it is obvious that there will be different tone by choosing 10-45-90 watts and volume. Plus, tube or diode rectification, where applicable.

If you have the money, and you will need it the MKV can hardly be beat. Also, if you ever are going to play out, you will have one of the best amps around.

Mick

 

[mikebu]

I have both a Blues Jr and a Mark II-C+ 60 watt combo that I bought new in the early 80's. I never play the Blues Jr cause it just doesn't sound as good as the Boogie. You can pick up used a Mark III or IV if you want to save some money. My Boogie sounds good at lower volumes and doesn't annoy the neighbors.

It's hard to beat Mesa Boogie company wise. I was able to ship my Mark II back to the factory to have them replace all the Caps and anything else that needed replacing. The same guy who did the final QA of my Amp back in the day did the work and I got the amp back in a couple of weeks. Who many other amp companies will service their own amps?

I have been wanting to get rid of my Blues Jr and replace it with a DR Z Maz 8 or Maz 18 JR.