Mesa Mark V

[cragginshred]

I noticed several folks in this forum are using the Mark V. Channels 1 and 3 seem straight forward as I am familiar with mesa's cleans and monster gain, however, I am wondering how channel two fairs with the stilletto ish Any Timmons type tones??
Also how are the cleans with the El 34's? I am currently using the V3 head and the cleans are better with 6L6's , but the overdrive channel becomes too muddy for me.

 

[pearlredburst]

I havent tried mine with EL 34's, but a few people on the boogie board have posted clips on you tube. Channel 2 is capable of the andy timmons low gain sound and capable of an excellent Petrucci lead sound and in fact that's what I use my channel 2 for. the key to this channel is presence...less and you've got a more andy timmon'sish tone, more and you can nail Petrucci sounds!

 

[Mauler]

I mainly use Ch2 as a rhythm type channel, in the vein of AC/DC and the like, however if you are using mark1 mode make sure you are playing at a decent volume or it will sound pretty bad. I haven't tried El34s in mine, just the 6L6s it came with but it is a killer amp and I can live on CH3 all day, Ch2 is just a bonus for me.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I recently installed JJ E34Ls in my Mark V. I think it sounds great! It balances the tone out really well. I've not spent enough time with it to really get into the details about how much better it sounds, but I think I like it so far! I've also replaced the Mesa/JJ stock tubes in V1 - V4 with TungSol ReIssues. It is much smoother than when I first bought it now. The cleans still sound great (if not better), and the other two channels are not as bassy and the highs are smoother. I'll have to play it some more before I can say much else...

 

[bkrumme]

I haven't tried EL34's in mine, but I bet it sounds cool.

Channel 2 is very versatile. Edge mode is good for lower gain tones like AC/DC and stuff like that. Crunch mode is probably the most versatile. It can go from a bluesy kind of tone to full-on metal rhythm tones. Mark 1 mode is just like Mauler said. You gotta crank it to get it to sound good, but when you do it sounds great. Be sure to turn the bass down in Mark 1 mode, too. It's super fat and can get muddy really easily.

 

[azazael]

Andy's use of the BB Preamp and his volume knob are paramount to his tone.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I used to own a BB Preamp and thought it didn't sound very good with the Mark V. It sounded AWESOME through the Stiletto Deuce I had for a few weeks though!

Channel 2 is a great channel for sure. You can dial in anything from clean and bright to gainy and dark and anything in between. Boost it with an OD and you've got even more tones to choose from.

Let's not forget about the stellar Lonestar-based clean channel or the ripping 3rd channel! What a great amp... Now I can't wait to get home and play it again. I've been away for a week now without a guitar!

 

[bkrumme]

I used to own a BB Preamp and thought it didn't sound very good with the Mark V. It sounded AWESOME through the Stiletto Deuce I had for a few weeks though!

Channel 2 is a great channel for sure. You can dial in anything from clean and bright to gainy and dark and anything in between. Boost it with an OD and you've got even more tones to choose from.

Let's not forget about the stellar Lonestar-based clean channel or the ripping 3rd channel! What a great amp... Now I can't wait to get home and play it again. I've been away for a week now without a guitar!

I've never used a BB Preamp. Timmons makes it sound good for sure.

Channel 1 is one of the best cleans I've ever heard. I use it in Fat mode with the preset EQ and some compression in front of it and a little chorus. It's super lush and thick. Channel 3 is really good as well. Funny, I use Channel 3 extreme mode for rhythm and Channel 2 crunch mode with a DeltaLab Tube Driver for my leads.

 

[smd24fan]

I noticed several folks in this forum are using the Mark V. Channels 1 and 3 seem straight forward as I am familiar with mesa's cleans and monster gain, however, I am wondering how channel two fairs with the stilletto ish Any Timmons type tones??
Also how are the cleans with the El 34's? I am currently using the V3 head and the cleans are better with 6L6's , but the overdrive channel becomes too muddy for me.

Never tried the EL34's in mine, but would love too sometime. I have the SED "Winged C" 6L6's in mine and it sounds just awesome, really helped me find my "brown" sound. I used to use Ch.2 in Mark 1 mode, really killer dark sound. Recently switched over to Crunch mode for some nice British "Angus" style sounds. IMO, you can grab those Timmons sounds rather easily. I agree with a previous post, the Presence level is critical on Ch.2. I mostly live on Ch.3/Mk IV personally. It's a truly awesome amp, endless tonal possibilities. You have to be very patient in dialing it in, especially if you have never owned a Mark series amp before. Once you get "your" sounds, you will never let this amp go!

 

[cragginshred]

Thanks for all the posts. Currently I am using the Carvin V3 with a strat and a BB preamp, using a vol pot mod and rolling it down to between 4-6 I am getting very good Timmons tones. I am leaning toward getting the Mark V to use with my new MM JP!

 

[bkrumme]

Thanks for all the posts. Currently I am using the Carvin V3 with a strat and a BB preamp, using a vol pot mod and rolling it down to between 4-6 I am getting very good Timmons tones. I am leaning toward getting the Mark V to use with my new MM JP!

You'll fall in love with the MV the first time you plug the JP into it. If there was ever a guitar & amp made for each other, those would be them.

 

[Hendog]

Channel 2 is spectacular!

 

[Hendog]

Thanks for all the posts. Currently I am using the Carvin V3 with a strat and a BB preamp, using a vol pot mod and rolling it down to between 4-6 I am getting very good Timmons tones. I am leaning toward getting the Mark V to use with my new MM JP!

No offense, I too had a Carvin V3.

The V3 is a joke compared to the Mark V.

 

[smd24fan]

You'll fall in love with the MV the first time you plug the JP into it. If there was ever a guitar & amp made for each other, those would be them.

^^^What he said^^^

 

[Mauler]

I third that motion.