Help my friend pick a new amp; Mesa Mark edition

MadAsAHatter said:
Great responses from everyone. I think he'd like either one, but I'm slightly torn on which one to recommend more. I think he might like the tone of the VII more, but be intimidated by all the options/features. A bit of the opposite with the JP2C. He would prefer the that it's "simpler" than the VII, but may not like the tone as much. I'm leaning more toward recommending a VII. Even if he doesn't make full use of its versatility he should be able to dial in a set and forget tone he's more than happy with.


I'll definitely help him dial in a good tone to start. I don't think he's ever played around with putting a GEQ in a loop. So a Mark would be a new experience for him. I'm confident once he gets the hang of how it works he'll be able to get some good tones on his own. Probably more a matter of getting him to a good starting point.


Tone control wise he'd probably prefer the JP2C since it's more straight forward than the VII. But I think he could make use of a couple of the VII's features like the 25 watt mode for better bedroom volumes.


I caught your JP2C to III comparison video. Both had the core Mark tone, but the JP2C sounded a bit smoother and more modern to my ears. I think he's like the JP2C just fine, but might like a a couple of specific tones of the VII more. He's not much of a knob turner and mostly a bedroom player.

The V-35 may be a good option. This is just me, but I've always found EL84 don't sound quite as full compared to the same amp with big bottles. How does the V-35 compare to its big brothers?

I'm not sure if he's ready to buy or needs to save a little, but I'll let him know bout the green stripe. If he's ready to buy and is interested I'll hit you up for more info on it.



If it were me I'd go for a III first hands down over a JP2C or VII; I obviously did getting a red stripe. I don't need perfected clean or light crunch form a Mark and like the more aggressive nature of the III's lead channel. I think he'd like a III best of those three amps for the same reasons. It might be more a matter of reassuring him the age of a III isn't that big of a deal as long as it's a clean one. And if it needs a tune-up its well worth the cost.
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I will say that the VII was, to me, the easiest Mark of all to dial in. Really it's a fantastic amp, it just lost it for me in the live band mix.

I also don't generally care for EL84 amps however I think they got it right with the Five 35 and the Rectoverb 25. Super solid choices for home play.
 
I read this and no one said it yet so I will. I like that peavey but I like my tube amps far better.

My question is, how can we say what amp he'll like?! I agree with Sawzall...
 
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Just get dude AXE iii they nail the MK tones on that thing. Then he decide if he want graduate to actual amplifier.

🤔🤔
 
The VII compared to the III is a good step up in complexity. He`s either going to like it if he`s a tweeker or turned down by it. You should check this with him.
Than there`s the push thing of vintage amps. Can`t comment on this, as I`ve never compared a VII to an older Mark.

Talking about servicing, I wouldn`t be to worried about the Mark III as it is a simpler design compared to new Mesas.
 
Anything Mark V or newer is a great choice IMO. They're easy to come across and are much more user friendly than the older Marks.
 
All these guys guessing what some random twink who plays a peavey super bandit or whatever it is will like.

Get this... get that....

3 years from now he will have the same amp and nothing will have changed. Come back and prove me wrong after he "purchases" an overpriced old mark series based on his friends of friends online suggestions. 😝



If he doesn't own a device that can create his own rig talk account, then he isn't about to buy an old mark amp anytime soon. That we can be sure of. Just tell him to stick to the line 6 spiderman or whatever it is and join up when he's done being a n00b.
 
ChuggNorris said:
All these guys guessing what some random twink who plays a peavey super bandit or whatever it is will like.

Get this... get that....

3 years from now he will have the same amp and nothing will have changed. Come back and prove me wrong after he "purchases" an overpriced old mark series based on his friends of friends online suggestions. 😝



If he doesn't own a device that can create his own rig talk account, then he isn't about to buy an old mark amp anytime soon. That we can be sure of. Just tell him to stick to the line 6 spiderman or whatever it is and join up when he's done being a n00b.
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super bandit LOL! That's actually pretty accurate description of his supreme.

Hopefully he will find something better that he likes and can graduate him past noob status . It's more than past time he upgraded. I do miss the days when you could grab a Mark III for $500 all day long. Today's prices suck. If he tells me he's thinking about a spideramp I think I'd have to take him out back and repeatedly kick him in the nuts.

I'd tell him to get a Diezel but that shit doesn't even come with a footswitch.
 
Just get a VII and don't look back if he wants a full-size head. If it doesn't have to be a full-size head, get a V 35 and be done! BTW, they both come with a footswitch!
 
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I have played a V twice and loved it twice.

It's not an amp that excels at a certain thing, but it really does everything well. And I don't just mean "anything" as in "Clean, crunch and dirt".

I mean it does several variations of clean, crunch and dirt very, very well.
 
Just tell him to get a III or IV then send it down to Mesa for a tune up if it needs it. It's a toss up between the JP2C and Mark VII IMO, not sure which of those i'd get??
 
Tell him to get the III++ blue stripe just listed in the classifieds.

If he wants new then the JP2C will have more of the III attitude than the 7. At least live the JP2C can still cut.
 
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