Mesa Boogie Mark V 25 Head -- Any opinions?

[Halen]

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25 Head. From the demos I've seen and read, it seems like a versatile amp. While I am familiar with Mesa Boogie, I've never owned one -- this would be the first.

Any thoughts on this amp, good, bad, or indifferent?

 

[8len8]

I couldn't bond with one. Too much tweaking required to get a decent sound out of it.

 

[Chris6870]

It's a cool amp. I've owned 3. I ended up selling because my Mark IV did everything better. With all the options it has if your using it live,you ultimately have to choose one tone on each channel. The crunch mode which is great is on channel 1 which is the clean channel, so you can't use clean and crunch without flipping switches and turning knobs. I really needed 3 tones to switch through. The size and weight is great though. I do miss it sometimes.

 

[Halen]

Thank you for the responses. I'm going to see if one of the local dealers has one, as it would be cool to kick the tires.

 

[Michi]

I know it's not 100% the same...or not that close even, but FWIW I really like the profiles Vlad made of his MK V 25.

 

[rottingcorpse]

I aquired one for a bro who really wanted one. he absolutely loves it thru the matching 1x12 cabs. it got him back into playing guitar again.

 

[napalmdeath]

I couldn't bond with one. Too much tweaking required to get a decent sound out of it.

I loved the one I had, but experienced much the same. I'd dial it in, then switch guitars, and had to start over. Irritated the shit out of me. Killer amp though, if you only use one guitar, but the typical Mesa EQ had me tweaking more than playing.

 

[sloanthebone]

Had a 25 head and liked it a lot. Sold it and picked up a v:35 combo. Love it. Might want to check out the TC-50 also. Have both and love both.

 

[spawn802]

I really enjoy my mark v:25. I have gigged it many times and enjoy it over many other amps I've owned. I like it with a thiele cab and an evm12l. Works great with a V30 as well.

 

[Halen]

Found one local and going to check it out later this week. I also appreciate the recommendation on the TC-50, going to add it to the list to investigate.

 

[Speeddemon]

It's a cool amp. I've owned 3. I ended up selling because my Mark IV did everything better.

Mark IV's R2 can't touch the V:25 Crunch mode. Owned a Mark IV Rev A for 2 months maybe, now THAT amp you need to tweak ad nauseum to make it work...plus, today's great settings suddenly sound mediocre tomorrow.

It's only because I loved the Mark IV's clean and lead sounds, that spurred me to getting the Mark V:25 (used, as new prices are ridiculous in Europe).
Does the Mark IV sound bigger? Sure.
Foot-switchable fx-loop on the IV? Sure.
But can it be a pain in the ass, weight wise, and low/mid gain wise on R2 for a somewhat convincing British tone? Yúúúúp!

With all the options it has if your using it live,you ultimately have to choose one tone on each channel. The crunch mode which is great is on channel 1 which is the clean channel, so you can't use clean and crunch without flipping switches and turning knobs. I really needed 3 tones to switch through.
The size and weight is great though. I do miss it sometimes.

Agree on all points.

I don't agree on the folks that complain about how the V:25's is 'too tweaky'. If you know how to set up any Mark, you can dial it in here. The Mark IV was a way bigger pain, with the power-amp modes, all the pull-knobs, etc.

I'd wish for a 40-50W 2x EL34 Mark V:45, 3 channels (where the Crunch mode is separate), with foot-switchable fx-loop, and under 32-35lbs.

 

[CaseyCor]

Here's a copy/paste from a post I put up in another thread here last month. Check out the thread, there's some good info about the Mark V 25 and other lunchbox amps.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=184624


I finally got a chance to play the Mark V: 25 a couple days ago, and I really dug it. I'm a Mark series fan, though. Ran it through a new Mesa 1x12, which also sounded pretty nice. I noticed a pretty big volume jump between the modes on channel 2, which I didn't like. I dialed it in on IIC+ mode, then switched modes. The volume jumped up a bit on Mark IV mode and even more on Extreme.

I had to get it opened up a bit to find a high gain sound I liked. At 8' o clock on the master, it was really thin (assume no volume=7'o clock). No amount of EQing seemed to get rid of it. Bringing the master up to around 8:30/9:00 ish fixed that problem instantly. The bottom end filled out, and the feel of a Mark series lead channel suddenly appeared. I was still at "quiet" volume levels, but starting to push it. Not TV or conversation volume by any means. Couldn't hear a word from my girlfriend or the guy working there, both standing right next to me. The master is really touchy, as per most every Mesa amp. This amp could do with a Global Master, IMO.

I had the EQ knobs pretty much all set to 9 o' clock or slightly under. I didn't find any use in going over that on the controls. On the graphic, I started at the classic V shape with the 750 slider a couple notches above the bottom. Wasn't feeling it there, didn't have the punch or clarity I was looking for. I took the 750 slider all the way down and found it. I tried playing around with 750 a bit more, but in the end leaving it all the way down was the best at the time. Pushed the 6600 down just a hair to deal with some fizz, and found a very useable tone. This was in Mark IV mode, which I preferred. It had more balls to it, I guess. I liked the low end in Mark IV mode. Didn't play with Extreme much, was having too much fun with IIC+/IV. I had very little trouble dialing in a good high gain sound, but as I said I'm a Mark series guy. If you don't have experience dialing one of these in, it can be a bit frustrating.

The Crunch mode on Channel 1 is pretty cool! I got some nice rock sounds out of it really quickly. You can crank the gain up and get some very pleasing high gain sounds too. Turning on the EQ brings a lot of versatility out of Channel 1.

Switching Channel 2 down to 10 watts cuts a bit of volume, but again the tone thinned out. I did manage to dial it back in, but it wasn't perfect. Channel 1 Crunch Mode at 10 watts was cool, though. I liked that setting for just over the edge of breakup sounds.

I was playing a '58 VOS Les Paul, a '59 VOS, a brand new Private Stock PRS owned by the guy working there, a 2006 Gibson Explorer, and this crazy Gibson V. 2008 Guitar of the Month model. "50 Year Commemorative Flying V". Second entry down on this page.
http://gearpipe.com/featured-post-gibso ... -detailed/

Overall, I was really impressed. I would love to have one at home. I think I'd like the Mark V: 35 even more, but sadly they didn't have one in stock at the time. If the 35 can get those sounds at the same volume level plus the extra versatility, then I am on board.

 

[Halen]

Rock on, thank you fellas! Some outstanding info here, I appreciate y'all taking the time to post up your thoughts.

 

[Speeddemon]

I had the EQ knobs pretty much all set to 9 o' clock or slightly under. I didn't find any use in going over that on the controls.

Note that the Treble control also controls some additional gain and decides the overall balance of the TMB controls;
I.e. Higher Treble settings = More gain *and* less influence of Mid and Bass.
Since Bass needs to be kept under 11 'o clock (at the very very most) anyway in order to retain a somewhat tight low-end, that's no issue.

Although I came from a real Mark IV, I prefer the V:25's Xtreme mode, because it has more depth, yet LESS gain than the IV mode!
Gain= 10 'o clock
Treble= 2-3 o' clock
Mid=9-11 o' clock
Bass=9-10 o' clock
Presence= 1-2 o' clock
+ V shape Graphic EQ (and sometimes the 2200Hz slider slightly higher than the 6600Hz for a more Engl-like tone)
25W setting.

As you rightfully said Casey, the 10W setting thins out Channel 2 too much. For classic rock sounds on Channel 1 Crunch mode, it's very good. Plus, as the EQ controls of CH1 work slightly more fattening, it's easier to compensate the loss of low-end chunk in Channel 1.

One down-side with using CH1 in 10W and CH2 in 25W is a noticable 'ramp-up' or slew 'delay' almost when playing and switching channels. Like your tone suddenly got a bit slower and then speeds up again. Hard to explain. The same happens on my Sig:X when not every channel is in 40W mode.

 

[CaseyCor]

I wonder if using a boost out front would help with the thinning effect from running Channel 2 in the 10 watt mode. It sounded great, but it was just a bit thin in comparison to the 25 watt setting. A bit of a hit out front might take care of that, and let you dial in those high gain sounds at an even lower volume.

I'm very curious about the Mark V:35. What's the deal with this one? I've not heard much chatter about them. If it's a 25 with a bit more versatility, then I'm on board.

 

[Speeddemon]

I wonder if using a boost out front would help with the thinning effect from running Channel 2 in the 10 watt mode. It sounded great, but it was just a bit thin in comparison to the 25 watt setting. A bit of a hit out front might take care of that, and let you dial in those high gain sounds at an even lower volume.

It probably won't. If you're hitting the front with a beefy sounding clean boost, you'll just ending up muddying the overall thinnish tone.
You're better off with placing a graphic EQ (or fat sounding boost) in the fx-loop then.

I've done this with a Source Audio Programmable EQ to make my Ironball sound like a 100W head on a 2x12" cab.

Regarding the V:35; it's still an EL84 amp, just 2 more and you have 2 solo modes (seperate master volumes).
However, I still feel Mesa wasted a chance in design here; a 4 button footswitch as the V:35 has now would be way better off used as:
1) Channel toggle
2) Graphic EQ on/off
3) Solo 1/2 toggle
4) Reverb OR FX-loop on/off.

You really don't need the solo switch per channel, IMHO, which is what they went for now.