Ordered / bought this amp today. Your video is a collector for me. I've shared this video to others. I'm one of those "Marshall guys". This is my first ever Mesa Boogie guitar amp. I have an arsenal of Marshall amps, and I love them and the sizzle. Thank you for your video. We'll be using one of these Mesa Boogie Mark Five amps and a Marshall JVM410 live in our cover band. It should be good.
Thanks! That’s a killer combo - I’m a big Marshall collector myself and love them for most things but the Mark is sonically unique and I think the pairing is going to sound great in your band, especially since the Mark’s EQ you could dial the sound a little so they compliment each other in just about any room.
incredible video as always! it's really inspiring to see how in depth you go and how much you know about the amplifier, it really makes it feel worth the wait for the video! I've been looking forward to this since I saw the mkiv video and you always deliver! thank you!
Great video and review! And excellent skills.....especially the heavy riffs. I just ordered a Mark V 35 Combo and realize that it'll take some tweaking to get the tone I want. It'll be an interesting comparison to my Marshall DSL 40.
Try lowering the bass eq on the Mark I, II, and IV tones. Raise the gain, lower the bass eq. It helps tighen up the tone. I also love the Mark I tone on my Mark V, great for leads. I also recommend the Extreme mode with low gain. Makes for good dirty tones.
You can see why Mesa Marks are coveted for metal from the first overdriven chords. Holds on to that low B surprisingly well, although it doesn't seem as simple of a 'plug and play' amp like a 2203 or similar would be. EIther way lots of really good aggressive sounds and playing. Reminded me of ISIS's guitar tones on Oceanic, even though they used VHT Pitbulls I think.
Very cool video! I have owned this exact amp for maybe 7 years and i have a love/hate relationship with it. Sometimes i use it and think it sounds pretty amazing, other times I will spend 2 hours tweaking and still wont be happy with how it sounds. After all the messing about, ive started using smaller combos that i can turn on and get a usable tone right away. I really think that you have to pair this amp with the right speaker. I am using a Genz Benz G Flex(ported 4x12 closed back). The speakers are voiced to be close to a V30. I started changing speakers in one side, didnt like it… I know these sound amazing with the massive mesa cabs, and i would probably already own one if they didnt cost a million dollars. I have also had to bring this amp to the shop several times for mysterious repairs… blown fuses…. It did blow a power tube once which thanks to Mesas excellent design I was able to fix myself (new matched pair of 6L6’s) All that aside, I love this amp and will probably never sell it, the high gain tones are insane. Anyhow great job on the video, dont listen to the tone snobs giving you a hard time. 👍🤘
Rock on! And thanks - I liked the way it sounds in the video but I think people expected a tighter metal tone demo. Something to keep in mind for next time I review an amp like this. Cheers
I fought with this amp for many years… never really came close to getting anything I liked out of channel 3. Ended up using it as a PA for an amp modeler.
I'd like to add a couple of things, the tube rectifier isn't just on the 45w mode in channels 1&2, in that mode it is switchable, in 10w it is automatically on in all three channels. Also in lieu of the rectifier switch, there is the pentode/triode switch on channel 3. It is a great amp though, I've had mine for nearly 10 years, and still love it. Also, if you ever use EL34s, in addition to the bias switch on the back, make sure you only use Variac mode. I've heard that they updated the owners manual on new amps to say this, but the older ones like mine didn't. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Are you positive? I only ask because the official Mk V manual says that ch3 uses silicon diodes only regardless of setting. It does say that for ch 1 & 2, it’s automatically tube in 10w, diodes in 90w, and switchable in 45w so that all makes sense. Great info about the EL34’s. What was the result at full power? Blew up a power tube?
@@totallyradguitars959 Mine says "The 90 Watt setting automatically selects the Silicon Diodes and the 10 Watt setting requires the Tube Rectifier to operate safely." Which I took as meaning for all three channels, and the 45w switch for 1&2, but I could be wrong. As for the EL34s, it blew the tubes and fuses, and burned-out the screen(?) resistors.
@@joshuafrahm8778 Ouch! Definitely good to know on the EL34s. It's possible there are different revisions of this amp as well which might explain slight differences in the manual or behavior. Since I got mine used, I've been referring to the one on the Mesa website but who knows if that's accurate to my amp. I suppose the way to know for sure would be to pull the rectifier tube out and check each channel in 10w mode to see if the sound cuts out on Ch3 - but I'm afraid to do that just in case it breaks something else.
Hey - I am fairly certain that the Thick switch is the one at the Ch2 EQ across the 150k resistor R212, which affects the slope of the EQ. However, I am not completely positive, and it's not clearly marked as such on the schematic so that's also why I didn't point it out in the video. I have had the amp apart and I still can't really tell - I hope I never need work on this amp because the PCB is very poorly marked so it's not clear where the two wires from the switch are going.
It does make sense… but note that there are “M4”, “M5” and “M6” labels around the 150K resistor (R212), that would refer to CH2 modes (Edge, Crunch and Mark I)…
@@marcosvinbr yeah that’s why I’m not completely positive. I took the amp apart to trace the wires and I can’t quite tell from there either… but if you or anyone else knows for sure the correct answer I would love to know. May have to email Mesa directly and see if they could confirm for us
Mystery solved: It's located on the “Ch2 Mode Switching” section. Another part of the circuit, out of the known schematics. This thing is a true spaceship. A good one, though… Cheers!
I haven't seen the schematic yet, but yeah it's going to be very similar when using the same modes at least. Basically you lose the Mark V's tube rectifier, Mk1 and Extreme modes, master output/solo, preset "V" EQ knobs, and channel bold/thick/bright switches. In trade you get the Cabclone IR, IIB/VII modes, and a smaller form factor. I would expect the IIC, IV, crunch, clean etc settings to all be basically the same when both amps are set to 90w. Basically, the V has more tweakability but if you don't miss the extra controls, the VII is going to be just as good plus the CabClone is great for home/studio recording.
Channel one is great for a straight up Fender clean tone. The fat switch I think is a mid boost. The tweed setting is totally unuseable. This amp is VERY bass heavy so you have to watch the bass control. It's also VERY loud which is great for headroom on a cleansound. That sound alone is worth the price of the amp. I find channel 2 completely useless. It is totally impossible to create a Marshall type classic rock guitar sound. Marshalls have this lovely bite up the top end that no matter what you do, you cannot reproduce on this amp. Channel three extreme mode (Which is not extreme at all) is a great controlled solo sound. It is a tricky amp. You have to work to make it sound good. The clean channel is as good as it gets when you get a setting you like. Unlike a Marshall that where ever the knobs tend to be randomly set - will allways sound great. It is almost impossible to make a Marshall sound bad. A Mk5 sounding bad is the default setting untill you spend serious hours working out how it works (You will never really work out how this amp works, it way too complicated and life is too short). Any amp that sounds great, would not need a graphic equalizer on the output. As three channel amps go - a Marshall JVM wipes the floor with a MK5 all day long.
I own a Mark IV. _The reverb is foot switchable._ You just have to buy your own switch. I got one for less than $40 that's built like a tank. I also use those exact switches with my Rockman Sustainor which requires them for channel switching. On A-zon they're titled "Marshall Footswitch, One Button" by AmplifiedParts.
It may be worth swapping some of the preamp tubes, it sounds like you might have a microphonic tube. If you tap on one lightly with the amp turn on and hear the taps through the speaker cab, that’s the one. Worth a try
I don't use real amps, but the Mark V in my Headrush modeler sounds great. I use the Choptones metal 3 patches as I'm crap at dialing in tones from scratch
Modelers seem to do extremely well with emulating the more popular, "as recorded" type tones even from expensive amps like this - Choptones and others do a great job setting up those tones too. I had a Kemper for a short time and ended up returning it though - even if I spend 90% of my time on the "dialed in" tone anyway, I find that I end up missing the tweaking and little different modes and switches that the real amp has. If I ever did my own profiles I'd probably do 20 or 30 just of the same channel and it's so hard to navigate them when you do that - maybe something the Quad Cortex or some other new product will fix in the future. Cheers!
for those interested the cat makes an appearance at 10:29 also watching this punching myself in the face for selling this amp. just lots and lots of punching.
Haha yeah the cat kind of snuck up on me. Luckily she's well behaved and doesn't claw or chew on my gear but I usually lock her out of the studio room anyway. I am still kicking myself for selling the IV, and I know if I sold this V I'd feel the same way. It's just such a great sound to have at your fingertips. Of course, I can't talk because I've kept way too many amps - if I had to pick just one or two I'm not sure the V would be it, but that's more to do with the kind of music I like to play most than anything else.
If I started looking to buy Mesa Boogie Mark V right now, and I only saw your ONE video (no one else), I would probably not buy Mark V. Based on your video (or audio), I would think Mesa Boogie Mark V sucks big time. Lol!!! But thank god, there are ton other people have already made really good videos on this Mark V. I came to listen your video - it's not because your video is great...but it's because I like your formal information on the Mark V between 1 min to 20 mins. Just wanna tell you. 😂
Kind of abrasive way to put it lol, I thought it sounded pretty good but I get that tone is subjective. What would you suggest to improve that part? I mean - without doing the generic scooped metal with backing track thing… I’ll leave that to those “other videos”
@@totallyradguitars959 Hey....I think I know why your sound is so really bad. You should had adjusted your mic before you recorded. This is why it sounds so muffled (or it seems like, there's a blanket covered on your speaker OR your guitar pickups.). I listened to other people videos and they're fine - it's just your video.
I did adjust it prior to recording and chose an off axis placement with the warm sounding speakers, for a full sounding tone accurate to the way it sounded in the room across all 3 channels. I could’ve placed on axis and closer to cut some bass and add highs to the channel 3 tones but channels 1 and 2 would’ve suffered, and it would sound like a recorded guitar instead of the room. Just how it is doing a full demo like this, unless I wanted to alter the setup each channel change, which is a good idea but I just didn’t have the time when I recorded this. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 Actually I love how the lead channel sounds in your video (I just care for the lead channel so I didn't watch the full thing haha). I think this is one of the best demos of this amp and I always come back to try to match your tone with my marks. I quite don't understand the rude comments like this one, your tone is always great and the amount of gain you use is perfect in my opinion, I don't like when people over-saturate the amps. cheers!
@@ceniam12 thanks I appreciate hearing that. Tone is always subjective, and I don’t mind a few tips/ideas but some people are definitely rude about it.
It’s very dark sounding but I think the treble maxed in mark 1 mode sounds really nice. I don’t use edge mode much if at all for my style so I’m not the expert on it. Both modes seem to have a slightly flubby low end that turns people off, love it or hate it kind of thing.
Within 2 minutes you make me realize why would I listen to you go over an amp like this for 48 minutes when you only care about one sound..lol bye bye Just kidding. I’ve owned this amp for years.
Haha thanks. I’ve been planning some more short-form content, like some tone comparisons just need to take the time to set everything up and record it. I’ve just added a reamp box to my collection that should make that go a lot more smoothly so keep an eye out for that stuff coming soon
What makes you say that? Just curious - I don't really notice any tonal difference old strings to new strings. I do notice new strings are smoother to play of course - but through a distorted guitar amp I can't tell the difference personally. Cheers
Bass knob: Its ok...you can turn me down.
When I had my Mark V there were many nights I would just stay in the Cleans and play. The Cleans I thought was the best part about it.
thats why im wanting one
Maaan awesome stuff, I didn't see the whole video yet but that tight sound of the 3rd channel is awesome, love how palm mutes sound
Ordered / bought this amp today. Your video is a collector for me. I've shared this video to others.
I'm one of those "Marshall guys".
This is my first ever Mesa Boogie guitar amp.
I have an arsenal of Marshall amps, and I love them and the sizzle.
Thank you for your video.
We'll be using one of these Mesa Boogie Mark Five amps and a Marshall JVM410 live in our cover band.
It should be good.
Thanks! That’s a killer combo - I’m a big Marshall collector myself and love them for most things but the Mark is sonically unique and I think the pairing is going to sound great in your band, especially since the Mark’s EQ you could dial the sound a little so they compliment each other in just about any room.
@elliottwist1474 A year later what do you think of it?
incredible video as always! it's really inspiring to see how in depth you go and how much you know about the amplifier, it really makes it feel worth the wait for the video! I've been looking forward to this since I saw the mkiv video and you always deliver! thank you!
Glad you liked it! Sorry for the year long wait haha
Euge gets great useage on the mark v. I think it's still the best mark for non mesa people. This comes from a mark IV owner.
Turn your bass down it will tighten up bro
Great video and review! And excellent skills.....especially the heavy riffs. I just ordered a Mark V 35 Combo and realize that it'll take some tweaking to get the tone I want. It'll be an interesting comparison to my Marshall DSL 40.
Sounds like a great pair, the DSL and Mark are different enough that you'll have a lot of sounds at your disposal that way. Thanks, and enjoy!
Try lowering the bass eq on the Mark I, II, and IV tones. Raise the gain, lower the bass eq. It helps tighen up the tone. I also love the Mark I tone on my Mark V, great for leads. I also recommend the Extreme mode with low gain. Makes for good dirty tones.
You can see why Mesa Marks are coveted for metal from the first overdriven chords. Holds on to that low B surprisingly well, although it doesn't seem as simple of a 'plug and play' amp like a 2203 or similar would be. EIther way lots of really good aggressive sounds and playing. Reminded me of ISIS's guitar tones on Oceanic, even though they used VHT Pitbulls I think.
Very cool video! I have owned this exact amp for maybe 7 years and i have a love/hate relationship with it. Sometimes i use it and think it sounds pretty amazing, other times I will spend 2 hours tweaking and still wont be happy with how it sounds. After all the messing about, ive started using smaller combos that i can turn on and get a usable tone right away. I really think that you have to pair this amp with the right speaker. I am using a Genz Benz G Flex(ported 4x12 closed back). The speakers are voiced to be close to a V30. I started changing speakers in one side, didnt like it… I know these sound amazing with the massive mesa cabs, and i would probably already own one if they didnt cost a million dollars. I have also had to bring this amp to the shop several times for mysterious repairs… blown fuses…. It did blow a power tube once which thanks to Mesas excellent design I was able to fix myself (new matched pair of 6L6’s) All that aside, I love this amp and will probably never sell it, the high gain tones are insane. Anyhow great job on the video, dont listen to the tone snobs giving you a hard time. 👍🤘
Rock on! And thanks - I liked the way it sounds in the video but I think people expected a tighter metal tone demo. Something to keep in mind for next time I review an amp like this. Cheers
I fought with this amp for many years… never really came close to getting anything I liked out of channel 3. Ended up using it as a PA for an amp modeler.
Another great video, I also prefer MkIV
I'd like to add a couple of things, the tube rectifier isn't just on the 45w mode in channels 1&2, in that mode it is switchable, in 10w it is automatically on in all three channels. Also in lieu of the rectifier switch, there is the pentode/triode switch on channel 3. It is a great amp though, I've had mine for nearly 10 years, and still love it.
Also, if you ever use EL34s, in addition to the bias switch on the back, make sure you only use Variac mode. I've heard that they updated the owners manual on new amps to say this, but the older ones like mine didn't. I learned this lesson the hard way.
Are you positive? I only ask because the official Mk V manual says that ch3 uses silicon diodes only regardless of setting. It does say that for ch 1 & 2, it’s automatically tube in 10w, diodes in 90w, and switchable in 45w so that all makes sense.
Great info about the EL34’s. What was the result at full power? Blew up a power tube?
@@totallyradguitars959 Mine says "The 90 Watt setting automatically selects the Silicon Diodes and the 10 Watt setting requires the Tube
Rectifier to operate safely." Which I took as meaning for all three channels, and the 45w switch for 1&2, but I could be wrong. As for the EL34s, it blew the tubes and fuses, and burned-out the screen(?) resistors.
@@joshuafrahm8778 Ouch! Definitely good to know on the EL34s. It's possible there are different revisions of this amp as well which might explain slight differences in the manual or behavior. Since I got mine used, I've been referring to the one on the Mesa website but who knows if that's accurate to my amp. I suppose the way to know for sure would be to pull the rectifier tube out and check each channel in 10w mode to see if the sound cuts out on Ch3 - but I'm afraid to do that just in case it breaks something else.
Would love you to do an indepth on your jcm800 split channel!!!!
You should have the masters on noon on channel 2&3 and adjust the overall output volume. It will change the sound of that amp.
I'll give it a try!
Hey! Great review! One doubt.. where did you find the CH2 Thick Switch on the Mark V schematics? Thks.
Hey - I am fairly certain that the Thick switch is the one at the Ch2 EQ across the 150k resistor R212, which affects the slope of the EQ. However, I am not completely positive, and it's not clearly marked as such on the schematic so that's also why I didn't point it out in the video.
I have had the amp apart and I still can't really tell - I hope I never need work on this amp because the PCB is very poorly marked so it's not clear where the two wires from the switch are going.
It does make sense… but note that there are “M4”, “M5” and “M6” labels around the 150K resistor (R212), that would refer to CH2 modes (Edge, Crunch and Mark I)…
@@marcosvinbr yeah that’s why I’m not completely positive. I took the amp apart to trace the wires and I can’t quite tell from there either… but if you or anyone else knows for sure the correct answer I would love to know. May have to email Mesa directly and see if they could confirm for us
Yep. I have to e-mail Mesa for another subject and will address this matter. I’ll fup in here. All the best!
Mystery solved: It's located on the “Ch2 Mode Switching” section. Another part of the circuit, out of the known schematics. This thing is a true spaceship. A good one, though… Cheers!
I got a mark VII recently
Everyone online says the V is very similar, any thoughts?
I haven't seen the schematic yet, but yeah it's going to be very similar when using the same modes at least.
Basically you lose the Mark V's tube rectifier, Mk1 and Extreme modes, master output/solo, preset "V" EQ knobs, and channel bold/thick/bright switches. In trade you get the Cabclone IR, IIB/VII modes, and a smaller form factor.
I would expect the IIC, IV, crunch, clean etc settings to all be basically the same when both amps are set to 90w. Basically, the V has more tweakability but if you don't miss the extra controls, the VII is going to be just as good plus the CabClone is great for home/studio recording.
Channel one is great for a straight up Fender clean tone. The fat switch I think is a mid boost. The tweed setting is totally unuseable. This amp is VERY bass heavy so you have to watch the bass control. It's also VERY loud which is great for headroom on a cleansound. That sound alone is worth the price of the amp. I find channel 2 completely useless. It is totally impossible to create a Marshall type classic rock guitar sound. Marshalls have this lovely bite up the top end that no matter what you do, you cannot reproduce on this amp. Channel three extreme mode (Which is not extreme at all) is a great controlled solo sound. It is a tricky amp. You have to work to make it sound good. The clean channel is as good as it gets when you get a setting you like. Unlike a Marshall that where ever the knobs tend to be randomly set - will allways sound great. It is almost impossible to make a Marshall sound bad. A Mk5 sounding bad is the default setting untill you spend serious hours working out how it works (You will never really work out how this amp works, it way too complicated and life is too short). Any amp that sounds great, would not need a graphic equalizer on the output. As three channel amps go - a Marshall JVM wipes the floor with a MK5 all day long.
I own a Mark IV. _The reverb is foot switchable._ You just have to buy your own switch. I got one for less than $40 that's built like a tank. I also use those exact switches with my Rockman Sustainor which requires them for channel switching. On A-zon they're titled "Marshall Footswitch, One Button" by AmplifiedParts.
Great advice! I always forget about the external switching jacks.
mine squalls like a banshee, had to get a decimator and kind of killed a big of the tone
It may be worth swapping some of the preamp tubes, it sounds like you might have a microphonic tube. If you tap on one lightly with the amp turn on and hear the taps through the speaker cab, that’s the one. Worth a try
@@totallyradguitars959 I'll try it, but concede my semi hollow Rickenbacker 330 with SD Invader pick ups doesn't help.
@@artisteo Haha now that is definitely an extreme case. I have a RIC 360 that I absolutely love but it's not one I use much for high gain
I don't use real amps, but the Mark V in my Headrush modeler sounds great. I use the Choptones metal 3 patches as I'm crap at dialing in tones from scratch
Modelers seem to do extremely well with emulating the more popular, "as recorded" type tones even from expensive amps like this - Choptones and others do a great job setting up those tones too. I had a Kemper for a short time and ended up returning it though - even if I spend 90% of my time on the "dialed in" tone anyway, I find that I end up missing the tweaking and little different modes and switches that the real amp has. If I ever did my own profiles I'd probably do 20 or 30 just of the same channel and it's so hard to navigate them when you do that - maybe something the Quad Cortex or some other new product will fix in the future. Cheers!
for those interested the cat makes an appearance at 10:29 also watching this punching myself in the face for selling this amp. just lots and lots of punching.
Eh I think I'd buy a 6505 instead.
Haha yeah the cat kind of snuck up on me. Luckily she's well behaved and doesn't claw or chew on my gear but I usually lock her out of the studio room anyway.
I am still kicking myself for selling the IV, and I know if I sold this V I'd feel the same way. It's just such a great sound to have at your fingertips. Of course, I can't talk because I've kept way too many amps - if I had to pick just one or two I'm not sure the V would be it, but that's more to do with the kind of music I like to play most than anything else.
11:33 “Hi!”
The Mic is too close to the speaker, it's clipping.
If I started looking to buy Mesa Boogie Mark V right now, and I only saw your ONE video (no one else), I would probably not buy Mark V. Based on your video (or audio), I would think Mesa Boogie Mark V sucks big time. Lol!!! But thank god, there are ton other people have already made really good videos on this Mark V. I came to listen your video - it's not because your video is great...but it's because I like your formal information on the Mark V between 1 min to 20 mins. Just wanna tell you. 😂
Kind of abrasive way to put it lol, I thought it sounded pretty good but I get that tone is subjective. What would you suggest to improve that part? I mean - without doing the generic scooped metal with backing track thing… I’ll leave that to those “other videos”
@@totallyradguitars959 Hey....I think I know why your sound is so really bad. You should had adjusted your mic before you recorded. This is why it sounds so muffled (or it seems like, there's a blanket covered on your speaker OR your guitar pickups.). I listened to other people videos and they're fine - it's just your video.
I did adjust it prior to recording and chose an off axis placement with the warm sounding speakers, for a full sounding tone accurate to the way it sounded in the room across all 3 channels. I could’ve placed on axis and closer to cut some bass and add highs to the channel 3 tones but channels 1 and 2 would’ve suffered, and it would sound like a recorded guitar instead of the room. Just how it is doing a full demo like this, unless I wanted to alter the setup each channel change, which is a good idea but I just didn’t have the time when I recorded this. Cheers
@@totallyradguitars959 Actually I love how the lead channel sounds in your video (I just care for the lead channel so I didn't watch the full thing haha). I think this is one of the best demos of this amp and I always come back to try to match your tone with my marks. I quite don't understand the rude comments like this one, your tone is always great and the amount of gain you use is perfect in my opinion, I don't like when people over-saturate the amps. cheers!
@@ceniam12 thanks I appreciate hearing that. Tone is always subjective, and I don’t mind a few tips/ideas but some people are definitely rude about it.
I can't get a decent tone out of the Mark I or edge mode.
It’s very dark sounding but I think the treble maxed in mark 1 mode sounds really nice. I don’t use edge mode much if at all for my style so I’m not the expert on it. Both modes seem to have a slightly flubby low end that turns people off, love it or hate it kind of thing.
Within 2 minutes you make me realize why would I listen to you go over an amp like this for 48 minutes when you only care about one sound..lol bye bye
Just kidding. I’ve owned this amp for years.
Haha thanks. I’ve been planning some more short-form content, like some tone comparisons just need to take the time to set everything up and record it. I’ve just added a reamp box to my collection that should make that go a lot more smoothly so keep an eye out for that stuff coming soon
Flub, flub, flub, out of tune, flub, flub! Glad there are more demo/review videos than this one.
Too much talking not enough playing.
Love your videos man. But sounds like you need new strings lol
What makes you say that? Just curious - I don't really notice any tonal difference old strings to new strings. I do notice new strings are smoother to play of course - but through a distorted guitar amp I can't tell the difference personally. Cheers