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SonicPulverizer « Strong Feature Set »
Publié le 30/08/12 à 01:06
Rapport qualité/prix :
Excellent
(contenu en anglais)
The Mark V is an incredibly versatile amplifier solution, offering three distinctly voiced channels covering a plethora of tones ranging from telecaster friendly cleans to highly saturated lead tones. It is possible to select the wattage rating for each channel from 10, 45, and 90 watts. The amp can be switched between pentode and triode operation on channel 3 to further fine tune the feel of the gain. You have some control over diode or tube rectification on channels 1 and 2 but it is only available in the 45 watt mode. The onboard reverb can be set for each channel separately as well. The Mark V runs on Mesa's own 6L6 tubes. I enjoyed the build of the foot switch and it's ability to both mute the amp and defeat the reverb.
UTILIZATION
I found the MkV to be challenging to dial in at times. While it is not difficult to find a pleasant sound using generic settings, the amp took a great deal of adjusting to get it just right. The included graphic EQ is essential for coaxing higher gain tones from the amp. The 1x12 is plenty loud but lacks the low end emphasis that you may desire. I favored running the combo through an external 4x12 cab.
SOUNDS
Played primarily through a Gibson Les Paul Studio Premium Plus. No pedals.
I found the clean channel to be beautiful and 3 dimensional. The onboard reverb really brought out the charm of this channel and made it one of my personal favorites of the amp. The fat setting delivers a useable amount of low end while the tweed option introduces some gainy characteristics for Vox-like sounds.
Channel 2 was the most difficult to dial in. I found the edge setting to be mostly useless, the crunch setting delievered a very warm iteration of the classic Marshall mid gain sounds. The Mk1 setting had a cool vibe to it but I felt too often that it's lowend was the least intelligible.
Channel 3 was very simple to dial in. The Mkiic+ mode, while being more restrained than the Mkiv or Extreme settings, was the absolute star of the show. It is possible to get singing lead tones even with the gain set relatively low. The bright switch added a sweetness to the sound that had me leaving it engaged almost permanently. Introducing a smile curve on the graphic EQ allows for a lot more aggressiveness. The Mkiv mode allowed for more saturation without having to push the gain quite as high. The Extreme mode followed adding only a subtle amount of extra saturation and aggression to the mix-- but seemed the least articulate of the three.
OVERALL OPINION
The Mark is a beautiful amp, both visually and aurally. The control layout is clean and well thought out.
It's feature set is very strong for the current market. It is a world class channel switcher and it's only competition are mostly amps that dwarf it's price point (such as the Bogner Ecstasy). Excellent value for money, excellent design methodologies, excellent amp. While I found very little use for some of the sounds offered, that by no means renders them unnecessary and I'm pleased to see the amount of options offered. If I purchased the amp again I would choose a head to pair with a 4x12. But if you are looking for a combo exclusively, you'll still be very pleased.
UTILIZATION
I found the MkV to be challenging to dial in at times. While it is not difficult to find a pleasant sound using generic settings, the amp took a great deal of adjusting to get it just right. The included graphic EQ is essential for coaxing higher gain tones from the amp. The 1x12 is plenty loud but lacks the low end emphasis that you may desire. I favored running the combo through an external 4x12 cab.
SOUNDS
Played primarily through a Gibson Les Paul Studio Premium Plus. No pedals.
I found the clean channel to be beautiful and 3 dimensional. The onboard reverb really brought out the charm of this channel and made it one of my personal favorites of the amp. The fat setting delivers a useable amount of low end while the tweed option introduces some gainy characteristics for Vox-like sounds.
Channel 2 was the most difficult to dial in. I found the edge setting to be mostly useless, the crunch setting delievered a very warm iteration of the classic Marshall mid gain sounds. The Mk1 setting had a cool vibe to it but I felt too often that it's lowend was the least intelligible.
Channel 3 was very simple to dial in. The Mkiic+ mode, while being more restrained than the Mkiv or Extreme settings, was the absolute star of the show. It is possible to get singing lead tones even with the gain set relatively low. The bright switch added a sweetness to the sound that had me leaving it engaged almost permanently. Introducing a smile curve on the graphic EQ allows for a lot more aggressiveness. The Mkiv mode allowed for more saturation without having to push the gain quite as high. The Extreme mode followed adding only a subtle amount of extra saturation and aggression to the mix-- but seemed the least articulate of the three.
OVERALL OPINION
The Mark is a beautiful amp, both visually and aurally. The control layout is clean and well thought out.
It's feature set is very strong for the current market. It is a world class channel switcher and it's only competition are mostly amps that dwarf it's price point (such as the Bogner Ecstasy). Excellent value for money, excellent design methodologies, excellent amp. While I found very little use for some of the sounds offered, that by no means renders them unnecessary and I'm pleased to see the amount of options offered. If I purchased the amp again I would choose a head to pair with a 4x12. But if you are looking for a combo exclusively, you'll still be very pleased.