Mesa Boogie Mark Five 25

[Surf n Music]

This amp looks so sweet to me. I want one and two twelve inch cabs. Just dreaming but maybe one day. I think it would work good as a practice amp while still being able to play at a small gig (if that ever happened)  :icon_smile:

And check it out in a wood finish!

 

[bagman67]

Typically when I think "practice amp," yep, I usually head straight for the $1400 Boogie Mark series in a figured wood cabinet.  :icon_jokercolor:


But seriously, if you find yourself in a position to pick one up, they'll do a LOT.  Indeed, some folks don't like them because they are used to much simpler tube amps that basically do a clean sound and a dirty sound (maybe two), with some reverb sometimes.  The Boogie amps are tremendously variable in their tonal palette.  The complexity and sensitivity of the controls demands a lot of practice - it is, after all, a musical instrument.

 

[stratamania]

I saw that they had just released these the other week. The 10/25 watt options and the built in cab clone could make this quite a successful amp.

 

[Surf n Music]

Typically when I think "practice amp," yep, I usually head straight for the $1400 Boogie Mark series in a figured wood cabinet.  :icon_jokercolor:

Hahaha Exactly!!

Ya I heard clips and you get 2 channels and each channel has 3 settings not to mention reverb, bass, mid/boost, treble and Master volume and 10/25watt option.  It would definitely take some exploring for all the possibilities of sounds. But at $1400 plus a cabinet it is out of my range for now. Maybe one day. 

 

[Surf n Music]

I saw that they had just released these the other week. The 10/25 watt options and the built in cab clone could make this quite a successful amp.

Ya that cab clone seemed pretty nice.

 

[Cagey]

I think that fancy cabinetry is about a $2K adder.

Y'know - the Axe Fx II has very accurate Boogie models included. Just sayin'. You get a Dumble, too. And a 5150. And a JCM800. And...and...and...and... it's a magical piece of gear. And you might not believe this, little fella, but it'll cure your GAS, too!

 

[Surf n Music]

I don't have GAS! And even if I did I am sure it doesn't smell bad :icon_biggrin:

Ya I was just looking at some pricing at the pretty wood and they tack on a few G's!! I would probably just go for black. And I believe you to be right about the Axe Fx. Even so I still feel drawn to the Mesa, although I do feel drawn to the Axe too. Problem is I haven't had  a super nice amp yet and I feel I will have to have one at least once. Ohh me and my first world problems.

 

[bagman67]

I don't have GAS! And even if I did I am sure it doesn't smell bad :icon_biggrin:

Ya I was just looking at some pricing at the pretty wood and they tack on a few G's!! I would probably just go for black. And I believe you to be right about the Axe Fx. Even so I still feel drawn to the Mesa, although I do feel drawn to the Axe too. Problem is I haven't had  a super nice amp yet and I feel I will have to have one at least once. Ohh me and my first world problems.

I got a Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber 22 that does a tremendous job, much more simply than the Mark V 25 - but it's also got a lot fewer bells and/or whistles.  That said - you can get into a used Boogie like mine, or like the F30, maybe, for under $500, and the suckers are built to last.  You could probably have a mod done so you can drop the wattage for a reasonable cash outlay (Val King in Santa Clara does such things), if you want to go that route.  What would that be, Cagey - a tapped transformer or something?


Anyway: Just some thoughts...


Bagman

 

[Cagey]

There are a number of different ways of doing it. Easiest ones are the class A/Bs where there are 4 power tubes. You just pull a complementary pair out. Past that, it starts getting more complicated.

 

[Prometheus]

I got my hands on a Mesa Mark V, used, pristine, for just a hair more than that 5150 is new. Three channels, three settings for each, sorta like 9 amps in one. It'll run at 10, 45, or 90 watts. But it also has a Variac power setting which is a sorta "brown-out" feature. So running 10 watts +Variac makes driven sounds more manageable for home use.

One little trick for crunchy/gainy sounds is to run the gain high, the preamp level as low as possible, but the master volume as high as possible. This tends to shift the focus of low-volume performance from the preamp section to the power section, whose growl is a lot prettier.

That being said, when wound up, it will really pump. I live in an apartment, so I have to hike it over to a buddy's place to give it a workout. But with the approach above, I get some really sweet sounds at home, and have yet to have a neighbor knock on my door (but I have really good neighbors)

The Mesa amps are known for their hi-gain sound. But that's not all they do. The Mark V is wildly adjustable, but like Bagman said, its adjustability is a little daunting for those who are used to Vol/Treb/Bass. A little twist here or there can change its character dramatically. I got better at it when I stopped worrying about what the knobs were set at, and just turned 'em 'till they sounded good.

I like bluesy and rocky stuff, not metal. But with the right settings, I can get any of the 6 higher-gain channels to be bluesy, and each a little different. You just have to know how to "play" it. Like Bagman said, it's an instrument.

When I first got it, a fella I know would lend me a different overdrive pedal each week, for me to try out. I tried a half-dozen. And I ended up keeping.... none of them. Because I'd run the pedal through the clean channel, and find that I could get the same sound straight from the amp, just up a channel or two, and tweaked right. Run the pedal through the medium -gain channels, same story. I haven't used an overdrive pedal in months.

An attenuator would be nice though, to get the output stage warmer. I know that I saved somewhere a link to a "poor man's DIY attenuator", with the intention to give it a try when I had time (ha ha). I'll try to dig that up.

 

[Prometheus]

That being said, an AxeFX is on my wish list. Nine amp sounds is fine, but seventy is better. But not gonna happen soon - I gotta save my pennies. The good news is that by then, they'll have another new model out.

 

[Surf n Music]

Some Good thoughts Bagman.

Prometheus thanks for sharing about the Mark V it really is an awesome amp. I noticed while watching a demo on youtube that there were a ton of sounds achieved. I thought dam you would probably do away with a few pedals. The Axe FX  does seem the Ultimate. It is spendy though, but it covers every amp. I was thinking with the Mesa I would probably use the cleaner channels mostly. I like blues, rock and jazz sounds mostly. I could possible get Lost in the FX with all the possibilities, not that that is a bad thing  :icon_biggrin: for know it is just dreaming. 

 

[DavyDave53]

This...

"it's a magical piece of gear. And you might not believe this, little fella, but it'll cure your GAS, too!"

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! Sounds like you've been bitten.

 

[Shai`tan]

I had a Mrk V for a few days back when they 1st came out. But found out the Reverb had some cold welds. Brought it back for a refund.  Gotta say tho imho the
Mrk V  is THE best amp I have ever played. You can get ANY type of sound out of it, and those 3 separate channels were Heavenly!  But the weight was something I know eventually would put the hurt on me.  lol

Picked up the Mrk V 25 today. Did a quicky channel demo of it using the 1st 2 Boogie suggested settings. Fat Clean and
Mark 2 C+. I used the EQ V`d for both btw. I KNEW I`d love this amp. Very nice cleans and the 2 C+ had sweet breakup and liquid
sustain. Not to mention the controlled feedback. Pinch harmonics.... it is all there. Running it thru a Thiele spec cab I made loaded with a Zakk Wylde EV12.

VERY happy here!    No longer missing my old 50 Cals and Mrk III.

 

[Surf n Music]

I had a Mrk V for a few days back when they 1st came out. But found out the Reverb had some cold welds. Brought it back for a refund.  Gotta say tho imho the
Mrk V  is THE best amp I have ever played. You can get ANY type of sound out of it, and those 3 separate channels were Heavenly!  But the weight was something I know eventually would put the hurt on me.  lol

Picked up the Mrk V 25 today. Did a quicky channel demo of it using the 1st 2 Boogie suggested settings. Fat Clean and
Mark 2 C+. I used the EQ V`d for both btw. I KNEW I`d love this amp. Very nice cleans and the 2 C+ had sweet breakup and liquid
sustain. Not to mention the controlled feedback. Pinch harmonics.... it is all there. Running it thru a Thiele spec cab I made loaded with a Zakk Wylde EV12.

VERY happy here!    No longer missing my old 50 Cals and Mrk III.

Good stuff. I want a mesa! It will be awhile though. One day though.... and an axe too Cagey  :toothy11:

 

[swarfrat]

I wanted one something fierce circa 89. Glad that my earning power didn't catch up in time before my tastes shifted. Had a similar experience with Les Paul's, luckily it was a LP studio and I actually turned a profit when I figured out I was not an LP guy

 

[greywolf]

I've had one of thier Studio .22 's for 25 yrs , same basic layout .. love EL -84's  !!

The fancy wood cab' s on these little gems look killer

 

[Re-Pete]

Since the first time I saw a Boogie MarkII combo I've wanted one. Closest I have gone is getting a Studio Preamp that is fantastic. Bought it brand new & it's still going strong (though it's had a charmed life, at home always)

One thing though. You have to spend time with the Boogie amps to get a grip on how they change their character every time you change the settings.

The Mark V is wildly adjustable, but like Bagman said, its adjustability is a little daunting for those who are used to Vol/Treb/Bass. A little twist here or there can change its character dramatically. I got better at it when I stopped worrying about what the knobs were set at, and just turned 'em 'till they sounded good.

I like bluesy and rocky stuff, not metal. But with the right settings, I can get any of the 6 higher-gain channels to be bluesy, and each a little different. You just have to know how to "play" it. Like Bagman said, it's an instrument.

I read ages ago that Boogie's design is a cascading amp that makes the whole tone character of the signal change whenever one parameter is changed. Those with electronics experience might wanna divulge how that all works as opposed to standard passive control pots onto a Class A/B design? Does the design 'take' power off the other sections of the circuit when you boost up another or something?  :icon_scratch: It's something that's always amazed me.

Just about every time I play with the Preamp, a quick adjust of the settings will open up yet another sound character. I don't know if the later Rectifier and other amp models have the same capabilities as the Boogie range, but man, it's extremely flexible in tones.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Prometheus]

The attachment below is not an answer to your question about "how it all works". It's a schematic of the Mark V. I supply it in hopes that it may provide some info to others, who are much more qualified than I to interpret it and offer an explanation.

But in case, that's not forthcoming, here's all I can offer (such as it is): first, the power page is not pertinent to your question. And the same goes for the reverb, loop, and output sections, as they hold no secrets or surprises. Largely the same story for the EQ.

What's left is the preamp, which is where the "Boogie sound" is mostly made. Unfortunately, there's three pages of that, and it's not easy. The first preamp page shows the Bass/Mid/Treble sections for each of the three main "divisions" of the amp. They are surprisingly similar, but each is a little different, and thus will color the tones differently. Maybe you can see how B/M/T are bound to interact when the knobs are twisted. Ch 3 gain is on the second page. Channel masters are all on the third. Presences are in with the loop stuff. The interesting part is that there are 6 preamp tubes involved, all differentially engaged across the different channel selections (2 are shared with reverb, one with the loop).

Just for comparison, I also attached a schematic of a simple class AB, a Fender Twin (but the "AB" designation has more to do with the power section, so I feel your answer lies in the preamp). The parts corresponding to the Mesa preamp pages I've circled.

Yup, sorta like comparing a crystal radio to a calculator. I'm not trying to dissuade you here, I'm trying to help, really! But that's all I can offer, :dontknow: and maybe someone else can use what I've attached to dig some more for you.