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There are a few things you should consider. First, the idea that the Mark V is some kind of Swiss-army knife is misleading and turns some people off. It's not a jack of all trades amp as much as it is the actual preamp circuits of Mesa's Line of Mark amps. That's one of the most important things to realize, and one of the most common reasons why they trade or sell them. Indeed, the Mark V can do a wide variety of sounds, but you have to treat it like separate amps and choose the ones you like the most. If you come at that approach and take your time to acclimate with it, you'll find years, and years of great tone and enjoyment
Next, the Mark V is a 90w amp. Even though it has a 10w mode, it's not necessarily a bedroom amp. Nevertheless, you can figure out over time how to get good low-volume tone once you get used to the EQ and controls. Mainly, at lower volumes, you're not really getting power tube presence, low end, midrange growl, or power tube breakup.However, if you go back and forth between low and high volumes and play with the controls enough, you'll eventually figure out what you need to compensate for and what you need to reduce in order to get the best midnight @ home tone out of it.
Finally, don't make the mistake of getting a Mark V to 'try it out.' That's a self-defeating mentality. Buy one with the idea that it's going to be with you for a long time. Then take your time to get to know it and it WILL pay off in the end. It's not really a complicated amp, however, you have to consider a few rudimentary things. First, think of the EQ as being parametric rather than linear. So whatever frequencies you boost or cut has kind of a pulling/pushing effect on adjacent frequencies (or something like that). For example, you're not really just going to turn a knob and add or take away bass. It's not like other amps where you set everything at 12:00 and then tweak. That's why Mesa Boogie always gives you several settings in the manual so you can get a good idea of where to start for basic kinds of tones. This is not particular to Mesa Boogies but a lot of amps. Usually, an amp's tone network is most sensitive to treble, then mids, then bass. Therefore, if your treble is set high then it kind of opens up the mids and bass a little more... or some variation of the concept.
You pretty much leave the graphic EQ off until you get used to the amp. The graphic EQ is more like a fine adjustment, but you have to have the underlying EQ right before you can get the most out of it. Keep in mind that I'm generalizing a little to explain simply. I'm not a recording engineer, and there are like 5 or 6 types of EQs so I'm not trying to use precise terms.
As for guitars, I have many guitars and they require maintenance. The more guitars you own (if you want to keep them playing and sounding good), the more time and effort will be required to maintain them. I always keep an around 10 boxes of 10 sets of strings laying around, not because I need them all, but there are times when you have to put fresh strings on multiple guitars, of you break a string, and so on. When you setup a guitar, don't expect it to maintain a perfect setup indefinitely. Wood moves, and as good as guitar makers are about drying and stabilizing wood, weather, humidity, external and internal stresses will always be some degree of variance.
Therefore, if you have 3 new guitars added to however many you already own, then you have 3 more guitars to maintain. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely prefer clean, well-setup, well-maintained guitars. Fresh strings is definitely important to me as they have better tone, sustain, and feel. Many people are rather sloppy and negligent with their guitars but they'll defend old strings and such boldly, but there's certainly a difference when you pick up one of their guitars if you're used to clean, well-maintained guitars. That's my opinion.
You can have all the guitars in the world, but you can only play 1 guitar at a time through 1 amp at a time (technically you can play multiple amps at the same time but why?). Therefore, I believe it's important to have a great amp to play them through.
In the end, and I know this irritates a few people, technique is the main tone factor. If you develop a technique that's articulate and expressive then that's when the really good gear outshines everything else. The nuance, bloom, quack, etc. can only blossom if you have the technique to bring it out. If you have only 1 kind of pick attack, for example, then you'll lack dynamics and the 'boutique' features will not manifest in your sound. What's the use of having a dozen guitars if you haven't got the technique to make them sound good?
Not only that, you have to consider whether you'll need to upgrade pickups or other hardware on your new guitars. That's an added expense which will make that guitar cost more in the long run.
Perhaps you should get a great amp, like the Mark V, and develop great tone with it. Only then will you appreciate using various guitars.
Next, the Mark V is a 90w amp. Even though it has a 10w mode, it's not necessarily a bedroom amp. Nevertheless, you can figure out over time how to get good low-volume tone once you get used to the EQ and controls. Mainly, at lower volumes, you're not really getting power tube presence, low end, midrange growl, or power tube breakup.However, if you go back and forth between low and high volumes and play with the controls enough, you'll eventually figure out what you need to compensate for and what you need to reduce in order to get the best midnight @ home tone out of it.
Finally, don't make the mistake of getting a Mark V to 'try it out.' That's a self-defeating mentality. Buy one with the idea that it's going to be with you for a long time. Then take your time to get to know it and it WILL pay off in the end. It's not really a complicated amp, however, you have to consider a few rudimentary things. First, think of the EQ as being parametric rather than linear. So whatever frequencies you boost or cut has kind of a pulling/pushing effect on adjacent frequencies (or something like that). For example, you're not really just going to turn a knob and add or take away bass. It's not like other amps where you set everything at 12:00 and then tweak. That's why Mesa Boogie always gives you several settings in the manual so you can get a good idea of where to start for basic kinds of tones. This is not particular to Mesa Boogies but a lot of amps. Usually, an amp's tone network is most sensitive to treble, then mids, then bass. Therefore, if your treble is set high then it kind of opens up the mids and bass a little more... or some variation of the concept.
You pretty much leave the graphic EQ off until you get used to the amp. The graphic EQ is more like a fine adjustment, but you have to have the underlying EQ right before you can get the most out of it. Keep in mind that I'm generalizing a little to explain simply. I'm not a recording engineer, and there are like 5 or 6 types of EQs so I'm not trying to use precise terms.
As for guitars, I have many guitars and they require maintenance. The more guitars you own (if you want to keep them playing and sounding good), the more time and effort will be required to maintain them. I always keep an around 10 boxes of 10 sets of strings laying around, not because I need them all, but there are times when you have to put fresh strings on multiple guitars, of you break a string, and so on. When you setup a guitar, don't expect it to maintain a perfect setup indefinitely. Wood moves, and as good as guitar makers are about drying and stabilizing wood, weather, humidity, external and internal stresses will always be some degree of variance.
Therefore, if you have 3 new guitars added to however many you already own, then you have 3 more guitars to maintain. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely prefer clean, well-setup, well-maintained guitars. Fresh strings is definitely important to me as they have better tone, sustain, and feel. Many people are rather sloppy and negligent with their guitars but they'll defend old strings and such boldly, but there's certainly a difference when you pick up one of their guitars if you're used to clean, well-maintained guitars. That's my opinion.
You can have all the guitars in the world, but you can only play 1 guitar at a time through 1 amp at a time (technically you can play multiple amps at the same time but why?). Therefore, I believe it's important to have a great amp to play them through.
In the end, and I know this irritates a few people, technique is the main tone factor. If you develop a technique that's articulate and expressive then that's when the really good gear outshines everything else. The nuance, bloom, quack, etc. can only blossom if you have the technique to bring it out. If you have only 1 kind of pick attack, for example, then you'll lack dynamics and the 'boutique' features will not manifest in your sound. What's the use of having a dozen guitars if you haven't got the technique to make them sound good?
Not only that, you have to consider whether you'll need to upgrade pickups or other hardware on your new guitars. That's an added expense which will make that guitar cost more in the long run.
Perhaps you should get a great amp, like the Mark V, and develop great tone with it. Only then will you appreciate using various guitars.
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