NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

[lex666]

I finally received my Mesa Mark V head and spent the entire weekend with it. I know I'm not the most articulate guy here so please forgive me if this review turns lame... I could ramble on for days about how great this amp is, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

Guitars: Gibson SG, Gibson Explorer (with SD Blackouts), ESP LTD 602, Gibson ES335

Cabs: Marshall 2x12 with V30's and Marshall 2x12 with Celestion Heritage & Vintage

First of all, you guys were right. The Mark 5 blows away my Marshall TSL602 that I've been in love with for almost 10 years. I immediately went to the Mark IIc+ mode in channel 3 set to 90 watts. The Mark 5 has a tremendous amount of headroom. I was surprised at how much more bass was present. It moved so much air that I could feel the hairs stand on the back of my neck. Using the suggested settings I was easily able to dial in Metallica's classic sound. Leads sing, bass is heavy and tight, yet they both blend together with real crunch and authority. Instead of sounding bright, harsh and muddy, both are combined to provide real musical tone that compliments the other. I played Metallica's "Seek and Destroy". LOUDLY. Totally nails that tone. I then played some detuned stuff like "Small Hours" "Crash Course" and "The Thing That Should Not Be"... It nails those heavy notes and leads soar without having to change any settings other than the toggle switch on my guitar. I wouldn’t call it liquid, but a very smooth distortion. Lowering the gain, this setting can do some really nice blues crunch.

The Mark IV setting was more bass heavy than the Mark II setting, yet never got muddy. I'm really liking this heavy scooped tone, something my Marshall couldn't do without turning to mud.

The Extreme setting is exactly that - extremely loud with tons of distortion. Surprisingly still very musical. I played some "nu metal" thru it. It nails that "wall of distortion" sound.

The Mark I setting on channel 2 was very scooped, more scooped than the Mark II and IV. I need to spend more time with this setting as I found its tone too scooped for my tastes.

The Crunch setting was a huge surprise. This setting alone could be sold as an amp by itself. Low gain settings provide a smooth crunchy tone reminiscent of a Marshall, only better. More defined mids, smooth bass, and a nice top end with no shrill. In this setting, you can really hear those subtle differences in your guitars. Mids are accentuated, but never overwhelming allowing the true voice of your guitar to be heard. Turning up the gain provided an excellent high gain crunch similar to a Recto. This setting can cover tons of ground.

 

[lex666]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

The Edge setting sounded like a mellower version of the Crunch setting. Think classic gain like on them old school Marshalls. I don’t know how to describe it other than it sounds clean with a smooth, mild distortion. If vintage gain is what you’re looking for, this channel is for you.

The Tweed setting on channel 1 delivers as promised. As the gain goes up, it goes from very clean to an excellent break up. Switching to 10watts, the break up came on sooner at a lower volume. I found the 45 watt setting to provide the perfect amount on break up and headroom.

The Fat setting was my personal favorite sounding clean setting. High notes shimmered and bass had zero flub. Using the volume knob on my guitar (ES335) I could go from a very subtle ‘smooth’ clean to a very bold almost clipped style clean.

The Clean setting was exactly that- very clean. No clipping, very bright type of clean. Switching to 10watts changed the voice from very bright to smooth.

Needless to say, there are a myriad of other settings that affect the voice in each mode. Using the Variac switch, each channel displayed earlier break up or distortion. Switching between 90, 45, and 10 watt power settings also changed the head room and volume. Selecting different ‘rectifier’ settings between tube, diodes, triodes, and pentodes provided a ‘loose’ vintage vibe or a fast & tight sound. Different combinations of any of these setting always provided useful tones.

I did find this amp’s configuration to be very user friendly. I know some people find the number of knobs and switches overwhelming. Knowing how each knob and switch will affect your tone is key. Some knobs such as gain and treble have a direct correlation with each other. During my month long waiting period for my amp to arrive, I downloaded the owner’s manual and carefully studied it. I highly recommend studying the manual, this will make finding the right sound you are looking for much more easier.

Overall, I’m totally in love with this amp. Because I do mostly covers, I need an amp that is capable of many tones – from clean, to vintage, to crunch, to heavy. This amp truly delivers.

If I have to find fault with something, it would be the included slip/dust cover. It doesn’t fit my Marshall where it will be now needed most.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Glad to hear that you are enjoying that amp!

Set channel 2 to Mark I, set the bass to 0, and the channel master to about 3 or 4 PM....adjust everything else to taste - then try not to get trapped there by the cool tones!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

I wish people would stop posting these positive Mark V reviews. My bank account can't handle this sort of information.

 

[DankStar]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

I live vicariously through rex.

 

[Al.C]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Glad to hear that you are enjoying that amp!

Set channel 2 to Mark I, set the bass to 0, and the channel master to about 3 or 4 PM....adjust everything else to taste - then try not to get trapped there by the cool tones!

Here is my favorite lead tone (remember I'm an old fart raised on Santana)
Mark1: gain 4 pm
presence 2 pm
treble 2 pm
mid 3.5 pm
bass 7 pm (ALL THE WAY DOWN)
master 10 pm
EQ: (DO NOT USE AN INVERTED V PATTERN)
80 hz 2.25
240 2.1
750 1.75
2200 1.3
6600 1.5

THis gives me a great Santana tone that is very usable at lower volumes.

 

[d1dsj]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

I wish people would stop posting these positive Mark V reviews. My bank account can't handle this sort of information.

+1.

They appear to be the last word in ultra versatile valve amps... glad it's working out for you.:friday:

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Since I first heard about the Mark V I had gas like you wouldn't believe. Now I don't even know how to describe it. I also play covers, so the versatility of the Mark V really appeals to me.

Boy, how I wish I could afford it. Hopefully I can get one before I die. The bad thing is that without one (always yearning for it) I will die much sooner than expected. The proverbial rock and a hard place.

Great review Lex, Play the heck out of that amp and enjoy.

 

[tone4days]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

nice write up - would love to read the same type of detailed write up from a strat / tele player to go side-by-side with your dual humbucker write up

glad you are happy with it
enjoy!

t4d

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

You sound like I did when I first got my Mark v. You have to turn the bass way way down. I mean low. It even tells you in the manual to have it really low or even off in some settings. Extreme mode is instant Metallica. It is loud, heavy on bass and lower mids, scooped upper mids, treble and presence, but less gain than Mark iv and iic+ modes.

I thought variac power sounds great in 10w and 45w but not as good at 90w. Even at low volumes I keep it on 90w. 10 and 45w only sound good with a loud volume.

There are so many features that I havent even begun to tweak yet or take advantage of to record. Mesa reverb is outstanding. Probably the best I have heard in any amp. Fat is like it was cut right out of a Lonestar head. It sounds uber good.

Congratulations. What kind of speakers were you running it through? I use v30's but tried gt1275 with favorable results.

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

i wish people would stop posting these positive mark v reviews. My bank account can't handle this sort of information.

+1

 

[lex666]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Congratulations. What kind of speakers were you running it through? I use v30's but tried gt1275 with favorable results.

Thanks for the comments guys.

I've been using my 2 Marshall 2x12 cabs; the first loaded with 2 Celestion V30's, and the other loaded with a Celestion Heritage and Vintage.

Both cabs are rated at 16ohms. The Mark 5 has (2) 4ohm outputs and (2) 8ohm outputs... I was using the (2) 8ohm outputs but switched to the 4ohm outputs... I didn't notice much of a difference. Anyone know what differences I should expect using either of these outputs?

I'm still playing with all the options, inlcuding the outputs. This amp is more thank just an experience, its a journey.

 

[DankStar]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

whoops, I called you rex, doh - I'm dumb

 

[YellowJacket]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Thanks for the comments guys.

I've been using my 2 Marshall 2x12 cabs; the first loaded with 2 Celestion V30's, and the other loaded with a Celestion Heritage and Vintage.

Both cabs are rated at 16ohms. The Mark 5 has (2) 4ohm outputs and (2) 8ohm outputs... I was using the (2) 8ohm outputs but switched to the 4ohm outputs... I didn't notice much of a difference. Anyone know what differences I should expect using either of these outputs?

I'm still playing with all the options, inlcuding the outputs. This amp is more thank just an experience, its a journey.

Definitely try to match your ohmage right so you don't cook your tubes or your amp.
two 16 ohms cabs wired in parallel should be hooked up to the 8 ohm outputs. Hooking up to the 4 ohm outputs is a correct mismatch but you will make your amp work harder which makes it sound darker and burns out tubes faster.
If you were to hook up your two cabs in parallel to the 16 ohm outputs on the head, you'd cause the amp to put out much more power due to the lack of resistance. This can damage components and is definitely a very stupid idea.

 

[lex666]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Thanks for the help guys. I went to using the 8ohm outputs as recommended.

I played with the clean channels last nite - 10watts, full power. I'm really blown away by the 3 really amazing clean channels. I dialed in a "spanky" kind of honky style clean and it was great. I don't even play that style. :cool2: Then, I dialed in some super clean "shimmery" tones. I then swtiched to the tweed channel and maxed the gain and found some really great slightly distorted tones that had some break up, but was still clean. I then went to the Fat mode and dialed in some funky "chicka wah wah" stuff. Friggin' awesome man. :bling:

 

[lex666]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

My Mesa pRon:

(sorry for the crappy cell fone pix)

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Run that rig in stereo!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

Run that rig in stereo!

Hell no! That TSL has no business even being in the same room as a Mark V.

 

[Top Jimmy]

Re: NAD - Early review of my Mesa Mark V

There is a 10 watt option?

Egnater Tweaker 15w or Mark V, hummmm...oh wait, it's a $2k difference in price.