How to dial in a Mesa MkV Amp.

[@Hoscitt]

I've owned a Mark V for 10 years and still really enjoyed this. Good stuff! 👍

[@FranzyMorso]

I've purchased the Mesa Mark V 6 years ago, and wow! I was surprised to see another player who shares my philosophy on how to use the amplifier... I thought I was the only one... I agree and confirm practically everything that has been said, especially about its 'strange' versatility and, above all, how to dial with channel 3. One thing that wasn't mentioned, and that I feel like recommending for those who may not have much time or simply don't want to spend too much time, even though in my opinion, they won't fully utilize the amp's true potential, is to activate the amp's preset mode and tweak the knobs until you find an acceptable and satisfying sound... a quick solution if you don't want to feel lost. However, I want to emphasize that finding a cool tone when playing alone is one thing, but cutting through the mix well with the rest of the band is another. I say this because I play in a band that does modern metal in the style of BMTH, Cane Hill, I Prevail... where there are many backing tracks and sounds occupying many frequencies within the band's sound.

[@cspiderm]

Man,i thought I was the only one that had trouble dialing in these suckers.Nobody ever believed me when I told them this amp was midrange strong and very fussy and the traditional bass mid treble didn't react as other amps did.great video bruh!

[@JPP-i6o]

It's not a blackface Fender (plug in, twist a couple of knows and go (with about 40 pedals), but take the time and you will be rewarded. I have a Mark V 35 and I can get ANYTHING out of it.

[@adamlaurie4058]

Most helpful Mesa - dialing video ever! It’s like you cracked the code lol. Plus you articulate everything very well. Thanks!

[@yuriyv4239]

Mesa should hire this guy for sure! Much more informative then all the manual... Amazing video!

[@felinekaiju4517]

yep, the sliders are like the Recto EQ pre amp controls. I know that frustration. Great vid mate, I'm thinking of grabbing bargain of a mk V.

[@beeps123]

We used this video as a reference to start tweaking my 90v combo. For years it was tucked away because it was so difficult to figure out. It was cake after watching this. Thanks.

[@travisfritts6262]

This worked so incredibly well! Your method was the missing piece from my puzzle. I've gotten really good tones, but after less than 30 minutes using your method, I now have GREAT tone from all three channels - AND - a much better understanding of why! Bravo, sir! Thanks for unraveling the Mark Mystery! Gamechanger of a video!

[@aftermathstudios3717]

Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad it worked out for you!

[@GuitarJesse7]

I’ve had a Mark five for a very long time, and while I agree with much of what you said about it, being unlike other amps in how you dial it in, and either being confusing or frustrating to some people that don’t read the manual, yes that is very true. However, I will definitely have to disagree with you about calling its versatility a myth. I have owned or played through quite a few other amps over the years, solid state and tube. I also have a home recording studio and used to play in a cover band with this amp specifically. The Mark V is incredibly versatile and useful in both live and recording environments, especially compared with many of the other classic amps like Vox, fender, Marshall. The Mark V really can do a decent tribute to all those amps if you’re not being too not-picky, but I’m pretty sure none of them can do the Mesa high gain rhythm and lead sounds. Now for those that are going for a more specific sound from an amp that has one really good flavor, or someone that gets their core tone more from pedals, then this might not be the amp for them, even though it does take pedals pretty well. But how many tube amps out there do jazz, blues, classic rock and metal? No added pedals. I’m sure there’s others out there, but probably not too many. Now all that being said, is this the amp I would recommend to someone? It depends on their level of playing and what kind of sounds they need and what their budget is. And now that I’ve had it for a while and there are other things that have come out, would I choose it again?I don’t know, I haven’t been in the market for a new amp for a long time. I also think the Mesa’s are probably too expensive, like a lot of other amps and I think there are more affordable ways to get good sounds. Not trying to pick a fight or anything, just offering some friendly pushback since I’ve had the amp a long time and used it on stage and in studio with a variety of styles. Thanks!

[@aftermathstudios3717]

I think in hindsight, I would describe the amp as versatile but not flexible. It can do a lot, but it's very specific about how it's going to do it.

[@Yuriguitar11]

Nailed it! It's a fact, Mark V is not the easiest amp to dial in but once you know how the amp works, you can get really great tones out of the amp. This is the reason why i bought mine at the time, because i knew its capacity, not because the tone was the greatest one i've ever heard in life when i was testing it. From this perspective, EVH 5150s are a way more "noob friendly" than boogies, for example, but not necessarily more "versatiles".

[@TheMasonator777]

It boils down to this. The tone knobs and gain controls are like an outboard overdrive. The graphic EQ sliders are your tone controls.

[@SubKrypt]

Thanks for the video. Interesting you push the mids and bring the treble down, most people do the opposite on Mark amps.

[@ahaua1]

Adam Jones, (Tool), fan here. Currently have a Marshall DSL 40 amp and I really like it. Using a Diezel VH4-2 distortion pedal. I became really intrigued with Mesa Boogie amps and just ordered a Mark V 35 combo. I keep hearing that Mesa Boogies are "hard to dial in", but definitely impressive once you tweak it properly. Time will tell as I've never heard one live....only KZbin reviews. Thanks for this video!! Great information as it gives me hope for a good outcome...lol

[@aftermathstudios3717]

They really can be a pain. If you've never plugged into one before, don't panic if your first impression is: "Ew" Take some time to get it right. The magic setting is there and it'll be slightly different for every person. Once you've got it sounding in the ballpark, the amp will start to make sense.

[@plectrummx]

I don’t think it was too bad for me (have had a V:35 combo for 5+ years). Read the manual several times and go for it. What this video says is true, that the rotary controls are pre gain. I disagree a bit on the clean and fat modes; I do think they have more range, and the controls respond relatively normal with little to no distortion. But when you crank it, the controls then tell you how much gain you apply to each frequency, then the sliders are the proper EQ. That is what makes it versatile. You can change which frequencies are clipped harder or softer, giving you a huge range of gain tones. I’ve found awesome tones on my V:35 with a Strat, an Epi Les Paul with BurstBuckers and a more modern PRS S2 CU24. And If you like pedals, it also sounds great with them. Good luck!

[@gregcameron5079]

I’m a bedroom player and I have the mark v I don’t use it for metal, not my thing but I use all nine modes and I live in the country and can play at any volume as long as the house still stands. But I can use the overall volume control if I need to be quiet. I play on the 45 watt mode for everything except tweed I use the 10 watt mode and the variac setting but for me it’s a great amp, I also have a Mesa express 5:50+ which is also a great amp. I’m completely sold on Mesa products. I use channel three for my smoother gain settings which works really well for me. This video was a great explanation for newcomers. I’ve had mine for a little over a year but the express for nine years so I understood the Mesa philosophy from that amp. It really does help to read the manual because the everything at noon and a touch of reverb doesn’t really apply to these amps.

[@chrisalvarez4405]

Thank you this was really helpful, I’ve had my MarkV 35 for over a year and some days I love it and some days I get so frustrated.

[@coalfacechris1336]

Great vid, mate. Terrific point regarding getting the sound you want before engaging the graphic. Also, trying to explain to the casual punter that Mesa Mk's are mid-heavy seems to be a difficult task. After being a Marshall guy for 30+ years, picked up a Mkiii Greenstripe head in a trade pre-pandemic. The amp is a time capsule of early channel-switcher technology. Don't know if there is something wrong with my ears, but I prefer not to have the graphic engaged, except if pumping an EMG-loaded axe into it for that thrash thing. That's where your "misconception #1" comes to the fore - with the right guitar (say HSH Superstrat), my Mkiii (though the R2-mod channel is a little bit of fighter) is one of the most versatile "simple" amps I've owned. As commented though, there isn't a Marshall sound when you need it. And I still need that. Like your channel, mate. Hope it grows.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

Yeah the GEQ isn't necessarily "required" at lower gain. For mid-gain you can get away with not using it. I would argue you only really need the GEQ for high gain because the more gain you add, the more mids you add, so I reckon you need to tame those mids at least A LITTLE bit at higher gain. It's a very different amp to Marshall for sure. I'm gonna do a similar video going through all the modes on my JVM. After doing a big deep-dive on the Mesa, plugging into the Marshall was a bit of culture shock at first!

[@kosmonument2682]

I don't know why people think they're hard to set up. There are so many tone options described right in the manual. Set one and tune to taste.

[@beeps123]

No one reads the manual. I didn’t think of it. That’s why. 😊

[@jkdsteve]

Nice Explorer! Channel 2 and the MKI mode was the biggest surprise for me on this amp.

[@Genociv]

When dialing in a sound on a Mesa Mark amp, use your ears, not your eyes. That's the best advice one can give you. And as a matter of fact, that's the best advice you can get when dialing in any tone on any amp. Stop looking at your dials : listen.

[@fixedgear37]

Yep. So many people only care about where the pointer is on each setting. "Everything should be at noon or a couple degrees either side and nothing more". I have no problem dialing in all kinds of tones on MK amps.

[@themog4911]

Excellent video, helped me loads. Liked and Subscribed :)

[@wurm90125]

The presence is the biggest thing I struggled with. Took me a while to balance it out with the highs on the graphic EQ and now I can't think of hearing anything else. My rule is to never turn the presence past noon.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@wurm90125 I agree. Honestly I'm not sure how I managed to get these tones running the presence up so high! These days I run it before noon and the 8k slider is about the middle too.

[@herbertroxas]

This is a great video! Thank you for all the tips!

[@christophernettleton8381]

There’s one thing you could do in a second set of videos. The MkV voicings can sound wildly different tweed vs clean for instance or Mk1 vs crunch or indeed IIc vs Extreme on the lead. Also the power settings are as much about tone as power. The 45w with valve rectifier is much sweeter and browner than the more ‘hard’ and punchy 90w. Significantly different tone. Anyway. Great vid. Love my MkV because the crunch channel is much much more versatile than previous Mark series iterations.

[@albertarmen4839]

Interesting take... yea Misconception #1... agreed, it's really about the gain stages and variability of them, not amp imitation. The V:90 is certainly unique in comparison to any of the previous Mark models. If you have patience and enjoy a tonal journey the V:90 can be extremely rewarding. But if you really want a Marshall... get a Marshall :) Would like to add the features in the power section are almost as important as the preamp, but do add another layer of complexity. The V:90 unlike previous Marks has tube rect (45W). 10 W mode with pentode/ triode 90W simulclass, variac etc. All play into the tone and feel.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

You are correct that there's a bunch of features here that I didn't discuss, but...ultimately it comes back to what I was talking about for Misconception #1. The amp decides how it's gonna sound and you tweak the amp to suit the sound the amp has decided on, rather than telling the amp how it sounds. So messing with different wattages, modes, variac etc. all will have a noteworthy impact, but ultimately, I would suggest that the goal remains the same. Tweaking the amp to get it to make the best version of the noise it has decided to make. If I went through every possible combination on this amp, we would be here for several hours! Yet after going through all of that, I believe we would have ended up at the same spot. It's why the Mark VII doesn't really interest me. The only NEW Mark Series amp which would interest me would be one that got rid of all the modes and switches, and just had 3, really awesome sounding channels, rather than multiple modes per channel and wattages and clipping modes etc.

[@ewljr]

I’m waiting for Mark Five 35/25/10 to be delivered today and this video makes me not excited anymore. I watched numerous videos of this amp and the variety of sounds was incredible. The front panel looks a lot different so I’m wondering if things have changed.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@ewljr Might have a different layout but I'm pretty sure it's the same. There are some absolutely brilliant sounds out of this amp so you should still be keen! Just don't expect to have tonal nirvana when you first plug in. You'll get there though!

[@JA12258]

Great video! Thank you! Exactly what I needed.

[@albertorockmaster1836]

I've played with Mark Five 90 for some years now, maybe what happens to a lot of people is that they think you gotta use someone else's presets, i started tweaking the way Petrucci did on a Video, it sounds good but i made some changes and it worked for me, i think presets or an artist settings should be used as starting point, once you have the starting point you tweak according to your needs, and let me tells you this is a monster amp and i love it

[@philipcoaxum8792]

I will be honest, the Mark V is in my experience the easiest amplifier i have used to set up the tone and sound. The preset knobs help a ton and the eq on the channels change the sounds very easily. The sliders can be left for the lead channel to achieve *that* iconic sound. Just run the bass at the level you want and use gain and treble accordingly. Presence can be added to fit. Bloody easy to tune accordingly. But i also work on mixers and sound engineering......so maybe my ease isn't as easy for others...

[@charlienelson2395]

What kind of explorer is that? It looks great!

[@jake13b]

nice video. luckilly for me my first tube amp i bout in 1991 was a mark series so i do not have to unlearn things. i have no problem having treble on 8 mids on 2 and bass on 0. lol

[@Yuriguitar11]

Great video dude! it's really hard to find someone who had figured it out the treble control adds more gain on final sound. I'm mark V and Dual Recto owner. I love mark V, its my favorite compared to Recto but its absolutely true that mark V is not the easiest amp to dial in. In dual rectos (considering you have a TS plugged before the amp), in 10 seconds you can achieve such a unbelievable killer metal tone, great for rythms and leads at the same time. I mean, if you're in a store plugging your guitar for the first time in a Mark V amp, the probability your tone gonna suck is real high. Thats what happened to me. Its not supposed to happen with a "versatile" amp, isn't it? The amp should be able to deliver good tones in situations like that. Maybe "versatile" is not the word but flexible. The amp is versatile, i mean, you can play since the accoustic stuff to brutal metal tones but the way to get there is not flexible, you must know how the amp works otherwise it will sucks. Where in hell you will think the treble adds more gain if you're used to other amps? Anyways, i bought the amp at that time cause i knew its capacity, not because my tone was the best tone i ever got from an amp. In Dual Recto, you probably gonna get a good tones easier and faster. I think this is the reason why you rarely see people trying Mark amps on dealers.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@Yuriguitar11 Yeah in hindsight the phrase I wish I added to the video was: "This amp is versatile, but it ain't flexible" You CAN use it for pretty much any genre and gain stage (and it's gonna sound amazing each time), but the AMP is deciding how it's gonna sound for each tone. Not the player. You've gotta refine the noise the amp gives you, rather than tell the amp how it should sound.

[@Soloist1983]

I keep hearing the Mark V is the one to avoid, I ended up buying a 3, and a 7, well, and a JP. Set the the tone controls to B 0/M 0/T 10, simple V curve on the EQ...done, sounds brilliant. But true, coming from any other amp, it IS different

[@karlhector2049]

Unless I missed it, you didn't mention the Preset EQ at all? In my experience, some of the best sounds come from maxing the depth of that rather than fiddling with my own GEQ slider positions.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@karlhector2049 didn't mention it, because...I honestly kinda hate it. But there are a lot of people who like the result so go nuts 😊

[@harryclark8611]

Love my MkV, understand that it’s a half stack concert amp, wish I could play in my house on the 3rd channel without feeling like the walls are going to blow down. I feel like I lose the nuts when I go lower in gain or volume, but too high and can’t play for long without blowing ear drums. Any suggestions for channel three while keeping volume reasonable but still getting some gain?

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@harryclark8611 have confidence and be proud that your neighbours get to enjoy an amazing guitar noise 😉

[@FlankinspanK]

very interesting. itd be cool to mention front end boosting

[@aftermathstudios3717]

In general, I don't recommend it for a MkV. The MkV wants to do ALL the work for you and doesn't like being kicked in the face with any sort of gain pedal. Happy with hot pickups, loves EMGs interestingly enough, but hates being boosted.

[@zacinnc78]

cant believe i sat through this and there was no sound samples ;(

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@zacinnc78 ...except all the guitar playing was recorded with the amp?

[@wurzlgaming]

btw - most of very expensive audiodevice like NAIM do not have an EQ. because - you cant do better. at higher pricerange seldom people can buy better quality, only different characteristics. i own this amp and i treat it like my second child .. i just love it ... but my conclusion comes from high end stereo audio devices. .. so maybe im wrong.. do you maybe know how many hours those tubes can take ?

[@adamgorner4944]

Haha, I love Metelliker!

[@JdNtBrLrTi]

Maybe the MkV is not for me. I have one, and I have played through it, and tried to like it, but it just doesn't "speak" to me. It's also more amp than I need. Maybe I can FORCE it to sound like I want it to by adding an external GEQ. Or, maybe I should just jettison this amp for a Marshall 1987X. I dunno...

[@aftermathstudios3717]

@@JdNtBrLrTi if you're a Marshall guy, the MKV absolutely won't do the Marshall thing. A Marshall enjoys being punched in the face with boost pedals and high output pickups and aggressive playing. The Mesa will sound amazing provided that you give it exactly what it wants, when the position of the moon is in the right place, Venus is in retrograde etc. In terms of personality, the two amps are polar opposites. It doesn't make one BETTER than the other (I like both!) but the Mesa absolutely speaks a different language than Marahall

[@SchecterMongoose]

This amp teaches the user how to set amps and play better. It's not for someone who doesn't like tweaking. If you want cheap, out of the box tone; buy a Peavey! lol.

[@grahamokeefe9406]

I had a Mark IV and I got rid of it because it was too much of a pain in the ass to dial in. If you moved a knob a quarter of a notch, it would completely wreck the tone. Never liked that tone stack.

[@aftermathstudios3717]

Yuuuuuuuuup. There's a reason why it took me half an hour to explain how to set these bastards up. AGAIN. When set up, they are amazing but goddamn.

[@grahamokeefe9406]

@@aftermathstudios3717 It wasn't worth it. Even if I got it set up right, it'd get knocked out every time I moved it. You don't have 30 minutes to dial in a tone at a gig. Sold that MF, and got a Lone Star Special. That amp was a dream.

[@twintriode]

How to know you are not the typical Metallica loving Boogie player 13:05. My "V" is inverted of that.

[@clemdog76]

Although I agree that a MkV preamp is not user friendly... requires a learning curve. I completely and TOTALLY disagree with your opinion that the amp is not versatile and can't conjure any sound from the entire electric guitar legacy. Especially if you have the full mkV (I only have a mkv25) you have a ridiculous amount of mimicking of any amp starting from the very first amps on the market. Thats another misconception of power clip... using 10 watt, single ended, with variac on, tube rectified, any channel one mode. The sag it can produce is over the top and leaves no room for low frequency content. A LOT OF PLAYERS out there misunderstand this use case scenario. Very flubby but can be so in a desirable way. You have to play to the tone. Then you can slap some EL34 in it, 45 watt power, edge mode, full power, diode rectifier. Run the gain conservatively but crank the power amp. Use the contour eq to revoice mids and you get a Plexi. Switch to the crunch mode and use a tube to rectify and you get a more modern Britt boutique tone... studio JMP. I have compared my Fat channel set up just like a fender blackface and they are nearly identical. This amp absolutely is crazy versatile and can mimmic almost ANY amp. Not orange so much... not an amp like a SUNN modelT. There is what I consider a lot of misinformation about this amp... don't overthink the graphic eq. Theres a few dramatic tone forging techniques but, mostly use one or two bands to modify or sweeten a sound. Yes I scoop my MkIIC+ mode because of the notorious tight punch it has scooped... frankly as soon as you swap to the MKIV mode it is the opposite; round and thick. Very set apart from the MKIIC+. You can modify these modes... all the way up to the extreme mode to mimmic ENGL or EVH... use MKIV in low gain settings, it sounds like the Gilmour HIWATT era. Its stupid versatile. Claiming it is not... Totally untrue statement.

[@m.thephilosopher]

i think the Background Music is needless and also a bit annoying ! I try to think my way into the subject and are constantly distracted by the music!

[@paultray7798]

You could have done with out all that continuous music while you're talking you lost my interest after 3 minutes