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[CorrosiveMatter]

I also watched a Video toay from ML Soundlabs I think, still loopy a bit, where he could get the 2c++, 3, IV and V all sound just like the 2c or close enough to my ears to not be worth getting any of those crazy priced amps short of a collectors item. I like the other Marks because of the other sounds you can get out of the amp over a 2cp somewhat limited sounds.

 

[CorrosiveMatter]

I commend him for finding it! Although if I'm remembering correctly, I think it became a bit of an obsession for him at some point.

Dammit! This is pissing me off! Now I have to figure this out! (Not a quote, btw.)

If I needed a MB repaired, I'd want him to do it.

I think he was Ukrainian or maybe Russian but could just be one of the Eastern block countries too.

 

[laxu]

What could cause those corners to separate like that other than being dropped hard? I wanna say MB uses dovetail joints in those corners. In fact, I'm almost positive.

Not sure if they do for everything. Here's a video from 8 years ago showing a Rosette 300 acoustic combo being built:



Here's another one from 6 years ago that shows some background footage of the cabs being built. The video quality is not the best but I can't see dovetail joints on those.



Earlier in the same video they show custom headshells and combos that do have dovetail construction.

Then there's this Zilla video of a Mesa OS 4x12 being retolexed. No dove tails visible either.



Finally here's a F50 headshell that got retolexed. Now this is a cheaper amp after all, but the design is very similar to the Mark V chassis. Doesn't look like dovetails here.



I would not be surprised if they use nicer construction on things like 2x12 and 4x12 cabs, and cheap out a bit on headshells that get a standard black tolex put on them.

My guess is that the amp simply slipped from a cart or someone's hands, landed from waist height hard enough to crack the headshell but not cause much other damage than a dent on the reverb tank.

I still don't get the Mark V headshell design. They could have just made it slightly taller to better fit the reverb tank, and put a hole in the front so you could remove the front panel and gain easy access to the preamp tubes.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Not sure if they do for everything. Here's a video from 8 years ago showing a Rosette 300 acoustic combo being built:



Here's another one from 6 years ago that shows some background footage of the cabs being built. The video quality is not the best but I can't see dovetail joints on those.



Earlier in the same video they show custom headshells and combos that do have dovetail construction.

Then there's this Zilla video of a Mesa OS 4x12 being retolexed. No dove tails visible either.



Finally here's a F50 headshell that got retolexed. Now this is a cheaper amp after all, but the design is very similar to the Mark V chassis. Doesn't look like dovetails here.



I would not be surprised if they use nicer construction on things like 2x12 and 4x12 cabs, and cheap out a bit on headshells that get a standard black tolex put on them.

My guess is that the amp simply slipped from a cart or someone's hands, landed from waist height hard enough to crack the headshell but not cause much other damage than a dent on the reverb tank.

I still don't get the Mark V headshell design. They could have just made it slightly taller to better fit the reverb tank, and put a hole in the front so you could remove the front panel and gain easy access to the preamp tubes.

Huh. I think you're right on. I suppose because I've seen them on custom wood offerings, I assumed it was SOP. But just like on guitars, if the wood won't be seen, why spend the extra time/money? Glues are pretty robust these days after all.

 

[laxu]

Huh. I think you're right on. I suppose because I've seen them on custom wood offerings, I assumed it was SOP. But just like on guitars, if the wood won't be seen, why spend the extra time/money? Glues are pretty robust these days after all.

Yeah I agree. For example Orange cabs are built pretty cheaply but those things can still take a beating.

If I ever bother building a headshell for my Mark V, I'll just use dowel joints because I have a Wolfcraft tool that makes it super easy to build them like that.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Yeah I agree. For example Orange cabs are built pretty cheaply but those things can still take a beating.

If I ever bother building a headshell for my Mark V, I'll just use dowel joints because I have a Wolfcraft tool that makes it super easy to build them like that.

I'll take one of my 4x12 cabs outside and drop it on the concrete, just to see how much of a beating it can take before the corners separate. So we'll all know.

In fairness to the MK V, I should remove the back panel first, since I'm sure it adds a fair amount of stability.

 

[Pulsonic]

btw..andy powell of wishbone ash #1 has been a '74 mk 1 - vintage guitar mag online:

“My Boogie is the same one I’ve used for a long time – an original ’74 Mark I”

Andy Powell

Wishbone Ash guitarist Andy Powell isn’t caught in a time warp. True, he’s the sole remaining member of the English foursome that proffered a twin-lead guitar sound that took the band t…

www.vintageguitar.com

 

[Orvillain]

Have that in yer cornflake hole!

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Now I'm on the hunt for a 2x12 Mesa cab - or should I just go for a 4x12?

straight to 4x12

 

[la szum]

Man, how long have some of you been on Planet Earth? Haven't you ever loved something
a little dinged up, or had a dent in it, or overlooked a smudge? Seriously.

Never show up to take a girl out and she had a zit, but was still hot??



Some of the replies about the Mesa Mark V headshell remind me of this.....

I have rescued dogs, cats, women, cars, trucks, and amps from the neglected pile. I will
keep doing so. We all need love---especially the things in the world that have taken
more than their fair share of knocks.




Dumpster Diving Is Life!

 

[la szum]

I am so posting pics of my Mark V that survived a vehicular manslaughter accident (kidding on the manslaughter part!)
and still fires up in spite of how it looks.

It's brutal, in all the wrong ways, but is also really, really cool. Maybe the fact that it works after the carnage it went
through gives me more than a little too much confidence in Mesa.

 

[AlbertA]

I am so posting pics of my Mark V that survived a vehicular manslaughter accident (kidding on the manslaughter part!)
and still fires up in spite of how it looks.

It's brutal, in all the wrong ways, but is also really, really cool. Maybe the fact that it works after the carnage it went
through gives me more than a little too much confidence in Mesa.

 

[la szum]

It's not near the top of my priority list today, AA. Not much is. :lol

Maybe tomorrow.

It's Sunday!!

 

[AlbertA]

straight to 4x12

Oversized or traditional? Slant, no slant?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Oversized or traditional? Slant, no slant?

My absolute favourite are straight/slant’s if you can find one. They tend to be from that golden era of great sounding speakers as an added bonus.

I’m personally more of a fan of how the slanted baffles sound. Mesa straight cabs baffles are at right angles (not slightly tilted like a 1960B style cab which most copy). The angled parts of the cab sound better to me, so straight mesa cabs aren’t always my favourite. Straight looks cooler though…..

If you’re unsure, I’d go oversized. Trads are great too but I’d just experience the full fat oversized mesa sound and go from there. Under the mic they aren’t THAT different to me - the speakers themselves make way more difference

 

[Orvillain]

Imma let you finish, but that Mode Four cab is a fucking beast.... I wasn't really a huge huge HUGE fan of it.... until I got the amp properly cooking in the studio. It really comes to life.

"The Orange has K100's and sounds like a right fucking bastid too." - Sean Bean, probably.

 

[Hollowway]

The only thing I miss on the Mark V is the Marshall style sizzle. It kinda does that on ch3 with the bright switch on, but not on ch2 without cranking it to poweramp distortion.

Makes me wonder if the JVM410 would be more appropriate for me, but I think the Mark V might be more versatile. Plus it looks better on top of my cabs since I don't have a 4x12.

Huh. Would the sizzle be from the power tubes though? I always thought the sizzle was the preamp. Maybe it’s been too long since I played a Marshall, but I feel like Ch2 crunch is all sizzly.

 

[laxu]

Huh. Would the sizzle be from the power tubes though? I always thought the sizzle was the preamp. Maybe it’s been too long since I played a Marshall, but I feel like Ch2 crunch is all sizzly.

It's both. The Mark V gets sizzle if you crank ch2 to poweramp distortion, but the drawback is that it quickly gets muddy with more preamp gain so you have to turn it way down. Plus it gets really damn loud without an attenuator or using the 10W mode.

Bright caps, preamp design etc all influence how all that works. I'd describe Mark V ch2 as more "polite" compared to the raw, sizzly goodness of a Plexi or JCM800. My BluGuitar Amp 1 ME does that thing in spades especially on the JTM-based Vintage channel.

 

[nightlight]

For me, I find that the Mesa Boogie Quad and the Mark IV I have covers a lot of ground when it comes to Mark sounds. This is a video I did of the Quad. It's about 10 minutes, and covers just Channel 1 of the amp, which is modelled after either a IIC or IIC+.



This is another video that I recorded in a much larger room of the same channel running through the same Rectifier Stereo 2:100 power amp.



What do you guys think? Think it's pretty close to the real deal, enough that I wasn't too impressed by the re-issue, though I have been hoping to track down an original IIC+ at the right price someday.

 

[laxu]

Rolled some tubes to try to make the Mark V 90 channel 2 more to my liking.

Slots:

• V2 - Ch2 2nd gain stage. Only one half of the tube is used and the other just does nothing. I wish Mesa had used the other one as a switchable gain boost or something.
• V3 - Ch2 4th gain stage
• V4 - Ch3 4th gain stage and reverb driver tube

Out:

• V2 - Groove Tubes GT12AX7M. This was their Mullard copy back in the day, but it suffered from reliability issues.
• V3 - GT12AX7M as well.
• V4 - Svetlana 12AX7. This tends to be a smoother, a bit less gainy tube.

In:

• V2 - JJ ECC803S long plate. This would be great in the phase inverter slot but I think one side of it is busted because last time I tried using it, it randomly cut out. I hope the side that works is the one used by ch2.
• V3 - TAD ECC83WA
• V4 - TAD 12AX7-C

The end result is that the amp cuts better and ch2 has more gain and brightness to it, which pushes it more towards the Marshall territory I want out of it. Ch3 with bright switch on is just about perfect for the kind of tone I want, so Ch2 falling just a bit short has bugged me for a while.

I swapped V4 by accident as I forgot V2 and V3 are arranged in an odd way. Lucky accident, because the reverb sounds better to me now.
I think the tubes I had were just too low gain and smooth sounding to work well. Or they're just old and busted, I don't have a tube tester!

I do still wish Mesa had put a bright cap and switch on ch2 rather than the largely useless Mark 1 normal/thick switch.