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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.