The Mk VII Love Shack

[László]

Experience tells me I should not love the Mark VII. I generally prefer old school, single channel amps with a vintage sound. I generally don't love multi-channel amps that try to do everything. I love the clarity of hand wired amps.

And yet, I'm over the moon about the Mark VII. It's the amp I use 99% of the time since getting it in August.

I haven't felt the need to use a single overdrive pedal. I mean, I tried them, they sound good with it, and that was the end of the experiment. I have no need for them with this amp, and since I don't need 'em with this amp, do I need them at all? Why wouldn't I just use the Mark VII when I want an overdriven sound?

[looks over at pedalboard wondering 'how much can I get for these pedals']

More stuff:

I freaking love the midrange!! It's got a perfect resonant frequency that's very vocal sounding. It has personality and accentuates the personalities of the guitars.

Even played squeaky clean, the amp sustains like crazy. I can also get controlled feedback - even at low volume. It's simply taking me anywhere I want to go, and with a liquidity and focus that fits me like a glove.

I love ALL the modes; I simply set the gain and guitar volumes as needed and move right along!

This isn't to say I no longer love my other amps. Of course I do! I...uh...just haven't gotten around to, you know, playing them in a while...

 

[Desertdweller]

It’s the best, isn’t it? I love mine,

 

[TubeStack]

Same. Best tones I’ve ever had + best usability as a gigging amp (midi-switchable channels/reverb/geq/FX loop, DI out + cab sim, with or without a physical cab/load present).

Also pretty damn small and easy to carry around, considering its power and flexibility.

 

[gearJunkie]

I jumped on the Mark VII bandwagon after @JiveTurkey started singing its praises. He has since moved on, but my love for it has only grown fonder.

I know I've shared this pic often on this forum, but I'm going to post it once again as this thread needs some Mark VII porn.

 

[László]

It’s the best, isn’t it? I love mine,

Yes. Absolutely stellar!

Same. Best tones I’ve ever had + best usability as a gigging amp (midi-switchable channels/reverb/geq/FX loop, DI out + cab sim, with or without a physical cab/load present).

Also pretty damn small and easy to carry around, considering its power and flexibility.

100%. I can get a few things I like out of any amp, and lots of things I like out of my favorite amps, but this amp literally opens me up to new things I love.

I've never experienced anything like it before.

I jumped on the Mark VII bandwagon after @JiveTurkey started singing its praises. He has since moved on, but my love for it has only grown fonder.

I know I've shared this pic often on this forum, but I'm going to post it once again as this thread needs some Mark VII porn.

View attachment 52838

That's great porn, and who wouldn't want to see that beauty again?

And one good turn deserves another. So here's another pic of the amp area in the Studio Formerly Known As Craptastic, now known as The Mark VII Love Shack:

 

[gearJunkie]

Here are a few more "interesting" Mark VII pics.

 

[Deadpan]

Worst thing about the amp is where the power chord plugs into the chasis...

 

[JiveTurkey]

I might feel differently about one now? They get a lot of love for the clean/lower gain stuff around here than most, for sure. Which is not where I normally live

That IEC jack location is no joke! Boo!

 

[László]

Here are a few more "interesting" Mark VII pics.

View attachment 52840

View attachment 52841

View attachment 52842

Wow! Transforming the look of the amp like that was a killer idea - took some cojones, too. I'd be awfully nervous!

 

[gearJunkie]

took some cojones, too. I'd be awfully nervous!

Overall, swapping head shells was fairly straightforward. The fit is tight, so moving slow and protecting contact surfaces from damage are the key elements of success.

It turned out great, despite my nervous hands and sweaty cojones!

 

[László]

Worst thing about the amp is where the power chord plugs into the chasis...

View attachment 52843

It's that way on the Fillmore and Lone Star, too. The location of wiring in a circuit apparently matters. I've heard it from amp and gear designers, but I lack the technical knowledge to fully understand/explain it.

So the location's a pain, but the amp sounds great...it is what it is.

On another front...as long as we're talking about IEC jacks that are inconveniently located...

What follows is personal observation, a digression into areas most consider snake oil. It's not a prescription for anyone else. Every disclaimer that ought to apply, applies.

I use heavy, solid core power cords with a couple of my amps, including the Lone Star 100.

Even though these cords can't theoretically work, they do here. My old studio tech insisted on doing double blind tests to prove I couldn't hear what I was hearing; I identified correct cables 9 out of ten times - this made him start yelling that it was impossible, so we repeated the test a different day, same result. Sadly he passed away. I miss him.

I didn't want this cable stuff to work because it gets expensive. But most of the time these cords matter.

With some gear they don't make an audible difference. For example, one of them made no difference with my BAE 1073 mic preamp. On the other hand, the difference in my studio monitors, guitar amps and other gear with greater power needs was very audible.

I find it's one of those 'test and see' things, and I do that when I get gear with IEC connectors.

I do take care to furnish my amps and recording gear with isolated AC power, and in the workstation area I used balanced power from Equi-Tech. The AC for the recording gear is fed from a 2 kilovolt isolated, balanced AC power supply that lowered my noise floor by about 6-8 dB per my tech's oscilloscope, and you hear it - works kind of like a humbucker to reduce noise in the circuit. Those power cables are shielded as well, so the adjacent audio cables don't pick up AC noise. The audio therefore comes out of an inky black background. Clients pay a lot for audio, so I want it to be the best I can make it.

For those interested in whether this stuff is snake oil - spoiler alert, I don't think it is - here are some demos and comments. Listen with decent headphones or studio monitors to the demos. Dave Pensado is a well known mixer and recording engineer who has some comments as well.







My room is treated with some quality bass traps front and rear, as well as having acoustical treatment along side walls in the workstation area. It works to reduce the peaks and valleys of room modes. The room isn't perfect because it's just a room, not a purpose built studio, but the results sound good enough that clients like Ford, GM, etc., hire me to give 'em music and audio stuff, and I've been doing that work for 34 years.

 

[mbenigni]

This thread is just cruel.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Experience tells me I should not love the Mark VII. I generally prefer old school, single channel amps with a vintage sound. I generally don't love multi-channel amps that try to do everything. I love the clarity of hand wired amps.

And yet, I'm over the moon about the Mark VII. It's the amp I use 99% of the time since getting it in August.

I haven't felt the need to use a single overdrive pedal. I mean, I tried them, they sound good with it, and that was the end of the experiment. I have no need for them with this amp, and since I don't need 'em with this amp, do I need them at all? Why wouldn't I just use the Mark VII when I want an overdriven sound?

[looks over at pedalboard wondering 'how much can I get for these pedals']

More stuff:

I freaking love the midrange!! It's got a perfect resonant frequency that's very vocal sounding. It has personality and accentuates the personalities of the guitars.

Even played squeaky clean, the amp sustains like crazy. I can also get controlled feedback - even at low volume. It's simply taking me anywhere I want to go, and with a liquidity and focus that fits me like a glove.

I love ALL the modes; I simply set the gain and guitar volumes as needed and move right along!

This isn't to say I no longer love my other amps. Of course I do! I...uh...just haven't gotten around to, you know, playing them in a while...

I owned the unit for about four months and found it to be an excellent-sounding Mesa, easy to dial in and responsive. I didn’t use the built-in IR functionality, as I typically handle cabinet simulation within my DAW or through the FM3.

When comparing it directly with my Mark III and Studio 22, I couldn’t quite achieve the same granular character in the gain structure that the older models have.

The Mark IIB stood out as my favorite — its tone was the closest to the Studio 22’s sound.

Ultimately, I decided to return the Mark VII. In my opinion, the JP2C captures more of that classic, vintage Mark tone.

 

[László]

Ultimately, I decided to return the Mark VII. In my opinion, the JP2C captures more of that classic, vintage Mark tone.

That's entirely possible. On the other hand, I love the way this amp sounds. It's perfect for me.

I'm sure you agree, there's no right or wrong to this stuff. It's purely subjective and we're all after different things.

 

[nicolasrivera]

That's entirely possible. On the other hand, I love the way this amp sounds. It's perfect for me.

I'm sure you agree, there's no right or wrong to this stuff. It's purely subjective and we're all after different things.

Yes, the amp is amazing! and its very versatile and it has that huge transformer from the JP2C and IIC+. I'm just spoiled by old tone.

 

[Kagami]

I might feel differently about one now? They get a lot of love for the clean/lower gain stuff around here than most, for sure. Which is not where I normally live

That IEC jack location is no joke! Boo!

Mesa really needs to include a C13-C14 rack style extension, I keep forgetting to bring one home from work for my MKV.

 

[László]

Yes, the amp is amazing! and its very versatile and it has that huge transformer from the JP2C and IIC+. I'm just spoiled by old tone.

I'm much like you, though I'm likely into amps from a different era.

In my beyond-the-expiration-date case, old tone is mostly mid-60s Fenders, Marshalls and AC30s - I'm that creaky and ancient. My last Fender was a '67 Bassman rig...bought...new.

One of the PRS amps in the pic of my amp area is an HXDA, an amp they cloned from Duane Allman's actual 'Live at the Fillmore' Superbass, back when the Allman Brothers were still touring and endorsing PRS amps (around 2012-14 or so). It's very authentic sounding, exactly as I remember the original, and it's matched by the tone on the record.

Not that I want to try to cop Duane Allman, but the hair on the back of my neck stood up the first time I played through it. It's THAT tone. I remember playing through the first Marshalls that came into the US, and I think it's about as close as modern parts can get it.

Apparently the Allmans arranged for the guy Duane gave the amp to, to loan it to PRS for cloning so they could replicate the tone authentically.

The Mark VII reminds me of how I felt about my first Two-Rock Onyx. I'm not saying they sound anything alike, but the feeling of being blown away by the tones available in an amp was very similar.

 

[László]

Mesa really needs to include a C13-C14 rack style extension, I keep forgetting to bring one home from work for my MKV.

You know, that is a very good idea!! Why on earth didn't I think of that for the past ten years!!?? Thank you!

 

[Desertdweller]

Rick Beatto just posted his clip of Petrucci trying out the Mark VII. Pretty much exactly my feelings about it too as a metal player. For me, it’s 2 variants of high gain Mark tone in the IIC and IV settings, perfect cleans, some great mid crunch with the crunch and IIB modes, and I particularly love using the VII mode as I would my rectifiers. With a boost out front, VII mode slays.

 

[László]

Rick Beatto just posted his clip of Petrucci trying out the Mark VII. Pretty much exactly my feelings about it too as a metal player. For me, it’s 2 variants of high gain Mark tone in the IIC and IV settings, perfect cleans, some great mid crunch with the crunch and IIB modes, and I particularly love using the VII mode as I would my rectifiers. With a boost out front, VII mode slays.

While I'm not a metal player by any stretch of the imagination, I can appreciate the quality and definition of the sound he's getting. I found the VII mode was working for me in lots of gain settings, too (I had the Tremoverb in my studio for years, and it was based on the Rectos, even said Dual Rectifier on the front panel).

What I love about the Mark VII is it does all that stuff in your video, but it also does what I need, which is completely different, and moreover, does it extremely well!

It simply does SO MUCH STUFF, whatever you throw at it is happening in a good way. It might be the finest all-arounder I've ever owned. Granted, I'm still way close to the honeymoon phase, but I freaking love it.