Mark V
The Mark V was introduced as the pinnacle of Mark Series innovations in early 2009. Much like its close cousin, the Triaxis Preamp, it features many voicings based on previous Mark Series amplifiers. It has three discrete channels, much like the 3 channel Dual Rectifiers, each with their own three band tone stack, gain, master, and presence controls. Each channel also has three modes, which control several of the amplifier's 49 relays to mirror the circuit it is modeling. Channel 1, or the clean channel features a Clean mode, based on Rhythm 1 of the Mark IV, Fat mode, which is taken from the Lone Star Classic, and Tweed mode, which boosts the gain into medium breakup, much like the amplifiers of its namesake. Channel 2 features Edge, which pays homage to various British circuits, particularly the Vox AC30, and Marshall JTM, Crunch, which is a lower-gain, looser version of the IIC+'s lead mode, and Mark 1 which is an exact replication of the original amplifier's Input 1 circuitry. Channel 3 includes the IIC+ mode, which is a faithful recreation of the elusive "Liquid Lead" tone, the IV mode, which is a Mark IV with the presence shift pulled out, and Extreme, which is a Mark IV with the presence shift pushed in.
The Mark V introduces for the first time, a channel-assignable graphic EQ. Older Boogies were equipped with graphic equalizers, but did not allow the flexibility that the Mark V's does. Each channel has a toggle switch able to select between active, off, or footswitched. Similar to the Express, and F-series amplifiers, the graphic EQ also features channel-assignable contour knobs.
The Mark V, similar to its predecessor, comes standard in a Simul-class format, but with a twist. Early Simul-class power amps were configured for SC-75 watt operation, or A-15 watt operation, or an increase of 10 watts when in pentode mode. The Mark V is biased warmer to produce an output of SC-90 watts, AB-45 watts, and Single-Ended A-10 watts, similar to the Lone Star. Channel specific multi-watt toggles dictate the power amplifier's operation class.
Additional features include Recto-Tracking, with the included 5U4G dual diode, three discrete reverb level knobs for each channel, a Pentode-Triode switch for Simul-Class operation, a variac Power option (identical to the Rectifier's Bold/Spongy switch), output and solo controls, and a new 8-button footswitch. Many complaints have arisen regarding the exclusion of an in-built MIDI interface, which is also absent on many of Mesa's high-end products, with the exception of the Triaxis Preamp.
Since its release, the Mark V has become a highly successful high end amplifier.
Notable guitarists that use or have used Mark V amplifiers live or in the recording studio include John Petrucci, Mark Morton, Steve Lukather, Myles Kennedy, Michael Sweet, Eric Melvin of NOFX and Tony Rombola.
Read more about this topic: Mesa Boogie Mark Series
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