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the new Mini Mark V from Mesa/Boogie


gpuma

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I really like the idea now days of using just an amp head and seperate cabs. I wanted previously to just be able to grab all my stuff at once, but saving a lot of weight and using compact amps seems to be the way to go. Low wattage and bigger cabs sound perfect to my ears now. I think Mesa is catching onto that idea.

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I love the MkV. Im wondering how much of what I like about the MkV can be found in the Mini Mk.

I will find out soon enough I guess.

 

From the video it looks like they are using the same circuits, with "little tweaks" (whatever it means) to adjust for the different power section.

It sounds pretty good to me. It's just that foot switch that seems so poor...

 

I'd love to hear your first hand/ear impressions if you happen to get your hands/ears close to one

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Finally got a chance to spend some quality time with one.

I used a Jeff Beck strat and a 94 Heritage H140 with some sort of paf'y Bareknuckles.

Ran through each mode on each channel starting at clean as could be and didnt engage the graphic until the second time through.

I didnt play quietly. I set it to the volume an enthused yet not unusually loud drummer might hit his snare and crash.

On the clean channel I ran out of clean quite quickly. I really like a big not too compressed clean, not the crunch clean some people call clean. So running out of clean for me might mean it stayed clean til ear drum splitting levels to someone else.

What ever the definition for clean is is something I havnt figured out yet but I will say it sounded good running through the gain and volume levels even if it wasnt what I call clean

Guitar controls help clean it up. Just like you might imagine they would help.

The plus of that is that you have a wonderful vintage/bluesy/low gain crunch on every channel in every mode.

It does high gain with out trying. It flat out rocks in that department. I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of it.

I could get all the sounds I liked with out using the graphic eq. I could get other sounds I liked using the graphic.

I dont really like el84 tube amps and I could hear and feel elements of what I dont like about them all through the little Mesa Mk.

Its not that I think EL84 based amps are bad, I just dont like them all that much. I like them for a little while, right up until I plug into a 6L6 based amp.

I love the Mk5 for what it is and personally wouldnt think of the Mini mk as a real alternative. It has some of the character of the mk's though.

I did turn it down and run it quietly on the clean channel in fat mode for a while and it was a nice sound. Smooth and warm slightly dark sounding but also chimey. Yeah. It was too loud for home with family sleeping down the hall, or even just going about general life activities but probably about right for a quiet'ish jam.

Its a lot of amp and its fun. Stupidly fun.

 

So thats the take of someone who doesnt really like little amps or el34s. Take from it what you will.

I didnt hate it, I can see its place and one day I may revisit it but for now I can put it to bed and get on with considering trading my Lone Star for a Mark V. That was the whole reason for waiting to try one.

Funny thing to be surrounded by vintage fenders and marshalls and the only thing that yanks your chain is a modern mesa. It seems wrong. :)

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Funny thing to be surrounded by vintage fenders and marshalls and the only thing that yanks your chain is a modern mesa. It seems wrong. :)

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

... and it doesn't seem wrong at all :-)

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