I think i'm just a Mark guy.

[Jaxcharvel]

I owned and abused a Boogie Mark IV for about 12 years, and I loved every minute of it. I had other amps during this period but they were all of lower quality so they didn't get a lot of play time.
In 2010 I bought a brand new custom ordered Mark V. It was everything I wanted it to be. The lead channel is (at least) as good as on my IV and the clean and crunch channels blow it out of the water. So much to my dismay I sold my beloved MIV.
Well, in my main band my other guitarist uses a 3 ch Dual Rec, and my MV has a terrible habit of obliterating any other amps that try to share mix space,so I leave the Mark at home and i bought a block letter 5150. Sounded ....ing brutal but I could not coax a passable clean or lead sound out of it so I sold it......and bought a brand new Splawn Nitro. Probably the nastiest heavy rhythm sound I've ever heard from an amp. But even though it was more versatile than the Peavey it was still lacking a certain something, so I sold it.
Then I bought a FJM modded 2 ch Triple Rec. This is the amp that that I still have now, and it sounds marvelous and I dig the hell out of it, but every time I play my Mark the Recto just sounds stale by comparison. So I think i'm just gonna trade my Recto for an old Mark IV and leave my Mark V at home for studio use.

tl;dr If you have an amp that you cant find fault in never think that a different amp will work just as well.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

At least you were smart enough to keep the Mark V and try other amps on the side I made the mistake of selling off my old Mark V when I got my EVH and needed money for other things I loved that amp and have regretted it ever since, but hopefully sometime this year or next I'll be able to pick another one up to add to my growing collection.

There's nothing quite like a nice Mark series amp

 

[Great Satan]

I'm guessing that was an original mark V and not the 25 watter?
How does the v25 compare to the original real-deals anyway?

 

[Jaxcharvel]

I haven't played a 25 but everyone says they're awesome. I'll never get rid of my Mark V. Best purchase I've ever made.

 

[TedEH]

How does the v25 compare to the original real-deals anyway?

I've got a V:25 and a IV. Cleans on the V:25 are really good, but the lead channel on the IV destroys the 25. I haven't played the V enough to compare. The 25 is good- but the real deal is better.

 

[Warg Master]

I am in the same camp... try other things and always com back to the Mark. Fantastic series of amps, LOVE them!

 

[protest]

I'm the same. Mark's and VHT Pittbull's are just the sounds I gravitate to. I was listening to Pandora and a blues guy came on, and he just had such a killer lead tone that I had to stop and see who it was because I needed to know what gear he was using. Sure enough it was a Mark IV.

 

[Mad-Max]

I love my Mark V.

What ends up happening with me is that I'll go and play other amps, thinking that I might find something better, but then I come home and plug into my Mark V and realize exactly why I bought it.

My only gripe is that you can only apply the 5 band EQ to one channel, and can't have other settings for other channels and so on. I know the new JP has a second one that can be applied, but that thing is expensive!

Recently one of the tubes blew and I haven't really had the funds as of late to replace them, so I've been bummed I can't plug into it, but the next time I get a chance, I'm gonna take care of it so I can bring it back to life

 

[jwiltz2072]

I dont know how I ever made it without my Mark IVb. Recently I tried to replace it with a Fryette Sig X. Ended up bringing the Fryette back even though it did sound great, I just preferred my Mark.

 

[bnzboy]

Mark is probably one of my favorite amps

 

[NinjaRaf]

Better to realize it now before you sink thousands of dollars into amps that you will sell for a loss later like I did haha. I'm a 5150 guy. I can't get away from them, so I said .... it...and now I've got a 5150II and a 5150 212 combo.

I sold one of my 5150 212 combos about a year and a half ago and bought a Mark V 25. Ran this through a Fryette Power Station, and this was probably the best tone I have ever had. So killer. The Power Station added a lot of depth that I found lacking with the Mark V 25 on its own.

Eventually, I traded these 2 things for a full size Mark V. Man, was that a mistake!! I struggled with that finicky ass amp for 6 months before I decided it just wasn't working out and sold it. Played the Mark V next to a Peavey XXX...which I am not really a big fan of...but the XXX just ate it for lunch in terms of depth and low end. Sure the Mark V cut better, but it sounded so thin in comparison. That was probably the turning point that really made me decide to sell it.

The 25, though...that thing was ....ing awesome.

 

[wakjob]

Give me a good ol' Mark III Simul-Class... any stripe... doesn't matter.
What does matter is having a place to use a beast like that.

Mark V/25 is an absolute gem.

 

[Jaxcharvel]

I always find it strange that people say the MV isn't thick enough in the low end. Granted, it doesn't have the low mid growl of a Recto or a 5150, it's a much more high mid focused amp, but pure low end it has in spades. It'll thump you in the chest a lot harder than most other amps. The only amp I've played with more true low end grunt was the KT88 Nitro I had.

 

[Warg Master]

Mesa mark, diezel and vht ultra lead.... mmmmmm

Well, I do like my Iron Heart for something different...

 

[Shask]

I always find it strange that people say the MV isn't thick enough in the low end. Granted, it doesn't have the low mid growl of a Recto or a 5150, it's a much more high mid focused amp, but pure low end it has in spades. It'll thump you in the chest a lot harder than most other amps. The only amp I've played with more true low end grunt was the KT88 Nitro I had.

Because it is a very tight and quick low end. It doesn't really sound "big" and "depth" like a Recto does.

When I had a Mark III I thought it sounded great, but didn't really have that big modern high gain sound. It sounded like it was stuck in 1994.

 

[InFlames235]

Yup, absolutely love Mark amps. Had Mark IV, Mark V and now the JP-2C. I have tried a LOT of other amps and always come back to the Mark series. I think I will really only play them moving forward

 

[Great Satan]

Hmm, does anybody do a mark flavored preamp..?
Apart from the mesa studio of'c, which i believe was based off a Mkii C or some-such

 

[jwiltz2072]

Yup, absolutely love Mark amps. Had Mark IV, Mark V and now the JP-2C. I have tried a LOT of other amps and always come back to the Mark series. I think I will really only play them moving forward

Of the 3 which do you prefer? I have the Mark IV, just wondering if the other 2 would be an upgrade worth making.

 

[TedEH]

It doesn't really sound "big" and "depth" like a Recto does.

I think that's part of what I like about these amps. That low end depth should come from the bass IMO. As much as I've heard some great sounds from Rectos, some people like to dial them so that they're so "big" that everything else in the room has to fight for space.

 

[InFlames235]

Of the 3 which do you prefer? I have the Mark IV, just wondering if the other 2 would be an upgrade worth making.

I think, over all, the JP-2C is my favorite. It has similar thick gain to the Mark IV which I felt was missing from my Mark V and it also has the versatility to setup a rhythm and lead channel which I felt was missing from the other amps. The Mark IV is my second favorite because, damn, that lead channel is incredible. I loved my Mark V but always felt it was just missing that special something in the red channel unfortunately.