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Mesa Boogie Mark V 1 x 12 Combo
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The latest combo offering from Mesa Boogie in their "Mark" line makes it hard to get a bad tone.
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Searched Mesa Boogie Mark V 1 x 12 Combo in Reviews
Possibly the most flexible combo on the market!! 
| Sound |
I originally took two guitars to the Mesa Hollywood store to check out the Mesa Road King combo. Ended up checking out the Roadster instead of the Road King, then, just as I was about to leave, they suggested I check out the Mark 5 just for grins. This amp is UNBELIEVABLE. I played it through my Ibanez RG760 with Dimarzio Super 3 bridge and Fast Track 2 Neck, and my mahogany Ibanez Artist with Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary bridge and Air Norton neck, in both humbucker and single-coil mode with my installed push-pull coil splitting volume potentiometer. I couldn't make this thing sound bad. Every sound you've ever heard is in there. There are three channels with three selectable modes each. The cleans on channel 1 go from clean, shimmering, and sparkling, to fat and jazzy, to just broken up "cheap dirt." Channel two takes you into the 70's and 80's with everything from Santana to Satriani. Channel 3 is your heavy gain channel and just piles it on with everything from Dream Theater to unbelievable amounts of gain on the "Extreme" setting. You can choose between using the 5-band EQ or a Mid-Contour EQ... or no EQ... this is the most flexible combo I've ever used. Each channel has three selectable power modes: 10w, 45w, or 90w, meaning you can have your clean channel on 90w for maximum headroom, have your crunch channel at 10w for a great touch-responsive crunch, and have channel 3 on 45w for the best of both worlds. Included footswitch means all you'd really need is any effects you want in the loop (also footswitchable). You can also select bewtween a full-power and Variac mode that gives that nice power sag. Bottom line, the Road King, while allowing for the mix of different power tubes, isn't really worth the extra $1000, and the Roadster (for the same price as the Mark 5) just seemed to lack character. With the ability to run this into a 4x12, I can't see ever needing anything else. Best amp I've ever played in this price range.
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| Reliability |
This thing is built like a tank. I've only had it for a few weeks, but I've had no issues. I would gig this amp without a backup. If a power tube went out, I'd just switch to a lower power mode.
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| Customer Support |
Haven't had to deal with customer support but the guys at Mesa Hollywood were awesome, very indulgent, and even though I had tons of questions, never made me feel like a nuisance.
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| Liked about it |
Unbelievable tone shaping options.
Power modes assignable by channel.
Built-in cooling fan that can be switched on or off.
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| Didn't like |
Pricey for a combo, but you definitely get what you pay for.
Not available in a 2x12, but you can plug into an extension cab.
Footswitch is a little tough to get out of the storage pocket--once you figure it out though, no problem.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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internal use: spec83 spec617
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