PRODUCT REVIEW
Mark V
Mesa/Boogie
BY RICh TozzolI
Full disclosure: I’ve owned a Mesa/Boogie
Mark IV head since I bought it new in ’ 92.
Does that make me biased towards Boogies?
Yes and no. Yes, because I love the sound
of it. No, because it’s not the only game in
town—and I own a lot of amps that sound
killer. Having said that, the new Mark V carves
out its own space in Boogie-land. Built from
the bedrock foundation and lineage of several models, it’s very much like the Mark IV,
yet very different. Here’s what I found in my
month-long test run with it.
find the sturdy, eight-
button aluminum footswitch
separate from the head. The Mark IV
footswitch connects directly to the rear
(though not easily) and protects the tubes.
Although the Mark V’s controller comes with
a pouch, it would be nice to have a spare
pocket for the cable, because you can’t real-
ly fit both inside. And if you lose the cable
at a gig, well, you’re in trouble. Aside from
that, my overall first impression is certainly
one of a well-built, tank-like piece of gear—
typical Mesa/Boogie.
outputs. Whereas the Mark IV combines
several knobs (such as R1/R2 Bass and Mid),
each Mark V channel features independent
Gain, Master, Presence, Treble, Mid, and Bass
controls. Each channel also has a number of
toggle switches to select various modes and
power/operating-class options. So right off
the bat, it makes more sense than the Mark IV.
Redefining “Feature Rich”
Upon removing the Mark V from the well-
padded shipping box, I immediately noticed
the knobs are recessed further than on the
Mark IV. It’s a good thing, because they stick
out too far on the Mark IV—I’ve sheared sev-
eral of them off mine. I was a bit surprised to
Sitting it atop a Marshall 4x12 loaded with
Celestions, I looked over all the controls ( 23
knobs, 17 switches, and a five-band EQ).
Because I’m so used to the Mark IV, it was
probably not as daunting a view as others
might find it to be. While there’s no denying
the sound of that head, there’s also talk out
there that it’s confusing to use, and I could
see how others might feel that way about it.
But I was relieved once I figured out how the
Mark V is laid out. It has three distinct chan-
nel sections, followed by the EQ and Master
The Whole Mark Series
in One Amp
The five-band graphic EQ, which is found on
all the Mark series amps, features the same
frequency choices ( 80, 240, 750, 2200 and
6600Hz). But, unlike on the Mark IV, it can be
assigned to each channel independently. A
small, three-position toggle switch on each
channel allows you to bypass the graphic EQ
completely (center), leave it on all the time
(top), or turn it on and off with the footswitch
(down). A small LED above the Power/Standby
switches lights up when it’s on, so you can see
if it’s bypassed or engaged. Taking this a step
further, on either side of the EQ are a set of
three rotary Preset controls and a set of associated Slider/Preset switches. With the switches,
each channel can be assigned to Sliders (up)
