GEAR REVIEW
I
n the early 70s, Mesa Boogie founder and
owner Randall Smith was busy repairing amps
for local musicians in Northern California, while
simultaneously developing a new and unique
“cascading” tube preamp circuit that would change
guitar players’ tone, the way they play, and provide
high-gain with almost limitless sustain. One of the first
to test drive Smith’s new sonic creation was fellow Bay
Area guitarist Carlos Santana, who was immediately
enamored. Since then, Mesa Boogie has impressed
thousands of guitarists worldwide from all styles of
music. Plus, there’s a certain element of class and
prestige in having a Boogie amp in your backline.
High profile players and devoted users from diverse
genres such as jazz, rock, metal, and country include
Al Di Meola, Lee Ritenour, Andy Timmons, Bruce
Springsteen, Andy Summers, John Petrucci, Dave
Grohl, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Blake
Shelton showing how versatile the Mesa Boogie
line truly is.
Currently the Mark Five: 35 amp is the newest in the
celebrated Mark series and spotlights a best-of-thebest in classic Mesa Boogie amp tones and flexibility.
Based on overwhelming customer feedback, the Mark
Five: 35 is available in three different formats – head,
1X12 combo, and rack-mount. And this is the real deal.
No digital amp modeling here – just old-school tube
technology with meticulous attention to getting “the
sound” right, and hand-built right here in the U.S. For
this review, Mesa sent the head version along with a
fully enclosed 2X12 Recto Compact speaker cabinet
loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, which
packs a gut-punching tone.
includes closed-back, open-back, and vintage
speaker emulation options, plus a speaker on/off
switch giving you the choice to record silently or
simultaneously with the speaker engaged.
Mark Five: 35 gets it’s mojo from four Mesa
EL84 power amp tubes, which add power,
punch, and fatness. When pushed, they can
produce everything from luscious clean tones
to glorious levels of overdriven sustain and
saturation. Heavenly bliss for head-bangers and
shredders! But it’s not all about high gain. This
amp can deliver sweet, bluesy characteristics
similar to Gary Moore’s tone and cleaner
varieties akin to Stevie Ray Vaughan, as well.
At first glance the amp appears intimidating
with all the knobs and switches. But thanks to
the 12 time-saving Factory Sample Settings
in the owner’s manual, newbies to the Boogie
line will be delighted by how quickly it is to
dial up killer tones. The amp features two
channels and three different mode voicings
for each: Channel 1 – Clean, Fat, or Crunch,
while Channel 2 includes three of Mesa’s most
celebrated overdriven tones – Mark IIC+,
FEATURES
Mark Five: 35’s multi-watt capability uses
their own Dyna-watt technology consisting of
three progressing power stages: 10, 25, and
35 watts bringing versatility to any gig. The
10- and 25-watt modes are perfect for home
use and low volume gigs, while the surprisingly
loud 35-watt selection provides adequate stage
volume for bigger shows. In lower watt modes
the amp produces a spongier but still tight tone
with increased clipping, while the full 35 watts
delivers considerably more headroom. The
“CabClone” D.I. feature on the back is perfect
for recording or feeding straight to a PA, and
AUG/SEPT
DIGITAL EDITION
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