GEAR REVIEW
Mark IV, or Extreme. Each channel
has independent Treble, Mid, Bass,
Gain, Presence, Master Volume,
and Solo boost controls allowing
complete freedom for tone shaping.
The Mid control on Channel 1 has
a curious feature – before the 12
o’clock position it functions as a
normal mid, but past straight up it
behaves as a variable gain boost.
Pretty cool! The rugged knobs and
switches are set in the face of the
amp providing protection from
accidently being turned or broken off
(an improvement from the knobs on
my Mark IV combo, which stick out
a little bit above the amp face profile
and subsequently had two switches
damaged while in transport). If
additional tonal tweaking is needed,
the 5-band graphic EQ can be
engaged via an included footswitch
or manually from the amp. The
footswitch is the key to unlocking
the amp’s versatility in a live
performance situation, which allows
toggling between the two channels,
EQ on/off, and independent Solo
boost for each channel with the
latter coming in handy when you
need a volume boost for a solo and
doubles as a mute if turned to zero.
Extra goodies include a long-tank
spring reverb with separate control
knobs (located on the back) for
each channel, as well as FX loop,
headphone input jack for private
jamming, and two 4 ohm and one
8 ohm speaker outputs.
Considering all these features, the
Mark Five: 35 is an incredibly
lightweight amp head at 27 pounds,
and looks sharp sitting on the Mesa
speaker cabinet. Additional features
include a five-year transferable
warranty and slipcover to protect it
when not in use. ■
78
DIGITAL EDITION
AUG/SEPT