Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 35 Combo Amp Review by Sweetwater 

I’m doing a little research on this amp and I’m not a boogie connoisseur. Why is there another mark 5 with 3 groups of 6 knobs? What’s the difference this one is 35 watts and the other is 25?

+David Bruce Yah but his tone isnt as fat anymore...

+Maury's Music I'm more impressed with that R9! ;)

so what is your opinion about it now? sounds dull and lifeless on this demo for the price.

They make one, it's called a Crate.. Look em up.. More than affordable, definitley "cheap"

I've played through several crates. Not in the same ball park.

In the Mark III user guide they specifically say to never turn the master at more than 5, in any circumstances. But then the Mark III is 90 watts.

Some people want to avoid hearing loss.

Greg Melita Yes. It has 3 speaker outputs.

Yeah it does it all!

Buy one and put it in lol

I think it would sound better if it was done in dobly. If it was done in dobly!

This amp is 35, 25, or 10 watts. The Express line goes down to 5.

Yup. I've been debating for the past week on which amp to get, this 1 being 1 of them

That's crazy talk. Have you actually played a Boogie or is your opinion formed from RU-vid?

+The Cantrell Project . Well, I stood similar opinion until i have bough MB Express 25+. Having couple of other great amps I have to tell you one thing: it is hard to call it lifeless. You could say: It is hard to dial some clean tones, or it is far from fenderish tones but I could never say it is lifeless. I am really impressed with this little amp - it is definitely the keeper. My next target it is MarkIV, which somewhat I like better than Mark V.

+Furriee Exactly. Boogies are the *opposite* of lifeless. No doubt there are tons of other amps that give you the same 'feel' today- but Mesa started the trend A good friend of mine bought a Mark I in the late '70s - we were both in Ithaca NY at the time and I picked up a used one the next year. That little amp was a game-changer. I had been using a string of other 1-12 channel-switching combo amps that really did all suck. The best way I can describe the first time I played the Mark I was that at first - the strings literally felt like they were jumping off the guitar. But then you learn to control that response with your attack, damping, etc and the amp just becomes this unbelievable extension of your hands - like nothing I had ever experienced. The major difference between then and now is that Mesa-Boogie is no longer a "Boutique" mnfct as it was then, so they've lost that exclusive cache and are becoming subject to the "They're a big company now so they automatically suck" syndrome. But when I see comments that a Mesa "pales in comparison" to a Dr. Z or any other current amp du jour - it's almost always some kid playing a Line6 in daddy's basement... or a plant/shill with an ax to grind.

Operator error is the only way Mesa would be lifeless....

rarely have I heard such bull. The amps you are taking about sound thin and weedy in comparison.