Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

14 Guitarist January 2015

MARK OF

QUALITY

Mesa proves it’s still the big noise

in mini amps…

WORDS NICK GUPPY

PHOTOGRAPHY GAVIN ROBERTS

esa Engineering’s original amplifier

– the notorious Boogie – redefined

guitar tone way back in the early

70s. With a full-on, 100-watt power

stage and a high-efficiency Altec

loudspeaker crammed into a tiny practice amp

cabinet, the Boogie could, and frequently did,

make 4x12 stacks look overblown and

underpowered. Ever since, as Mesa has

continued to develop the Mark II, III, IV and V

amps, the original concept of the giant-killing

small amp has remained unchanged. Not only

is Mesa the originator of this paradigm, it

continues to do it better than anyone else. Hot

on the heels of the stunning Recto-Verb 25 we

reviewed a few months ago comes a reduced

version of the Mark V flagship, appropriately

called the Mark Five: 25.

Currently available in head format, the Mark

Five: 25 is unmistakably Boogie: beautifully

designed, with microscopic attention to detail.

The CNC-fabricated woodwork is super-

clean, with perfectly defined edges, angles and

curves. The heavy black vinyl is so neatly fitted

it looks as if it’s been sprayed on.

FIRST PLAY

MESA/BOOGIE MARK FIVE: 25

£1,379

WHAT IS IT? A reduced version of

Mesa’s awesome Mark V

GIT389.rev_mesa.indd 14 25/11/2014 13:20

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FIRST PLAY MESA/BOOGIE MARK FIVE: 25 £1,379 WHAT IS IT? A reduced version of Mesa’s awesome Mark V MARK OF QUALITY Mesa proves it’s still the big noise in mini amps… WORDS NICK GUPPY GAVIN ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY M esa Engineering’s original amplifier – the notorious Boogie – redefined guitar tone way back in the early 70s.
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VIDEO DEMO Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 FIRST PLAY http://bit.ly/ guitarist389 January 2015 Guitarist 15 GIT389.rev_mesa.
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FIRST PLAY Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 1 Inside the precision-cut and folded fancooled aluminium chassis, the electronics follow Mesa’s conventional layout, with frontpanel controls hand-wired to a densely-packed printed circuit board.
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VIDEO DEMO Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 FIRST PLAY http://bit.ly/ guitarist389 Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 3 On the rear panel, there are two level controls for the spring reverb, that is valve powered and transformer coupled, with the spring tank itself recessed into a cut-out in the bottom of the cabinet. There are effects loop send and returns, too; best of all, Mesa has included a built-in CabClone speakeremulated direct out, with speaker on/off, cabinet size and ground lift switches.