# The Trigger. I pulled it. Incoming amazing NGD.



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Always a little nervous about these kinda online deals. theres always that idea in the back of your head that you'll become one of those internet horror stories. So I spent at least a week checking everything out that I possibly could. After triple checking everything, I decided to go through with it, and I'm going to (hopefully) be the owner of a 2010 MARK V!!:rockon2: Really looking forward to it!


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Congrats on getting a cool amp.

Just be prepared to spend some time tweaking.


----------



## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Shouldn't it be NAD instead of NGD?


----------



## vasthorizon (Aug 10, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> Shouldn't it be NAD instead of NGD?


New Gear Day


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

AH...the new MARK V..can't wait to hear a member's review. i almost pulled the trigger on one a while back...but like screamingdaisy sais, lots of tweaking on this amp...you make sure you write down the settings you end-up liking..


----------



## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

al3d said:


> AH...the new MARK V..can't wait to hear a member's review. i almost pulled the trigger on one a while back...but like screamingdaisy sais, lots of tweaking on this amp...you make sure you write down the settings you end-up liking..


I've owned mine since December, and I haven't written down a single setting... God gave me ears, and I use 'em - and with the Mark V, I guarantee you'll like what you hear! I've had long stretches where I'm just playing through the tweed pre on the clean channel in 10 Watt mode, and the only knob I'll touch for ages will be the Volume. I mean, just because an amp is capable of dozens of inspiring tones doesn't mean you have to play through them all every day... Just remember to read the manual a couple of times and you can't go wrong...

We played an outdoor gig on Saturday - brought just the Saxon wide-body Delta Pro- loaded 1x12" I usually use with my Mark V. We mic'd everything but had a good-size, multi-level stage area to play with so I got to really crank it! I got some nice complements on my tone, and everybody could hear everything beautifully. Lots of lovely ladies dancing in the light of the bonfire too...  Great night!


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Jimi D said:


> I've owned mine since December, and I haven't written down a single setting... God gave me ears, and I use 'em -


No need to get all arrogent mate. i was simply stating the fack that ALL mark series always had a LOT of knobs and switches, and EVEN boogie recommend to write down your own personnel settings, something just by carrying the amp you hit switches, knobs and you loose your setting. having them written down will simply things, yes. even with ears!....


----------



## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

al3d said:


> No need to get all arrogent mate.


No need to be so presumptuous. I'm not arrogant. However, seeing as how I actually own a Mark V and use it every day, I think that my opinion on it is an informed one. Anyone can write down their settings for any amp if they're afraid they'll forget what sound they're listening for. Personally, I think it's counter-productive to use your eyes to set an amp - I use my ears, even when I have an idea where "generally" I might want to dial one knob or another... Every room's different, every guitar's different, every day is different - what can I say, I'm impulsive...


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

I will DEFINITELY be writing down the settings for the real gems, I would otherwise never remember them hah Should be here in a week or two!


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Really, you can write settings down no matter what amp you own.

I love my roadster, I'm sure you'll enjoy the mark V!


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Dr Stone, you will love it and as Budda said, its just the same set of controls 4 times..read the manual though.
It will be a great amp, I have played with it a few time and loved it. I will have one one day!

Jimi
Is your tone knobs the same as the Dual series as they do more than just tone?
My high knob changes the way the entire channel sounds, it needs to be between 11 and 1 O'clock or it feels like the eq shifts.. does that make sense?


----------



## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

Bevo said:


> Jimi
> Is your tone knobs the same as the Dual series as they do more than just tone?
> My high knob changes the way the entire channel sounds, it needs to be between 11 and 1 O'clock or it feels like the eq shifts.. does that make sense?


Absolutely! The tone knobs are very interactive, and the gain and treble settings dramatically effect the range of the mid and bass controls on this amp... The preamp type you select on each channel also dramatically changes the EQ and how it should be set, so you`ll want to spend time playing with each of the preamp types on each channel, just listening and tweaking... I love the variety available at my fingertips with this head!


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

bev, you are packing a mark V now?!

The closer you keep the settings to noon, the more "normal" the EQ acts  - me, my mids are cranked, my treble is below half, my bass and presence are nearly off, and my gain is a touch over half, and my volume wants to be higher than it is... ch4 modern, 100W, diode rectified, boosted "djent"-ish metal rhythm.


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Jimi D said:


> No need to be so presumptuous. I'm not arrogant. However, seeing as how I actually own a Mark V and use it every day, I think that my opinion on it is an informed one. Anyone can write down their settings for any amp if they're afraid they'll forget what sound they're listening for. Personally, I think it's counter-productive to use your eyes to set an amp - I use my ears, even when I have an idea where "generally" I might want to dial one knob or another... Every room's different, every guitar's different, every day is different - what can I say, I'm impulsive...


lol...seriously! :banana:


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Oh brother, again?

Did you get your amp yet, can we come over?
I got beer and whisky!!

Budda
No Mark V yet, thinking about it and saving some pennies.
I am loving the Dual and will try out your setting but bass off?
Will giv'er and find out myself..


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Post up some of your fav settings guys , i cant wait to hear this thing!
The seller is throwing in a mini amp gizmo too! This is a great excuse to add midi to my rig! Should be here in under a week, pics to come!


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Budda
Tried it out and it was pretty bad ass, made a few adjustments for my ears which are ringing now 
Channel 3, Bass 8, Mids 3, Highs 11, gain 12, Pres 9, Chan Vol 8, Solo 8 (master) all O'clock.
The amp was super tight and had surprisingly powerful bass with not a hint of mud.
Had my ME-25 with the screamer on with a touch of gain, bit of delay and a touch of reverb, very nice!

Dr, From this lesson I think its safe to say you should think outside of the box and let your ears tell you if it works or not.
I did the almost the same setting on my clean and played with the two volumes, some great middy tones as well as some sparkle.


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Channel 1/Tweed/90w/bold/EQ Off - The gain knob on Boogies typically adjusts the 'warmth' of the channel. Bold makes pushes out some more mids and makes the voice stand out more. I like my cleans warm with some grind when I dig in on chords, so half way up it is. 

I'll sometimes drop this channel into 45w/tube rectified to get more grind out of it.

Channel 2/Crunch/90w/EQ FS - This is my heavy rhythm tone. I run the gain on this channel between 11:00 and 3:00, depending on what I'm playing. I use the preset EQ on a footswitch with this one so I can have a full mids voice and a scooped mids voice, depending on what the song requires.

Channel 3/Mark IV/90w (Triode)/EQ On/Bright Off - This is my lead channel and I bump mids and bottom up to give it a mix of extra cut and fullness without it sounding too honky. I run the gain on this channel a little lower to give it more clarity. If I need more compression for something I'll kick on a Tubescreamer style overdrive.

The built in "Solo" boost is nice as it kicks up the volume a notch, which turns every channel into a lead channel if you want it to.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

I see the 3 channels but what is the slider eq used with or is that the 4 th channel?

Two things on the amp ruin its look a bit, (and I am being nit picky here) its the two metal plates on the top which look like 1x3 inch long and the screws holding the front panel in.
Not that this effects anything nor would it stop me from buying it LOL.


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Bevo said:


> I see the 3 channels but what is the slider eq used with or is that the 4 th channel?


Any channel can go through the slider EQ. It lets you EQ the channel after it's gone through all it's gain stages, which is how Mark series amps can get that over the top bottom end and mid scoop without farting out or loosing definition.

Alternately, each channel also has a preset scoop knob, so you can dial in a bit of a "V curve" on one channel without tying up the sliders for another.




> Two things on the amp ruin its look a bit, (and I am being nit picky here) its the two metal plates on the top which look like 1x3 inch long and the screws holding the front panel in.
> Not that this effects anything nor would it stop me from buying it LOL.


The two metal plates are chassis supports. They started doing it with the Mark IV. I never noticed the screws before, but it's not my first Boogie amp so I guess I'm used to it.


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

I got to admit..i always loved the short head from Boogie....nice..little and not to heavy usually..


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Bev, glad they helped! \m/


----------



## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

There are lots of great settings on the Boogie Board Mark V forum, including some of Petrucci's settings:

Boogie Board Mark V forum

And just for the record and to aviod confusion, the Mark V is not a short head Boogie... It's a medium...


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

al3d said:


> I got to admit..i always loved the short head from Boogie....nice..little and not to heavy usually..


Not too heavy... until you mount it in a 1x12 shell and attach an EVM-12L to it. kkjuw

When I sold my Mark III I think the guy may have thrown his back out trying to pick it up.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Thanks Daisy, that explains it.

I like the angry face better than the happy face on the sliders, more mids is better than no mids for me.
That is pretty close to Budda's as well, guess we are angry guys LOL!!


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Bevo said:


> Thanks Daisy, that explains it.
> 
> I like the angry face better than the happy face on the sliders, more mids is better than no mids for me.
> That is pretty close to Budda's as well, guess we are angry guys LOL!!


Un-EQ'd Mark's have a strong midrange that tends towards being somewhat ******, which presents a bit of an issue because changing the mids in the preamp stage changes the way the amplifier responds to your picking (less mids = more compression, more mids = stiffer feeling). Putting a bit of a scoop in the graphic EQ means you can run your mids higher (tighter, more responsive attack) without sounding like your guitar is blaring through an old school PA system. The mid boost you see in mine works great for leads and is alright for some rock rhythm but is a little bloated sounding for metal.


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Screamingdaisy, thats a great start, ill begin there and tweak away. Thanks for all the great tips guys keep em comming! I cant wait to hear what my j drive and memory lane2 sound like with this...ive only heard them through my old solid stater.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Dr, Your going from SS to mark V!

Hot damn, are you in for a treat!


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Yeah!! the same ss ive had for almost seven years, and only my second amp. this will be only my third amp! peavey bandit, then a kustom quad. As my ears developed that thing gradually sounded worse and worse until i literally could not stand the tone anymore. Ive been practicing unplugged for the last year or more. 

if youd seen my other thread youd know i had been looking for a mark iv for about a full year. Then about a month ago i had offers on three at once. One of them was only a hundred dollars less than the asking price of the mark v. I was literally a day away from sending payment for a different mark iv when the mark v came up for only a little more...for the sake of a few hundred dollars i figured it had to be worth it! With only a few more pedals, i'll have my dream rig!


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

When going from solid state to tube I had a hard time adjusting to the clean tone. I was used to the CLEAN sound of solid state, and the grit present in the cleans of a tube amp kind of bothered me.

Now I like them, and I find it hard to play a clean channel that doesn't have a dirty edge to it.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

I think SS clean is more of a sterile sound, Fender SS clean and Fender tube clean are so far apart.
The other thing with the tube is the touch sensitivity, you can adjust your tone with your fingers.

One good thing about you DR is that you don't go through many amps, this means your Mark is for life!
You picked the right one.


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

screamingdaisy said:


> Not too heavy... until you mount it in a 1x12 shell and attach an EVM-12L to it. kkjuw
> 
> When I sold my Mark III I think the guy may have thrown his back out trying to pick it up.


yeah..i was amazed at how heavey a small combo such has the MarkIII combo could be.


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Bevo,: Yeah i think i made the right choice, we'll soon see!


also i just have one other thing to say:

Tomorrow.

That is all.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Does that mean today?
Hurry up man, I can't wait either!!


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

minor update before pics etc. 

Ok so it showed up today, one day late so no big deal, 
but oddly enough, the box was completely open?? Now I know the guy who sent it has more
sense than that, so I'm assuming purolator must have popped it open at some point...kind of odd,
but the delivery guy has a note of it in his computer (he showed me) and i sign for it and its all good.
too bad, because other than that it was packed extremely well. Impressively well even.

I take it out of the box and the thing looks great. Literally mint. Not one scratch, awesome. 
After the initial look over, the first thing my mind goes to is the tubes. Fearing the worst i check out the back....
annnnnnddddd one broken tube. FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU. not the shippers fault, just frigging purolator popping it open for a little look. 
I call purolator in hopes of maybe getting it taken care of by them and surprisingly they seem cooperative, and dare I say, a little compassionate maybe?!
She looks up my shipment details, and there actually is a note of an open box. she said everything should be fine and theyre going to get back to me later today after they authorize reimbursement. I got a new tube anyway and went home to play.
So after my initial few hours of play time, here are my first thoughts

First, the amp is daunting. the amount of control is crazy. a quick skim of the manual gives some good ideas and tips though. I have not even begun to explore what this amp can do and to be honest I feel a little unworthy:bow: haha 
channel 2 seems a little quiet though, im sensing the possibility of another tube issue, perhaps a preamp tube this time. the footswitch is awesome, looks awesome and im definitely going to have to upgrade pedal boards, shucks, then ill have to get more pedals too. oh darn kkjuw

channel 1: beautiful, inspiring, just like I have heard many people say. Very responsive to dynamics etc, sounds great with my jdrive. this is just in the first mode. I love tweed mode. very cool. this channel would make a cool amp all on its own. 
ALSO...with the memory lane in the loop this channel is just awesome. I could sit and just play chords with delay for hours.

channel 2: like i said, seems a little quiet when dialed to suggested settings so im guessing a tube issue. that said, when its turned up a little to match the other channels volumes it sounds great, definitely covers a lot of ground...mark 1 mode is awesome, sounds amazing for leads. havent had enough time with this channel yet. too much work to do 

channel three: have only spent a little bit of time with this channel but already i can tell were going to get a long just fine....leads sound amazing through mark iv mode

i just realized theres way to much to say here, Ill have to post a fuller review later!


----------



## Guest (Jun 24, 2010)

drstone said:


> but oddly enough, the box was completely open?? Now I know the guy who sent it has more
> sense than that, so I'm assuming purolator must have popped it open at some point...kind of odd,
> but the delivery guy has a note of it in his computer (he showed me) and i sign for it and its all good.
> too bad, because other than that it was packed extremely well. Impressively well even.


Did it come from the US? If yes, then it was probably customs and/or the broker who opened at the border.

Or the guys at the shipping dock took it for a spin. 



> channel 2: like i said, seems a little quiet when dialed to suggested settings so im guessing a tube issue. that said, when its turned up a little to match the other channels volumes it sounds great, definitely covers a lot of ground...mark 1 mode is awesome, sounds amazing for leads. havent had enough time with this channel yet. too much work to do


Stupid question: where is the multi-watt switch on this channel? Where is the EQ switch set? Make sure the EQ is off (just in case it's engaging the EQ and cutting by a huge amount). Those might have something to do with it. You can also move preamp tubes around to see if it makes another channel quiet.

channel three: have only spent a little bit of time with this channel but already i can tell were going to get a long just fine....leads sound amazing through mark iv mode

i just realized theres way to much to say here, Ill have to post a fuller review later![/QUOTE]


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

iaresee said:


> Did it come from the US? If yes, then it was probably customs and/or the broker who opened at the border.


The last amp I shipped was pulled apart by US Customs. I removed the tubes and wrapped them up, they unwrapped the tubes and just stuffed them back in the box, so when it arrived at it's final destination they power tubes were trashed.


----------



## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

I'll give you the low down on tuning a Boogie... now that you have the amp, some of this might make a little more sense.

First things first... the EQ knobs affect the feel of the amp. They control the attack, sustain, compression and girth of the amplifier. This can take awhile to get your head around, and whenever you think you've finally mastered the EQ it goes and teaches you something else.

Second thing... forget everything you think you know about dialing in an amp. By this, I mean forget any preconcieved notions you have about how much treble, midrange and bass an amp should have to sound good. Set the knobs according to your ears. Also, recognize that all the knobs are interactive, so sometimes the best way to increase one thing is to decrease another..

The treble knob is the voice of the amplifier, but it's also a gain knob as it controls how much signal is going through the rest of the preamp. Adjusting it will not only change the treble, but shift the tonality of the amplifier. As such, it's usually best to keep the treble knob between about 10:00 and 2:00. If you find the amp sounds too bright, then either lower the treble with the presence knob, or roll off some treble using your guitar's tone knob.

The midrange knob controls the response of the amp. More midrange = a stiffer feeling amplifier. Less midrange = a more compressed feeling amplifier. Again, it's best to put this knob somewhere in the middle settings to get the attack you want, and then reduce the mids using the graphic EQ or preset knob. Common mistakes here are using the mid knob to scoop your mids (makes the amp feel really spungy and it cuts like shit), or setting the mids too high (clouds the midrange and makes your attack sound less distinct).

The bass knob is one of the few knobs that does it says... it controls the bass. The catch with the bass knob is where it's located within the signal path. In some modes (particularily Mark I) it's very early in the signal path, and as such you want to run it quite low (between 0 and 2) to keep the amp from mudding up. In Edge on the other hand it's wired more like a Marshall in that it's near the end of the signal path, so you can run it quite high (up to 10 if you feel like it) and it'll sound fine.

The presence knob controls your high treble and your attack. So, if you want more sizzle this is where to get it. If you want a smoother sound, this is also where to get it.

The gain knob is your 'warmth' knob. The lower it's set the colder and brighter the amp will sound. The higher it's set the warmer and smoother it'll sound. I find this is generally more important when dialing in clean tones. However, in the higher gain modes the amp tends to maintain the most definition with the gain knob below about 2:00 or so and it starts to get more saturated and compressed as you go above that. Where this is important is that the amp is very clear sounding, which a lot of people tend to confuse with not being very gainy... so they'll push the gain up looking for the mushy high gain sound they're used to and wind up killing the definition in the process. That said, it's your amp and if you feel the amp sound it's best with the gain up way high then you should do it. Don't hold back just because some random dude on the internet says to do or not to do something... rules are meant to be broken.

Lastly... learn to EQ the channels without using the graphic EQ. Lots of people tend to set a sound that they like on the channel EQ knobs and use the graphic EQ to tune in the final sound they're after. Then, when it doesn't sound so great they'll go back and tweek the graphic EQ again and again without messing with the channel knobs. Some times it pays off to turn the graphic off, get used to the sound of the channel without the graphic and fine to the channel knobs... then slowly introduce the graphic back in and fine tune that as well.


Lastly (x2), recognize that all the knobs are interactive, so sometimes the best way to increase one thing is to decrease another. Such as dialing down the bass to increase the midrange cut, or reducing the midrange knob to increase treble and bass definition.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

daisy, you rock!

Thats great you got your amp, sounds like your off to a good start.
It may not be a bad idea to get a tune up if the watt settings are all good for channel 2, you know about a clean bill of health eh Doc!

As Daisy said use your ears and go one channel at a time.


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Just dropping some pics now guys...review to come!









no idea why this is upsidedown haha? imageshack is a fail

fourth edit:
last try


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Nice set up and nice gear looks great!!


----------



## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

Congratulations, glad your deal worked out. I know how nerve wracking that can be - I bought a head online from someone in the U.S., through TGP, and it's pretty stressful until the day you've got it safely in your own house. 

Looks like a fun combo. Believe it or not, I've never even plugged into a Mesa, have always been a Marshall guy. I think it'd be lots of fun to crank up a Mark V and chunk out some drop-D power chords. :rockon2:


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

now to fill out a pedal board!!!kkjuw


----------



## SirMyghin (Jun 25, 2010)

drstone said:


> now to fill out a pedal board!!!kkjuw


That is the stage I am at, just got my Mark V over a week ago (good ole (engineering) grad studies, I thank you for funding my GAS)


----------



## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

You should try one of the VOX Tonelab boards, everything you need in one package.
Some are better than others of course so do your homework.


----------



## drstone (Jul 30, 2009)

Bevo said:


> You should try one of the VOX Tonelab boards, everything you need in one package.
> Some are better than others of course so do your homework.


Ive been debating for a while what route to go, pedals, g system, midi, etc etc...now that im finally reworking the rig, the decision is only harder haha I seem to see a lot of mark users using g systems/gmajor etc so I had considered that route for a while, but now i think it would be more fun and unique to just create my own individual board. ive had this wish list for a while:

-diamond trem
-hbe psilocybe or whetstone 
-fulltone dejavibe 
-analogman foot chorus,
-analogman bicomp
-some sort of volume
-hbe frostbite flange
-bb preamp
-skreddy lunar module
-subdecay prometheus
-pigtonix mothership w expression
-catalinbread pareidola
-some sort of octave/fuzz

of course thats just a rough plan, it changes pretty much everyday, the only definites as of right now are the dejavibe and the footchorus. going to start building the actual board itself pretty soon once i get the plans straightened out. Im thinking built in looper, power supply, etc, should be a good time.

OH and review comming soon! Still need more time with the mark!


----------

