Which would you rather have, a Mesa Mark IVB or a Mesa Mark V 25? Any reasons you give are appreciated and especially from those that have owned or played both amps. Also, I am interested in the crunch and gain channels only, not interested in the differences in the clean channels.
I've never played a Mark V 25. If it's anything like the Mark V I'm sure it's killer.
The Mark IV is an awesome amp. IMO the crunch channel is not its strong point, but I guess I never tried to really dial it in since the clean is more important to me and the controls are shared. The lead channel is a beast.
the IV B has a great crunch channel IF you're able to open it up. R2 volume dimed, pull fat, channel volume on 5, master on 4-5. loud, but one of the best sounds I've ever gotten out of a boogie.
I spent a few hours demo'ing the V:25, and, while I thought it was a great amp, it didn't make me want to get rid of my Mini Rec. I've never tried a Mark IV, but I know where it has an undeniable advantage: headroom. That may or may not be important to you.
OP, if you're looking to buy one or the other, ie, looking at a used Mark IV at the same or similar price point as the V:25, I'd go with the Mark IV.
Mark IV IMO. To me the Mark IV lead channel tone is the best of all the Marks. Add in the great clean channel and it's a pretty amazing amp. The Crunch channel isn't really missed since you can get a great crunch tone out of the lead channel also.
What a strange poll. It's Mark IV vs Mark V and big Mark vs mini Mark at the same time.
In any case, I would go for the IV. Mainly because I find that bigger wattage Mesas sound better to my ears (fuller, beefier) than the minis, at any volume.
I have a Mark IVB head by the way and it is the best amp I have ever had or played thru. Aside from the many smaller powered heads, including the Mesa mini-rectifier I have now and like, and a few larger powered heads I have owned or played thru (Rectoverb, VHT Deliverance, Marshall DSL100's), I admittedly don't have a lot of experience in this field.
I always said Mesa needed to create an amp with one lead channel and maybe a clean channel and skip all the bells and whistles and call it a day. That would be sick if it was in a small enough footprint especially. But alas, there is still the issue of what comes with small iron. missing oomph and girth.
I like R2. It has it's sweet spot and sounds amazing as someone said as the volume increases as do all Marshallesque amps. This gets missed when people try to make it sound like the Lead channel.
I would like to get a Mark V 25 for its portability alone though. I'm sure it sounds good.