Mesa/Boogie Mark Five Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 20)

XTREME

The last Mode in Channel 2 is named appropriately and is all about more! More gain, more attack, more punishing mids,

more tight, huge lows and as you have probably discovered by now, more output volume. Though it’s one letter short of its forbearers’

name, it performs here in the MARK FIVE: 25 with equal fury and is by far the most radical of this mini amp’s Modes.

XTREME traces its lineage back to a feature on the MARK IV that resided on the Channel 3 (LEAD) PRESENCE control of that

amp. A pull-pot ﬁtted there allowed removal of negative feedback from the power section and unleashed the pent-up fury of the

Simul-Class™ output.

Now a Mode in both the big MARK FIVE and this compact EL84 rendering, XTREME allows the power section PRESENCE circuit to

respond to all frequencies more equally—instead of a chosen adjustable set of high frequencies—and removes an element of “control”

and inherent compression in the power amp. This “wider EQ” curve in the “rear-end” creates a rebellious, unleashed and extremely

“open” personality that can’t be duplicated with “front end” preamp circuitry. When this radically aggressive power personality is com-

bined with the high gain wall of layered harmonics present in the MK IV Mode, a sound of truly stunning attack and urgency is created.

XTREME in the MARK FIVE: 25 beneﬁts from all the years we’ve spent creating these and other high gain modes and we’ve taken

liberties with this tribute where there was TONE to be gained. Top end has been warmed, low end has been tightened and the feel

has improved, making XTREME in the MARK FIVE: 25 easier to play and even more expressive than its MARK IV predecessor. There

may be some IV owner’s that prefer the slightly more notched sound of their amps, but the attack, body, elastic feel and versatility of

the FIVE: 25’s XTREME Mode will allow you to wield this power in more places for more styles—even venturing into some lower gain

applications—where the higher wattage MARK models don’t easily go.

Many devotees of Heavy sounds love the way the XTREME Mode can handle very high settings of the GAIN Control and still retain

the attack and tightness for high gain chording. It is not even necessary to run the TREBLE high to achieve this tightness and settings

in the 12:00–1:00 range are common. Remember that for high gain chording it is better to set the BASS control lower (10:00–11:00)

and look for additional low end in the Graphic EQ 80Hz and 240Hz SLIDERS for bottom end introduced late in the signal chain that

will stay tighter longer than its early preamp BASS Control counterpart.

As mentioned above, some urgent, attitude-packing lower gain sounds are possible when XTREME is used with lower settings of the

GAIN control. For these types of sounds you can increase the BASS control (11:30–1:30) to add three-dimensional warmth to the

sound since there is less gain dialed up and less chance of causing unwanted ﬂub.

There will seem a decrease in the power of the rotary PRESENCE control in XTREME as negative feedback has been radically

reduced in a broad range of frequencies, including those chosen for the PRESENCE circuit, which means there is less for the nar-

row band affected by the PRESENCE Control to work on. This is not an issue as there are plenty of highs available on the TREBLE

Control and in the top Bands of the Graphic EQ to make the sound as bright as you need it.

XTREME is the most radical and over the top sound in the MARK FIVE: 25. Just when you thought you had heard it all in the MK IV

Mode, XTREME comes up to challenge you with a whole new level of in-your-face, aggressive sounds. Enjoy… but employ it with a

dose of mercy for the poor souls in front of your cabs or close up in the audience, as it can be a truly punishing sound when you’re

on-axis with the speakers.

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Mesa/Boogie Mark Five Owner's Manual Page 20