Mid/Boost: Channel 1; Mid: Channel 2 - Mesa/Boogie MARK 5 THIRTY-FIVE Owner's Manual

MID/BOOST: CHANNEL 1

MID control, this pot endows Channel 1 with a whole region of dial-to-taste extra gain in the warm round middle frequencies and is
found on this control's upper region (5.0–10). This feature first appeared on Original MARK I models of the Seven-
MID BOOST
ties as an ON/OFF switch. Here we've given you an adjustable pot where once you had to choose from opposite
extremes with an On/Off switch. As a switch this produced a huge increase in gain achieved by lifting the Tone
Controls and allowing the entire signal available in the Rotary Tone Control string to "run free". It was a great and
innovative feature, especially for its time, but it had two shortcomings; One, it was all or nothing (normal or boosted)
MID
and these two were wildly different sounding due to the saturation that occurred in the BOOST position. Two; once
the whole signal was unleashed by the BOOST, there was nothing much left gain-wise in the Tone Control string
for the Tone controls to work on and there was little to no shaping power available in them in the BOOST Mode.
Back then everyone was so mesmerized by the newfound gain available, this trade-off seemed a small price to pay
for SUSTAIN! But Here at MESA/Boogie, Tone never sleeps, so we've endowed this MARK model with an adjustable BOOST found
here on the upper half of the MID control! It doesn't completely solve these issues, but it does provide a middle region previously
unavailable that allows incrementally added gain WITH incrementally decreasing Tone-shaping power in the Tone control string. When
the MID/BOOST is maxed (set at 10), there is still very little gain left for the Tone Controls to operate on and hence they do very little.
But this scheme allows YOU to choose the desired balance between the added gain and Tone-shaping power on the Tone Control
string and there are some truly magic sounds in this new middle range of incremental MID gain.
From 0–5.0 the MID/BOOST works like a normal MID control, albeit with a little more condensed taper. A general settings tip for this
narrower taper might be to set the MID two or three numbers below where you think your desired sound might be with a traditional
style MID control.
NOTE: The "normal" range of a MID control appears between 0 and 5.0 in a condensed taper. Above 5.0 the BOOST feature takes
over and adds incremental gain in the midrange frequencies while diminishing the effectiveness of the Tone Controls.
Above 5.0 the MID morphs into an adjustable BOOST control that incrementally lifts the Tone controls and allows their full signal
strength to come through unbridled. Granted, some players will opt for the maximum gain possible here, and for those folks there
will be the same limited power in the Tone Controls as found in the original MARK I's BOOST Mode available to shape with. But for
those players who may not the need the maximum gain BOOST at all times, there is a really usable range of enhanced gain over a
broad, warm sounding region of midrange.
We are extremely pleased with the Tonal possibilities this simple but powerful improvement has made in both sound and dial-ability
for lower gain "CLEAN" Modes and have applied for a patent to claim its obvious benefits as a MESA Exclusive. The simplest ideas
are often the best... and easiest to walk right by for 40 years. If only the folks at the patent office played guitar... we'll cross our fingers.
Use this valuable enhancement at-will in any of Channel 1's three Modes to craft some amazing threshold of clip chording or Blues
solo voices or apply it to already overdriven sounds to thicken them up or put them over the top. Just be aware that there is more gain
here than can feasibly be applied to some GAIN settings and still retain a balanced sound with a coherent attack characteristic. In
other words... don't dial yourself into mush by adding so much gain there is no Tone left. A simple but often ignored concept.

MID: CHANNEL 2

quite the massive global shaping power of the GAIN and TREBLE controls, yet the MID setting does impart a strong character on the
sound of all three Modes. It brings in and out a broad band of midrange frequencies and, as we have mentioned
MID BOOST
earlier, along with these rides a fair amount of higher "low treble" range frequencies. These highs are lower than that
of the TREBLE or PRESENCE but they are important for the punch and cut of the amplifier in a mix.
For rhythm playing in the CLEAN and FAT Modes of Channel 1, a lower MID setting (7:30–10:00) scoops some of
MID
this midrange attack and makes the bottom end breathe more. This range will also make things more resilient and
create an easier to play, more elastic feel on the strings. Single coil guitars work very well here for the slinky, rubber
band attack and bouncy bass character associated with Blues, R&B and Country clean styles.
This is actually two controls in one, hence the two names. In addition to the power of a standard
The MID control acts much more like—and IS—a standard tone control here in Channel 2. It doesn't have
PAGE 20