Mesa/Boogie Mark VII Head

Skipping the Six

Wildwoodians, as you look at the Mesa/Boogie Mark VII to the left you may be asking yourself "Did I miss the Mark VI?" Have no fear, friends--this isn't some sort of Mandela Effect situation. No, the truth is far simpler: our friends at Mesa/Boogie decided that their newest amp was too much of a leap forward in tone and tech to simply jump up one number. So, they had to skip six and go straight to seven! Frankly, we think they were right to do so because these beasts are the product of fifty years' worth of blood, sweat, tears, innovation, and love for great tone. As such, they are in rare air regarding pure tone quality, dynamic response, and versatility. So, let's dive in and see what makes the tones hiding in these wires and tubes so inspiring!

Endless Easy-to-Access Tones

The number of tones that you can easily dial in on the Mark VII is truly astounding. There are three channels with three modes apiece, and you can switch between them effortlessly using the included 3x3 button (one for each channels, and one apiece for reverb, the FX loop, and the graphic EQ). Here's a quick rundown of the different tones you can get in each setting (keep in mind, this is by no means a comprehensive list--this amp can do A LOT!).

Channel One

Channel 1, Clean: This setting delivers some truly delicious pure, sweet tones. Everything from warm, rich, vocal tones to sparkling jangle to spanky funk to biting country twang is at your fingertips here.

Channel 1, Fat: This setting is still quite clean, but it brings more gristle. Low notes have more power, the midrange notes sound broader, and the highs sound meatier. Also, juuuuuust a little bit of light drive begins to creep in here.

Channel 1, Crunch: Rather than be technical here, we'll just say that this setting makes us want to put on a jean jacket and play a bunch of power chords. The British-style crunch found here is simply glorious. The combination of midrange growl and high-end chime makes it delightful for all manners of aggressive rhythm playing, and it can do beefy humbucker tones just as well as screaming single-coil sounds.

Channel Two

Channel 2, Fat and Channel 2, Crunch: These two settings are identical to their Channel 1 counterparts, which is enormously handy. Basically, it allows you to utilize two different clean sounds, or to have two different crunchy tones with different EQs. It's all about having as many colors as you can on your easel, and these two channels accomplish that beautifully.

Channel 2, Mark VII: Basically, this is a 'roided-out version of the crunch mode that sits about halfway between a typical Mark sound and a Rectifier. It's thicker and beefier than a 40 oz. porterhouse, and it's meaner than a starving junkyard dog eying said porterhouse. Nevertheless, it maintains excellent clarity.

Channel Three

Channel 3, Mark IIB:Channel 3 is home to some new iterations of classic Mesa/Boogie sounds from older entries in the Mark series. This one pays homage to classic souped-up versions of American amps, and it delivers beautiful cleans and natural overdrive perfect for anything roots-related, and its classic rock tones will have you feeling like Keith Richards.

Channel 3, Mark IIC+:Based on a mid-eighties Mesa model originally designed to appeal to the Floyd Rose crowd, this channel delivers sizzling high-gain tone perfect for a wide variety of classic aggressive and/or heavy genres. The low-end chugs, the highs scream, and the mids bite and punch. Also, its articulation and note separation are remarkable given how this channel is slathered with gain.

Channel 3, Mark IV:The Mark IV is the last channel, and it's certainly not the least! It's basically the Mark IIC+ but with more muscles. There's more gain and saturation on tap, making this perfect for more modern heavy applications. Frankly, playing a chugging riff on this setting makes us want to break things with our faces--'nuff said.

High-Performance Features for the Discerning Player

But, the new Mark VII has more to offer than just a wide variety of inspiring tones. It's also endlessly practical, and it provides all sorts of things that make the player's life easier. The Simul-Class power switching allows you to run this amp at 25 watts as a Class A Triode circuit, 45 watts as a Class A Pentode circuit, or at 90 watts with the full might of Simul-Class power than harnesses the best of Class A and Class A/B amps. So, you can adjust your volume to suit any situation from the stage to band practice to the bedroom!

The Mesa/Boogie Mark VII also comes equipped with a direct out with CabClone IR technology. basically, impulse responses are sample-based technology that allows your direct signal to do a pitch-perfect impersonation of a mic'd up cabinet. This is a revelation in the studio, and front-of-house engineers will love you. The coolest part is that you can select an IR for each channel, so if you want your cleans to sound like they're coming from a 1x12 but you want your dirty sounds to have that 4x12 power, you totally can! And, if you want to send out a pure DI signal, you have that option, too.

On top of all of that, Mesa's Bias Select feature allows you to swap between EL34s and 6L6 without having to bias your amp at all--just flip the switch and you're done!

A Mark AboveAll in all, we'd have to put the Mesa Mark VII at number one on our power ranking of all things named Mark (yes, even ahead of Hamill, Ruffalo, and Twain). It sets the standard for quality of tone, versatility, and features. We invite you to take one for a spin and see why our friends at Mesa/Boogie had to skip straight to seven.


Amp Type: Tube
Rectifier Type: Silicon Diodes
Preamp Tubes: 5x Mesa 12AX7
Power Amp Tubes: 4x Mesa 6L6 (or EL34)
Maintenance Free Fixed Bias: Yes
Wattages Quick Reference: 25, 45, or 90 Watts - Channel Assignable - See Power Amp Details for more information
Power Amp Details Class Wattage: MESA/Boogie's exclusive Simul-Class™ Power Amp featuring Multi-Watt™ (Patent 7,602,927) with Incremental Wattage Reduction (Patent 9,917,560) which provide three power and two operating-class options that are channel assignable via 25/45/90 Watt Power Switches: Choose 2 power tubes operating in Class A Triode, producing 25 Watts - 2 tubes running in Class A Pentode, producing 45 Watts, or 4 tubes running in MESA/Boogie’s legendary Simul-Class Power that blends the best of Class A and Class A/B simultaneously to produce 90 Watts of pure tonal magic.
Number Of Style Modes: Nine
Number Of Style Modes Per Channel: Three
Channel Controls
Each Channel features: Independent 3-Position Style Mode Switch, Graphic EQ Assignment Switch (On, Off or Footswitchable), Patented Watt Multi-Watt™ 90/45/25 Power Amp Switch, Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, & Master Controls, Reverb (Footswitchable), and an 8-Position CabClone IR Select Control (back-panel)
Graphic Eq And/or Contour: Selectable 5-Band Graphic EQ (Footswitchable, Channel Assignable or Off)
Reverb Effects Bypass Options: Footswitchable, All-Tube, Long Spring Reverb with Independent Channel Controls
Effects Loop Bypass Options: Tube-Buffered FX Loop (Footswitchable)
External Switching Jack Options And/or Midi: MIDI Switchable/Programmable via Control Change and Program Change messages, with 256 Preset Location (MIDI IN, MIDI Thru/Out, MIDI Channel, & Store Switches) – Controls Channels 1, 2, 3, Reverb, FX Loop, & Graphic EQ
Speaker Outputs: Two 8 Ohm and Two 4 Ohm
Cabinet Simulation Direct Live recording Output: Built-in, channel assignable, MESA CabClone™ IR Cab Simulator featuring 8 MESA Cabinet IRs, USB Connection for IR transfers, Internal Amp Load for cabinet-free use, Input Level Control, IR Balanced XLR Direct Output, (Dry) Line Output (Uncompensated, +4db Direct Line Output for external cab sim/IR use, Re-Amping, etc.), Headphone Output, IR Output Level Control & Ground/Lift Switch
Internal Amp Load For SpeakerLess Performance: Yes (see Cabinet Simulation for more information)
Headphone Output: Yes (see Cabinet Simulation for more information)
Footswitch: Included - 3x3 - 6 Button Footswitch (Bottom Row: Ch. 1, Ch. 2, & Ch. 3 - Top Row: Reverb, FX Loop, & Graphic EQ)
Slip Cover: Included - Fitted Slipcover
Weight: 40 lbs. / 18.14 kg.
Height: 9 1/4" / 23.50 cm
Width: 18 3/4" / 47.63 cm
Depth: 10 7/8" / 27.62 cm