Mark III blue stripe vs Mark IV??

[Boogertone]

The Mark III Blue Stripe lead circuit omitted C30 (The treble bleed cap which tamed the highs) hence the reason the Blue strip is usually referred to as the most "aggressive" of the Mark III's. In the Mark IIC+, Mark III red and the Mark IVa this cap is 500pf. If I recall the C30 was 1000pf in my old purple stripe before I did the III+ mods. By putting a 500pf or even darker 1000pf cap in C30 it will allow you to bring up the presence considerably which will enhance your R1 and R2. Even then the Mark III will still have a slightly more open or less HiFi vibe than the Mark IV.

 

[Littleb]

Good info^^^..My blue coli is going to mike for a go over this year, but i honestly love how my red and blue coli's are different and compliment each other..when using multiple 4x12 cabs,or a head switcher, to combine them,its a killer sound.My fav over my iic+ or mkiv..but theyre all good,no doubt

 

[GJgo]

I had Mike B. C30 mod one of my blue stripes. It still did not sound like my red stripe. FWIW.

I've about had my fill of Marks, but a red stripe Coli is one that I'd still like to own some day. Or maybe a no stripe Coli.

 

[xdg999]

I've been looking for a Mark III coli to add to my collection for awhile now. Hopefully I find one before Mike B. retires.

 

[Littleb]

Not many coli"s out there.Very low production number.They do pop up every now and then.I got lucky to nab a red and a blue in exc condition ( externally anyways).When i bought my red stripe yrs ago on a forum,after plugging into it,i quickly realized Mike had to bring it up to par.He said It was a classic lesson in " leaving things alone and letting the amp be the amp its supposed to be,not what it isnt." In other words,He said someone got inside the thing and made one heck of a rediculous mess with it.FF to today and thank the good lord for mike,...the amp smokes now..but i had to pay dearly for someone else's mistakes.Thank god my blue was never messed with.

 

[xdg999]

Mike B. had to perform major surgery on my No Stripe Mark III DRG Wide Chassis. The first time I tried it I knew something was wrong. I could have returned it but I wanted to keep it because of the 105 transformer. So off it went to Mesa. Mike called with the bad news. Someone had tried to mod and or do some repairs and hacked the board up to the point where Mike said it would be easier to just replace the whole board. The only board available was a later production one so that made R2 hotter. The amp is now kind of a hybrid III+ because of the 105 transformer and the later production board. It cost a lot to fix but it sounds great. It's become my main amp. Perfect for Classic Rock with a Les Paul.

 

[dlpasco]

Mike B. had to perform major surgery on my No Stripe Mark III DRG Wide Chassis. The first time I tried it I knew something was wrong. I could have returned it but I wanted to keep it because of the 105 transformer. So off it went to Mesa. Mike called with the bad news. Someone had tried to mod and or do some repairs and hacked the board up to the point where Mike said it would be easier to just replace the whole board. The only board available was a later production one so that made R2 hotter. The amp is now kind of a hybrid III+ because of the 105 transformer and the later production board. It cost a lot to fix but it sounds great. It's become my main amp. Perfect for Classic Rock with a Les Paul.

Mike B is better than we deserve, man. What a great story.