Questions regarding Mark III

[Rampage]

Hey guys, I have been looking all over Mesa's line of amps and for some reason I feel some sort of magnetism with the Mark III. My biggest problem is that I don't really know much about these amps and what they are capable of. I understand they can get a pretty good heavy rhythm tone, but what I am really interested in is the lead tone.

I imagine I would like to go with one loaded with an EQ, Simul-Class, and Reverb if I did pull the trigger, and I would also probably make an attempt at coupling it with dual thiele cabinets. I am wondering if this would provide a nice sustaining lead tone or if I should ignore the Mark III. I understand the Mark IV has a great lead tone, and I also understand the IIC+ has the "grail tone" to many individuals, but it all comes down to the Mark III right now .

So I guess it comes down to this: Would you recommend a Mark III to someone looking for a good lead tone? I have been playing stuff from artists such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Cacophony, Frank Zappa, Iron Maiden, Racer X, etc.

Also, what is the deal with all these various stripes. I have heard quite a bit regarding Blue and Green, but I also have seen Purple, Red, and Black. Is there a significant difference amongst these models, or are there just minor tonal subtleties corresponding to each?

Thanks in advance guys, this is definitely the best place to discuss all things Boogie! 8)

 

[trem]

Hey Rampage,

Since you've owned Mark IV in the past, this should be pretty easy. Compared to IV, Mark III is similar although more aggressive sounding and not as compressed. The key is the presence knob; turn it way down to get a smooth sound.

Just in case you think the R2 on the IV is useless, IMHO the R2 on the III is even worse, due to the lack of gain and volume drop problem. There's a mod available for the volume drop problem, but I'm not sure about the lack of gain. I personally don't care about the problem, as I would treat the amp as a 2 channel amp anyway. Shared controls is a headache but getting 2 great sounds IS possible!

Find out about the stripes here:
http://homepage.mac.com/mesaboogie/dot.html

I would personally look for the black stripe/dot with 105 transformer and mod it to IIIC+ spec.

~trem

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I loved the lead tone on my III, and looking back on it, I wish I would of kept it instead of the IV, but the IV compliments my recto more, where the III and recto were way too insain together.

 

[carlosasi]

I love my Mark III. Classic rock amp and so versatile. I've played through a Lonestar Classic which was quite nice, and a subway rocket reverb, but the III rocks. It has a very nice clean tone and the R2 and Lead are so much fun to play with. You just have to be patient and dial in different settings to suit your taste. I've found many settings inspire me to play a completely different grove than I set out to play. Kind of like the amp driving the direction of my playing. Weird. There really isn't a bad setting and not to offend anyone, I wouldn't dare mod my amp at all. The way it came is the way it was meant to sound.

Rock on, peace!

 

[phyrexia]

I did the R2 volume mod. Very easy. I don't have a problem with R2 gain. It takes pedals great. You can get a glassy clean to a blues purr to a classic crunch to a destructo distortion sound out of these amps. I love mine.

 

[Rampage]

Thank you very much for all the input guys. I think I may add one to the want to buy list. I still am feeling a Roadster or 3 channel Dual Recto may be my next buy, but I am feeling the Mark III may be a good addition for that great Mark tone. I guess I'll just have to sit back and see what amp I get pulled to first. Again, thank you very much for the info guys!