Whats the deal w/ mark 3s?

[kdorsey]

What I said sounds really ignorant the more I read it. Sorry.

Meh, my response came out more harsh than I intended. Don't sweat it, bud. We tend to respond like someone just insulted our mother.

 

[JOEY B.]

I have a IIC+, III+ and IVa. The amp I play the most is the III. It sounds very close in tone to my IIC+ but more in your face. It is a great amp for thrash.

You said a mouthful right there.

 

[abernethyfj]

Tone control sharing is the same thing you find on the Mark IIC+
R2 gain sharing and weak reverb are solved with two Mesa mods ($50 for both mods together).

can you elaborate on the reverb mod? mine isnt the lengthiest reverb and i dont really need endless hall sounds but it could be nice to have a longer delay time available

 

[Littleb]

I own a mk III red stripe simul, a red stripe Coli, and Mk IVB....the coli is the king when it comes to shear agressiveness and raw power...I got mike to do the r2 and rev mod and its darn near as perfect as a III will ever get...I also have a diezel herbert 180 watt amp to compare it to, and the III(remember,its almost 30 yrs older) will just chew up anything in its path and spit it out...and..yes, the 180 or 150 watts is actually useable if its done right..

 

[igfraso]

Tone control sharing is the same thing you find on the Mark IIC+
R2 gain sharing and weak reverb are solved with two Mesa mods ($50 for both mods together).

can you elaborate on the reverb mod? mine isnt the lengthiest reverb and i dont really need endless hall sounds but it could be nice to have a longer delay time available

If I recall correctly, the Mark III came from factory with a normal reverb (when on) and a softer reverb (when off). The mod shuts down the reverb when in off... that means, no longer a soft volume reverb but, rather, no reverb volume at all.

 

[Whoopysnorp]

To each his own. I've never had the pleasure of playing a IIC+, but I was a longtime Studio Pre owner before I joined the Mark III camp, and while they sound different, the III can hang with the Studio. Mind you, I like my current purple stripe a lot more than I liked the blue stripe I had at first. And I would expect a IIC+ to just dump all over a III any day. Why would they cost so much otherwise?

 

[kdorsey]

...And I would expect a IIC+ to just dump all over a III any day. Why would they cost so much otherwise?

Because it's written on the Internet and we all know that makes it the absolute gospel truth. :roll:

 

[JOEY B.]

My Mark IIC+ beats the sh!t out of the Mark III I used to have and straight rapes my Mark V (which I'm selling). The Mark III's gain is gritty and feeds back, and the R2 channel sucks. They're cheap for a reason. Spend the extra dough and buy a Mark IV or a Studio Pre+50/50 or 2:90.

Oh **** , here we go again! :roll:

 

[welshboogie]

My Mark IIC+ beats the sh!t out of the Mark III I used to have and straight rapes my Mark V (which I'm selling). The Mark III's gain is gritty and feeds back, and the R2 channel sucks. They're cheap for a reason. Spend the extra dough and buy a Mark IV or a Studio Pre+50/50 or 2:90.

Absolute MKIIC+ snob drivel yet again :roll:

 

[Neptical]

Still using my Mark IIIs pretty heavily...one of the reasons I haven't been around.

 

[Zoner]

My MKIIC+ was the best sounding amp I ever had until the original STR415's died, then it took a step back to merely mortal. It could do everything I wanted (NOT a metal guy) and had a sweetness about it coupled with a dynamic touch-sensitivity I have missed since.

My MKIII green stripe long head was the only amp that ever scared me a bit. Notes EXPLODED out of that thing and I would imagine if you wanted to mine the aggressive side of playing you would be more than happy with what those bring to the table. MKIII's have their own thing going, like all MK's do. It is silly to compare and try and get to any "this is better" consensus as we all value different things in our amplification. The MKIII clean was superb. My experience with the MKIV left me cold and I didn't consider it for a second when I was thinking about moving "up" from my MKIII.

IIC+ was sublime, versatile, soulful. MKIII's were versatile, brutal, almost as soulful, and SCARY aggressive. My latest Mesa, a Heartbreaker, is pretty **** fine too and closer to the IIC+ than a III by a long stretch. I think the tube rectification brings some of that dynamic response to the party and I'm digging it.

MKIII's are no joke. I had mine set up with a Radial Loopbone to switch in R2 and a Tubescreamer at the same time so it was no problem balancing levels or adjusting the level of dirt. A very fine amp, as was the blue stripe Simul combo I owned for a spell.

 

[rgx612a]

Mark III, gritty and feedsback? not mine.

People gotta understand that because of their age, and components wearing out, issues will arise in these amps. In perfect working order they kick all kinda ***, and are not gritty sounding at all. They may not be quite as liquidy smooth as a mark IV or IIC+, but what they may lack in smoothness, they make up for in aggression... i still find they can be very smooth if needed to be.

 

[dearlpitts]

LOVE MY PURPLE STRIPE

 

[THTH]

I love my Mk IVb because it can be super smooth and sustainy, but my friends MK III red stripe really does some killer metal. It's way more open and raw than a MK IV to my ears.

 

[fretout]

If your amp sounds too grainy, back down the gain and/or treble. That should do the trick. I can get cleans by backing down the volume control on my guitar...

 

[themisfit138]

I prefer the III it is an awesome amp!