Mark Series Serial Numbers

Interesting. My Boogie has a Mark II(A) range serial number, but is very obviously a IIC spec.

This sheet is Mesa's attempt to index serial numbers in sequence. They make no account for over lapping models so your amp may not fit exactly.

We can see where the whole 14,999 issue came from on the IIC+. There is no way it made it over 14,400 except for one odd 15,000 back plate.
From this info, the IIC made it from 5/83 to about 1/84 before it was fully changed over to the + around 2/84. The + was made from 2/84 mixed in with any remaining
C orders and was discontinued in 4/85 and overlapped with the early MK III. Looking at the MK III, it seems they just picked 15,000 and K500 to start
the new serial number sequence when the IIC+ left off at 1436X and the 300 series left off at K422.

Good stuff !!! Do you have pictures of Randall with a goat ?

Boogiebabies said:

This sheet is Mesa's attempt to index serial numbers in sequence. They make no account for over lapping models so your amp may not fit exactly.

We can see where the whole 14,999 issue came from on the IIC+. There is no way it made it over 14,400 except for one odd 15,000 back plate.
From this info, the IIC made it from 5/83 to about 1/84 before it was fully changed over to the + around 2/84. The + was made from 2/84 mixed in with any remaining
C orders and was discontinued in 4/85 and overlapped with the early MK III. Looking at the MK III, it seems they just picked 15,000 and K500 to start
the new serial number sequence when the IIC+ left off at 1436X and the 300 series left off at K422.

Good stuff !!! Do you have pictures of Randall with a goat ?

Click to expand...

:lol: man you're tearing it up around here these days lol

I agree with Ed. It looks like they just ballparked numbers instead of actually getting specific serial number transitions.

Surely you wouldn't expect a musical instrument manufacturer to have a consistent serial numbering system?
Why be different from everybody else? :lol:

MrMarkIII said:

Surely you wouldn't expect a musical instrument manufacturer to have a consistent serial numbering system?
Why be different from everybody else? :lol:

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Soldano and Jackson Guitars are pretty **** scary when it comes to the details. I was getting build sheets from
Jackson for guitars built 25+ years ago !!!!

This just appears to be a case of " we didn't keep track where we left off, so lets just round to the next nearest thousandth" scenerio. :lol:

Again, the case of the wacky serials. Even with some of the markings of the stripes and dating of some of the III's seem to be a little kooky.

All the Best,
~Nep~

I have a mark III Colo 300 long head no stripe (KDRG 35) numbered K532, no ending serial on them?

Neptical said:

This just appears to be a case of " we didn't keep track where we left off, so lets just round to the next nearest thousandth" scenerio. :lol:

Again, the case of the wacky serials. Even with some of the markings of the stripes and dating of some of the III's seem to be a little kooky.

All the Best,
~Nep~

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Same thing seems to have happened with the transition between the Mark I and the IIA.

The first Mark IIA I saw is from "early 78" (spring or summer of 78?) with s/n 3060.
The last Mark I that I have ever seen is a 7/78 with s/n A2213.

Most probably, that Mark I was one of the last ever built.
Please let me know if you have a MarkI or a MarkIIA that contradicts this.

Thanks and regards

Hi,

My Boogie is a MKII (A) and has a S/N° 4915 stamped on the backplate, but no S/N° hand written on chassis...
Pots and capacitors inside are all date-coded from the year 1979.

A+!

Mark2boogie,

Most probably, your MkII has been produced in March or April 1980.
Regards

igfraso said:

Mark2boogie,

Most probably, your MkII has been produced in March or April 1980.
Regards

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igfraso, how can you be so accurate in dating "March or April" ? I mean = what are the parameters, the "tricks" to be observed to draw that conclusion ?

Most of the components in my amp are dated from January/february 1979, so even if there is a delay between manufacturing the part and using it, I was prone to think about the year 1979... But remembering that Mesa was probably a small company at that time, the delay would be longer and step into the 80's, finally... Well, it is not of a major concern, in fact, since the gap is circa 1978 - 1980, and my amp is closer to the latest, according to the numbering scheme.

A+!

mark2boogie,
good question! :lol:

I have seen pictures on eBay of:
- a 1/80 MarkII s/n 46xx
- a 2/80 MarkII s/n 47xx
- a 5/80 MarkII s/n 52xx
- a 7/80 MarkII s/n 55xx

This is how I concluded that your s/n 4915 must be a 3/80 or 4/80. As you see, it is just an educated guess hoping it will be of help to you.

You seem to love your amp beyond reasonable doubt and I am impressed of how much time you have dedicated to it.
I am also the owner of a MarkIIA head, fully loaded, export tranny, packed with STR 415, and I believe it is an amp that is very much underestimated by Boogie owners.

Best regards
Daniel

FWIW, your back plate has a "design and circuits patented" legend which indicates that is a later model of the MkIIA (4Q 1979 and 1980).

Earlier models (3Q 1979 and older) had a legend that said "patents pending".

This is to say that your Mk2A is, at least a 4Q 79 amp. Now, with the list of s/n here above, you can conclude it has been manufactured in March or April 1980.

Funny thing is that your amp has no manufacturing date in the chassis but it has a s/n stamped in the back plate.
Mine, has a manufacturing date written in Sharpie but the back plate has never been stamped with a s/n. It is not that it has been erased or ground; it has never been stamped.

Our amps have been probably produced during the last weeks Mesa used the Doghouse as the manufacturing plant, so only God knows what was going on over there those days. :shock:

Best regards
Daniel

Thanks Daniel "igfraso" for sharing your deductions +++ !

I am also the owner of a MarkIIA head, fully loaded, export tranny, packed with STR 415, and I believe it is an amp that is very much underestimated by Boogie owners

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I never owned any other Boogie than this one, but I serviced many MKIII, MKIV, Calibers, Studio22, and a MKI in clear hardwood cab a long time ago, but never a MKII.

I must say that this MKI lleft me the recall of a superbly good sounding amp, in front of which any other Boogie were deceptive, with the exception of the MKIIA. One of the best feature of the MKIIA (and B) I like is the reverb inlead channel which stays deep and clean, simply because the reverbered signal is taken before the lead gain stages. Later models do not have that, and their reverb is like any other in lead mode : usually blunt and metallic.

The MKIIA is certainly underestimated, you're right. The main reason of this derating IMHO are the numerous (and rather unbearable) issues that I solved on mine, which are described along with the solutions in my MKIIA Rev Eq 60 100 topic. With no issue, it's a killing amp, and I am not joking as I own 9 amps in which 7 are vintage tube amps in top playing condition...

Funny thing is that your amp has no manufacturing date in the chassis but it has a s/n stamped in the back plate.

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Exact. No date written, nowhere. But the serial number... and all the tube references written !

Thanks again for your instructive infos about my amp !

A+!

Welcome Mark2Boogie.
Your s/n 4915 is most probably a March 1980 amp.

I have seen pictures on eBay of:
- a 1/80 MarkII s/n 46xx
- a 2/80 MarkII s/n 47xx
- a 4/16/80 MarkIIA s/n 505x
- a 5/80 MarkII s/n 52xx
- a 7/80 MarkII s/n 55xx

Best regards
Daniel

Thanks again, Daniel...

Of course I have recorded all your accurate infos for the "history of my MKIIA amp !" +++

A+!

Regarding serial numbers transition among Boogies, I want to share this info in order to add and complement Boogiebabies' on the IIC+

The last Mark I that I have seen are:
- 7/78 with s/n A2213
- 8/78 with s/n A2148
- 8/23/78 with s/n A2179
- 9/78 with s/n A2259

The last Mark II-A that I have seen is:
- 8/14/80 with s/n 5574
- 9/10/80 with s/n 5022

The last Mark II-B that I have seen are:
- 5/83 with s/n 10654
- ?/83 with s/n 10881

The last II-C that I have seen is:
- 2/84 with s/n 12376

Regards

Regarding Mark III serial numbers transition among the different stripes, please keep in mind there are some amps with odd numbers outside these ranges, especially heads.

- black stripe ('85): 15001 to 16715
- purple stripe ('86): 16657 to 19059
- red stripe ('87): 18949 to 21863
- blue stripe ('88~'89): 21825 to 24933
- green stripe ('89~'98): 24940 to 28386

If numbers are corrrect, each new stripe was getting longer runs than the previous stripe. In the end, you have twice as many green stripes as black dots/stripes.

Whoever has additional or conflicting information, please post it.
Regards