Mk iii stripes

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Mattunes76

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I recently played a show with a mark iii red stripe, it sounded great. It was a rental and I more or less begged the backline guy to sell it to me. I've been looking for one and found a decent deal on a mk iii black stripe but it's not local so I can't play it. Do the various stripes really sound that different from each other? has this been blown out of proportion or is there a noticeable difference? I'm specifically interested in the clean channel.
I've seen the Wikipedia link with the short description of the different stripes.
 
They are all in the same ballpark, with the black stripe being my favorite because it sounds the most like the Mark IIC++ I have. The blue stripe amps sound closer to the Mark IV, at least the one I had did. The thing is, these amps are getting on in age so it can be risky buying blind. If the amp has been back to Mike B. at Mesa/Boogie recently, you can count on twenty years of trouble free playing.
 
I have a no stripe which became a "+" after Mike B did the R1 (clean up/lower gain), R2 (clean up bass, add volume knob to back panel) and Reverb (deepen reverb). It has the searing, lustworthy IIC+ lead sound, which is what counts! Mine was a bit tired when I bought it, so I sent it to Mike to freshen up the tubes/caps, etc, and do the mods while he was at it. This is well worth your time. It was like a phoenix rising from the ashes! Mike is a legend, and I permanently kept the excellent shipping box/padding he returned my amp in.

It's vital that you spend as much time as is needed to tweak the amp to your actual setup. It's pretty much agreed that the bass knob should be 0-2 depending on guitar, mid around 4-5ish, and then the most critical decisions are the treble knob and especially PRESENCE, and of course the graphic. I find that treble of 6-7 and presence of 5 is perfect for me. I keep the Volume parked on 7.5, and the graphic is a modified V, more of a U actually, since I like ample mids.

I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a Mark III if I were you, but just be aware that these old tube amps are up to ~30 years old now, and may need some TLC. But what they deliver is priceless....
 
I'll take a red stripe over any of the others. I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I have owned or played them all, and that would be my choice, if buying blind. 8) I even put a pentode/triode switch on a green stripe model. Still the red is my favorite.
 
JOEY B. said:
I'll take a red stripe over any of the others. I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I have owned or played them all, and that would be my choice, if buying blind. 8) I even put a pentode/triode switch on a green stripe model. Still the red is my favorite.
I have/had them all as well and I have to agree that the red stripe (R2Vol and R mods by Mike B.) is the one you cannot stop playing. Each one has its favorite stripe color, though.
 
igfraso said:
JOEY B. said:
I'll take a red stripe over any of the others. I don't want to open a can of worms here, but I have owned or played them all, and that would be my choice, if buying blind. 8) I even put a pentode/triode switch on a green stripe model. Still the red is my favorite.
I have/had them all as well and I have to agree that the red stripe (R2Vol and R mods by Mike B.) is the one you cannot stop playing. Each one has its favorite stripe color, though.
Well said!
 
Agreed on the red's. Ive played most of the stripes and keep coming back to my red stripe coli.
 
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