King of the Mark III's

The Boogie Board

Help Support The Boogie Board:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

King of Mark III's

  • No stripe/dot

    Votes: 6 16.7%
  • Purple

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • Red

    Votes: 9 25.0%
  • Blue

    Votes: 8 22.2%
  • Green

    Votes: 10 27.8%

  • Total voters
    36

Paw

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
114
Reaction score
0
Location
Norway
I'm a bit curious about the Mark III(s) as I've never tried one. I thought it would be fun to check out the popularity of the different stripes/editions, and hear some opinions about them, so I made this poll/debate :mrgreen:

Rules:
1. You should have tried at least two different editions to vote.
2. Base your judgment on the amp as a whole, not one channel.

The poll won't be very fair as only a few individuals have tried all editions, but I guess it will give us some kind of hint to which are the preferred sounding ones. And yes, sound is subjective, so don't take this too seriously and remember this is just for fun :wink: Now do your duty and start voting :D
 
Rules:
1. You should have tried at least two different editions to vote.

..........I have a blk-dot + green-stripe, owned also a blue-stripe years ago

2. Base your judgment on the amp as a whole, not one channel.
.....voted for green-stripe
best vol-balance between all 3 channels, best chn.2 voicing

IMO the blk dot has the better lead-tone, its more aggressive and searing....
what i like a bit better.
 
Warning, rant here.

God, I'm sick of this discussion. Note that (almost) the only people who care are kids who don't own a Mark III (or, generally, any other 'real' amp) and are trying to find a way to sound like Petrucci but they can't afford a Mark IV, or who just bought their Mark III in the past, like, month and are either honeymooning or having buyer's remorse. I own a green and a purple and have played a blue. The differences between the amps are barely worth mentioning.

If I recorded parts blindfolded with someone plugging me into each of my own amps I wouldn't be able to tell them apart except on R2, where the green has more gain and less bass. I used to think there was more of a difference between the stripes until I actually tried recording and A/B ing parts and I couldn't tell the difference. Anyone who says he can pick the different stripes' R1 or Lead channels out of a blind taste test is full of it.
 
CoG said:
Warning, rant here.

God, I'm sick of this discussion. Note that (almost) the only people who care are kids who don't own a Mark III (or, generally, any other 'real' amp) and are trying to find a way to sound like Petrucci but they can't afford a Mark IV, or who just bought their Mark III in the past, like, month and are either honeymooning or having buyer's remorse. I own a green and a purple and have played a blue. The differences between the amps are barely worth mentioning.

If I recorded parts blindfolded with someone plugging me into each of my own amps I wouldn't be able to tell them apart except on R2, where the green has more gain and less bass. I used to think there was more of a difference between the stripes until I actually tried recording and A/B ing parts and I couldn't tell the difference. Anyone who says he can pick the different stripes' R1 or Lead channels out of a blind taste test is full of it.

God, did you get your period lately? :lol: But seriously, it's just a poll man, stay out if you don't want to participate :wink:
 
With 45 posts, you have no idea how many times this topic has come up and it's always exactly the same.

Edit: here is the thread, so you you don't need to search the archives

OP: What are the differences between the stripes? I am trying to get Petrucci's tone, which one is closest to a IIC+?
Some guy: (link to the kind of crappy mac.com boogie page)
OP: O NOES IT SAYS THE BLACK AND PURPLE STRIPES CAN'T DO METAL
Some other guy: I own two III's and I can't really tell them apart.
Some other other guy: I own a III and a IIC+ and they are different amps. The III is more aggressive-sounding and the IIC+ is smoother but has less gain available.
Another guy: can mark iii do metal like extreme technical metal like dread cthulhu on the forced anal discharge cd? sorry for english
Yet another guy: what tubes you put in them makes a bigger difference than any difference between the stripes
And another guy: the III is a great amp but the Mark IV is better for live
Somebody else: I heard the red stripe is closest to the iic+

There you go. The Mark III dot/stripe thread in eight lines.
 
I think the brown stripe sounds like ***. Just my opinion.
 
I wanna know how you got that brown stripe on the back of the amp chassis. Ouch! :D
CoG is correct. (And funny :lol: as well.) No stripe is "better" than any other stripe. I've played a Blue for 20 years at four-hour gigs every weekend. Recently got a Green. Could not possibly tell them apart blindfolded.
Buy a more recent iteration, i.e., a Blue or Green, for no other reason than the newer ones are probably in better shape and the older ones are closer to needing a cap job.
 
MrMarkIII said:
I wanna know how you got that brown stripe on the back of the amp chassis. Ouch! :D
CoG is correct. (And funny :lol: as well.) No stripe is "better" than any other stripe. I've played a Blue for 20 years at four-hour gigs every weekend. Recently got a Green. Could not possibly tell them apart blindfolded.
Buy a more recent iteration, i.e., a Blue or Green, for no other reason than the newer ones are probably in better shape and the older ones are closer to needing a cap job.

Rabies had a brown stripe Mark III. Actually, those were the tubes in his green stripe after he tried putting KT88s in it. Four brown stripes.

I'm not sure why guys get hung up on buying an $700-$1000 used amp. If you don't like it, it's 25 years old, it's not like it's gonna depreciate anymore, just flip it again. You're pretty much just borrowing it with a deposit. And seriously, if you don't like a green stripe or a red stripe or whatever, you're not gonna like one of the other stripes more.
 
i with you there , not happy with my no stripe
haven't bought another boogie product since
[ well some crappy chinese 6l6's , no better ]
 
I have a greenie(fully loaded) simul-class and two purples(basic sixty watt models with no thrills)and the green gets my vote.Whilst it,s true you can tweak all the mark 3 stripes to sound very similar to me it,s more a playability thang! How well do the channels balance together for channel switching?Does the amp have the rhytmn 2 mod(does it need it!),does it have enough power for your needs(60, 60/100,simul-class or colliseum).If your looking like me for an amp that can cut it as a stand alone amp or do that little bit extra when required with the right pedal or two these are to me the real issues,and may i add imo the later mark 3,s blues and greens are the ones that cut the mustard in this department.
 
CoG said:
Some guy: (link to the kind of crappy mac.com boogie page)

I disagree. In my opinion, it is not a crappy page.

Ian spent a lot of his personal time in order to create that site and share with us first-hand information received from Mesa Boogie and from the guys that developed those different stripes.
Best regards
 
igfraso said:
CoG said:
Some guy: (link to the kind of crappy mac.com boogie page)

I disagree. In my opinion, it is not a crappy page.

Ian spent a lot of his personal time in order to create that site and share with us first-hand information received from Mesa Boogie and from the guys that developed those different stripes.
Best regards

Yeah, sorry, I'm being unfair there. The thing is that it makes it sound like the differences between the Mark III stripes are a lot more significant than they actually are, and people who are new to Mark IIIs get misled into thinking that, like, black stripes have significantly less gain than blue or green stripes, or that a red stripe sounds like a C+, etc. etc.
 
Seems like green is the **** 8) Good to know that boogie develops their products for the better (in most cases), although I can see how it's a bit irritating for ppl that got the first edition when the product was released. I've heard that boogie does free updates on the first editions of the Electradyne, very nice.
 
gts said:
CoG said:
Yeah, sorry, I'm being unfair there. The thing is that it makes it sound like the differences between the Mark III stripes are a lot more significant than they actually are, and people who are new to Mark IIIs get misled into thinking that, like, black stripes have significantly less gain than blue or green stripes, or that a red stripe sounds like a C+, etc. etc.

It's more of an issue that people DON"T READ:

Yeah. I think a lot of (I'm gonna put my foot in my mouth again here) younger guys (and again) especially Petrucci fans (and here I go AGAIN) who are buying Their First Real Amp, are convinced there's some sort of magic recipe they need to discover. For these guys I think having all that information and discussion out there can actually be a bad thing because they totally lose touch with reality.
 
gts said:
CoG said:
Yeah, sorry, I'm being unfair there. The thing is that it makes it sound like the differences between the Mark III stripes are a lot more significant than they actually are, and people who are new to Mark IIIs get misled into thinking that, like, black stripes have significantly less gain than blue or green stripes, or that a red stripe sounds like a C+, etc. etc.

It's more of an issue that people DON"T READ:

LOL, expecting people to remember that stuff they read on the Internet might be totally subjective? Dangerous stuff man :)

I think a lot of (I'm gonna put my foot in my mouth again here) younger guys (and again) especially Petrucci fans (and here I go AGAIN) who are buying Their First Real Amp, are convinced there's some sort of magic recipe they need to discover. For these guys I think having all that information and discussion out there can actually be a bad thing because they totally lose touch with reality.

edit: rabies has been quiet lately so I'm gonna step up and be That Guy for a while
 
if you are really curious about the sound of a mark III pay more attention to the transformers than the stripe.
 
CoG said:
gts said:
CoG said:
Yeah, sorry, I'm being unfair there. The thing is that it makes it sound like the differences between the Mark III stripes are a lot more significant than they actually are, and people who are new to Mark IIIs get misled into thinking that, like, black stripes have significantly less gain than blue or green stripes, or that a red stripe sounds like a C+, etc. etc.

It's more of an issue that people DON"T READ:

LOL, expecting people to remember that stuff they read on the Internet might be totally subjective? Dangerous stuff man :)

I think a lot of (I'm gonna put my foot in my mouth again here) younger guys (and again) especially Petrucci fans (and here I go AGAIN) who are buying Their First Real Amp, are convinced there's some sort of magic recipe they need to discover. For these guys I think having all that information and discussion out there can actually be a bad thing because they totally lose touch with reality.

edit: rabies has been quiet lately so I'm gonna step up and be That Guy for a while
Well, I guess someone had to do it :!: :?:
 
CoG said:
gts said:
CoG said:
Yeah, sorry, I'm being unfair there. The thing is that it makes it sound like the differences between the Mark III stripes are a lot more significant than they actually are, and people who are new to Mark IIIs get misled into thinking that, like, black stripes have significantly less gain than blue or green stripes, or that a red stripe sounds like a C+, etc. etc.

It's more of an issue that people DON"T READ:

Yeah. I think a lot of (I'm gonna put my foot in my mouth again here) younger guys (and again) especially Petrucci fans (and here I go AGAIN) who are buying Their First Real Amp, are convinced there's some sort of magic recipe they need to discover. For these guys I think having all that information and discussion out there can actually be a bad thing because they totally lose touch with reality.

The ingredients in the "Magic Recipe" of good tone are fingers, a pick, and a guitar. You cook these ingredients in a practice room for 3 - 5 hours a day for 20 years and then awesome tone should be readily available with just about any professional quality rig.

I'm sure you all believe how many guys are quibbling in the Recto forum about whether the Revision F or Revision G Duals are better. Personally, I can't really hear much of a difference between the Two and Three channel duals, let alone these models.

The more I play the more I'm convinced my tone is in my fingers and the gear is secondary!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top