Mark III goes to tech next week, setting up for success

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EOengineer

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My beloved Mark III Simul blue stripe is going to a reputable local tech (Eric at Viking Amps) for its big service. I know people love sending them to Mike B, but I'm not interested in shipping and all that right now. What can I do to try to set myself (and the tech) up for success here?

I've ordered a full new set of tubes (the TubeDepot Mesa Mark III kit). I've seen some people insist on getting caps from Mesa. Is this really necessary? If so, I wonder if it's as simple as calling and just telling them "send me everything Mike usually replaces on a Mark III service"?

I'm also flirting with the idea of asking the Tech to install C30. I'm not one of the C+ seekers, but I did have an awesome experience with a Studio pre a few years ago and wouldnt mind making this amp a little warmer and rounder sounding/feeling.

What can I do to make this go well?
 
Yes, get the capacitor set from Mesa. Mesa's caps are currently made by BMI which is former Sprague employees running former Sprague owned capacitor manufacturing machines in the former Sprague factory. Basically it's still Sprague but under a different name and ownership.

The price on their caps is very reasonable, actually cheaper than anything comparable, and yet the BMI caps are absolutely top notch for quality.

Another bonus: All Mesa "blue label" capacitors are marked with a date code so there's no question about when they are due for replacement. (10 years, 15 tops, anything past that becomes a gamble and if you lose you buy a transformer.)

I do a lot of amp refurbishment these days, and I buy Mesa caps for ALL amplifiers, if the available values match the amp requirements.

You can pay more for caps, but you won't get better caps after doing so. Buy the Mesa caps and be done with it.


Here's the direct link to the cap section of Mesa's online store.

https://store.mesaboogie.com/categories/no-category/electronic-components/capacitors.html
 
woodbutcher65 said:
Yes, get the capacitor set from Mesa. Mesa's caps are currently made by BMI which is former Sprague employees running former Sprague owned capacitor manufacturing machines in the former Sprague factory. Basically it's still Sprague but under a different name and ownership.

The price on their caps is very reasonable, actually cheaper than anything comparable, and yet the BMI caps are absolutely top notch for quality.

Another bonus: All Mesa "blue label" capacitors are marked with a date code so there's no question about when they are due for replacement. (10 years, 15 tops, anything past that becomes a gamble and if you lose you buy a transformer.)

I do a lot of amp refurbishment these days, and I buy Mesa caps for ALL amplifiers, if the available values match the amp requirements.

You can pay more for caps, but you won't get better caps after doing so. Buy the Mesa caps and be done with it.


Here's the direct link to the cap section of Mesa's online store.

https://store.mesaboogie.com/categories/no-category/electronic-components/capacitors.html

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. This was extremely helpful!
 

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