Mark Coliseum Identification needed! (Pic heavy)

Hi guys!

I've posted in a few threads lately, but I need some quick help. I recently found a Boogie listed as a "Mark IIC+ Coliseum" online. I called and asked tons of questions when I spoke to the sales guys, but they couldn't really help me at all, so I arranged to purchase the amp with a money-back-guarantee, in case something didn't check out.

My amp arrived, and I was eager to open up the chassis and check to make sure it was in fact a Mark IIC+ Coliseum. The circuit boards and most of the capacitors appear to be similar to my Mark III Blue Stripe Coli. See below...

Here's the side!


Here's the inside gut shots...


And here's the underside of the chassis...


I'm a little upset because I spent quite a bit more than I normally would (okay, a LOT more than I normally would) on this amp, and I just need to accurately identify this Boogie, and then try to get as much info as quickly as I can.

So, I think I need to start with the following questions:

1. Is this a Mark IIC+ Coliseum, or is this Mark III Coliseum? It doesn't match the pictures I've seen of other IIC+ Coliseums pictured on this site, and it looks really similar to my Mark III Coliseum.

2. Since I paid close to top dollar for what was sold to me as a IIC+ Coli, what is the fair market value of a Mark III Coli? I tried to research what Colis were selling for back in January (for a possible deal with a great forumite here) and it ranged anywhere from $999 to $1,500. Is this accurate? What would you buy a Mark III Coliseum for?

Thank you for any and all responses. I've been around these forums for a long, long time, and I hold this place in high regard for the help many of the members provide, and I hope that I can help others in the same way. I only have a few days to make a decision, so let's see what happens. Thanks!!!

Hi fretout!

To me it looks like a Mark III Simul Coliseum Amp! Push/Pull Poti on the Mid Pot. Also if i do remember right the IIC+ Coliseum has the RP11A Pre Amp Board on mine. These looks diffrent from the one in yours. Blue pilot light (also mine has also a blue pilot light because it's one of the last IIC+ Coli's). What's the serial on this?
I remember the last IIC+ Coli should have K422 (not counting the IIC+ Coliseum Amps with 5 digit serial number).

Maybe some other member's share some of their knowledge.

Looks like a MkIII Coli to me

Spongerob is correct on the pre-amp board.

Take a look at the faceplate too. If it has a "Pull Rhythm 2" over the Middle knob it's a MkIII

You could also look for the "Limit" knob on the back. Only IIC and IIC+ Colis have the "Limit" knob.

KDRG indicates a Simul Coli which is another indicator.
K=Coliseum, D=Dual Mode aka Simul Class, R=Reverb, G = Graphic EQ
Saying this is an indicator as I'm pretty sure no Simul C+ Coli's were ever made.
The only Simul Coli's made were Mark III's

Lastly the date of 9/85 written on the underside of the chassis indicates it was made after C+ production had stopped (which was ~March of '85).

Thanks Spongerbob and gts for your responses. I agree, this Coli is missing the RP11A Board, and all the boards match my other Coliseum's circuit boards which identify it as a Mark III. Unfortunately, I had to buy this amp "sight unseen" because the seller could only send me a pic of the front, and he claimed it was a IIC+ upgrade, and I know that Mesa ran out of the C+ faceplates, so the old Mark III faceplates were used instead.

Thanks again for your guy's responses! You have confirmed my suspicions. This is still a great amp, but I think I have overpaid for it. Do you guys (or anyone else) know what a reasonable selling price is for a Mark III Coli? I haven't seen one listed for sale in a while, and I'd like to know what the current value would be, and what the last one you saw sold for.

BTW, the serial is K533.

Can anyone suggest a fair price for this amp?

Money back guarantee doesn't work anymore?

Elpelotero said:

Money back guarantee doesn't work anymore?

Click to expand...

Yep, I can get my money back, but I would like to keep it, but only at a fair price. I spoke to the manager and he said that he would be willing to reduce the price of the amp to $1,900, and refund me the difference.

The last time I bought my Mark IIIs, and was actually checking the market regularly, Colis were selling anywhere from $900 to $1,500. The $1,500 weren't moving quick at all back then, and most if the "sold" listings I have seen reflect the same range (the most common sales price for a III Coli seems to be $1,200, with the desirable Colis being blue or red stripes).

I figured if anyone knew what the Mark III Colis currently sell for, it would be us. I didn't know if $1,900 was a fair price or not, so before I make a decision, I wanted to educate myself. Just returning the amp isn't the ideal situation. The ideal situation is to get the amp at a fair price.

From what I can tell, $1,900 is about $700 too steep. If anyone could chime in with more accurate info, please do so.

I agree with your assessment

fretout said:

Can anyone suggest a fair price for this amp?

Click to expand...

Man you got two threads going about a fair price for this thing....!
I just posted in your classified ad thread.
I'll repeat it here. I'd say ~$1200-1600
Now if it was a IIC or IIC+ Coli the $2400 you paid would have been a steel!

gts said:

fretout said:

Can anyone suggest a fair price for this amp?

Click to expand...

Man you got two threads going about a fair price for this thing....!
I just posted in your classified ad thread.
I'll repeat it here. I'd say ~$1200-1600
Now if it was a IIC or IIC+ Coli the $2400 you paid would have been a steel!

Click to expand...

Yeah, both threads ended up addressing the same topic of value. I wanted to explain in the classifieds what made it more of a "feeler" than anything else. If this amp was selling for $2,000 to $2,400, I wanted to give someone that was looking for a Coli the opportunity to own one, that's all.

I agree 100%, if that was a Mark IIC+, it would have been a steal. It was sold to me as a 1984 Mark IIC Coli that was sent back to Mesa a few years ago for the "+ upgrade". Since, Mesa has been out of the "Mark IIC+ Faceplates" for a long time now, I knew they were using left-over Mark III Faceplates, so, at least cosmetically, the story of it being a Mark IIC+ seemed legit. As soon as it was delivered, the chassis was pulled and that's when I knew we had a problem. I posted this thread, just in case there was some kind of anomaly I wasn't aware of since there is limited information available on the Coliseums.

Thanks for everyone that posted in this thread. I truly appreciate it.

I think c+ dummies said something about C + colis ending at K500...The K533 should have sent bells off. My C+ colis are all in the K4XX. Paid $1400 for a blue stripe III coli 3 months ago. No K actual serial number.

kippiejr said:

I think c+ dummies said something about C + colis ending at K500...The K533 should have sent bells off. My C+ colis are all in the K4XX. Paid $1400 for a blue stripe III coli 3 months ago. No K actual serial number.

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True, but this was sold to me as an original Mark IIC Coliseum that was later upgraded to "C+" specs, so it might have fallen outside typical Mark IIC+ parameters.

In any situation, the issue has been cleared up now. This is a Mark III Coliseum No Stripe. Don't know how many exist, but this is the first No-Stripe-Coli I've seen. None of the information I gathered matched a Mark IIC+, but the seller was certain it was. What it actually has is the III+ mod.

Are you interested to sell it? I would buy it...

maxvas said:

Are you interested to sell it? I would buy it...

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I had it listed for sale for what I bought it for a few months back, but At this point, I'll be hanging on to it. Thanks for your interest though!