Mark III Red Stripe question....

[Beauregard]

Can anyone please give me a brief rundown on the "stripes" and what they actually mean?

I'm looking for something gain-wise that's between a Mark IV and a Mark IIb and I was told the "MK III Red Stripe" is what I want... but I was told this by the guy selling it.

Thanks.

 

[dannytempe]

This is what I have for you:
#1 - ( Black ) 200-a 300 stuks. No mark or a little dot. Only a few hundred then some black marks or "+"'s .
- Lean and powerful amp with more output power than a IIC+

#2 - Purple: reshaping of R2
- R2 was shaped to be more "rounded" and less gain, with improved level

#3 - Red: R2 is like current Mark III
- R2 further developed and very hot. Lead mode is also tweaked to close in on the IIC+ sound

#4 - Blue: Reshaping of R1 15.000 stuks
- More aggressive preamp gain - reshaping of R1, Power section made akin to IIC+

#5 - Green/Simul-Class: Final R1 and Lead Channel reshaping
- Cleaner R1, Lead channel reshaping, and unlike other Simul amps, these Mark III's were wired in Pentode - NOT triode in the Class A sockets for more power. Power section is same as Blue
otherwise.


grts, Danny hope you find it usefull

 

[Beauregard]

Thanks Danny, looks like I need a blue stripe.

 

[Justice1988]

Can anyone please give me a brief rundown on the "stripes" and what they actually mean?

I'm looking for something gain-wise that's between a Mark IV and a Mark IIb and I was told the "MK III Red Stripe" is what I want... but I was told this by the guy selling it.

Thanks.

A lot of people here would tell you that the mark III have more gain than the IV.

 

[Beauregard]

Okay, so how do I tell which Mark III is which?

 

[Neptical]

Okay, so how do I tell which Mark III is which?

By the stripes, dot or x markings by the power cord on the back of the amp.

 

[Beauregard]

Okay, so how do I tell which Mark III is which?

By the stripes, dot or x markings by the power cord on the back of the amp.

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[fretout]

IMO, the Mark IIIs have the most gain of any Mesa Mark amp to date. If you wanted a more tame version of the Mark III, pick up a Mark IV, or even a Mark V. It seems like a Mark V on the C+ mode may be in the middle of a Mark IIB and a Mark IV.

 

[Neptical]

IMO, the Mark IIIs have the most gain of any Mesa Mark amp to date. If you wanted a more tame version of the Mark III, pick up a Mark IV, or even a Mark V. It seems like a Mark V on the C+ mode may be in the middle of a Mark IIB and a Mark IV.

True.. the Mark IIIs have a ton of gain on tap, but I think they sound the best ( and tightest) actually with the gain rolled back around 6 and then hitting the power stage hard. It's extremely tight and well defined. These amps can certainly hang with anything out there today with no problem.

 

[kdorsey]

...I think they sound the best ( and tightest) actually with the gain rolled back around 6 and then hitting the power stage hard...

There's the real secret. I like ch1 set like this (with the master dimed) with an EP Booster and TS-9. THAT'S the undocumented killer Boogie. 8)

 

[THTH]

In comparison to my Mark IVb, my friends Mark III Red stripe can be set to be very raw and aggresive. The MKIV is smoother and more refined to my ear. Gotta love the Mark amps!

 

[Rob Lockwood]

When you refer to MK11b & MKIV I think depends if you are meaning the tone or just the amount of gain. Years ago I used to see a great local guitarist who played a MKIIb on the Rhythm channel cranked up very loud. He boosted that with compressor/drives from an old Korg A5 pedal. The tone was incredible, the classic Boogie mid range 'yowl' as I think of it now. Years later looking for a new amp I bought a used MKIII hoping to get a similar tone to that reference in my head (didnt know his was a IIb or anything about stripes back then - it just looked similar!). The MKIII was a great amp and I had it for 7 years but I could never really get that thick vowelly sound I had in my head. Years later again the MKIII was gone and after a series of lesser amps I bought a used MKIVa. The lead channel on that with the gain set fairly low sounds very very close to that old IIb. As I remember the MKIV doesnt have any more gain than the III though and for me I use less of it on the IV an add a boost pedal because I find the IV gets a bit too mushy and compressed for my taste with he gains cranked up. So after all that if you mean the amount of gain, a MKIII will cover the whole range from IIb to IV and possibly a bit more on some stripes. But if you mean tone, imho the IIb/IVa sound is not really there in the III, its a much more raw agressive grindy rock sound, which obviously some will like more, some won't (I use clean channel and a pedal when I want that). To complete the picture I think in the MKIVb Boogie went more to the metal sounds, I prefer the IVa version but I am sure others would say the opposite.

 

[Beauregard]

When you refer to MK11b & MKIV I think depends if you are meaning the tone or just the amount of gain. Years ago I used to see a great local guitarist who played a MKIIb on the Rhythm channel cranked up very loud. He boosted that with compressor/drives from an old Korg A5 pedal. The tone was incredible, the classic Boogie mid range 'yowl' as I think of it now. Years later looking for a new amp I bought a used MKIII hoping to get a similar tone to that reference in my head (didnt know his was a IIb or anything about stripes back then - it just looked similar!). The MKIII was a great amp and I had it for 7 years but I could never really get that thick vowelly sound I had in my head. Years later again the MKIII was gone and after a series of lesser amps I bought a used MKIVa. The lead channel on that with the gain set fairly low sounds very very close to that old IIb. As I remember the MKIV doesnt have any more gain than the III though and for me I use less of it on the IV an add a boost pedal because I find the IV gets a bit too mushy and compressed for my taste with he gains cranked up. So after all that if you mean the amount of gain, a MKIII will cover the whole range from IIb to IV and possibly a bit more on some stripes. But if you mean tone, imho the IIb/IVa sound is not really there in the III, its a much more raw agressive grindy rock sound, which obviously some will like more, some won't (I use clean channel and a pedal when I want that). To complete the picture I think in the MKIVb Boogie went more to the metal sounds, I prefer the IVa version but I am sure others would say the opposite.

Thanks for taking the time to relay this, I actually just closed the deal on a Mark IVa with the original EV speaker because I realized that it is actually tone I'm looking for, not gain. I had a Mark IV-B Widebody that I sold because I couldn't turn down the deal, four amps later (Mk iib, Subway Rocket, PRS 2-ch H, and ENGL Fireball) I've found that it's the unique focused, note carrying gain of the Mk IV that I lust for.

Because I have tone OCD I'm sure I'll end up with a Red Stripe as well at some point.

 

[THTH]

Interesting you guys should point out "tone" vs. "gain". I've started playing with a blues/classic rock band and never use the MK IV's lead channel anymore. I've found when the amp is cranked(the band plays loud, I've got channel 2 volume on 4 and master on 3-5, tweed, simul, pentode), R2 on the MK IV cuts like crazy and has some insane sustain with lower gain. It just punches through the mix. I really like R2 and a Les Paul.

 

[fretout]

As I remember the MKIV doesnt have any more gain than the III though and for me I use less of it on the IV an add a boost pedal because I find the IV gets a bit too mushy and compressed for my taste with he gains cranked up.

I'll have to respectfully disagree. But, there are so many variables that come in to play to make each amp have a foot in the other's territory, especially preamp tubes.

The Mark IIIs (particularly, the Blue Stripes) have so much gain, it's almost unusable. The Mark IVs can't even touch it. I like both amps for different reasons. The Mark IV is much darker and much more compressed (or in Mesa-speak, focused). I like to use the IV for darker, slower lead lines... Something where the tone needs to sing. Sure, it can certainly hold it's own with the Metal crowd. With that said, if you have the Blessing of being able to A/B these amps back to back, you'll hear a massive difference. With the same preamp tubes, going from a Mark IV to a Mark III, the time sounds as if a blanket has been lifted off the speakers. It's a drastic difference. You can't clean up a Mark IV to approach the tone of a Mark III, but you can make a Mark III sound like a Mark IV by goosing the bass.

Both Marks are metal machines, but can sound great for any genre of music, and they do what they do extremely well, but if I had to choose between them, the Mark IV goes and the Mark III stays.

As stayed above, some people say the Marks have a midrange honk, but if you back down the preamp controls, and start raising your master for your gain tones, the amp will lose a lot of the honk and will have so much "cut" in a band mix, you'll be surprised how responsive the amp becomes.

 

[Beauregard]

As I remember the MKIV doesnt have any more gain than the III though and for me I use less of it on the IV an add a boost pedal because I find the IV gets a bit too mushy and compressed for my taste with he gains cranked up.

I'll have to respectfully disagree. But, there are so many variables that come in to play to make each amp have a foot in the other's territory, especially preamp tubes.

The Mark IIIs (particularly, the Blue Stripes) have so much gain, it's almost unusable. The Mark IVs can't even touch it. I like both amps for different reasons. The Mark IV is much darker and much more compressed (or in Mesa-speak, focused). I like to use the IV for darker, slower lead lines... Something where the tone needs to sing. Sure, it can certainly hold it's own with the Metal crowd. With that said, if you have the Blessing of being able to A/B these amps back to back, you'll hear a massive difference. With the same preamp tubes, going from a Mark IV to a Mark III, the time sounds as if a blanket has been lifted off the speakers. It's a drastic difference. You can't clean up a Mark IV to approach the tone of a Mark III, but you can make a Mark III sound like a Mark IV by goosing the bass.

Both Marks are metal machines, but can sound great for any genre of music, and they do what they do extremely well, but if I had to choose between them, the Mark IV goes and the Mark III stays.

As stayed above, some people say the Marks have a midrange honk, but if you back down the preamp controls, and start raising your master for your gain tones, the amp will lose a lot of the honk and will have so much "cut" in a band mix, you'll be surprised how responsive the amp becomes.

After reading your detailed description I wonder if you can you give me an idea of gain differences between an MkIII and a Rectoverb?

I sold my last MkIV in favor of the Rectoverb's simplicity; and it has more of the f100 crunch I love... but I keep wondering if I'm shorting myself by not playing a Red or Blue Stripe.

 

[fretout]

As I remember the MKIV doesnt have any more gain than the III though and for me I use less of it on the IV an add a boost pedal because I find the IV gets a bit too mushy and compressed for my taste with he gains cranked up.

I'll have to respectfully disagree. But, there are so many variables that come in to play to make each amp have a foot in the other's territory, especially preamp tubes.

The Mark IIIs (particularly, the Blue Stripes) have so much gain, it's almost unusable. The Mark IVs can't even touch it. I like both amps for different reasons. The Mark IV is much darker and much more compressed (or in Mesa-speak, focused). I like to use the IV for darker, slower lead lines... Something where the tone needs to sing. Sure, it can certainly hold it's own with the Metal crowd. With that said, if you have the Blessing of being able to A/B these amps back to back, you'll hear a massive difference. With the same preamp tubes, going from a Mark IV to a Mark III, the time sounds as if a blanket has been lifted off the speakers. It's a drastic difference. You can't clean up a Mark IV to approach the tone of a Mark III, but you can make a Mark III sound like a Mark IV by goosing the bass.

Both Marks are metal machines, but can sound great for any genre of music, and they do what they do extremely well, but if I had to choose between them, the Mark IV goes and the Mark III stays.

As stayed above, some people say the Marks have a midrange honk, but if you back down the preamp controls, and start raising your master for your gain tones, the amp will lose a lot of the honk and will have so much "cut" in a band mix, you'll be surprised how responsive the amp becomes.

After reading your detailed description I wonder if you can you give me an idea of gain differences between an MkIII and a Rectoverb?

I sold my last MkIV in favor of the Rectoverb's simplicity; and it has more of the f100 crunch I love... but I keep wondering if I'm shorting myself by not playing a Red or Blue Stripe.

The Mark IIIs certainly have more gain than the Rectoverbs, but to my ears, they're different animals. The Mark shines in it's urgency and responsiveness, whereas the Rectoverb is a round type of gain, but, the Rectoverb is going to have a "deeper" gain structure than the Mark III, which is great in it's own right.

For my needs, I have Rectos and Marks because they're completely different tools. The Mark has the urgency, cut and gain that shines when you want every little nuance of your technique to come through the speakers. The gain on the Rectos is so lush and deep, in comparison to a Mark III, it seems to mask over subtle nuances and little mistakes the Mark would pick up.

As far as which amp has more gain...advantage Mark III.

 

[rgx612a]

Lately i've been getting some good results from my Mark III simulclass (redstripe), using the R2 channel and boosting with a Maxon od808. I just crank the gain up on the amp and use the pedal as a typical boost: level up, drive off. Result: A very Clear, defined tone, yet still fairly high gain, almost kinda similar to Marshall jcm800, but tighter and with more saturation like a Boogie should sound. I dig it. I just turn the pedal off if i want something a bit more subdued, and crunchy. Still I think the Lead channel just rips! Set right, it's very inspiring to shred on the lead channel on my Red Stripe.