Mark IIB loop modded- 2:07 Mark III 6L6 - 4:00 Mark III EL34 - 5:45 Which one sounds better to you!? Oh I forgot to mention, the III has a Jan 12AT7 in V2.
It's awesome to know somebody has the affordability to do what US Mark series nerds would love to do. Thanks for your channel man. I agree that 2b+ is slightly more raw and more natural sounding scoop than the 2c+.
I have 5 of mark series amps, Green stripe, Red stripe, Blue Stripe and a a IIC+.. if they were vastly different they wouldn't have just swiped each version with just a magic marker swipe or a black dot or a + sign. The big difference in the IIC+ and the Mark III was the third channel. Mesa got noticeably different with the Mesa badging vs the Boogie badges. The Rectifier series,The lone star, Road King,Nomad, etc came later and did sound different... The stiletto was probably the most different being EL34 based shooting toward the Marshall tone. Even my newer Mark 5 EL84 based amp sits in my studio with the older mark III'S and IIC+ it too sounds really close even all these years later with totally different power section/ tubes. The petrucci amp is a modern Mark amp and you can line up all the Mark series amps and NO one in the audience would ever know the difference and most guitar players blind folded couldn't pick them out one from the other especially with the transparent EVM 12L black shadow speaker or an MC-90 black shadow. The IIC+ landed production in the right time to become the flagship vintage boogie. Thats when 80's music was huge and that amp was produced at the right time for the players who made it famous. it didn't make them famous. I would argue a Mark III purple, red, blue or green stripe Mark III could have been used by the players who made the IIC+ famous and those albums and concerts wouldn't have sounded any different. They just weren't available at the time those bands recorded those albums. They stopped the IIC+ when the mark III came into production. They stopped the III when the Mark IV started and so on....they are all great amps and tonally are the same. Most of those bands stopped playing the IIC+ and went to the mark III when it came out because the sound was basically the same but the 3 had a third channel, everyone loved that.
Excellent !! Have the Red Stripe & 50 Caliber+ & few others but the MK3 is pure fun..plug n play. great vids , thanks !! Life needs more of this..much more !! Put the50 cal on Orange HP8 cab yesterday & then 1960bx..was channeling Pepper..COC instantly !!
I love that you play Slayer! I love my Mesa Mark IV, but I really want a Mark III or IIC+, a DR, and a JCM 800....then I'm done buying amplifiers! I swear!!! 🤣 I am so jealous of your awesome amp collection! Im not much of a 5150 kind of guy, they are cool. Ive owned them. I like em. But nothing I've played beats out a Mesa at full tilt connected to a 4x12 or two 4x12s for that matter. Love your videos and your comparisons man! These are comparisons that I've always wondered about, that and Slayer has been my favorite band since I was like 7 years old man way back in 1988.
I say that the Mark III Blue Stripe is the closest thing to a IIC+, except that a blue stripe Mark III actually has even more available gain. Love my Blue Stripe.
I'm glad that you love your Blue and you're excited!! That said, I wholly disagree that the red/blue/green are the closest to a C+. Those three are a lot more aggressive & fizzy, more aimed at the hair metal bands of the late 80s. I suggest you go acquire a IIC+ & reassess.
The blue is nice and aggressive but far from the IIC+, my friend. The iii black stripe/black dot/no stripe and red stripe actually use the same transistor as the IIC+. I found this out because I've bought and serviced these things since they were cheap. I haven't worked on or played many green stripes though. I got my red stripe for 750 bucks on craigslist back in the day haha. But in all honesty, I play my Mark IV more than my IIC+ and my red stripe. I've got a Roadster head as well. Which I recommend if you haven't played one. It's voiced darker. But with 34s it has ridiculous clean and distortion. It's like 4 amps in 1 with patience. 🤘
@@imstarz9123Thts true U know Ur mesa boogies, bro. Let me ask u. No one knws about those transistors. I think I found another mesa nerd. I'm running a III Red Stripe dnt knw much about R2 mods. Will tht allow an adjustment in between? Easy to do myself?
@factsonly Yes, the mod is easy to do yourself. Basically it allows you to adjust the volume between clean and R2 if that makes sense. What you're thinking is correct. To do the mod, just replace R130 with a 250k atp. It's quite simple, my friend. Depending on if it's a short or combo you'll figure out the rest. D L can be eliminated or preset with a resistor, etc. But that's just me rambling. You got the route. 🤘
I'm forming the strong opinion based on having 7 or so Simul Marks that they are voiced better with EL34s in the band mix. In the bedroom I can see arguments both ways, but I'm leaning EL.
Ive owned a Red Stripe Mklll head since the Nineties and I’m not being biased but to my ears the Mkll sounded trebly but pronounced but to my ears EL34 Red stripe wins…both quality amps honestly can’t go wrong with either..
Dude your opinion and the comparrison was awesome. My red stripe does have reverb. But what wattage you playing the mark 3 at? I ONLY played mine half power even at larger venues because i want the tubes to scream.
In this particular I was in Class A mode on the DG. Remember with Marks, the gain is in the preamp section more so than the power section- that's why you can get away with a relatively cold power tube & still sound good. That being said, to me, the extra tubes & wattage is not about volume- it's about GIRTH. That's hard to pick up on a recording.
Thanks man. I've had a bunch of IIIs, and the Red Stripes really rip. This amp brings it! IMO IIIs are a little hot- the AT7 rolls of some hotness while opening up the organic-ness. I have another vid rolling an AT7 through the slots you might want to check out.
@@TIGHTENmetal ha ha ha...yeah, about 10 sec. after i wrote this i saw your other vid. funny, in a comparison of tone i would take the III over my V but how does the III sound in the mix ? i find the V sits quite nicely..
@@jakebenigni The II / III / IV smoke the V / JP in pure tone & dimensionality, but the V & JP are far more useful in a band situation. And, in the band the tonal differences are much less noticeable. Here's an old vid & the audio isn't very good, but you get the idea. I like the vintage ones home / recording, and the modern 3 channels in the band. ruclips.net/video/5t339KHoOt4/видео.html
It's awesome to know somebody has the affordability to do what US Mark series nerds would love to do. Thanks for your channel man. I agree that 2b+ is slightly more raw and more natural sounding scoop than the 2c+.
I finally got a mark 2 B+.
I have 5 of mark series amps, Green stripe, Red stripe, Blue Stripe and a a IIC+.. if they were vastly different they wouldn't have just swiped each version with just a magic marker swipe or a black dot or a + sign. The big difference in the IIC+ and the Mark III was the third channel. Mesa got noticeably different with the Mesa badging vs the Boogie badges. The Rectifier series,The lone star, Road King,Nomad, etc came later and did sound different... The stiletto was probably the most different being EL34 based shooting toward the Marshall tone. Even my newer Mark 5 EL84 based amp sits in my studio with the older mark III'S and IIC+ it too sounds really close even all these years later with totally different power section/ tubes. The petrucci amp is a modern Mark amp and you can line up all the Mark series amps and NO one in the audience would ever know the difference and most guitar players blind folded couldn't pick them out one from the other especially with the transparent EVM 12L black shadow speaker or an MC-90 black shadow. The IIC+ landed production in the right time to become the flagship vintage boogie. Thats when 80's music was huge and that amp was produced at the right time for the players who made it famous. it didn't make them famous. I would argue a Mark III purple, red, blue or green stripe Mark III could have been used by the players who made the IIC+ famous and those albums and concerts wouldn't have sounded any different. They just weren't available at the time those bands recorded those albums. They stopped the IIC+ when the mark III came into production. They stopped the III when the Mark IV started and so on....they are all great amps and tonally are the same. Most of those bands stopped playing the IIC+ and went to the mark III when it came out because the sound was basically the same but the 3 had a third channel, everyone loved that.
If johan segeborn is marshall unofficial rep, you should be mesa's.
🤘😉
I'd probably have to pimp current production stuff more for that to happen...
Agreed!
Great amps, I definitely liked the IIB+ better.
Never heard Slayer through a Boogie…cool!
Excellent !! Have the Red Stripe & 50 Caliber+ & few others but the MK3 is pure fun..plug n play. great vids , thanks !! Life needs more of this..much more !! Put the50 cal on Orange HP8 cab yesterday & then 1960bx..was channeling Pepper..COC instantly !!
I love that you play Slayer! I love my Mesa Mark IV, but I really want a Mark III or IIC+, a DR, and a JCM 800....then I'm done buying amplifiers! I swear!!! 🤣 I am so jealous of your awesome amp collection! Im not much of a 5150 kind of guy, they are cool. Ive owned them. I like em. But nothing I've played beats out a Mesa at full tilt connected to a 4x12 or two 4x12s for that matter. Love your videos and your comparisons man! These are comparisons that I've always wondered about, that and Slayer has been my favorite band since I was like 7 years old man way back in 1988.
Which Slayer song is that again? Sounds like their earliest stuff
IIB+ is a winner. My God, it sounds fantastic.
Right? It's displaced 4 IIC+, though TBH it was very close with the Super 60.
@@TIGHTENmetal Jeremy you still have the IV?
I say that the Mark III Blue Stripe is the closest thing to a IIC+, except that a blue stripe Mark III actually has even more available gain. Love my Blue Stripe.
I'm glad that you love your Blue and you're excited!! That said, I wholly disagree that the red/blue/green are the closest to a C+. Those three are a lot more aggressive & fizzy, more aimed at the hair metal bands of the late 80s. I suggest you go acquire a IIC+ & reassess.
The blue is nice and aggressive but far from the IIC+, my friend. The iii black stripe/black dot/no stripe and red stripe actually use the same transistor as the IIC+. I found this out because I've bought and serviced these things since they were cheap. I haven't worked on or played many green stripes though. I got my red stripe for 750 bucks on craigslist back in the day haha. But in all honesty, I play my Mark IV more than my IIC+ and my red stripe. I've got a Roadster head as well. Which I recommend if you haven't played one. It's voiced darker. But with 34s it has ridiculous clean and distortion. It's like 4 amps in 1 with patience. 🤘
@@imstarz9123Thts true U know Ur mesa boogies, bro. Let me ask u. No one knws about those transistors. I think I found another mesa nerd. I'm running a III Red Stripe dnt knw much about R2 mods. Will tht allow an adjustment in between? Easy to do myself?
@factsonly Yes, the mod is easy to do yourself. Basically it allows you to adjust the volume between clean and R2 if that makes sense. What you're thinking is correct. To do the mod, just replace R130 with a 250k atp. It's quite simple, my friend. Depending on if it's a short or combo you'll figure out the rest. D L can be eliminated or preset with a resistor, etc. But that's just me rambling. You got the route. 🤘
@@imstarz9123 Thnx bro!
Wow. Did not expect this, but the DG sounds better to me with el34s.
I'm forming the strong opinion based on having 7 or so Simul Marks that they are voiced better with EL34s in the band mix. In the bedroom I can see arguments both ways, but I'm leaning EL.
What does DG stand for?
@@MrVegiita D = simul class, G = graphic EQ.
see here forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18184
Red stripe iii
Mark III sounds better imo not that IIB sounds bad its great.
Red stripe for me
Mark III sounded better to me. Either way, with a good eq and some knowhow, you can get a Mark amp to sound like pretty much anything.
Ive owned a Red Stripe Mklll head since the Nineties and I’m not being biased but to my ears the Mkll sounded trebly but pronounced but to my ears EL34 Red stripe wins…both quality amps honestly can’t go wrong with either..
Dude your opinion and the comparrison was awesome. My red stripe does have reverb. But what wattage you playing the mark 3 at? I ONLY played mine half power even at larger venues because i want the tubes to scream.
In this particular I was in Class A mode on the DG.
Remember with Marks, the gain is in the preamp section more so than the power section- that's why you can get away with a relatively cold power tube & still sound good.
That being said, to me, the extra tubes & wattage is not about volume- it's about GIRTH. That's hard to pick up on a recording.
Love the buzzy tone (in a good way) that those amps produce ! I now want one 😪
I should have the red stripe up for sale on Reverb next week! Just got my new head shell.
DG EL84 won it for me
What guitar/pickups are being used for these recordings? These all sound great.
I have a could Mark III blue stripes & green stripes.
Looks like I didn't make notes for that in this vid, however most of the clips are with an ESP Hanneman & EMG 81 so that's a good bet.
@@TIGHTENmetal that makes sense in MANY ways. EMG 81 is kinda mandatory when going for that classic Boogie crunch Metallica made world famous.
What does “DR” mean on the chassis??
"D" is for SimulClass, and "R" is for reverb.
Did this Mark III have an AT7 in v2? Sounds great with the EL34s.
At this point I can't say for certain, but odds are it did.
Mark III wins. Actually, the mkiii red Stripe can even be dialed in a bit more. Your pick still slays though and close behind
How does the red stripe differ from the other revisions?
Mark III sounds super awesome. good job. why AT7 in V2 ?
Thanks man. I've had a bunch of IIIs, and the Red Stripes really rip. This amp brings it!
IMO IIIs are a little hot- the AT7 rolls of some hotness while opening up the organic-ness. I have another vid rolling an AT7 through the slots you might want to check out.
@@TIGHTENmetal ha ha ha...yeah, about 10 sec. after i wrote this i saw your other vid. funny, in a comparison of tone i would take the III over my V but how does the III sound in the mix ? i find the V sits quite nicely..
@@jakebenigni The II / III / IV smoke the V / JP in pure tone & dimensionality, but the V & JP are far more useful in a band situation. And, in the band the tonal differences are much less noticeable. Here's an old vid & the audio isn't very good, but you get the idea. I like the vintage ones home / recording, and the modern 3 channels in the band.
ruclips.net/video/5t339KHoOt4/видео.html
The MKIII sounds much better with EL34's.
I have a couple of C+s-
That IIB ”+” sounds a LOT more like a C+.
I’m betting because of the 100 PT.
And the 100 is better for hard rock/metal playing