60w red-stripe mark iii: fake?

Hi, everyone. I’m new here. Need some input and this seems like the perfect place to go.

I happened upon a blue-stripe mark III last year in a little shop downtown. It blew me away and I bought it. The issue is I don’t play live anymore and only record for fun. 100w is a bit much.

Researched mine and discovered these stripped down 60w with no EQ/reverb then that led me to listings.

I’ve listened to shootouts between the years and Rhythm 2 in the red is my favorite. Then I found a 60w red is great shape! It arrived last night.

I propped the new one on my mine and noticed a lot of differences…

The grill cloth, top handle, and tolex are wrong, the corners are black plastic instead of metal, there are these 4 holes in the top for stacking?, the text on the front panel is a little bolder, the blue plastic for the light is slightly different, and the wood for the cabinet feels like a completely different wood.

Now, on the other hand, everything on the back and on the chassis looks correct.

So was there an overhaul done at some point? The original owner rehoused the chassis is a fresh cabinet? Or were these unfamiliar features common on some 60w?

I’m adding a few closeups of the back and bottom. The ads on this site make it REALLY hard to post, so bear with me.

Red on the left, blue next to it.

The switches are so clean. The light is a little too blue.

The signature, holes, and sticker look exactly right though…

For reference, this is my blue. A little harder to get photos under the chassis because the reverb is blocking the opening.

Here’s the front of the blue. Kinda loose grill cloth, shows more age, sharper text and that blue is a little more teal.

Here’s the front of the red with the grill cloth, logo plate, and text.

The next 2 show how the blue is printed “RHYTHM2” while the red is “RHYTHM 2”

Almost looks like someone hacked down a 1x12 cab and recovered it. Otherwise it looks good. Could even be an aftermarket headshell.

No cutout in the bottom of the red stripe for the reverb tank?

Those detents you call cutouts for stacking, that is not what that is. My Mark III blue stripe DRG had them. I bought it in 1989.
Those are recessed rubber isolators or some sort of suspension for the chassis. You may be able to make those out in this picture, only one I got as I sold it back in 2012. I had to zoom in on an old picture. The original EVM12K black shadow was in the oak speaker cab just below it. the one in the amp is a 1994 EVM12L Classic I bought for the cab the black shadow is in. It has been so long. Sorry this does not help you. As for the tolex and grill cloth, there may have been several types used. Not sure if Mesa had the Bronco and Taurus. The Taurus has a smooth leather look, the Bronco looks more like a basketball but black. As for the corners, the Mark IV had leather corners which is what they have been using and still do. Not sure if Mesa ever used plastic. They could have been replacements if the metal one's got rusty. Hard to say.

Wow… anybody surprised that I vanished after getting one reassuring response?

Update! I bought a reverb tank and there’s a cutout in the bottom of the cabinet for it, but I don’t like how it sits in there. I only ever record, so it doesn’t need to be stage-ready ever again anyway.

So here’s a follow up question… my 6L6’s were shot, so I replaced them. Bam. Instant improvement…. But I ended up replacing all the 12AX7’s too…

Am I nuts or is this model significantly dirtier than others? I have it on Rhythm 1, with the gain on 2, but once I get the master over 4, it’s breaking up like a more retro amp.

It also sounds more “direct”? Meaning it seems less compressed, like the attack is more aggressive. The 100w blue almost sounds like it’s gone through glossy 90s production. The red sounds more 70s.

I understand they’re different versions of the circuit PLUS this is a lower power version of the proper model…. But is this difference beyond that?

I only know Rhythm 1 from the blue, and that’s essentially a clean channel. The red is like an early Marshall with less headroom…

…but that was coming off the black stripe which sounds much cleaner… then the purple… but is the red just a pure crunch amp with 3 distinct voices? Then they “cleaned it up” over the years?

Is that first 12AX7 the one people replace with a 12AT7, for this reason?

I got a sinking feeling….

I would like to have a III but I don't that aside I always was lead to believe the Blue Stripe was the brightest voiced of the III iterations? What speakers are you running?