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Kurt Cobain / Mesa Studio Pre + Mesa Strategy Power Amp (400?)

David Bowie / Mark IV

Okay, we all know that musicians such as James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and John Petrucci have used Mesa Mark series amps to find their voices, but who else? We don’t have a reference thread that will document all of our favorite (and maybe not so favorite) musicians that have used Mesa/Boogie...

Hey man! Sorry I’m a bit late, but I have a few 4x12s with all sorts of speakers. I don’t believe I have any with the Eminence V50s, but I’ll double check to make sure. I remember the model being MS-12, from the 80s cabs. I’ve owned many, many Mesa 4x12s (I currently have seven…need one more...

I haven’t been around in a while, but it’s great to see y’all are still contributing to the forum! I can undoubtedly say that I agree with just about anything I’ve read in this thread! I’ve been saying for a long while that those Blue Stripes are the gainiest (new word, trademark pending) amps...

Hi Neskor! I can’t see your pic anymore, so unfortunately I can’t help much, but I do own several Blue Stripes, and they are hands down the most brutal amplifier Mesa ever made! Since the Blue Stripes are typically brighter than all other revisions, you’ll want to run the presence a little...

I’m also looking to buy another Coliseum, so if Wizz above passes, please let me know!

That’s great to hear that you’re happy with your results! I’m not sure if I could add anything to this thread, but I own a Mark III+ Coliseum that shares the same transformers with the Mark IIC+ Coliseums, but it’s a no-stripe (which came out just before the black dots). As far the sound...

That's very true. I play out, and I've heard my fair share of soundguys tell me to turn down. While the barn-find-Ferrari analogy is certainly true with older muscle cars, I'm afraid it doesn't hold up regarding the Mark III Coliseum, simply because there's not enough of them out there to...

I like mine. One of my Colis had the "C+ mod" done to it before I owned it (apparently by Mike B), and while it's a different flavor than the other Coliseum, it can get in the same ballpark with the Presence raised up. For example, if the presence is on 4 on the standard Coliseum, the presence...

Sorry to respond late. Here is the best way to differentiate the power stage configuration...

I'll add in a few more Mark IIIs I have. They seems to fall into the ranges alradh listed... Mark III Blue Stripe Simulclass - 226XX dated 09/88 Mark III Coliseum Blue Stripe Simulclass - 231XX dated 06/88 Mark III Coliseum No Stripe Simulclass - K5XX dated 09/85

Edit: Sorry Chip, it was another user on a different forum that also goes by "chip" and had some very similar amps as some of the ones you've posted about. My apologies. Blame it on posting late at night!

I'll double check, but about a year ago, this amp was traded into Guitar Center as a "Mark IIC+", but it's actually a Mark III Coliseum. It used to belong to a fellow forumite who goes by "oneaussie", and then at some point wound up in your amp collection for a brief period of time before it was...

Well, yeah, the red stripes don't have as much gain as these crazy Blue Stripes, but for that matter, no Mesa before or since has had as much gain as a Blue Stripe. Even a No Stripe Coliseum (that used to belong to chipaudette, and had the III+ mod) can't compete with a Blue Stripe Coliseum's...

I'd also have to say that the lack of gain is most likely due to a preamp tube in V1, or maybe even V3...but most likely V1. If I compare my Blue Stripes to my No Stripe III+, the Blue Stripe definitely has more gain, but I would never describe the III+ as needing more gain, so I would guess...

Since I'm a recovering smart ass, I would say...huh? The Mark series are one of the tightest amps available. If you need to tighten up a Mark, there's something screwy going on. As mentioned above, a GEQ will help. Also make sure the bass is never run past 3 for any style you play. I don't...

Blue stripe...possibly green stripe. Take a picture of the guts...particularly the power tube sockets so that we can see if it's wired in triode (blue) or pentode (green)...

I have a Blue Stripe Coliseum and a "100 watt" Blue Stripe, and with the same settings, I don't hear any difference between the brightness of treble response. What I do notice is that the Coliseum has a ton more balls that the normal Blue Stripe. The most noticeable qualities of the Coliseum is...

I honestly can't put a price on letting either of mine go, but a few years ago, the price had jumped quite a bit. I bought both of mine at a steal, and nowadays, I see the advertised at $3k and even up to $4k, but that's most likely a dude that doesn't really want to sell it -- he's being forced...