After some guidance with my first post on this great board, quick reading at Harmony Central, and a chance to own a great looking amp from back in the day, I’ve picked up a Mk III simulclass, blue stripe. Back in the late 80’s, when I was playing pretty regularly, I remember this amp as being pretty **** hot. At the time, I was running an all tube Dean Markley combo that was a pretty nice amp, but it screamed Boogie wannabe. This is my first Mesa, and I’ve got some questions that I hoped this board could help me out with:
1) Is there some on-line resource that provides some type of chronological history of Mesa’s product line? I’m kind of curious just where this amp fit in their lineup back in the late 80’s, and how long it was in production. The Mesa site has some info, but there are gaps (unless I’m missing a link somewhere). There was an informative thread here about the different mods performed on the Mk III (Red, Purple, Blue, etc), but to a newbie like me, who’s also not an equipment junkie, I’d still like to know more, ie what was a IIc and would it be worthwhile to mod my amp?
2) When did Mesa recommend running EL34’s in the outer sockets? This amp has all 6L6’s, so I’ll be swapping those out I guess. Was it a recommendation made purely for enhancing tube life, or did it open up its tonal palette as well? I assume the EL34's help for the Marshallesque tones
3) Is the effects loop parallel or serial? I need a Mk III effects loop for dummies tuturoial. The only thing I can get out of the manual is that I shouldn’t use cheap effects in the loop. Would a TC Elec G-Major fit up well with this? What’s the best way to control send/return?
4) Now I’m not a shredder, and my playing style never fit metal (this was one of my reasons for going with an amp from my generation). But if I want a little more crunch, is there a pedal that meshes well with the Mk III, or do I just need to spend a little more time learning the controls to find that thump?
I’m sure I’ll come up with some more questions, and now that I’ve found this awesome site, I’ll know where to ask them. Hopefully I won’t annoy.
Thanks
1) Is there some on-line resource that provides some type of chronological history of Mesa’s product line? I’m kind of curious just where this amp fit in their lineup back in the late 80’s, and how long it was in production. The Mesa site has some info, but there are gaps (unless I’m missing a link somewhere). There was an informative thread here about the different mods performed on the Mk III (Red, Purple, Blue, etc), but to a newbie like me, who’s also not an equipment junkie, I’d still like to know more, ie what was a IIc and would it be worthwhile to mod my amp?
2) When did Mesa recommend running EL34’s in the outer sockets? This amp has all 6L6’s, so I’ll be swapping those out I guess. Was it a recommendation made purely for enhancing tube life, or did it open up its tonal palette as well? I assume the EL34's help for the Marshallesque tones
3) Is the effects loop parallel or serial? I need a Mk III effects loop for dummies tuturoial. The only thing I can get out of the manual is that I shouldn’t use cheap effects in the loop. Would a TC Elec G-Major fit up well with this? What’s the best way to control send/return?
4) Now I’m not a shredder, and my playing style never fit metal (this was one of my reasons for going with an amp from my generation). But if I want a little more crunch, is there a pedal that meshes well with the Mk III, or do I just need to spend a little more time learning the controls to find that thump?
I’m sure I’ll come up with some more questions, and now that I’ve found this awesome site, I’ll know where to ask them. Hopefully I won’t annoy.
Thanks
