Everyone be jealous of me. My Mk. III is the best so neener!

[camsna]

Anyhow. Hot of the FedEX truck - my freshly resurrected Mk. III. I got a Blue Stripe several months ago - fully loaded. But it left something to be desired. R2 was - well - all but gone. Farted out when palm-muting. Fraying power cord. Hissy and noisy.

So. I sent it to our good buddy Monsta-Tone. On his word alone. Never heard his work. But I took the risk and sent my Mk III from Southern California to Monsta who is several states over.

Got it back today. Have spent no more than 20 minutes with it so far. And - W O W! Here's what we (he) did.

1) New tubes.
JJ KT77s on the outside
SED (=C=) 6L6GCs on the inside
V1 - Tung-Sol
V2 - High-Gain JJ
V3 - RFT
V4 - Nothin' (removed the reverb)
V5 - Sovtek 12AX7 LPS

2) Bias pot

3) Biased nice 'n' hot

4) New Power Cord

5) R2 Volume Mod

6) Recapped

7) NFB mod. Footswitchable mod that, when engaged, removes almost all of the negative feedback. I have the meanest Mk. III on the planet! It's almost demonic.

If you live in Southern California - you NEED to come over and play it. Bottom line. Send your Mk. III to Monsta-Tone and ask him for the Cam Special. You'll be glad you did!

Gonna go spend some more time with my amp. I'll see you all again someday...

 

[fatoni]

sounds intense. where in socal?

 

[camsna]

More southern than L.A. Less southern than S.D.

 

[camsna]

Oh yeah. And GTS made me a beautiful headshell. Pics to come! ANOTHER REASON TO BE JEALOUS!!!

MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

 

[camsna]

Lil' south of OC. Inland Empire. Rivera is good stuff! Be proud of it! But it will cower before my Mk. III.

Oh yeah. And my EarCandy BuzzBomb 212 with handmade Scholz drivers.

Nobody stands a chance. I rattled the stucco off the house today...

 

[IXIStreakIXI]

How much did it cost?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: Dude, your amp is so fucking loud that my neighbors are still in their basement a week later. I guess they finally found a reason to use that fallout shelter. :lol: :lol:

Glad you like it.

 

[LEVEL4]

Great to hear! Glad you're happy with your "new" Mark III. Hopefully, someday I'll have Monsta work his bag of tricks on my little DC-3 head.

 

[edward]

Congrats! Not only for the resurrection, but for the mods ...sounds cool! I did a NFB mod on a Fender Champ: I liked it, but good call on footswitching it as you don't *always* want sans NFB ...great idea.

Hey Monsta,
You mind my asking about the recapping? Did cam's MK need it, or was that preventative maintenance? I ask since mine is a GreenSimul, but all is healthy and sounds killer ...I'd hate to "go in" if I don't have to. Thanks, man!

Edward

 

[Dead Moon Rising]

Cool, can you post any sound clips?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I've heard so many conflicting opinions on this subject.

The general consensus is that amps need re-capping every 15 years or so.

The caps that Mesa uses are far superior to the ones in vintage Fenders from the 50's & 60's.

I replace them all on my personal amps. Usually on customer's amps, I replace them if any of the following things have occured:
1. If the amp has been sitting for a long period of time - Electrolytics tend to dry out if not used.
2. If the amp has seen very strenous use for long periods of time.
3. If the amp is approaching the 20 year old mark.
4. If the Owner notices any drop or fluctuation in power that is not associated with tubes.
5. If the amp is humming or lacking in bass frequencies.


I think it's a good thing to do. I pretty much look at it like a car's 100,000 mile check up. I also replace the LDR's and their power supply & switching components if the amp is having trouble switching channels or modes or if the EQ has less effect than it used to have.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

One thing I've noticed about cap changes is that nobody has ever complained about the added headroom and bass that you get from changing them.

I'm just waiting for the guy who says, "Hey, why did you make my amp sound better?"

I have often noticed a change in the way the amp responds as well. It seems to wake older amps up and get rid of the sluggish feel that so many of them have.

 

[hazbin]

Lil' south of OC. Inland Empire. Rivera is good stuff! Be proud of it! But it will cower before my Mk. III.

Oh yeah. And my EarCandy BuzzBomb 212 with handmade Scholz drivers.

Nobody stands a chance. I rattled the stucco off the house today...

Cam,

I also live in the I.E and have a Mark III Blue stripe too. I would like to hear the difference between the two amps.