How do i know if my Mark iii is iiic+ modded?

[Lespaulnmarshall]

I think my mark iii is iiic+ modded, how and i find out if it really is?
Chances are big mike b from mesa boogie didn't do the mod.

Thanks in advance,
Maurice

 

[kdorsey]

Post up a photo of the inside of the amp so we can see the PC boards.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Tried to take pics of all places inside the amp.

Sorry for the anoying shades in the pictures.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Bump

 

[Boogiebabies]

Looks bone stock. Sorry.

 

[Triaxstasy]

...what´s that small trimpot in there?? Adj bias??

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Yeah the trimpot is a bias pot.
I don't have as much gain as other mark iii's, and the amp doesn't seem as agressive so i'm sure something was modded.....

Maybe it was modded with the exact same parts as mesa used, just different values.

 

[kdorsey]

Looks bone stock. Sorry.

If BB says it's stock, it's stock. Is this a late blue stripe? Looks like it's pushing triode mode on the power stage. Was it abroad with that multi-tap export tranny? Date codes on the components state '89 and '90, so it could be a blue stripe, but that's clearly in green stripe date territory. It's always interesting to see how many stragglers were shipped after a stripe change was issued.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Looks bone stock. Sorry.

If BB says it's stock, it's stock. Is this a late blue stripe? Looks like it's pushing triode mode on the power stage. Was it abroad with that multi-tap export tranny? Date codes on the components state '89 and '90, so it could be a blue stripe, but that's clearly in green stripe date territory. It's always interesting to see how many stragglers were shipped after a stripe change was issued.

It's a blue stripe.
Never played any other mark iii's or mark ii's but to me it sounds closer to the clips i've heared of mark ii's than the ones i've heared of mark Iii's.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

It's still abroad btw, i live in holland.
It's the 60 watt export model.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Still bone stock.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Still bone stock.

Okay thanks a lot.
I'm interested in doing the mark iiic+ mod myself, is this possible, and if does anyone know how?

 

[effitall]

Are you sure it's totally stock?

I see the Vishay/Dale style resistors in the amp. I've only been inside my own personal Mark III so I don't know...But I don't think Dale RN style resistors were regularly used on Boogies?

I also note that it has the C30 cap installed which wasn't normal for blue/green stripe amps was it?

I defer to the Boogie Pros....I'm just a first-time MIII owner that's been dickin' around with his amp.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Those Dale resistors have been used in Boogie's since the IIC. Originally they were black and with the C+ they used brown mil-spec on the V1 at 150K on almost every amp. Today, Dale resistors are almost 100% of what Mesa uses in current production amps.

As for the IIIC+, thats a Mike Bendinelli mod.

 

[effitall]

Hmmm...Interesting...There's not a single brown Dale resistor in my MkIII.

Good to know.

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Bb, is there anything similar i can do myself?

 

[Boogiebabies]

Hmmm...Interesting...There's not a single brown Dale resistor in my MkIII.

Good to know.

When building an amp, whatever is in the bin or on hand you use.

Back order ? Discontinuation ? I don't know, but 99% of the MK III's I have seen were all strictly blue metal film. Considering the thousands and thousands of MK III's it's not a big surprise that a brown Dale CMF was thrown in there. A late 90's MK III would be all Dale, like every other boogie made from that period to this day.

Those Dale's were also used in certain applications on Dumble ODS amps. I would consider it a mild upgrade over straight metal film. Resistors can sound different from batch to batch or manufacturer. They can drive you nuts if you let them.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Bb, is there anything similar i can do myself?

What are your issues with the fundamental tone of the amp ?

 

[Lespaulnmarshall]

Bb, is there anything similar i can do myself?

What are your issues with the fundamental tone of the amp ?

No issues really, just thought there might be a mod i'd like that gets it a little closer to a mark iic+ or dumble ods
Jus looking for a mod that is going to make me like the mk iii even better.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Try different EQ setting and different speakers first. Modding is not the first "Go To" when you really can't explain exactly what your looking for. Even with a C+ type of mod, unless you systematically play the amp after each component change you may never find your sweet spot.

All I can say for sure is these amps are inherently bright.