Mark III sounds terrible. Help!

[immana]

I bought my Mark III used 10-15 years ago but never played it much. I never liked the rhythm2 or lead sound. I recently dug it out of the closet and called Boogie who advised me to change power tubes. I never changed before and this amp was bought from the guitar player who toured with Debbie Gibson so I know it was played a lot before I bought it...and if you're under 35 you have no clue who she was. Unfortunately I do.

So I just recvd and installed my MB issued matched EL 34s, 6L6s and (1)sp12ax7 which I swapped in each V1-5. To my surprise and disappointment, the amp still sounds awful!!! Same as it always did.

The clean channel sounds great but the distortion sounds worse than my PV Classic 30! I tried a bunch of the suggested presets for crunch/rock/metal. Plenty loud but when in R2 or lead mode the amp sounds like it has too much mid (individual notes sound harsh/hard to understand), not enough gain, no sustain at all.

I heard and read only great things about this amp but I still don't hear it. Wondering if this just isn't the amp for me or if could there be something else wrong with it. Before I sell it or pay more $ in a repair shop, does anyone have a suggestion??

Thanks, Mana

 

[CoG]

That sounds like a technical issue, while the MkIII tone may not be for everyone no one is likely to find it that bad, and sustain is rarely an issue!

If it hasn't been played in 15 years some capacitors ("caps") may be shot, as well as other things. If you have a digital camera, take some big pics of the chassis and post them here... the gang can probably spot some stuff.

(holy sh!t, man, are you saying a MkIII was in the backline for Debbie Gibson?!?!)

 

[edward]

A well-touted amp is not for everyone ...just ask all the Boogie haters on TGP.

You may not like the MKIII voice. Nothing wrong with that. But before you ditch it, compare it with another to make certain yours isn't just in need of repair.

Edward

 

[Nomad]

A well-touted amp is not for everyone ...just ask all the Boogie haters on TGP.

Yeah if you dont have a Dumble or Trainwreck style amp on TGP you arent allowed to post. I got so sick of it I quit hanging out over there. There are so many spammers in sheeps clothing over there its rediculous. :roll:



As far as the Mark III mine has excellent Lead and R2 tones. I would definately have it checked out.

 

[immana]

Thanks for feedback. I've posted some picts of chassis...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24688842@N06/sets/72157604115155774/

 

[ianvomsaal]

I have a Blue Stripe Mark III, and I have to say that the channels are very interactive.
If you get a good clean sound, the OD crunch/lead will sound like crap (and vise versa).
You can't set it and forget it - if you switch between channels you'll need to tweak knobs every time.
Because of this shared knob interaction I used to have to run an A/B box into two different amps.
I used a Fender for the clean channel, and my Mark III Boogie for my OD crunch/lead tones.
If you tweak knobs you'll get either a good OD sound or good clean sound, but typically never together.
Most people who run Mark III's actually run two Mark III's at a time because of this.
Dominic Miller (STINGS guitarist) told me this - he used two at a time (he own my Mark III).
Cheers . . .

- Ian