Mark III vs. Mark IV

[doctadre]

Hey guys,


I am trying to make a few bucks, and was thinking of selling my Mark IV long head, and possibly getting a Mark III, to retain that classic style of sound at a cheaper price used.

Do the Mark III's dirty sound compare to the Mark IV? How about cleans?


Thanks,


Dre

 

[Neptical]

This will give you a starting point. Enjoy!


http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12411

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6130

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=32370&start=0

 

[doctadre]

Thanks man, good stuff. I'm reading through it all to get a good consensus of things.


What I am really trying to ask is, if I wanted a cheaper (used market), simpler setup than the Mark IV, and only needed 2 sounds (clean and high gain), is the Mark III pretty much going to handle that and be similar enough to the Mark IV?



Thanks,


Dre

 

[Neptical]

I, personally, am a fan of the III over the IV for it's more aggressiveness. Even though it's a shared EQ, you can definitely get some really nice cleans while having endless amounts of high gain. It'll take a little bit of tweaking to get that sweet spot, though. These amps clean up real nice just rolling back your volume knob on the guitar, which is how I always do it. The high gain is super tight--no worries there. And they can also sing/sustain for days. I say go for it. You might actually find yourself liking it over the IV even.

 

[Tuna141]

What I am really trying to ask is, if I wanted a cheaper (used market), simpler setup than the Mark IV, and only needed 2 sounds (clean and high gain), is the Mark III pretty much going to handle that and be similar enough to the Mark IV?

Yes. I actually slightly prefer the tone of my III blue stripe over my IVA - it's close, but I like the more aggressive/"less round" tone of the III. I find the cleans on both amps adequate, but kind of bland, though.

A III with the R2 volume mod will allow you to get 3 good sounding channels.

 

[doctadre]

I am trying to get more info on the different stripes of the Mark IIIs, trying to see which one I want to focus on more.


I've noticed some Mark IIIs on ebay, some earlier ones without Graphic EQs. I found the Graphic EQ helpful on the Mark IV to dial in more of a modern tone from the amp. Do you guys think that the EQ is essential to shape the sound of a Mark III?


Thanks,


Dre

 

[Neptical]

Dre..Yes, although some don't think it's a necessity to have the GEQ, I do, as well as many others here. Personally, I couldn't be without it for what I do; so I made sure before buying these amps that they're loaded ( Simulclass,GEQ,Reverb ). Some just throw an EQ in the loop and call it a day. I have no experience in what that sounds like with these so I can't speak for that. For me, having the onboard GEQ is essential in getting the final (major) tweaks in sculpting my tone, which to me has become an important role of these amps.

Your source for the Mark III stripe history is here:
http://homepage.mac.com/mesaboogie/dot.html

Enjoy.

 

[doctadre]

Thanks for the info. I read that page, and it definitely helps get a clearer understanding of the different stripes.



So is Simul Class generally the more desirable option versus 60/100 A/B power? I have seen both flavors out there. I have also seen some early Mark III's with just 60 Watts, 2 6L6 tubes. What are the advantages of each?



Thanks,


Dre

 

[droptrd]

depends on what you like. The simul models are a touch spongy feeling with the 34s. The non simuls with just all 6L6s are alot more in your face. Marks are just cool. II, III, IV, V. A, B, C, +, Green, Red, whatever. Theyre all simular. Just slightly different flavors of the mark sound

 

[SonicProvocateur]

depends on what you like. The simul models are a touch spongy feeling with the 34s. The non simuls with just all 6L6s are alot more in your face. Marks are just cool. II, III, IV, V. A, B, C, +, Green, Red, whatever. Theyre all simular. Just slightly different flavors of the mark sound

This....and They can all be pretty vicious.

The easiest keynote to go by is that simuls are more liquid sounding and the 60/100's are a bit more edgy, perhaps...urgent (to me). My 60 watt non EQ sounds alot like the 60/100 C+. So the power section definitely effects the final sound. The entire III series is rockin though. A totally sweet investment if the IV isn't for you (it wasn't gainy enough for me.)

 

[doctadre]

Thanks for the info.


I just got a trade offer for my Mark IV. The guy has a purple stripe Mark III, Simulclass with the full/half power switch, and EQ. He is offering his Mark III + $400, plus he pays both shipping costs.



Do you think this is a good deal?


Dre

 

[droptrd]

Thanks for the info.


I just got a trade offer for my Mark IV. The guy has a purple stripe Mark III, Simulclass with the full/half power switch, and EQ. He is offering his Mark III + $400, plus he pays both shipping costs.



Do you think this is a good deal?


Dre

good deal

 

[Neptical]

Thanks for the info.


I just got a trade offer for my Mark IV. The guy has a purple stripe Mark III, Simulclass with the full/half power switch, and EQ. He is offering his Mark III + $400, plus he pays both shipping costs.



Do you think this is a good deal?


Dre

Not too shabby, Dre.

Just keep in mind ( so there's no surprises) that you don't get the full independent switching like you do on the IV. You'll have to get use to tweaking a bit. I forgot to ask, what kind of material are you writing?

 

[doctadre]

I write pop rock, rock, pop punk style things with a 90's alternative flair. I also play in a cover band doing all sorts of pop rock songs from all decades. I know the cleans suffer when you use super high gain, but my main guitar is a PRS Custom, and I think by switching to the single coil positions on the 5 way switch I can really clean things up. At least I hope!


I know there is a bit of tweaking to be done on the Mark IIIs, but I really only need 2 sounds, clean and super high gain. In recording I can tweak things more and use R2 a bit. I've had the Mark IV and the Road King, and though they offer pretty much every option one could want, I am finding that simplicity is key too.



Right now I am trying to decide if I should go for this trade, or just take the cash and buy a Red Stripe. The guy also offered to buy the guitar if I don't decide on the trade, which is good to hear.

Dre

 

[Whoopysnorp]

In my opinion, you can get a very nice clean and a pretty killer crunch/gain tone from the Mark III with the same settings. There's kind of only one way to set the controls to get it, but it's there. You'll want the volume at like 5.5 and the lead drive turned up considerably, probably to about 8 (of course this is dependent on your pickups' output).

 

[doctadre]

Do you guys think that a purple stripe is close enough to a red stripe? I read the webpage with the explanations, and it says that the red stripe sounds more like a IIC+. Is it true or is it subtle?



Thanks,


Dre

 

[Neptical]

Dre: The purple and red are close enough. As with the IIC+, it's definitely alot in the "feel". As I've noted in many threads before, the tones lie within the experimentation of the tubes in both the preamp and power amp. The right tubes will make these amps sing and roar at the same time.

[In case you need this for the future:] If you really want to sweeten and enrich the harmonic content of the amp, I'd throw in a mixture of some Tung Sol ( especially V1 ), Sovtek LPS, and EH ( gold pins are excellent as well) for your 12AX7 batch. For power tubes, go for the SED Winged =C= for both EL34 AND 6L6 mix. These are all new production tubes that I've found work excellent with the Mark III.

C'mon, pull the trigger already!

 

[JOEY B.]

Dre: The purple and red are close enough.

As long as you are not playing the Rhythm 2 channel.

As with the IIC+, it's definitely alot in the "feel".

Please, let's keep this discussion about the Mark III or IV. The message board is full of Mark III vs. C+ threads. And that's all I'm going to say about it. :evil:

 

[Neptical]

Dre: The purple and red are close enough.

As long as you are not playing the Rhythm 2 channel.

Haha!!!!!

As with the IIC+, it's definitely alot in the "feel".

Please, let's keep this discussion about the Mark III or IV. The message board is full of Mark III vs. C+ threads. And that's all I'm going to say about it. :evil:

That's true. We'll leave that one alone. :lol: :twisted:

Onwards..

 

[Fronzil]

Just borrowed my buddies Blue stripe, 60 watter that I'm thinking of buying..first noticeable differences to me vs my Mark IV B (which I've owned for a couple of years)... the III is more open/airy, less compressed, has a more organic feel, and is much more touch sensitive..also slightly tighter low end but it's negligible. the IV has a more round, smooth/compressed sound (far less aggressive IMO). Just sounds a little more modern So far they are both amazing amps to me, and if you like one over the other it's pure preference / taste, and the application you need the amp for.

Both amps have winged C 6l6, running into my Port City OS 2x12 with C Rex speakers, but the IV has killer NOS preamp tubes whereas the III has mystery tubes. Will be doing more testing over the next two weeks before I decide which I'm going to stick with.