Mark Series speaker history question

[cho]

I would love to know when certain speakers were used in Mark amps. I have been using Boogie Mark amps since 1991, and they have always had EV 200 Watt or Celestion 90 Watt. But I know that Eminence, Altec and JBL speakers were also used.

Does anyone know what years they offered which models, with which speakers? What were the stock speakers in the Mk I and Mk II amps?

Thanks, in advance!

 

[screamingdaisy]

I don't have any great detail, but I'll get the ball rolling and hopefully others will add/correct as we go along.

JBL D-120 - The speaker he mounted in the Princeton Reverb that started it all
Altec-Lansing 417-8H - The standard speaker in the Mark I and early Mark IIs. Not sure exactly when things changed.
Eminence MS-12 - The standard speaker for the Mark II through IV. Not sure what year they discontinued it.
Electro-Voice EVM-12L - The upgrade option for the MS-12. Not sure when they were discontinued.
Celestion MC-90 - I believe they started offering these as an upgrade starting in the mid 80s on the Mark IIIs.
Celestion Vintage 30 - I believe they started using these around 1991.

One thing to remember is that Mesa has long been a boutique builder. To this day they still build each cab/combo to order and will load your cab with a different speaker if you ask them to.

Mesa also produced a number of 1x15 combos. The Mark II had some sort of JBL and the Mark III had an Electro-Voice EVM-15L. Not sure if there were other options available or if each one was a custom spec'd cab. There were also Mark I and IV 1x15s but I know nothing about them.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Good info.

The MS-12 was for the IIC-IIC+ era. I have never witnessed one in a MK III.

The Vintage 30's were for the 4X12 cabs.

 

[screamingdaisy]

The MS-12 was for the IIC-IIC+ era. I have never witnessed one in a MK III.

Wasn't it still available as the top speakers in the split open/closed 4x12s?

 

[D2dark]

i have a Rocket 44 with a restamped Eminence, that say Black Shadow MC-90, but its not like the one i have in my DC-2, the dc one say Celestion but not the rocket one.

 

[igfraso]

I would love to know when certain speakers were used in Mark amps. I have been using Boogie Mark amps since 1991, and they have always had EV 200 Watt or Celestion 90 Watt. But I know that Eminence, Altec and JBL speakers were also used.
Does anyone know what years they offered which models, with which speakers? What were the stock speakers in the Mk I and Mk II amps?
Thanks, in advance!

According to the letter that Randall Smith sent in 1976 to potential buyers of the Mark I, the standard speaker for the 60 watter was either the Vega (Cerwin Vega?) or the G-12 (Gauss?). For the 100 watter, it was the Eminence MS-12.
As optional upgrades, he recommended the Altec 417-8H II for its fat tones (Santana, Richards) and the JBL K-120 or the EVM 12-L for jazz and country players (Carlton, Garcia).

In the 15" series, the standard speaker was the JBL K-130 and the upgrade was the Altec 15.

For the Mark II-A and II-B, the standard was the Eminence and the upgrade was the EVM or the Altec-Lansing.

From the Mark II-C up to the Mark III blue stripe, the standard was the Eminence and, the upgrade, the EVM.
For the Mark III green stripe (at least in the 90's) the standard was the Celestion 90 and the upgrade was the EVM.

For the series 300 and the 15" series, the standard was the EVM 15-L.

For the Mark I reissue, the standard was the Celestion G12-90.

For the Mark IV original Compact combo, the standard speaker was the EVM and, for the Wide Body combo, it was the Celestion C12-90.

All of the above is my understanding. Any comments or corrections are welcome.
Daniel

 

[gts]

Here's The Sept '84 Price List (IIC era)
It shows:
The MS-12 (aka - Mesa Black Shadow 12"), EVM-10L, EVM-12L, EVM-15L, (200 watt or 400 watt) and the Celestion C90.

 

[gts]

A friend bought (original owner too) a MkIIA Widebody with an EVM-15L in it.
When he paid for it to be built it was going to be a Mark I but, by the time they got around to completing the build it was a MKIIA.
He still has it!

 

[igfraso]

Yes, the 15" series (no matter what Mark model) came with the EVM 15-L with the only exception of the Mark I that had the JBL K-130.

I am not sure, though, whether the JBL speakers were abandoned by Mesa just before, or immediately after, the release of the Mark II-A.

 

[cho]

Great info!

I have never heard the Altec 417-8H or JPL K-120 speakers... Can anyone describe to me their sound, perhaps, in comparison to the Celestion MC-90 and EV 12-L, which I am familiar with? Also is anyone familiar with the Altec 417-8C speaker? How does that compare to the others? Thanks!

 

[screamingdaisy]

Santana is still using the Altecs with his Boogies. I don't know anything more about them.

 

[user 21540]

i have a Rocket 44 with a restamped Eminence, that say Black Shadow MC-90, but its not like the one i have in my DC-2, the dc one say Celestion but not the rocket one.

Interesting; my Rocket 44's speaker is a Black Shadow and has a Celestion International label on it. I used to have a late 80s era Caibre 50+ 1x12 with a C90 in it too but, from memory, that was a stiffer sounding speaker than the one in my Rocket. Anyway, Mesa may have fitted out the Rocket with different speakers at different points in the production run. I think there was a 1x10 version of the Rocket 44 made as well for a while.