Mesa Boogie Studio .22 vs Mark III

[Hurricane]

Hi!

I just registered and went through a lot of Studio .22 threads and didn't find any comparsions between the Studio and the Mark III.

So I am trying to achieve the Master of Puppets/Justice for All/Black tone and I believe I can get the tone with a Mark series amp, the III being the cheapest around eBay.

Also I live in Estonia, which is in Europe and here the prices are a bit higher. I found the Studio .22 without the 5-band EQ ( link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130142893669&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003) and I think it's going cheap so I need a little help from you. Can the .22 get me the tone I want or should I continue for the Mark III search ?

Thanks!

 

[Mrmot]

Hello Hurricane!

I have the Studio.22+, also without the graphic EQ, but mine is a "+" which means that it has a "lead master" which is a volume control for lead channel which this one you posted doesn't have.

I think that this amp can get pretty close to the MoP/AJFA tone, especially with an extenison cabinet, it sounds SOOOO much better with a letssay, nice 2*12 loaded V30s (that's what i tried it with), but it does sound absolutely great on it's own. One thing you must know - you must use a graphic eq with it, boss ge-7, danelectro fish'n'chips,. MXR... or some nice parametric eq. I sincerely believe that Randall Smith designed this amp to always be used with some sort of additional eqing device cause without the eq, it sounds "ok", with the eq in loop it sounds amazing.
It's a loud mofo, it can easily keep up with much higher rated amps like eg. marshal TSL60 combo, that's what I play it against in my band, and my mesa is louder, altho the marshall is rated at 60watts, also full tube and has two celestion speakers.
Studio.22 has plenty of gain, don't let anyone assure you that it doesn't, i never put the gain above "4" and my band plays heavy-metal (similar to metallica in "type of gain"), I play both rhythm and leads.
Clean is wonderful.

I haven't tried a Mark III but from the clips i've heard, i think that they're pretty similar in sound, only that the MKIII seems a bit more aggressive sounding while the s./22 is a bit smoother, but not too smooth for aggressive rhythm playing.
I actually think that it's crunchiness and aggressivness comes from it's voicing and not gain, cause when eq'd properly it can give you an amazing rhythm crunch even when the gain is around 2 or less, especially if you have a nice, timber-like guitar(les paul or something) with a set of relativelly hi-output 'buckers and a stronger right-hand picking.

 

[Hurricane]

Thanks for the reply Mrmot,

Well the bidding ended for the Studio .22 and I didn't bid, I still think that I'd be better off with a Mark III or even a Mark IV. But at the moment there arent many, who ship to Estonia.

I have an Ibanez GRG170DX with EMG81 pickup, which is my first guitar, and the pickup doesn't make any difference right now in my rig, I have an Ibanez Toneblaster 25W reverb combo, that's a solid state practice amp. So the right way to start improving my tone is to buy a new amp and then think about a new guitar.

So I'll patiently keep searching for a Mark III/IV on ebay.