Mesa MK.III (Noob)

[Volitan]

Thinking of getting one. The only concern I have is, I DO NOT want that scooped mids metal sound. I've tried a couple other Mesa's and even when you have the mids all the way up, they still sound scooped. It still sounds too chuga-chuga. The one I tried didn't have the seperate EQ thing on it, so can that chuga-chug metal sound be tweaked out with that, do you think? I'm just worried because I'm afraid it'll sound too beefy. Without any brightness. So I guess what I'm asking is, is a MK.III capable of NOT doing metal?

Guys like Prince and Santana manage to do so, and I know they use Mesas. Prince uses Heartbreakers and Blue Angels and Santana uses the MK. I, so is that the possible reason? Am I looking at the wrong type of amp? I love both of those guys' tones are thin-ish and not overly beefy/bassy. I know the MK. I is basically a hot rod fender, and the Heartbreaker seems to be an entirely different animal.

 

[bloodspoint]

I for one would refer to a Mk. III as a decidedly "non-metal" amp. A lot of it depends on the guitar and speakers, but with the Celestion Black Shadow 90 in it and a humbucker guitar, I have to turn the mids below half to keep them from being too obnoxious, and I'm a guy who cranks the mids on my Marshalls, so it's not ike I'm a fan of the scooped sound. My Mk. III doesn't sound at all to me like the "Recto" sound you hear in stuff like Godsmack records.

 

[Volitan]

I for one would refer to a Mk. III as a decidedly "non-metal" amp. A lot of it depends on the guitar and speakers, but with the Celestion Black Shadow 90 in it and a humbucker guitar, I have to turn the mids below half to keep them from being too obnoxious, and I'm a guy who cranks the mids on my Marshalls, so it's not ike I'm a fan of the scooped sound. My Mk. III doesn't sound at all to me like the "Recto" sound you hear in stuff like Godsmack records.

Well I'm a single coil guy too. I just don't like the bassy chuga-chuga sound. Like I said, I dig that Santana or Prince like tone. Brightness/treble,etc

 

[eldi]

While the Mk III is capable of getting some really nice 80's metal type of tones (think Master of Puppets-era Metallica or Whitesnake), I wouldn't call it a metal amp per se. Mine has alot of mids without the 5-band EQ engaged. Some might consider the lead drive stage as sounding "metal", but you can keep the lead drive down for some slightly crunchy overdrive. Or just use the rhythm 2 drive stage. Some would say that the lead stage is close to the mk IIC+, but I'm sure there are those that post on this forum that would take issue with that. You might do just fine with one of the 60 watt models w/o the EQ, they can be bought fairly reasonably, as they are considered not as desirable as the 60/100 or simulclass models with the EQ.

Another alternative might be to get a Mk IIb, they seem to be fairly plentiful & you can get one for less than $700. The gain structure on the lead channel of those is more reminiscent of the Mk I's, & the rhythm channel has a blackface Fender vibe to them. You might consider one of the Mk I reissues or the S.O.B (Son of a Boogie), which is more or less a MK I reissue...

If you are willing to spend the $, you might consider just getting a Mk IV, they can do just about anything from what I understand...

Of course, pickup selection can have a big effect on how these amps sound as well. My Les Paul sounds less "metal" through my MK III now that i replaced the 500t/496r pickup set with S. Duncan '59's

 

[GIG4FUN]

I'm on the other side of this one! haha

I really really think and feel and know et cetera with all that is in me that you will NEED the built in eq (GEQ) to be as happy as I am with the Mark III's period. Do it and all your worries about this scooped business are gone.

 

[MrMarkIII]

This cracks me up. For YEARS people have been complaining that you can't dial the midrange OUT of a Mark III.
("Oh, woe is me, I can't get anything but that Santana lead sound"...)
As a 20 year Mark III owner, I can assure you that in order to get that scooped midrange/Metallica sound you will absolutely HAVE TO use the Graphic EQ. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Marks and Rectum-friers are completely different animals.

 

[ursinus]

FWIW, I use an a/b setup with my Fuchs TDS and MKIII Green Stripe. The MKIII gives me an alternate fusion sound that takes to single coils better than my Fuchs. I don't play metal in a band setting anymore, but when I want too, my MKIII can be dialed in for that sound. I recently let my "famous fusion guitarist" friend demo the MKIII and he could not believe how good it sounded.