mkIII questions

[AJ_Newkirk]

I haven't had the chance to play or hear a mkIII since the 80's. I remember the love I had for these amps back then. I am really tempted to pick up another mkIII as well as another IIc+ over the next couple of months. BUT...I don't want to base my equipment decisions soley on my 20+ year old memories..which brings me to a couple of questions:

1) I really need a good clean sound and a screamin' lead channel. I'm pretty sure that a mkIII would do the lead channel for me, but I didn't play much clean stuff in the 80s'. How good is the clean sound on a mkIII - and can a *good* clean sound be had without sacrificing the lead channel sound?

2) I know Boogie's are built like tanks, but..how realistic would it be to expect solid performance form a 20+ year old amp while gigging 3 - 5 nights per week?

3) How interactive are the channels on a mkIII?

 

[rvschulz]

well i haven't had my Mark III for a long time, but I did put it through it's paces for 3 hours yesterday, and my ears are still ringing. needless to say, anyone who needs more loudness is already deaf ...

mine is a green stripe, simulclass, w/GEQ, fan mod, and R2 mod.

1) cleans are really good. the R2 mod allows me to segregate the volume jump in gain from R1 to R2. so it becomes a working additional channel for me. The solo can be tuned to scream or purr, and i flip the EQ on/off to control that as well.

2) get some fresh tubes and you should be good. this is my second legal drinking age Boogie and they're built better than anything else from a reliability perspective from my experience.

3) interactive channels ... if you mean are they separate, i don;t think so - everything seems to work from the clean channel - clean mild, R2 bolder, solo additional gain and volume control. depending how you set R1 - mild or maniac - the rest increases in intensity ....

 

[rvschulz]

well i haven't had my Mark III for a long time, but I did put it through it's paces for 3 hours yesterday, and my ears are still ringing. needless to say, anyone who needs more loudness is already deaf ...

mine is a green stripe, simulclass, w/GEQ, fan mod, and R2 mod.

1) cleans are really good. the R2 mod allows me to segregate the volume jump in gain from R1 to R2. so it becomes a working additional channel for me. The solo can be tuned to scream or purr, and i flip the EQ on/off to control that as well.

2) get some fresh tubes and you should be good. this is my second legal drinking age Boogie and they're built better than anything else from a reliability perspective from my experience.

3) interactive channels ... if you mean are they separate, i don;t think so - everything seems to work from the clean channel - clean mild, R2 bolder, solo additional gain and volume control. depending how you set R1 - mild or maniac - the rest increases in intensity ....

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

I guess if the channels are that dependant on each other, then I should look into a Mark IV.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

On the Mark IV does the pentode/triode switch affect all 4 power tubes or just the 2 class A tubes? And does anyone know if you can still order one with an EVM speaker from the factory?

From what I can tell the Mark IV will most likely be my next gigging amp.

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

the harmonics switch sounds interesting!

Thanks for the info

 

[carlosasi]

Curious why you are selling you lonestar in favor of a mark?

PS. I love my mark III blue. Very nice clean channel, great R2 crunch and that great boogie lead channel. I don't feel the R2 mod is necessary if you balance the gain and lead controls. The flexibility of the Mark IV is very intriguing however and may be in my near future.

Good luck.

 

[dodger916]

the harmonics switch sounds interesting!

Thanks for the info

It adds a lot of mid-range saturation at low volume. It's an option that is truly noticeable. As volume and drive increase, you'll need to switch to "Harmonics" as the amp will feedback and squeal like a pig!

You should also know that this switch only affects the lead channel.

 

[Anonymous]

I tried a friends Mark IV the other day and I own a Mark III. Just remember that the flexibility of the Mark IV suffers from a less superior tone than the Mark III IMO. Some say that the difference isn't very big and prefer the flexibility, while others think the Mark IV actually sounds better. I just think the Mark III sounds more organic and real whereas the Mark IV is more compressed and sterile.

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

Curious why you are selling you lonestar in favor of a mark?

The Lonestar is great for what it does but I repeatedly find myself wanting a high gain lead sound, which the Lonestar will never do to suit my tastes.

 

[trem]

Just remember that the flexibility of the Mark IV suffers from a less superior tone than the Mark III IMO.

Subjective. To this I say, I beg to differ.

~trem

 

[dodger916]

Curious why you are selling you lonestar in favor of a mark?

The Lonestar is great for what it does but I repeatedly find myself wanting a high gain lead sound, which the Lonestar will never do to suit my tastes.

Have you considered trying a pedal to get the gain you want?

 

[Anonymous]

Just remember that the flexibility of the Mark IV suffers from a less superior tone than the Mark III IMO.

Subjective. To this I say, I beg to differ.

~trem

That's why I said in my opinion. I think most others would agree that the Mark III does sound better though, despite the shared channels.

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

Have you considered trying a pedal to get the gain you want?

Yes I wound up getting a Fulltone OCD as well as a Fulldrive2 Anniversary. I love the sound of the amp clean but it just doesn't do it for me in a high gain setting even with a pedal.

Just remember that the flexibility of the Mark IV suffers from a less superior tone than the Mark III IMO.

Subjective. To this I say, I beg to differ.

~trem

I used to own some MarkIII's back in the 80's and this week I have gotten to play thru a few. I love the sound, but I really don't like how the channels are inter-dependant.

So long as the MarkIV is in the ballpark i'll be happy with one to gig with every weekend. I am also buying a MarkIIC+ in the next few weeks to have here at home and to use in the studio.