most brutal mark??

[gibbycustom]

I'm in the market for a Mark, but not sure which is best for me. I only have one Mesa dealer around, but they don't carry any used amps at all. I have a single rec right now, but I want something tight that doesn't need a od pedal to sound brutal. I want BRUTAL! What is the heaviest mark out there? Revisions and all? The IV? The V?

 

[braintheory]

Definitely the mark iii blue stripe coliseum.

 

[gibbycustom]

Will it have a modern gain sound, or more of an 80's metal sound?? I really would like both, but the modern is more important to me.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Mark IV & V have a more modern sound. Any will do the 80s Mark sound if paired up with an 80s sounding speaker.

Brutal is in your picking hand.

 

[gibbycustom]

I checked out the Mark III blue stripe, it is definitely aggressive. Anyone else agree with above comments, or any more suggestions? Like I said, I can't play a Mk III so I will have to base my purchase on youtube vids and you guys suggestions. I just wanna make sure it will be more monstrous than my Single Rec, and i don't mean wattage. I mean GAIN! Again, I don't want to have to use a boost for leads and heavy stuff like I do with my Single. Thanks again.

 

[megavoice]

The most brutal I had to suffer in my life was a "guitar-player" in my band with an old stereo power-unit, the preamp he had I don't know,. Was connected with a Marshall-cab.
He had red hair and with a body-height of about 156 cm. Hope that none of you will meet him. Hope he's back there where he comes from - from Hell !

 

[fretout]

Definitely the mark iii blue stripe coliseum.

Without question. I wish I could find another one of these or sale. I'll even take a tamer Red Stripe Coli...

 

[mesaboogie6L6]

Good luck finding one since they only made about 78 of the Mark III stripe coli's, I have one of them, lucky me! The baddest, loudest **** amp around, tone for days, unbelievable headroom, clean channel is great, R2 is so versatile and the lead channel is simply over the top aggressive.

 

[mark2boogie]

I want BRUTAL!

For sure, it wouldn't be a MKI, MKIIA, MKIIB which are smooth sounding, sustaining for days. For me, the later MESA amps are nothing but more or less tamed brutes...

A+!

 

[danyeo1]

Mark III. The III has the most gain. IIC+ is a little on the smooth side. The IV is a little refined, Hi Fi sounding. The V...egh.

 

[JOEY B.]

Definitely the mark iii blue stripe coliseum.

Without question. I wish I could find another one of these or sale. I'll even take a tamer Red Stripe Coli...

I have owned both the red and blue stripe coliseum Mark III heads. BOTH of them had a non-K serial #, meaning that there are more than 78 Mark III Coliseum amps, at least by two. Massive headroom, for sure. It's all about the transformers and filter capacitors. :wink:

 

[mesaboogie6L6]

My blue stripe Coli doesn't have a "K" in the serial number either. I thought those were the early Coli's, I saw a IIB Coli dated March 1982, serial K253.

 

[Audiokill]

Yes, what you want is a Blue Stripe with a built-in graphic EQ. More than enough gain on tap, very aggressive, and that EQ will allow you to shape your tone as brutal, as modern, or as 80's as you want without any pedals. A coliseum version would be sweet, but will be difficult to find. A 100 watt version or a simul-class blue stripe will be easier to come by and will still serve you well.

 

[fretout]

Definitely the mark iii blue stripe coliseum.

Without question. I wish I could find another one of these or sale. I'll even take a tamer Red Stripe Coli...

I have owned both the red and blue stripe coliseum Mark III heads. BOTH of them had a non-K serial #, meaning that there are more than 78 Mark III Coliseum amps, at least by two. Massive headroom, for sure. It's all about the transformers and filter capacitors. :wink:

My Coli is a non-Special K as well. Brutal doesn't even start to describe how aggressive these amps are. Most people think the 5150s/6505s are the heaviest amps around, which might be a fair assessment, but the Colis have something Peavey doesn't...balls....

 

[mesaboogie6L6]

Red, Purple and Blue Coli's didn't have K serial numbers, Mark IIB Coli's did. I ordered mine from Mesa 10/90 which is the date under the amp, #27049, thinking it was one of the last they made? It was delivered to me on 3/13/91, I have the September 1991 price list and no Coli's are an option for the Mark III. Not sure if they made any green Coli's.

About 500 Coli's were made, 336 IIB's, 86 IIC, +'s, 78 III's.
Mine is a simul (150 watts with EL34's) or 180 with 6L6, reverb and graphic, cost me $1425.

What are your serial's?

 

[fretout]

Red, Purple and Blue Coli's didn't have K serial numbers, Mark IIB Coli's did. I ordered mine from Mesa 10/90 which is the date under the amp, #27049, thinking it was one of the last they made? It was delivered to me on 3/13/91, I have the September 1991 price list and no Coli's are an option for the Mark III. Not sure if they made any green Coli's.

About 500 Coli's were made, 336 IIB's, 86 IIC, +'s, 78 III's.
Mine is a simul (150 watts with EL34's) or 180 with 6L6, reverb and graphic, cost me $1425.

What are your serial's?

Actually, several Mark III Coliseums were adorned with a "K" serial number. I'm not sure what the split is between K-Colis and non-K-Colis, but I have seen way more Coliseums with a K serial number than any other configuration.

To the best if my knowledge, there has never been a "from the factory" Green stripe Coli...ever. You can mod your Coli to operate in Pentode, but I have no idea why anyone would trade the Triode for a Pentode (personally, I prefer Triode...sounds much more "musical", and it's where my Mark IVs stay set).

And for the record, my Coliseum Blue Stripe has a non-K serial number.