NAD: MKIII No Stripe/Black Dot DRGX. This thing is great!

[candletears7]

I was hunting something like this for a long time - started out fixated on a IIC+ (which may happen down the track) and had my old MKIII Blue Stripe to go on (which I sold and regretted almost immediately! haha).


After a couple phone calls to Mesa I decided to go for this. 

She came to me in great shape, minus a speaker, but I had a spare EVM12L and whipped up a speaker cable. 


Sounds great into the EV or into my 4x12 Greenback Marshall straightfront and my Soldano Creamback UK75 4x12 Straightfront. Running STR45 6L6's inside and Sovtek EL34's outside and I have all three pedals with her - R1/Lead, R1/R2 and EQ/Reverb.


Right - the comparison to the Blue Stripe.


The consensus seemed to be that the IIC+ is IT in terms of feel. 

I can definitely hear and feel a difference with this No Stripe/Black Dot to the Blue Stripe. 

This one is more old school/organic sounding on Clean and R2. Easily cranks out Brown Sound Van Halen on R2 with that awesome toothiness going on. 

Great texture to the drive and very responsive to the picking hand and volume knob, more than my old Blue Stripe and this No/Black is fatter sounding too.

The Lead channel still gets into that vicious grind that the Blue did - it's f*cking brutal for metal/modern alternative rock. I prefer the Lead sound on this No/Black to my Blue and my MKIV as well as the JP2C I tried out. 


I'm currently teeing up a custom headshell with one of the forum guys here.
Keen for that. In the meantime here's my little boat anchor of tone!

 

[Wyzard]

Heya (again)!

That's a very large transformer you got there, with a small amp attached.

Here's mine:

 

[candletears7]

Love it!
Those transformers are huge aren't they!

What do you suppose the difference in designation might mean between mine having a dot/dash and yours having an 'X'?

 

[Wyzard]

I've never known the answer to this, so anyone else got something?

Mine is September '85, so there were six months approximately of early MkIII manufacture preceding mine - given Mesa's fondness for sub-types of given amps, and minor circuit mods to achieve EQ/gain changes within those types, it could relate to anything. Maybe I'm missing something obvious....

Perhaps those of us with early IIIs should post pics of their circuits: I may get round to it myself in a week or so.

 

[xdg999]

Mike B. told me the x meant is was made right before the Purple Stripe came out. I don’t about any circuit mods. I spent some time last night with my lll+ Black Stripe that Mike B. upgraded recently and it just sounds so good. I can’t wait to get my Black Dot back that Mike B. is working on now.

 

[modder]

Mike B. told me the x meant is was made right before the Blue Stripe came out. I don’t about any circuit mods. I spent some time last night with my lll+ Black Stripe that Mike B. upgraded recently and it just sounds so good. I can’t wait to get my Black Dot back that Mike B. is working on now.

I thought the + or x meant it was a black stripe, wouldn't the reds and purples come between them and blues?

 

[xdg999]

Sorry, I meant Purple Stripe.