Hello folks,
I wanted to introduce myself and share my latest purchase with you all. Although I have previous exprerience with Mesa/Boogie amps, this is the first one that I have actually owned. It is a (used, obviously) Mark III that I found at Guitar Center. Initially, I e-mailed the store asking for a little more information, as the pictures they post are usually not the greatest and very little description is included. Almost immediately, I received a response saying that I wasn't the only one to enquire about it and more info would be on the way soon. However, I didn't here anything after that. At this point, I was concerned that someone else had already swooped in and picked it up. But, I figured I would just call the store and ask about it.
After I explained where to look for certain features, the sales rep was able to provide some information about the amp, but not the whole story. It was (thankfully!) still in stock. The combo cabinet was in good used condition, but had clearly been around the block a few times. The chasis was a Blue Stipe revision, equipped with GEQ, Reverb and a Black Shadow speaker (no mention of model), but the sales rep couldn't find a SimulClass/Class A or 100/60 switch. Considering the price, I figured it was a 60 watt with a C90 speaker. I told him that I would be in the area the next day to take a look at it. He responded that they couldn't guarantee it would still be in stock. But, if I put down a (fully refundable) 25% deposit, that would put it on hold. That seemed like a fair deal, so I agreed.
When I arrived at the store, I said I had put a deposit down on the Mark III and wanted to take a look. It took them a (seemingly) long while to pull it out from the warehouse, perhaps because I was so anxious to check it out. When they did, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only did it have a EVM12L Black Shadow speaker, but also a SimulClass/Class A switch on the back! As soon as I saw these features (a fully loaded Mark III!!!), I knew it was coming home with me! Providing everything worked, of course...
And everything did! No scratchy pots, the pull functions all did what they were supposed to, the sliders in the GEQ all moved nice and firm and the reverb got deep without being overdone! After about a hour of demoing the Mark III and settling on an agreeable price for a trade-in, I was the proud owner of a Mesa/Boogie! I haven't been able to spend too much time with it, but am very impressed so far! What a big sound out of such a tiny package! Like many have said, the Mark Series are not a simple "point-and-shoot" amp like a Marshall or Fender. You have to exercise some patience to dial everything in. The Recommended Settings in the User Manual are certainly a good place to start, and I was able get a really good sound after some minor adjustments. However, for being such a small combo, this sucker is heavy! I am strongly considering converting to a Head and Thiele Cabinet. Anyways, here are a few pictures of the newest member of my musical instrument collection:
I wanted to introduce myself and share my latest purchase with you all. Although I have previous exprerience with Mesa/Boogie amps, this is the first one that I have actually owned. It is a (used, obviously) Mark III that I found at Guitar Center. Initially, I e-mailed the store asking for a little more information, as the pictures they post are usually not the greatest and very little description is included. Almost immediately, I received a response saying that I wasn't the only one to enquire about it and more info would be on the way soon. However, I didn't here anything after that. At this point, I was concerned that someone else had already swooped in and picked it up. But, I figured I would just call the store and ask about it.
After I explained where to look for certain features, the sales rep was able to provide some information about the amp, but not the whole story. It was (thankfully!) still in stock. The combo cabinet was in good used condition, but had clearly been around the block a few times. The chasis was a Blue Stipe revision, equipped with GEQ, Reverb and a Black Shadow speaker (no mention of model), but the sales rep couldn't find a SimulClass/Class A or 100/60 switch. Considering the price, I figured it was a 60 watt with a C90 speaker. I told him that I would be in the area the next day to take a look at it. He responded that they couldn't guarantee it would still be in stock. But, if I put down a (fully refundable) 25% deposit, that would put it on hold. That seemed like a fair deal, so I agreed.
When I arrived at the store, I said I had put a deposit down on the Mark III and wanted to take a look. It took them a (seemingly) long while to pull it out from the warehouse, perhaps because I was so anxious to check it out. When they did, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only did it have a EVM12L Black Shadow speaker, but also a SimulClass/Class A switch on the back! As soon as I saw these features (a fully loaded Mark III!!!), I knew it was coming home with me! Providing everything worked, of course...
And everything did! No scratchy pots, the pull functions all did what they were supposed to, the sliders in the GEQ all moved nice and firm and the reverb got deep without being overdone! After about a hour of demoing the Mark III and settling on an agreeable price for a trade-in, I was the proud owner of a Mesa/Boogie! I haven't been able to spend too much time with it, but am very impressed so far! What a big sound out of such a tiny package! Like many have said, the Mark Series are not a simple "point-and-shoot" amp like a Marshall or Fender. You have to exercise some patience to dial everything in. The Recommended Settings in the User Manual are certainly a good place to start, and I was able get a really good sound after some minor adjustments. However, for being such a small combo, this sucker is heavy! I am strongly considering converting to a Head and Thiele Cabinet. Anyways, here are a few pictures of the newest member of my musical instrument collection:
