Newbie - Mark I question

[hitparader]

Hello,

I just recently found this board, wish I had came across it years ago. Anyway, wondering how many Mark I owners there are here. I bought mine back in the fall of 1978 and have been playing it ever since. Arthritis is rapidly taking away my ability to play like I used to so considering letting it go, but it is a tough call.

Couple questions...has anyone had their Anvil cases redone with new foam? Mine is slowly turning to dust. And are he original blue paired cables still made? One is getting scratchy but I like the look of the originals.

thanks

steve

 

[Don]

I can't answer you question but wanted to say that's a beautiful rig, good luck with your arthritis and welcome tot he forum!

 

[Markedman]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100168049@N04/9734686795/ I re-lined my anvil cases with 1" closed cell foam I bought from the foam factory. I had to wipe out the sticky blue foam with acetone first. You must use gloves and a respirator and wipe the acetone liberally while outdoors.

 

[hitparader]

Thanks Don and Markedman for your quick reply. I wrote Anvil a while back to see if they will restore the case, but have yet to hear back.

Don't see too many posts on the original Mark 1's here, have they fallen out of popularity or are there just not that many around anymore?

Back in the day there was like a 6 month waiting period for a new one. But a few months after ordering Randall called and gave me the choice of taking this one right away or waiting months more while they switched over for the Mark II. So am guessing this was one of the last ones.

I still have all of the original documentation including hand drawn schematics etc. Would that stuff be of interest to the people on this forum? If so I'll scan and post them.

Thanks again.

 

[Don]

That schematic was beautiful! I'd love to see scans of anything you've got. I'm intrigued by the MKI though I've never played one. I have a Studio .22+ mostly because it's pretty lightweight.

What does your MKI weigh? What options does it have?

 

[hitparader]

Thanks, I'll scan and post the other docs that came with the amp...as I recall there's an original Mark II price sheet and other things.

Mine is old school as it gets...60w, no reverb, no EQ, Altec speaker. It's heavy...in the anvil case it's over 50 lbs. They were built like tanks...I gigged all over Vegas from the 70's - 90's and it looks brand new...not a nick or scratch in the Tolex or grill cloth. In hindsight a hardwood cabinet would have been nice though. Still amazed at the sustain..with the Les Paul can get almost infinite sustain with the master volume at like "1". There's a jump in volume when you switch to the high gain channel 1 that used to drive sound engineers crazy, but was great to stomp on that switch in the middle of a song and melt some faces.

 

[MichaelC4]

melt some faces.

\m/ YES!! \m/

I love it.

 

[Don]

Thanks, I'll scan and post the other docs that came with the amp...as I recall there's an original Mark II price sheet and other things.

Mine is old school as it gets...60w, no reverb, no EQ, Altec speaker. It's heavy...in the anvil case it's over 50 lbs. They were built like tanks...I gigged all over Vegas from the 70's - 90's and it looks brand new...not a nick or scratch in the Tolex or grill cloth. In hindsight a hardwood cabinet would have been nice though. Still amazed at the sustain..with the Les Paul can get almost infinite sustain with the master volume at like "1". There's a jump in volume when you switch to the high gain channel 1 that used to drive sound engineers crazy, but was great to stomp on that switch in the middle of a song and melt some faces.

That's great! It took Mesa a long time to balance the volume of the channels. Even my '89 Studio .22+ has a jump when you set both channels to sound their best (though no face melting with only 22 watts).

I assumed it'd be over 50 lbs w/o the case. My Studio weighs 35 lbs and has little transformers and a 50 watt Eminence speaker.

I'll bet a hardwood cab would look a little rough after all that use.

 

[hitparader]

Thanks all, yeah these can be amazingly loud amps for their size, never had trouble on stage up against my fellow player's Marshall 100 and doubt I ever turned the master past 5. Before this I burned through a series of Ampeg and Fender amps that ate tubes for breakfast - this one still has the original 35 year old 12AX7's.

 

[Don]

Did this amp originally come with a Fetron or a 12AX7?

 

[hitparader]

12AX7 as far as I know - in the metal tube. Never been removed. Not really sure what a Fetron is to be honest. Is that the funny metal cap thing you see in old preamps?

 

[Don]

A Fetron is a 12AX7 substitute that was used in some Mesa amps (including Marks). It's kinda like a solid state tube. It'd look like a metal "tube" in V1.

 

[hitparader]

Thanks I will check it out. I thought I felt a glass tip inside those metal tubes years ago but not really sure. Are they not as good as a regular preamp tube?

BTW heard back from Anvil today - $100 to refoam the case...will probably go for it.

 

[Don]

If you've loved the sound of the amp for 35 years and it has one then who's to say it's not as good as a tube???

 

[Hellohehehe]

Hi!

I also use a Mesa Mark I, 1978, hardwood, 60/100w with EQ, export model (i'm in Belgium).

I love the sound of this amp! Little, but so loud!