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[Anonymous]

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[>Photi G<]

I've studied a few gut shots on various Marks and they all look a little different to me, even within the same revision (as in A to C, stripes etc.). Different caps, transformers, wires, grounding and so on. Is it really possible to own two identical sounding "vintage" Marks? I'm under the impression that Mesa didn't really become consistent until the MkIVB with its shiny new circuit board and tidy wiring.

That's a problem Mesa had to face, as all of their amps until the IVA were custom ordered. You could choose between 60W, 100W, Simul-Class, Coliseum, or Coliseum Simul for the power, additional reverb, GEQ, chassis size, speaker type, cabinet type, and at one point, even a 15" model. Also, since Mesa was very frugal back then, old transformers and faceplates were carried on in newer amplifiers. E.g., The 100PT was originally designed for the Mark IIA, and IIB, but it's usage continued in the IIC and IIC+ until the shelves were emptied. The infamous "Gain Boost" faceplates were used on medium chassis IIC+'s for many amps until they ran out, and started using the "Pull Deep" plates. The 105PT, and 512007OT which were designed for the IIC and IIC+ continued use on the early Mark III Boogies, as well as the re-stamped "Rhythm 2" faceplates. There were limitless combinations, and producing all these amps with consistency was hard. The first step in the right direction was the Mark III. It had an actually well laid-out PCB that superceded the small, bare, cramped PCBs in the Mark II's and Mark I's. The III was the last custom order model. The IVA was a standard production model. Simul-Class, Reverb, GEQ, and speaker type were all standard. The only option was Short/Medium chassis. The IVB is the same way, with a few tweaks to the circuit, of course.

TL;DR Version- Yes, all pre-IV Boogies were unique, because they were all custom built. The IV introduced a standard production model that was very consistent across the board. The V is probably most consistent, as the only option you have with it is Head, or Combo. Everything else is standard.