Speaker advice for a Mark III (no stripe, if it matters)

[boogiemon]

Given that the M3 gain channel is a little "aggressive/harsh" compared to say a MIV or a MII, which speaker would tone it down a bit & what would the trade-off be, if any, between the MS-12 & the C90?


tia,

 

[robredo_mattila]

I've tried my Mark III Purple with Black shadow C90 and Vintage Black Shadow VS-12 (vertical 2x12" halfback cabinet, metal grille) and it's very smooth. Big and bold, but not harsh. Last week I got to try it through a rectifier 2x12" cab with V30s and it was amazing. A lot more 'bite' but not very harsh. More like modern Dream Theater (train of thought) and very in your face but still smooth.

The speakers in the Recto cab probably weren't broken in yet though and the blackshadows I have are 15+ years old so that should probably be taken into account. I have yet to try an EVM12L but I have high expectations of it.

I've also tried a Fane special 120 and it was smooth as can be but that speaker needed a recone.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Come to the Dark Side. "Smooth and Creamy" is for $5.00 cups of coffee.
However, I hear the Eminence Swamp Thang and Texas Heat have relaxed highs.
But, the correct speaker for a Mark III is the EVM 12L. You can find them on this board, eBay, used, for $200 or less. Huge bottom, accurate reproduction, nearly impossible to break.
(Last I looked, Jim Ansell had four of the EVs for sale, right here).

 

[igfraso]

Yes, the Mark III was designed with the EVM 12L on board.

 

[boogiemon]

my m3 is *fixed*. i put tung-sol's in the 1-3 positions which had the effect of smoothing out the gain channel & sweetening up the clean channel. Didn't lessen the amount of gain, just refined it a bit. Then i replaced the ms-12 w/a EV classic re-issue which firmed up the bottom end: rocks pretty good now. The ev was a ******* to get in there btw. Still weighs a freaking ton.

 

[daveg62]

Well I have an Eminence swamp thang in my Mark III and the EV12l in a theile cabinet underneath. Sounds great, and the Eminence sounds pretty good by itself too.