Stripe advice Mark III

[RonZombie]

I am unfortunately selling my Mark III Green Stripe. Bought it from a friend who needed the money. In return I told him if he ever wanted it back I would sell it to him. He took me up on the offer lol. I think I am going to take the money and just look for another. But debating on trying another stripe. Blue stripe seems to get some love. What's everyone's opinion on the different stripes? Looking for that scooped Hetfield tone.
Thanks

 

[dlpasco]

I've played a blue stripe and a purp, and honestly, I think I preferred the purp.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I like both Blue and Green the most.

 

[RonZombie]

I like both Blue and Green the most.

What do you find the difference is between? What do you prefer?

 

[Markedman]

Red stripe is the closet to a C+, although I really liked my no stripe DRG. I thought it was better than the blue stripe I owned at the same time, the no stripe was sonically thicker and not so agitated. The blue snarled and snorted all the time, aggressive.

Every Mark III is a monster and IMO the stripes aren't that different because so much depends on 1) guitar & pick-up, 2) speaker & cabinet choice, and 3) tubes! Don't worry about stripe so much as the condition the amp is in, and for heaven's sake, it has to have a GEQ, the only people who like those non-GEQ Mark III's are people who own one. It's a rare bird who prefers a non-GEQ Mark III for metal, and absolutely NO, a GEQ in the loop is not the same at all, not even a MESA GEQ in the loop.
All Mark III's rule all amps for metal goodness, they do do good clean too.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I like both Blue and Green the most.

What do you find the difference is between? What do you prefer?

The outer pair of tubes are wired in triode in the Blue... all 4 tubes in the Green are in pentode = more power. And you can always add a pentode/triode switch. Subtle differences.

 

[RonZombie]

So I just pulled the trigger on a fully loaded Blue stripe 1x12 from Guitar Center in Chicago. $1075 shipped. Sounded like a fair price. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of the week.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

So I just pulled the trigger on a fully loaded Blue stripe 1x12 from Guitar Center in Chicago. $1075 shipped. Sounded like a fair price. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of the week.

That sounds tasty. Nice score. Enjoy. :mrgreen:

 

[RonZombie]

So the rocket scientist at Guitar Center can't tell Blue from Green. UPS delivered today and it's Green. I really wanted the lower power of the Blue. Has mismatched 6L6. Sounds a bit tinny. Debating whether or not to return it or sink a few bucks into tubes.

 

[modder]

This is all opinion but:

Black Stripe: Compared to a IIC+ it's "hairier". Early manufacture has 105 power transformers.

Purple Stripe: This revoiced the R2 mode in a unique way compared to reds onwards. It's considered the "mellowest" Mark III. Otherwise fairly similar to Black stripes. I know the least about the purple stripes, I think they were revoiced across modes to be less aggressive than the Black Stripes but I can't source that.

Red Stripe: Major revoicing of R2 for more gain. Preamp values in the lead circuit changed to more closely (but not exactly) match a IIC+.

Blue Stripe: Retains revoiced R2 from the red stripe. Major revoicing across modes to sound hairer, brighter and tighter still, which gives it an abrasive quality relative to preceeding stripes. This has less to do with the removal of C30 as people often claim and more to do with the general revoicing in the amp to sound more "hairy". Power section is voiced more like a IIC+ but make no mistake, overall blues (and greens) are the most uniquely voiced Mark IIIs.

Green Stripe: Very similar to Blues, some slight component changes, and almost all were wired pentode only so are 95w rather than 75w. Slightly tighter as a result. There are apparently some 60/100w greens but Ive not seen this verified and they'd be extremely rare if it was true.

If you want a IIC+ and you're prepared to mod, get a black stripe. Failing that, anything except a green will work unless you want a pentode power section which has its own charm, although that can be modded too. If you want a IIC+ and you're not wanting to mod, get a Red Stripe. If you want a III for its own character, choose whatever from the above descriptions suits the tone you're after most. Power transformer makes a big difference, and there are actually quite a few varieties across the different models (Export, simulclass, 60/100w, 60w etc). I've got a late blue stripe 60W export and the PT on it is pretty hefty.

You'll hear that the stripes are generally quite similar but my experience is that they're actually pretty different from each other while still sounding like Mark amps.

 

[el34sg]

I've had all the stripes except the black..
I prefer the Blue stripe.. it's the only one I have left & is a non simul class combo.
It's pretty rare with a 60/100 switch and EL34's on the outside like a simul.
Red stripes are pretty amazing though. That being said, I can see why some people
prefer their fave stripe in a Mk III. I also think comparing a Mk III to IIC+ is kind of missing the
point of the MK III. It's its own beast. And still my favorite amp ever..

 

[gts]

I prefer the Blue stripe.. it's the only one I have left & is a non simul class combo.
It's pretty rare with a 60/100 switch and EL34's on the outside like a simul.

Ahhh not sure you want to be using EL34's in a 60/100

 

[MkIII Renegade]

I've had all the stripes except the black..
I prefer the Blue stripe.. it's the only one I have left & is a non simul class combo.
It's pretty rare with a 60/100 switch and EL34's on the outside like a simul.
Red stripes are pretty amazing though. That being said, I can see why some people
prefer their fave stripe in a Mk III. I also think comparing a Mk III to IIC+ is kind of missing the
point of the MK III. It's its own beast. And still my favorite amp ever..

Yes it is. The black stripe III has my favorite Lead channel of all time, and is the basis for 1/2 of my favorite Boogie of all time, the mighty Quad! :twisted:

 

[jrb32]

Yes it is. The black stripe III has my favorite Lead channel of all time, and is the basis for 1/2 of my favorite Boogie of all time, the mighty Quad! :twisted:

I haven't checked this yet from the schematics but last time I looked into this I found it was a common misconception that a Quad is half a IIC+ and half a III Black Stripe, but it has some similarities between the two.

Regarding the III if you're keeping them stock similar to what lions posted before:

Black - Raw and aggressive. Original R2 channel with resistor R130 added only.
Purple - Less aggressive. More refined R2 with added cap and a gain boost resistor off middle pot. Personally my favourite and I think it's a very undervalued amp because people want either a Black because of the 105PT or the Red because it's 'closest to a C+'.
Red - Circuitry close to a IIC+. R2 refined more and now has treble shift enabled for R2 which causes some added noise when treble shift pulled.
Blue - Insane monster. Crazy gain. R2 same as before.
Green - Simul only. Pentode output. Like a less crazy blue. R2 same as before.

If you're modding them, then you can pretty much make any stripe into another stripe or a IIC+. The only other differences are 100/60W/Simul and the transformer types and date codes. To throw a spanner in the works I have a factory black/purple crossover which is a black stripe (black stripe component values) with a purple stripe board. Best III I've ever played hands down, but got even better when doing a III+ mod to it.

My personal view on the III is to make it what the C+ should have been - a factory C+ with a switchable ++ (apart from the 12 originally made). Do the R2 mod to balance the volume or do one of the switchable ++ mods where the R2 channel was before. They're very similar and the R2 channel evolved out of the original 12 switchable C+/++ models.

Other people have the view that the III is its own thing as of itself and that is also cool. Whatever you want - if it gets you the sound you want and gets your to play more often then that's the amp for you!

 

[Lamed]

Get a blue stripe, seriously underrated and brutal unique voicing model, it has an evilness to its sound when cranked i love it!

 

[Lamed]

Get a blue stripe, seriously underrated and brutal unique voicing model, it has an evilness to its sound when cranked i love it! Plus you can get metallica tones out of it easy!

 

[megavoice]

I am unfortunately selling my Mark III Green Stripe. Bought it from a friend who needed the money. In return I told him if he ever wanted it back I would sell it to him. He took me up on the offer lol. I think I am going to take the money and just look for another. But debating on trying another stripe. Blue stripe seems to get some love. What's everyone's opinion on the different stripes? Looking for that scooped Hetfield tone.
Thanks

Hey, my man, I'm here the redstripe-pope and I've got two of tnem and I'm the most happy man on this planet.....and I'll be buried with them with my two Paulas

 

[Hoplite22]

I haven't checked this yet from the schematics but last time I looked into this I found it was a common misconception that a Quad is half a IIC+ and half a III Black Stripe, but it has some similarities between the two.

Regarding the III if you're keeping them stock similar to what lions posted before:

Black - Raw and aggressive. Original R2 channel with resistor R130 added only.
Purple - Less aggressive. More refined R2 with added cap and a gain boost resistor off middle pot. Personally my favourite and I think it's a very undervalued amp because people want either a Black because of the 105PT or the Red because it's 'closest to a C+'.
Red - Circuitry close to a IIC+. R2 refined more and now has treble shift enabled for R2 which causes some added noise when treble shift pulled.
Blue - Insane monster. Crazy gain. R2 same as before.
Green - Simul only. Pentode output. Like a less crazy blue. R2 same as before.

If you're modding them, then you can pretty much make any stripe into another stripe or a IIC+. The only other differences are 100/60W/Simul and the transformer types and date codes. To throw a spanner in the works I have a factory black/purple crossover which is a black stripe (black stripe component values) with a purple stripe board. Best III I've ever played hands down, but got even better when doing a III+ mod to it.

My personal view on the III is to make it what the C+ should have been - a factory C+ with a switchable ++ (apart from the 12 originally made). Do the R2 mod to balance the volume or do one of the switchable ++ mods where the R2 channel was before. They're very similar and the R2 channel evolved out of the original 12 switchable C+/++ models.

Other people have the view that the III is its own thing as of itself and that is also cool. Whatever you want - if it gets you the sound you want and gets your to play more often then that's the amp for you!

How do you turn the R2 channel into a ++ mode ?

 

[GJgo]

How do you turn the R2 channel into a ++ mode ?

You're not really "turning" anything. When you engage R2 on top of engaging lead, it simply adds another gain stage to the circuit.

 

[Fastforded]

So I just pulled the trigger on a fully loaded Blue stripe 1x12 from Guitar Center in Chicago. $1075 shipped. Sounded like a fair price. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of the week.

Bought a blue stripe and had it years. Sent it to Mike b for a recap and left it alone. Sounds outstanding. Actually like it more than a 2c+