''The Mark 3 thread''

[JOEY B.]

I talked to mike b. And he said there are probably 150 mark iii colis tops ever made. I asked about how there were supposed to only be like 80 but he said there were others with odd sns.

So true, both my red and blue stripe Coliseum heads did not have the "K" serial number. :shock:

 

[holy-diver]

My blue stripe coli doesn't either. He said there were probably 70-80 with and almost the same amount without :lol:
You gotta love mesa.

 

[SonicProvocateur]

I mistyped that in my first statement.

A good question though; other than the one in the picture being a more rare Simul-class Coli, how would one be able to tell a IIC Coli from a III by looking only at the back? Obviously the IIC's are laid out differently on the front with different knobs. I see that one says "Mesa/Boogie Mark III" like all the Mark III's. Does the IIC's only say "Mesa/Boogie Engineering LTD" etc? under the speaker jacks? Another question, I wonder if Boogie would still do the C+ mod on a regular IIC coli if you had one. I've only known one guy who had a IIC+ coli, and his burned in a house fire.

 

[igfraso]

Here's a quick run down of the evolution of mesa's mark 3 amp.The amp went through five stages until mesa arrived at the final product...a three channel amp that could be set up to footswitch using a single set of EQ controls!Earlier models are hard to balance channels as a good lead tone gives a crap clean channel and vice versa also the crunch channel volume is often not level requiring a R2 volume mod to be needed.The five models became known as the five dot's or stripes as they are identified by a marker pen swipe above the power chord of the same colour,they are none or black stripe,purple,red,blue then green.
The black stripe shares much of the circuitry and components of the 2c/2c+ including the output transformer(on the early no stripes)and has therefore become more valuable for those seeking a Mark 3 model to upgrade to 2c+ specs although at the time it wasn't considerd to be anything special!
Purple stripes had R2 tweaked to have less gain and be more rounded with better levels in relation to the other channels.
Red stripes had the R2 channel tweaked for more gain and the lead channel hot rodded for a hotter lead channel!!! and are now very desirable(R2 had reached it's final development)
Blue stripe more clean and lead shaping with more aggresive pre amp gain.
Green stripe...final clean tweaks for more clean head room and final lead tweaks.Also the simul class models were wired in pentode not triode for more volume.
Please note the green stripe is often confused with blue stripes because the green was a torquoise colour and production dates in the blues and greens over lapped(the blues have a dark blue stripe).
Blues and Greens have the best channel switching capabilities and are generally considerd nthe best IMO lol.

This is the info I have been collecting about Mark III serial numbers (Colis non included) from Ian's website, eBay auctions and this forum.
There are some overlaps and some freaky numbers (usually heads).

I may have copied and typed some wrong numbers as well. So whoever has any better information, please pitch in so we can edit and update this list.

- black ('85): 15000 to 16715
- purple ('86): 16657 to 19120
- red ('87): 19100 to 21863
- blue ('88~'89): 21825 to 25000
- green ('89~'98): 24940 to 28384

Thanks

 

[>Photi G<]

Why are the transformers so different? The one reminds me of some fender super reverb in size and the other is puny compared like half the turns!!! Is one an export?

The one Mark III is a Coliseum Series amp, which needs a larger transformer to supply a higher B+ voltage, and handle more current. The other is a Simul Class long head, that has the stock Mark III PT in it. Mesa downsized the stock PT's from the 105 to the MKIII due to cost cutting measures, and because all that extra iron makes a heavy amp!

 

[SonicProvocateur]

This is the info I have been collecting about Mark III serial numbers (Colis non included) from Ian's website, eBay auctions and this forum.
There are some overlaps and some freaky numbers (usually heads).

I may have copied and typed some wrong numbers as well. So whoever has any better information, please pitch in so we can edit and update this list.

- black ('85): 15000 to 16715
- purple ('86): 16657 to 19120
- red ('87): 19100 to 21863
- blue ('88~'89): 21825 to 25000
- green ('89~'98): 24940 to 28384

Thanks

My blue stripe is serial # 279xx and it's a 1994.

It is sonic gold. Could be one of the last blues made.

 

[igfraso]

Certainly, if it is a blue stripe, it is a one-of-a-kind.

I don't want to bore you or offend you by asking whether it is a "blue" stripe or maybe a "teal" stripe (which is the color to which some green stripes degrade to) or whether you have checked if it is wired in pentode because I am sure you have already checked both topics.

Could it have been a special order?

 

[SonicProvocateur]

It was a special order, originally a Zinc Bronco 1x12 combo, no reverb or EQ. Triode. Very stripped down. I rackmounted it early this year. The chassis however was from a production green stripe (I assume), having the extra spot for the 4th preamp tube (but its not installed), and mine has V5 phase inverter. I would call it a masterpiece, and not a teal stripe (I do know what you mean though, it's very blue).

 

[igfraso]

Good!!
Then, I need to confess that I have another masterpiece... it is an "orange" stripe.

It was originally a purple stripe 60-watter combo fully loaded, even including an export transformer, and I asked Mike B. to make the necessary changes so I could use it with 2 x EL-34, instead of the usual 6L6.
I had to change speakers because now the speaker jacks are 8 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm instead of the usual 8 ohm and a pair of 4 ohms.
I installed an Altec 417-8B (16 ohm speaker) and it sounds very sweet.

 

[>Photi G<]

Good!!
Then, I need to confess that I have another masterpiece... it is an "orange" stripe.

It was originally a purple stripe 60-watter combo fully loaded, even including an export transformer, and I asked Mike B. to make the necessary changes so I could use it with 2 x EL-34, instead of the usual 6L6.
I had to change speakers because now the speaker jacks are 8 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 ohm instead of the usual 8 ohm and a pair of 4 ohms.
I installed an Altec 417-8B (16 ohm speaker) and it sounds very sweet.

Pics PLEASE!!! :shock:

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[JOEY B.]

It was a special order, originally a Zinc Bronco 1x12 combo, no reverb or EQ. Triode. Very stripped down. I rackmounted it early this year. The chassis however was from a production green stripe (I assume), having the extra spot for the 4th preamp tube (but its not installed), and mine has V5 phase inverter. I would call it a masterpiece, and not a teal stripe (I do know what you mean though, it's very blue).

Did Victor re-wire the power tube sockets to triode (pins 3 and 4 connected)? If you will do some research, the 60 watt, 60/100 watt, and Coliseums from 1988 to the end of Mark III production are blue stripe models. Every green stripe that I have ever seen has been the 85 watt simulclass version.

 

[>Photi G<]

Why MkIII is the ultimate Boogie and, to my ears, the peak of the Mark evolution:

- It has the most lethal distortion of all Marks. It's colder and harsher without sounding fizzy or losing that liquid quality.
- It has a unique-for-the-series R2 "preset crunch" (don't wanna call it channel) which is a fun and highly usable bonus.
- Pulling R2 in Lead mode serves up even more gain! Beat that, II, IV (?) and V!
- It has fewer knobs than its later incarnations, so it's easier to play and stick to a setting!
- It's cheap because of all the IIC+ hype!
- It ended the Cold War and never went above 4.

:lol: Great! However, I disagree with the second part of #1, and #2 altogether.

 

[SonicProvocateur]

Did Victor re-wire the power tube sockets to triode (pins 3 and 4 connected)? If you will do some research, the 60 watt, 60/100 watt, and Coliseums from 1988 to the end of Mark III production are blue stripe models. Every green stripe that I have ever seen has been the 85 watt simulclass version.

I thought so, but I should really ask him, I could be wrong. I thought I saw it wired in triode. She's pretty hot and heavy, Vic wanted to buy it back after I got it dialed . We did Xicon 5 watt screen grid resistors here recently. I do wish I could have bought his other green stripe before he sold it (but he said he liked mine better...) :shock:

We never did the Alabama Mesa Shootout -_-

Were you the one he was calling in for the IIC+?

 

[JOEY B.]

Were you the one he was calling in for the IIC+?

A definate maybe. :lol: I do not know for sure.

 

[willrock]

im late in this party! mark III for life....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvNOfZ5vrVw&feature=channel