In Aust. Should I send my MKIII to Mesa for the MKIIIC+ mod?

Haha... over a year later and I've seen precisely ONE export/simul IIC+ that I could get over to here in Australia - shipped/insured/with import fees it's gonna be about $6000 AU.
Fucking hell...
 
I say it depends what you want it to do and how much you want to spend. After a lot of comparison to a owner of a MKIIC+/++ and my MKIII++ and numerous trips back to the factory to further shape the amp into what I need, I won't be needing to spend forwards of $3K to get what I need to compete with a IIC++ but I live near the factory. It took a lot to have the tone I do. If I were you I would sell what you have and buy a IIC+ you can't go wrong unless when u buy one and have anyone other than the factory work on it...
 
rottingcorpse":1pcej56t said:
NewWorldMan":1pcej56t said:
The IIIs are great amps. Rule of thumb: If you're happy with how it sounds now, don't f^%# with it.
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This,times a million.

You can't begin to imagine how many of us had the perfect sound get away from us.
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This.....
El skinny jeans and high heels (Indian name )
Or was his name ‘running naked after man’
Speaks the truth!!
I’ve owned em all as well.
 
I have a iic++ Simul class (105 transformer) and a red stripe mark iii Simul class, both with Sylvania 6l6/ el34's and 8th gen Chinese preamp tubes.

I had the ++ first and of course it's amazing. Got the mark iii recently. Bought it for it's hardwood head shell and original Sylvania power tubes. I planned on selling the chassis to recoup some of the funds I spent on the amp and find a factory iic+ to put in the head shell and use the power tubes in. I plugged into the mark iii and was blown away. It sounds absolutely incredible. Aggressive, tight, tons of gain..and it's a 3 channel amp. It's VERY close to the iic++. I cannot now really justify spending $3k or more on a factory iic+, or any iic+, after playing the mark iii. It's really, really good. I don't know if I just got a really good one, if the original Sylvanias are making the difference, or what. But it cops the tone and feel very closely.

For the collector in me, I'm still tempted to get a factory iic+, but as far as tone, the mark iii is just too close...
 
if its worth anything the lead 2 of my quad which is supposed to be very similar to a black dot mark III, is vanishingly similar to my III+ when run into the effects loop. in fact i usually would take the quad lead 2 over the III+ sound but it's really really similar and imo not worth shipping it any real distances at all for the change.

now the III++ on the other hand gets a re-voicing? I still have never had the pleasure of even hearing a mic'd up clip.

To you guys who own the a III++ please post clips!!!
 
I sent my MK III into Mesa for a complete recap and checkup. I asked them to make it like new and ready to rock for a couple more decades. They replaced all the filter caps and a handful of other components.

I considered the plus mods but I really loved the tone of the amp so much I saw no reason to change it. Did not want to risk loosing an amp that basically had the tone in my head.
 
Last year I was in the same boat as you, but after talking to Mike he told me that the my blue stripe would lose the rawness and aggressiveness, so I decided to keep it stock and experiment with some tubes... Needless to say I couldn't be happier now...
 
sotosprince":1u7ffw8i said:
Last year I was in the same boat as you, but after talking to Mike he told me that the my blue stripe would lose the rawness and aggressiveness, so I decided to keep it stock and experiment with some tubes... Needless to say I couldn't be happier now...
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Exactly the situation I was in. No reason to change up a blue stripe.
 
Crunchtime":2xud8hn3 said:
sotosprince":2xud8hn3 said:
Last year I was in the same boat as you, but after talking to Mike he told me that the my blue stripe would lose the rawness and aggressiveness, so I decided to keep it stock and experiment with some tubes... Needless to say I couldn't be happier now...
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Exactly the situation I was in. No reason to change up a blue stripe.
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:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
 
I have a blue strip III and have gone through the same thoughts myself. The mystique of the +'s and mods are alluring, but the reality is that the Mk III rocks as is so I'd be foolish to modify it. If anything, I'll open it up and go through the usual suspects to check for excessive wear, and maybe try a couple of component swaps. Even that is unlikely though as I have a ton of other amps and effects with real problems to sort through first.

Hey, OP haven't you been over on TGP with this same question and getting pushed pretty hard to buy the real IIC+ because according to their logic it isn't even in the same realm as the III. I stirred a hornets nest there by noting there are only a few differences in the two circuits, so it's not a huge deal to play around between them if you're really determined. (I get transformers may not be close enough to make everything 100% match, but everything else is standard off-the-shelf parts......sometimes the belief in magic voodoo behind electronics over there seriously amuses me. :) )
 
Yeah I have mate.
TGP's thinking is the IIC+ has superior feel to the MKIII.
Anyway my No Stripe/Black Dot arrived today.
It's basically 5 or 6 components off the IIC+ preamp with the same output section.
I'll get the kids to bed and try it out.
Depending I might do the IIC+ mods once I compare schematics.
 
I can see what you're trying to get at, but I sadly don't think the (ridiculous) shipping costs justify the mod.

I think the speakers and cabinet/s, and having a solid connection from your guitar all the way to the speakers is what matters most. Particularly above any amp mod.
I had everything all set up perfect but it still didn't sound good because the guitar output socket had a loose nut. Was crackly and overall sounded weak unless I leaned on it a certain way. Once I got that sorted it sounded heaps more powerful.



Oh and about TGP- I've been posting there a lot but the corksniffery tends to turn me off from discussing gear most of the time. I tend to muck around in The Pub forum instead when I am bored, or wound up about something.
 
Not worth it

-It will not be a huge change in sound, still the same amp.

-The Mark III is not a IIC+ but has it's own magic going on (as does the Mk IV). If you like it as is there's no point in changing it to supposedly "IIC+" spec, it will not make it better, just a little different in tone.

-I have a IIC+, a III+ and a IV and in my humble opinion the tones are very similar and I would be happy with any of the 3. The main difference with the C+ is the slightly loser feel that makes it a 'easier' to play (and is due to the transformers imo, so changing caps etc in the III will not get you there anyways). As I said, the III has it's own thing on - sounds like the most pissed off modded Marshall out there - and you can be happy with it without having to worry of how it compares to a C+: they are both great amps in their own right and not as different in tone as some people like to claim.
 
Ratou":2cjau1ho said:
-I have a IIC+, a III+ and a IV and in my humble opinion the tones are very similar and I would be happy with any of the 3. The main difference with the C+ is the slightly loser feel that makes it a 'easier' to play (and is due to the transformers imo, so changing caps etc in the III will not get you there anyways). As I said, the III has it's own thing on - sounds like the most pissed off modded Marshall out there - and you can be happy with it without having to worry of how it compares to a C+: they are both great amps in their own right and not as different in tone as some people like to claim.
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I'd attribute feel to either filter caps (which can change response/feel even if values are the same) or transformers. Interestingly, I'd associate a "looser feel" with lower spec'd transformers as that'd tend to happen when they're slower to react to changes. It wouldn't be the first time an underspec'd electrical component has been credited with superior tone in the guitar world! :)
 
rstites":3coy3k7e said:
Ratou":3coy3k7e said:
-I have a IIC+, a III+ and a IV and in my humble opinion the tones are very similar and I would be happy with any of the 3. The main difference with the C+ is the slightly loser feel that makes it a 'easier' to play (and is due to the transformers imo, so changing caps etc in the III will not get you there anyways). As I said, the III has it's own thing on - sounds like the most pissed off modded Marshall out there - and you can be happy with it without having to worry of how it compares to a C+: they are both great amps in their own right and not as different in tone as some people like to claim.
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I'd attribute feel to either filter caps (which can change response/feel even if values are the same) or transformers. Interestingly, I'd associate a "looser feel" with lower spec'd transformers as that'd tend to happen when they're slower to react to changes. It wouldn't be the first time an underspec'd electrical component has been credited with superior tone in the guitar world! :)
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The Mk II and III have both been recapped at the factory recently so would be a good like for like comparison (not sure if they both use the same value caps though). The power transformer on the II (105 version) is definitely much bigger than the one on the III so I attributed the difference in feel to that but not an expert on amp electronics.

Maybe "looser" wasn't the best adjective but I would say the III is more in your face and more unforgiving compared to the C+ (in a nice way, just different). Again, difference is subtle and I'm pretty sure that on a recording you could get them to sound near identical.

One thing I noticed though is that the C+ needs a bit more volume than the III to reach it's sweet spot.
 
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