Mesa Mark III

[Valtyr]

A local shop has a used Mark III head for $799. I have never seen one in person before so I tried it out. I have an F-30 that I like a lot and figured I ought to check out some other Mesa's. I'm not sure what model so I'll include a pic of it, hope it helps.

All the clips I found on youtube were high gain, so I was surprised how nice the clean tones were. Maybe not quite Fender nice, but still very good. I spent about 30 minutes with it and got some cool tones. The tone controls and graphic eq seemed very responsive. It seemed crazy versitile, I bet I only scratched the surface of what it can do. Except for the reverb knob, the other knobs all pulled out to control an additional parameter. I may try downloading the manual and checking it out again when I have a better grasp of how the controls interact and what some of the parameters do.

Overall I was impressed. Not sure I'm $800 impressed, but it seems like a cool amp.

Have any of you owned one? What do you think of them?

 

[mboogman]

It's a killer amp for the money. $800 is a very fair price on one. If you hit R2 with a boost, it can get pretty darn mean. It even stands up to my 7 string tuned to A#. Finding the right settings for your desired level of gain can be tricky, but the patience and work pays off big time once you get there. It's quickly becoming my main sound.

 

[JohnSykes]

I bought mine like a year ago and i still have it. Its awesome!

Like you said, the clean is pretty good, i like it. The lead channel with the eq on is one of the greatest lead tones i ever heard, imo its really, really good.

If you want that Marshall crunch... Well, you are not going to find it here. For me its a great amp for lead playing and solos, but i dont think its that good for rhytm (unless you play metal, which i dont). You dont even need a boost, just the footswitch and thats it. Really cool when it comes to playing live.

 

[Motorpud]

Best amp in it's price range IMO.

 

[sjk]

Buy it, plenty of amps twice that price don't even compare. There is one in the classifieds here right now in pristine condition for $750 shipped I believe.

 

[Valtyr]

I just spent as much as that amp costs fixing my wife's car, and I've got a son on the way in May. I'd have to unload some gear if I wanted to buy it. Plus I'm still paying for my Parker Fly. Where was this amp when I had the money?

I still really like my F-30, so I'm not exactly suffering if I can't get the Mark III even though it's an obvious upgrade.

 

[sjk]

I just spent as much as that amp costs fixing my wife's car, and I've got a son on the way in May. I'd have to unload some gear if I wanted to buy it. Plus I'm still paying for my Parker Fly. Where was this amp when I had the money?

I still really like my F-30, so I'm not exactly suffering if I can't get the Mark III even though it's an obvious upgrade.

Not really a big deal if you can't pick this up, they sell all the time on ebay and boards such as this and & $800 seems to be about the going price.

 

[Zachman]

I bought mine like a year ago and i still have it. Its awesome!

Like you said, the clean is pretty good, i like it. The lead channel with the eq on is one of the greatest lead tones i ever heard, imo its really, really good.

If you want that Marshall crunch... Well, you are not going to find it here. For me its a great amp for lead playing and solos, but i dont think its that good for rhytm (unless you play metal, which i dont). You dont even need a boost, just the footswitch and thats it. Really cool when it comes to playing live.

I have actually had some success getting a Marshall vibe out of my MKIII Coliseum Simul-Class head (180 Watts), on the R2 channel, with and without using a boost). I was using this at the beginning of the song below, and then the heavier parts are the Marshall SLP, Solo section is the Boogie on the Lead channel, Out of the solo is a Marshall SLP until the end of the song and the intro to Stay Awhile (Solo section is Boogie... and the intro and verses are the R2 channel of the Boogie

 

[FIREBALL]

It's a killer amp for the money. $800 is a very fair price on one. If you hit R2 with a boost, it can get pretty darn mean. It even stands up to my 7 string tuned to A#. Finding the right settings for your desired level of gain can be tricky, but the patience and work pays off big time once you get there. It's quickly becoming my main sound.

this is spot on

 

[mrkmas]

Only ever played a MKIII once, but I was extremely impressed with what it could do. It gets my vote.

 

[jlbaxe]

I bought mine in '95 and it has lasted through all the other amps. It has a tone that my 20th X can't seem to get so it pairs well with it.

 

[Valtyr]

How is the fx loop on the Mark III? I didn't think to try the loop at the store.

If the loop sucks then that could be a deal breaker for me. I often use delay and I don't like running it before distortion. I don't intend to use any overdrive/dist pedals either. I might try a boost out front but that would be about it.

 

[jerrydyer]

thats a great price,. there is some weird switching probs between like rythm and clean. like a burst of volume. the clean and lead, since they share the input gain i always had a hard time finding the best spot. always seemed to be a compromise but it was a great sounding amp.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I have one and it's a keeper. Not going anywhere.

 

[Zachman]

How is the fx loop on the Mark III? I didn't think to try the loop at the store.

If the loop sucks then that could be a deal breaker for me. I often use delay and I don't like running it before distortion. I don't intend to use any overdrive/dist pedals either. I might try a boost out front but that would be about it.

KILLER series loop.

 

[sjk]

How is the fx loop on the Mark III? I didn't think to try the loop at the store.

If the loop sucks then that could be a deal breaker for me. I often use delay and I don't like running it before distortion. I don't intend to use any overdrive/dist pedals either. I might try a boost out front but that would be about it.

Actually the loop works great on mine, use the deep blue delay and no tone suck whatsoever that I can tell. Now the strange thing is with my mark v I won't even use the loop because with the same pedal or any delay I've tried some high end is sucked out of the original tone and some girth of the notes is lost. It is quite a noticable amount and I don't understand it as I've never heard anyone else complain about it but it is substantial for me. Thats alright though as once I get motivated I'm gonna sell it anyway.

 

[Zachman]

thats a great price,. there is some weird switching probs between like rythm and clean. like a burst of volume. the clean and lead, since they share the input gain i always had a hard time finding the best spot. always seemed to be a compromise but it was a great sounding amp.

Definitely not the typical layout. Next time you get one, CALL me while you're in front of it w/ a guitar. I'll have you try a few things, and you'll know that amp like a CHAMP. hehehehe I made a rhyme.

 

[JohnSykes]

I bought mine like a year ago and i still have it. Its awesome!

Like you said, the clean is pretty good, i like it. The lead channel with the eq on is one of the greatest lead tones i ever heard, imo its really, really good.

If you want that Marshall crunch... Well, you are not going to find it here. For me its a great amp for lead playing and solos, but i dont think its that good for rhytm (unless you play metal, which i dont). You dont even need a boost, just the footswitch and thats it. Really cool when it comes to playing live.

I have actually had some success getting a Marshall vibe out of my MKIII Coliseum Simul-Class head (180 Watts), on the R2 channel, with and without using a boost). I was using this at the beginning of the song below, and then the heavier parts are the Marshall SLP, Solo section is the Boogie on the Lead channel, Out of the solo is a Marshall SLP until the end of the song and the intro to Stay Awhile (Solo section is Boogie... and the intro and verses are the R2 channel of the Boogie

Man, im really impressed, that sounds really good. Not just the amp and the guitar, the whole band!

 

[Zachman]

I bought mine like a year ago and i still have it. Its awesome!

Like you said, the clean is pretty good, i like it. The lead channel with the eq on is one of the greatest lead tones i ever heard, imo its really, really good.

If you want that Marshall crunch... Well, you are not going to find it here. For me its a great amp for lead playing and solos, but i dont think its that good for rhytm (unless you play metal, which i dont). You dont even need a boost, just the footswitch and thats it. Really cool when it comes to playing live.

I have actually had some success getting a Marshall vibe out of my MKIII Coliseum Simul-Class head (180 Watts), on the R2 channel, with and without using a boost). I was using this at the beginning of the song below, and then the heavier parts are the Marshall SLP, Solo section is the Boogie on the Lead channel, Out of the solo is a Marshall SLP until the end of the song and the intro to Stay Awhile (Solo section is Boogie... and the intro and verses are the R2 channel of the Boogie

Man, im really impressed, that sounds really good. Not just the amp and the guitar, the whole band!

Hey thanks man. Real nice of you to say. Most appreciated!

 

[sjk]

Zachman, have you ever compared your coliseum to a regular mark III and if so how does it compare besides all the extra power.