NAD: Mesa MkIII

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rstites

rstites

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I just got a Mesa MkIII head. It's the blue stripe version with EQ, but no reverb. It started life as a rackmount head. Someone tried to stuff it in an aftermarket amp head cabinet and messed up the cabinet. The amp itself is in great shape and sounds fantastic. I'm planning to purchase (or possibly build) a new amp head for it.

I've jammed on it an hour each of the last couple of nights. I pull the chassis out and was playing just through it, which is fine but leaves all the controls upside down. This thing is too complicated to dial in without reading the controls. :lol: :LOL: So, at first I just got a really nice clean out of it - great clean. It kills everything else I own for clean.

Tonight, I finally downloaded the official Mesa owner's manual and dialed up some heavy tones. It kills for those. Really, it's amazing after I finally dialed it in a bit. This is why I never got along with Boogies back in the day - too finicky! Thanks to the internet, I can download their suggested settings and try those! It's definitely a keeper. I'll happily keep it alongside the SLO. They're both great, and yet different enough to really compliment each other. Right now, I'm digging the new amp.

It might motivate me to retube and clean up an old 50+ head I have around, and then sell it off. It does seem a bit redundant and I can't think of anything it does better than the MkIII. (I also have a 22+ which is the same sound, but light and portable for small things.)
 
Awesome, I love mine. Tone for days. :) FWIW I'm getting ready to turn mine which is a 1x12 combo into a head & sell the combo shell, if you're interested.
 
I've been searching for a head cab since I won the auction. They're rare beasts. There are lots of combo cabs floating around. It seems like a lot of guys go the route you're going. I prefer heads + cabs. I have an old Mesa vertical 2x12 that I'm planning to mate with the MkIII. I need to get a new input jack installed on it - speaker cable falls out now, which is worrying!

I've been running in through my old Marshall cabs for now.

Where'd you get the head cab?
 
Welcome to the club! They're amazing amps for sure. Definitely worth their "giant killer" nickname for sure! I've currently got 3 Mark IIIs and 5 Mark series amps in my stable, and I can't seem to let any of them go. Out of all the stripes, the Blue Stripes are the most aggressive (and can be tamed down by adjusting the treble).

IIRC, you can call Mesa and they can provide a headshell for you, but that was many years ago. There's also a few guys that make some really, really nice headshells, but you'll have to PM me for how to find them.
 
Yeah, I think the vast majority of these were sold as combos - sort of on the premise that they were 1x12s with a sound as big as a stack - and nowadays most guys simply like heads better.
 
I used to have a rack mount BS DG & honestly I think it sounded just a little hotter than the BS DRG I have now. Just one of those things.

The 1x12 does sound huge, no doubt about that. Very loud. I just prefer the closed back sound.

I know of a couple guys making nice head shells, same deal PM me if you want contact info.
 
Awesome man congrats!
I have never heard such a small amp be so freaking loud!! :lol: :LOL:
Great tones for sure!
 
@fretout and @GJgo would you please PM me your recommendations for head cabinets. I can't send a PM. I assume I don't have enough posts here yet, or something. (Is it 50?)

I suspect a lot of these were initially sold to people looking for more of a Fender + high gain lead (more Santana and similar), so they sold a lot of 100 W combos. I was strictly a Marshall guy at the time as a metalhead. I'm still that, but it was only after some key recordings that we all started thinking about Mesa's for heavier music, which tends to want closed back cabs.

The other issue is that we were all younger then, so carrying around a 100 lb combo wasn't such a big deal. The head is enough for me now. I'll do the two trips to take it and the cab! :)

Of course, I'll only play this at home now, as any gig I've done in the last 15 years has had limited stage volume and good PA, so really I haul out the old 22+ or even an old Fender Champ and just mic them up. The heads+cabs are mostly for my own amusement, unless I can find some other old farts who want to play heavy, loud music again!
 
Where you located? We jam out pretty much every weekend.
I am in Michigan. ;)
 
Point taken. I'm in Kansas...specifically in Overland Park -> burb of KC. The commute to Michigan is a little long!

I had the perfect thing going in Minneapolis with some other old guys who wanted to get together, write heavy material, and have fun. Unfortunately, job transfers happened and now I'm here. The weather is nicer! I haven't played much in the last decade (other than church gig stuff, which is fine but not really my music). I probably should get into blues more. We have a huge blues scene here.....it seems like it's where old guys go! :)
 
Smoking amps. This was in a combo but I built a headshell. Combos are nice but these things rip thru a head + cab. I sent it in for the III+ mod. It's totally a giant killer now.
 

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What's the III+ mod? I've heard of it before, but don't know what it is.
 
Just got mine back from Mesa not long ago. Got the ++ mod.
It adds more gain and makes it all usable. Sorta smooths it out a tad.
Trust me. It's worth getting done.
I got a thread on here with clips of mine.
 
Mailman1971":1u0omb29 said:
Just got mine back from Mesa not long ago. Got the ++ mod.
It adds more gain and makes it all usable. Sorta smooths it out a tad.
Trust me. It's worth getting done.
I got a thread on here with clips of mine.
Click to expand...
Yup :rock:

If your amp is clean and doesn't need any maintenance it's pretty cheap. $200 for the mod plus shipping I believe. Mine was pretty run down. Had a lot of caps replaced and some other things. I think I spent just over $500 with shipping for the mod and repairs. Both mods are takes on the IIC+ tone. The ++ is more aggressive, + mod is less gain a little smoother I think.
 
Congrats! Killer amp. If I ever unload my IV I'll probably get a III at some point to stay in the Boogie camp.
 
tripstan":3h7aaidh said:
Smoking amps. This was in a combo but I built a headshell. Combos are nice but these things rip thru a head + cab. I sent it in for the III+ mod. It's totally a giant killer now.
Click to expand...

That looks great. Did you find the western tolex on ebay? I'd like to make a similar one for my rectoverb combo when I convert it to head.
 
cecilbag":dw0xuyqr said:
tripstan":dw0xuyqr said:
Smoking amps. This was in a combo but I built a headshell. Combos are nice but these things rip thru a head + cab. I sent it in for the III+ mod. It's totally a giant killer now.
Click to expand...

That looks great. Did you find the western tolex on ebay? I'd like to make a similar one for my rectoverb combo when I convert it to head.
Click to expand...
Mojotone
 
tripstan":2q680nmr said:
cecilbag":2q680nmr said:
tripstan":2q680nmr said:
Smoking amps. This was in a combo but I built a headshell. Combos are nice but these things rip thru a head + cab. I sent it in for the III+ mod. It's totally a giant killer now.
Click to expand...

That looks great. Did you find the western tolex on ebay? I'd like to make a similar one for my rectoverb combo when I convert it to head.
Click to expand...
Mojotone
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thank you
 
Congrats! MK III's are great amps.Very raw and open sounding.
 
-great amps and at a bargain price as well, I'm looking for a MK III or MK IV, I'm still a rack guy so the no head shell would be more than fine,
 
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