Mesa Boogie Mark 3 - the #2 Best Selling Boutique Amp - but WHY?

Let me know your experiences with these amps and your opinions in the comments if you've got nothing better to do?

only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

00:00 Intro
6:13 Rhythm 2 Channel
9:09 Lead Channel

[MrVegiita]

Allan Holdsworth used a Mark iii as well 👍🏻I have the red stripe (1988)

[markkiernan]

Just had my Mark3 Blue Stripe up at Petaluma for some maintenance. Michael Bendinelli took great care with my amp and did some revisions to the capacitors. It sounds absolutely fantastic.

[bluerazors]

The MK iii is the one amp where they got everything right. Never heard a bad one. Thats why the price never stops going up.

[southpaw]

Yes the Mark III is so underrated, sure it can take a little dialling in - but worth it. I hear you on the weight, I built a head shell and cabinet for mine 15+ years back, to split the weight. Never regretted that idea. But looking at the hardwood version, i am really tempted to build another new head/cab for it out of some nice timber…

[thechannelforeverything]

Great playing. I have a Mark III Red Stripe from '87 and it's a gain beast. Historically have used it for the chug tones. However, recently I've been dialing back the gain and enjoying the dynamic range the lead channel is capable of.

[stonedriver]

The mark iii red stripe with a SG is magical.

[tonytone]

Wow fantastic sounding and even better playing.

[bluenoise]

Another vintage boutique amp that is under-rated is the Seymour Duncan Convertible, a swiss-army knife amp of it's day, with continuously variable EL34 wattage from 1 to 100, channel switching, triode-pentode switching, various preamp module configurations, you could almost hear it breathing.

[harrysearia]

Omgosh that amp sings 🥺
I dont think ive ever heard you go through so many different sounds and styles in one amp.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[GlynDwr-dh]

I've never played a real one, but the clean Mark III in Amplitube 5 is one of my favorite amps in there, so much so that I'm thinking about trying to get a real one. Beautiful sweet and melodic clean sound with just a touch of hair on it. It sounds incredible if I plug my lp studio with burstbuckers pros into it and throw an la2a style comp after it with a tiny amount of memory man in Amplitube's fx loop. It's like one of those guitar tones where you'll be amazed that you're actually making that sound when you play it and changes what you play. Super inspiring, to my ears. I'm honestly blown away by it and I'm guessing the real thing is even better.

[markkiernan]

The Mark 25 ( Mini Mark) is also a great sounding amp without all the weight.

[TheLeadG]

Fantastic phrasing my dude. Great note articulation and choice. Loving the solo work.

[Art-zssl]

The Mark III has a boldness.. very in your face. However, the gain is sweet enough that you appreciate it instead of becoming turned off.

[paulschipper]

Had this amp since '89. I don't agree that it's tricky to dial in like some say, it's just that its controls are very sensitive in comparison to most other amps, which allows for a much wider than usual tonal palette. This amp really is three amps in one and it's the most reliable amp I've ever owned.

[MichaelBassVideos]

I lusted over these amps in guitar magazines as a kid in the mid 90's. I had no idea why, I simply loved the look. Maybe I was right all along!

[JoeEngineersThings]

I love Mk III cleans with the lead boost - clean pre-amp with lots of power tube gain.

[chrismundayguitar]

Man… those lead lines were beautiful…thank you

[scotthutchens]

Really love your playing and guitar work here, especially with that SG. Have a MK lll long head Simul-Class with reverb and graphic. Bought in 1986. Always been the best amp I’ve ever owned. I don’t like EV’s at all, sounds best through JBL G-125’s and for a different sound—Celestion Vintage 30’s. I have Mesa/Boogie Custom 90 watt Celestions but don’t favor them for the Boogie amp as much since they’re more warmer sounding. The JBL G-125’s are a speaker with an overdrive characteristic like a Celestion and are the perfect combination with the amp.

[vl]

Yes yes yes! Mk3 is great amp, after + mod even better.

[tonystartup]

Certainly sounds better when you play it than when I had it!