Anybody compare a Mark III to a Quad/295 setup?

[tfridgen]

Please share your experience.
Got a chance to pick up the former but want to know if I'll be sacrificing any pure tone. I really want/love stereo effects. My other option is to just pick up the 295 and run w/d/w with the Mark III however, I do like the idea of not compromising my clean tone to get the best of the dirty tones as I seem to do ever so slightly with the Mark III head....

 

[skoora]

I'd be all over a quad setup. I thought my studio Pre sounded pretty good going into my Stiletto's power section. There's always going to be a more "grunty", immediate thing with a head over a pre/power setup but the Quad's and studio Pre's sound very good IMO.

 

[mentoneman]

Please share your experience.
Got a chance to pick up the former but want to know if I'll be sacrificing any pure tone. I really want/love stereo effects. My other option is to just pick up the 295 and run w/d/w with the Mark III however, I do like the idea of not compromising my clean tone to get the best of the dirty tones as I seem to do ever so slightly with the Mark III head....

id do the q/3 for max flexibility and great tones. III will get slightly sweeter raw heavy tones.

 

[Little B]

Ive got both.Mk III coliseum red stripe & first version quad pre w/ strategy 500 poweramp.Had the 295 too.Its very very close..not like theres a huge difference in feel between one or the other.My clean is not really comprompised on the mk III at all due to an added vol knob on rear of amp by Mike B.I think the quad has a touch more gain.I really like the IIc+ tones from ch 1 mode II of the quad. The mk III is a tad rawer, not much though.The 180 watts helps.Obviously, the rack stuff is way more versatile, but ya can make the mkIII interface w/ the rack world too w/its line outs, ect.Theres a lot more maintenance w/ a quad and poweramp: 8 preamp tubes and lots of power tubes vrs a head retube;I could care less about any of that though.I love them both.

 

[steve_k]

The quad will offer you much more versatility with the power amp as opposed to a straight Mark III.

Here's my current set up with a Mark IIC+ and a Quad/Strategy 400 combination. The IIC+ slaves to one side of the S400. The Quad to the other side. This quad has been modded with IIC++ circuit.

 

[neilli]

Back in the day, I had a Quad which I got rid of for an MP1, mainly because of the midi. 20 years later I got a MKIII and just never used it

 

[Racerxrated]

Cost wise, mkIII is 7-1k, versus 7 for 290/295 plus 8-9 for the quad. I thought I'd go studio/quad with a 290/295 but I went with the mark because it was half the cost. Unless you can get them for a lower price of course. These were the prices I had found at the time.

 

[Racerxrated]

The quad will offer you much more versatility with the power amp as opposed to a straight Mark III.

Here's my current set up with a Mark IIC+ and a Quad/Strategy 400 combination. The IIC+ slaves to one side of the S400. The Quad to the other side. This quad has been modded with IIC++ circuit.

That has to produce some amazing Mesa tone there Steve! Awesome.

 

[thegame]

Wow. How long did it take to track down those old Aphex EQF-1s ? How did you integrate their lunchbox style connectors to this 1/4" line level rig ?

 

[fretout]

Tone-wise: I'm using a couple Coliseums as well, and they had more thump and grind than the Quad/Strategy Power Amp combo. If I had to compare the Quad to a specific Stripe, I'd say it's along the lines of a Green Stripe, so if you know how a Green Stripe sounds/feels, the Quad would be really similar. I don't know how to describe this, but with the Quad, It almost seemed like the Quads preamp section "sat on top" Of the poweramp (similar to a stompbox "sits on top" of a signal chain) while the heads sound more cohesive. Maybe it was less immediate?

Convenience-wise, the Quad all the way.

 

[steve_k]

Wow. How long did it take to track down those old Aphex EQF-1s ? How did you integrate their lunchbox style connectors to this 1/4" line level rig ?

I haven't seen them anywhere, except for in Hetfield's and Hammet's early Mesa racks. These were built into a 1U chassis as two separate units and powered by an external 2x48V power supply in a separate housing. If you ever find one, grab it. They are fantastic parametric EQ's with low and hi cut filters. Run them slaved from the IIC+ into the power amp. The other is between the Quad and the power amp. The Quad has the IIC++ mod on channel 1. AJFA tone all day long with those B&B's.

 

[thegame]

I haven't seen them anywhere, except for in Hetfield's and Hammet's early Mesa racks. These were built into a 1U chassis as two separate units and powered by an external 2x48V power supply in a separate housing. If you ever find one, grab it. They are fantastic parametric EQ's with low and hi cut filters. Run them slaved from the IIC+ into the power amp. The other is between the Quad and the power amp. The Quad has the IIC++ mod on channel 1. AJFA tone all day long with those B&B's.

Beautiful. What an envious rig ! I trust you're running Mesa STR 415 (6L6) and Mesa STR 416 (6CA7) (Both Sylvania) throughout ? And some Tungsram 12AX7s for the final icing on the cake.