Mesa Mark III Purple Stripe vs Mark IV Rev. A - What would you choose?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jbru91
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jbru91

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Hey all,

What would you choose between these two if they were the same price? Curious to see how people compare the III vs the IV. Curious as well what the "best" revisions are for these two amps. Don't see those comparisons as much. I've only ever owned a Mark V and wasn't crazy about it.

Cheers,
Jesse
 
I had a red stripe and a Mark IV "A' and "B" I thought the mark IV had a better cleans and was much more controllable volume wise. I always had to somewhat crank my III to get to the magic they do, both of my IV's were much better at lower volume
Mark IV "B" is my all time favorite mesa, i kick myself all the time for selling the one I had back in 2015 :(
 
IV. Been years since I owned an A but the B I recently had was killer. The IIIs are cool, but due to the nature of the amp, make you have to compromise somewhere in the sound if you want clean/crunch/lead. The IV, not so much.
 
I favor the dirty on a IVB, like the III more than the IVA overall.
 
Never played a IVa. Had a red stripe III that killed my IVB. Prob doesn’t help much but vastly preferred the rawness and oomph
 
IV. Not even a contest IMO. The IV can get closer to a C+ -like tone, while the III is harsh city. I played a JP2C a few yrs back, the store also had a IV and the IV kicked its arse.

Although, when I had 2 IIIs in the house the Red was supposed to be better than the purple....but I liked the purple far more.

But I'd have walked out with that IV over the JP and either III I've owned.
 
I have a Purple Stripe MKIII and a MKIV-a. If I could only have one, it would be the MKIV. No doubt.
However, if I was only interested on the lead tone of each amp, that would be a tight match. The IV does sound smoother and modern at the same time. However, the III has something going on with it's Lead channel that is just incredible! It does have even more gain than my old 2C+. So, it would be really hard for me to choose.
Now, if you're really a Rig-Talker, for for the one you wanna get first, and then save for the other one next.
Trust me, having a Purple Stripe and a MKIV at the same time never gets redundant!!! Lol
 
The Mark III’s sound more raw and gritty, but have a harsher high end that can be a deal breaker for some guys depending on taste and are generally more scooped. The IV’s sound more smooth, polished, more modern leaning, and imo more balanced with overall voicing and eq-wise

The IV is also imo more homogenous/less dynamic in sound and feel/response. If you’re a more expressive/nuanced type of lead player I wouldn’t recommend the IV as much. The III’s do better there in picking up nuances, but not on the c+‘s level there. If you’re in the direction of a more precise, modern or more clinical type player the IV will likely fit better
 
IV, but I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a difference for you if you want to go ahead with the lll.
Buy both.
 
I have a ivb and iii red stripe.The iv is easier to control and obviously ch switching/ control is easier.
But the ivs ch 2 is a sleeper for most,not all but most.My iii has the ryth.2 mod and I must say with now 3 channels to switch between plus ch 2s own vol,I like the iii more.The iii is raw,has more of a blanket lifted off feel,and smashes u in the face more than the iv.I definitely like the iiis ch 2 way way better than my ivb ch 2.
I cant speak for a purple stripe tho but both the iv and iii are nice to own.
 
IV for me. There's a huge difference between the III and the IV in my experience.

I tried to like the III. I've owned a Green and Blue and played a Purple. I hated all of them, as well as the III channel on the Quad preamp I owned. Harsh highs with too much low end.
 
Interesting takes here.

Let me ask you guys this- I have a 60 watt no-stripe III with the + and R2 mod by Mike B. I love this amp but from what I’m reading here I am wondering if I am I still missing out despite having the mods. Should I move it along and find a IV instead? I use this amp for high gain rhythm playing the majority of the time.
 
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SBlue said:
I have a Purple Stripe MKIII and a MKIV-a. If I could only have one, it would be the MKIV. No doubt.
However, if I was only interested on the lead tone of each amp, that would be a tight match. The IV does sound smoother and modern at the same time. However, the III has something going on with it's Lead channel that is just incredible! It does have even more gain than my old 2C+. So, it would be really hard for me to choose.
Now, if you're really a Rig-Talker, for for the one you wanna get first, and then save for the other one next.
Trust me, having a Purple Stripe and a MKIV at the same time never gets redundant!!! Lol
Click to expand...
Can always count on someone here to have both haha. Thank you very much for this.
 
Racerxrated said:
IV. Not even a contest IMO. The IV can get closer to a C+ -like tone, while the III is harsh city. I played a JP2C a few yrs back, the store also had a IV and the IV kicked its arse.

Although, when I had 2 IIIs in the house the Red was supposed to be better than the purple....but I liked the purple far more.

But I'd have walked out with that IV over the JP and either III I've owned.
Click to expand...
Thank you! JP2C intrigued me but now the prices are ridiculous. I can get either of these amps for cheaper than a new JP2C now I think.
 
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