Mesa DC3 vs Mark 3?

[scottro202]

So, I possibly have the opportunity to acquire either of these amps.

What should I know about them? What are the differences? What are the similarities?

Thanks!

Scotty

 

[SpiritCrusher86]

Mark III! and not because i'm selling one (;

 

[scottro202]

Which begs my next question. Why are you selling it?

Also, I need a combo

 

[SpiritCrusher86]

Which begs my next question. Why are you selling it?

Also, I need a combo

Mainly because i have major vht gas. It sounds fucking amazing, i just want something different for now. i will get another one down the line.

 

[scottro202]

How does it sound? Like, could you describe to me the sound?

 

[SpiritCrusher86]

How does it sound? Like, could you describe to me the sound?

http://www.netmusicians.org/files/5-Recovery.mp3

http://www.netmusicians.org/files/96-sm57 drumjam.mp3

http://www.netmusicians.org/files/10-brootalz.mp3

Shitty and off time clip on that last one but the tone was great so i posted. These are some clips i've made of my III.

 

[SpiritCrusher86]

http://www.netmusicians.org/files/61-the%20philosopher%20focusrite%20test.mp3

cover of the philosiphor, go to the verse and the tone is pretty good.

 

[MFB]

Mark III's fucking rule, and depending upon the type you get you have TONS of tonal range. The blue stripes have a more aggressive pre-amp and I love mine no doubt, but the Red's seem to be the creme de la creme for most people not only due to Petrucci's use of one in early years - but they have a very hot lead tone and are the closest to the Mark IIC+ sound.

Check here for all the variations : Mark III Stripe/Dot History

As for clips of Mark III's, voila : netmusicians.org - the guitar gear mp3 database (I see SpiritCrusher has put some tracks up since I last checked it, and KManick has a KILLER Yngwie cover on his MKIII - Red I believe)

DC's tend to be a more rock favor kind of amp, not to say they can't do Mark territory with a boost and the right tubes, but I find it's easier to go from an amp that's got Clean, Rhythm and Lead (the Mark) to the one with just Rhythm and Clean (the DC)

My ONLY gripe with the Mark series is that they require the R2 volume mod which is VERY easy if you bring it to someone who knows what they're doing. Hell, if you know a teacher at a local voc. school maybe offer the amp to be used as a demonstration during class and he might do it for less than a normal tech? I know a girl did something similar with her car for autoshop so maybe it'd work for electronics.

 

[scottro202]

Cool. thanks man! I'll be sure to give those a listen later

Now, in the comparing of DC vs MkIII, it seems the Mark III is more for lead players, whereas the DC3 is more versatile. Sound about right to you guys?

I don't know which one I would prefer. I AM a lead player, but in my band, we're playing rhythm most of the time, so it would stand to reason that I need a good rhythm tone. and we're not a metal band, more straight up rock, alternative, post grunge with some reggae and blues-rock type stuff thrown in.

EDIT: Didn't see your post, Ben. Thanks for the links!

Here's the Mark in question:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...965149&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_532wt_1137

From the link about Marks, doesn't seem like it's a Mark at all. maybe I'm just tired, can't read, or both

 

[MFB]

I'd say the Mark III takes versatility hands down, I mean you've got the extra channel which allows you to go immediately to high gain stuff like Lamb of God, Mastodon, etc... without having to hit a boost or any kind of jibba-jabba; it's all straight amp distortion.

 

[scottro202]

So Ben, you think it could do less-br00tz type distortion? Like, I'll say something along the lines of Alex Lifeson (Rush)?

 

[drenzium]

Mainly because i have major vht gas. It sounds fucking amazing, i just want something different for now. i will get another one down the line.

im trying to understand the logic in that, but i cant

and to the TS, my only advice is to try them somehow and pick the one that better suits your ears. the advice of people other than you with regards to tone really doesn't count for that much at all towards your own.

 

[Deathmetal94564]

Hands down mark III

 

[MFB]

im trying to understand the logic in that, but i cant.

People change their feelings towards gear, simple as that. I love my Mark III but would I change it for a JCM900 or something for a little while? Probably since they're great in a different kind of flavor.

The move from Mesa to VHT isn't that far of a stretch since when I played my Mark III next to a Deliverance 60, both delivered copious amounts of gain to the point of un-necessary but the thing that made me prefer my Mesa was that the VHT was tight as a nun which I wasn't cool with. I need a slight amount of sag/looseness.

 

[brodjentle]

dc-3 may not have enough watts for live gigs but the mark series does sound great and see your running 2 different types of tubes so your gonna have 2 total different sounds with the dc-3 it will run hotter at lower levels which you can get a good tone at bedroom levels etc because it has el84s and the mark will not run as hot unless you definitely crank it louuuuddd and theyre is more headroom in 6l6s which is why amps that run those tubes sound good really loud they break up reaaal nice
hope that gives you an idea of what to do

 

[scottro202]

dc-3 may not have enough watts for live gigs but the mark series does sound great and see your running 2 different types of tubes so your gonna have 2 total different sounds with the dc-3 it will run hotter at lower levels which you can get a good tone at bedroom levels etc because it has el84s and the mark will not run as hot unless you definitely crank it louuuuddd and theyre is more headroom in 6l6s which is why amps that run those tubes sound good really loud they break up reaaal nice
hope that gives you an idea of what to do

Holy run-on sentence batman

But yeah, MkIII has more watts, so more headroom. I'm trying to figure how many watts I'm gonna need. 5 watts is doing me fine atm, so I think 30 would be more than enough for headroom's sake.

But then again, I know 5 vs 30 vs 60 in terms of volume isn't THAT big of a difference, right?

 

[MFB]

There are also the Simul-Class Mark III's which go between 60 Watts and 100 Watts (which gets to be "HOLY FUCKING " level). 30 watts is also pretty loud for tubes, even 5 watts was shaking Kevan's house at the post-NAMM jam from what I heard.

 

[brodjentle]

haha yeah I just graduated so all my punctuation went right out the window hahahaha but yes actually there will be a big difference you may not see it at first but when it comes down to keeping up with another guitarist or a really loud drummer your gonna want the extra wattage. Imho the dc3 is great for bedrooms and even practice the mkiii will be great for practice and live shows and I mean we make it work at bedroom levels hahah but personally I like lower watts around 40-50 and definitely I love el84s instead of 6l6s but that's just preference again hope I helped mang

 

[kmanick]

Mark III all the way.
the DC-3 has EL-84s and will have more of a British voicing.
I loved the Red stripe I had , with a clean boost in front I could go from 80's rock to Dream Theater metal tones.
the Only reason I sold minw is becuase I scored a great deal on a Mark IV head "A" version and it sounded very close to my III, but with all of the added versatility that you get with a IV, othewise I'd still have it.
I did do an Yngwie clip a while ago let's see.....................................
here it is ( I wouldn't call it killer but thanks!)
netmusicians.org - the guitar gear mp3 database
this is on the lead channel without the GEQ on but with a 10 band EQ in the loop.
No boost thru a hotplate so I could open it up a bit.
I ran El-34's + 6l6's together in simul class and this is what I got.