Boogie Mark III Coliseum

[GodOfRhythm]

Tell me about it. My 50/50's no match for Fred's Coli. Though once I get my 2:90 simul I'll try and give him a fair battle....

And he had a pretty heavy hitting drummer in his band (Poison My Blood, shameless plug) and I was helping them set-up and soundcheck at an average club/bar gig (most have been a max of 150 people there, pretty small place). He put it on, using his rehearsal settings from only a couple of hours before and he drowned out the drummers check completely and eventually knocked some glasses off the counter by just hitting an Em a couple of times (owner was seriously pissed and pretty much ran to us to tell us the volume HAD to come down).

And indeed, they can get wonderfully agressive. Insane amounts of gain, but with a very tight bass response and zero buzz-saw going on. Makes for a VERY interesting and different DM tone. If you get sufficient mids in there, to be able to crank the bass without it getting flubby (though easy on the treble) you're gonna be crushing skulls.

[Endrik]

I have so much attack with that amp to make Gary Moore cry lol.... the notes are literally "clicking"

[Big Al]

as I said JJ tubes.

btw. check what's written under the fuse, there are 5 lines of text, check wich line isn't marked, if it's 6A 300 series then it's Coliseum, if not then it's Simul-Class.

I guess it is not a Coliseum after all. It does not say 6A 300 Series and in the top left corner it has a label "Simul-Class". Under the outlet it does say "200 Watts RMS" though.

[Endrik]

Then it's Simul-Class model, EL-34s aren't used with Coliseums as far as I know. Coliseums don't have Simul-Class/Class A swith but Half/Full power switch instead.

[Big Al]

O.K....what's up?
When I got home, I checked and under the fuse it does have "6A 300 Series" and in the top left hand corner it has a label "Simul-Class Power" on the toggle on the front is labeled 1/2 power/full power. Under the A.C. outlet is 200 watts max (not RMS as I stated before).
It is the same as Endrik's picture but it does have the "Simul-Class" label.
So.....is it still a Coliseum?

[charvelguy]

oops.. should have read the post better. I'd go with what Endrik said. Its definitely a Simulclass. 'I' would still call it a Coli since its configured like one. Not sure what the differences would be between yours and Endriks other than a label and possible output.

[GodOfRhythm]

Just out of interest what K-serial is yours?

Anyways, you can use 2 EL34's just fine in the inner slots (in COLISEUMS, not in regular MK III's), in fact I'd say that partially defines MK III Coliseums, that you can do that. Adds some aggro and growl to the tone.

And concerning the Simul-Class. Coliseums can just as well be Simul-Class. If it's got 6l6's on the outer and 2 EL34's in the inner side, that's pretty much normal for a Simul Mk III Coliseum. It'll have gargantuan output transformers.

[GodOfRhythm]

As a reference:

Middle of Page 5 (tube switching) and middle of page 7 (on the 300 Series specifically).

--

Anyways, again congrats on a fine amp. You've basically got one of the most powerful guitar amplifiers ever made, you've got TOOOOOOONS of headroom to play with and sweet bass response, I hope you don't turn it around, at least keep it for a year till I get the dough to take it off you.

Still one of my dream pieces of gear.

[Big Al]

After rechecking, mine is just like Endrik's except it has a serial number label under the Simul-Class label and when I bought it, it had the EL34's in the two center slots. I am trying to find the charger for my camera so I can post some pictures. Notice that Endrik's has the Simul-Class label also.

I'm not sure if I follow "what is the K-serial"? If it is the serial number, it is 2644. Also, there is a red "R" hand written under the power cord entry.

[charvelguy]

hmm, I have the same red R on mine as well. I thought it meant reverb mod when I checked on the Boogie forum but I'm wondering if it doesn't stand for something else............................

[GodOfRhythm]

Looks like yours was also "R"-Modded. In Mk III's reverb's gain was sacrificed to get more gain. The mod was meant to up the overall reverb to a more satisfying level. I'm definitly not sure about this but I think the mod was running a .003 capacitator across the output from the reverb, to increase the reverb's gain. Though I also read something about 3.3k caps in series. Either way technics are NOT my strong side, so I'm not opening that can of worms.

I'm pretty sure the "R" stands for a reverb mod. The only other thing I could think of would be the R2 volume balancing mod, but that seems highly unlikely.

Great tone clip btw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkZ2HBl008E (Mark III)

[charvelguy]

Thats good to know..thanks!

[Endrik]

Coliseum is Simul-Class anyway because it's Mesas "power house" power amp type. If it's says 6A 300 Series then it's definetly Coliseum

[straycat]

The only info I found was in VG price guide.Boogie coliseium 300 12 6L6 $900-$1000 bucks.I don't think they listed what you guys have.My amp info guy said these mothers are LOUD beyond belief.

[Big Al]

I was playing the Mark III last night and oh yes...it is very loud!
At lower volumes, it could use more gain but I need to replace the tubes. For solos, this thing sings. I have never had an amp the sounded this good for solos but the only problem is you hear every mistake. Even on the half power mode, I could not turn it past 3.