GJgo
Well-known member
Got the HRG RI last night, first impressions are good. Wanted to start a thread to talk about it as well as post when I get the various comparo vids done that I'm planning.
First some back story for those who don't know me, I've had 9 IIC+/++ of every iteration and 32 Marks in total. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them in that while I really do love playing Marks, I do recognize that they have things they aren't good at (like any amp) and also believe the C+ is over-hyped. All that being said, I keep buying them and here we are.
When the DRG C+ RI came out I didn't jump. I don't care for triode at all. Even with pentode Simul, it's fine, but I prefer straight pentode A/B amps as I feel Simul introduces a touch of mud from the blending. Tight & bold is just where my playing style is, regardless of what the internet values. I was fortunate to play a DRG RI when @frontline205 came by with his and generally speaking I was very impressed compared to the V, JP & VII. I thought Mesa did a fine job on that RI and while I still preferred the OG, the RI was very good & I felt I could recommend it without reservation to guys who couldn't swing an OG. The feels, overtones, harmonics were all there. There was a slight processed thing going on that pretty much all new amps seem to have, but aside from that I felt it's pretty legit. And, in the accuracy department, the reverb still sucked.
So, when the HRG was announced I became interested. Being a Coli guy I would of course prefer a RI of one of these, but my sources told me not to hold my breath so I decided to take a swing and the HRG RI arrived yesterday. First impressions:
Is it a keeper? Time will tell for sure. For me, how an amp performs in the live band is king, and I'm looking forward to finding out. If they improved the mid control on this RI as well as they did on the Recto RI, it won't be hard for this HRG RI to out perform the OG C+ in the live band (which is one area that I've always been underwhelmed with them).
I'm planning on reamp comparo vids of the HRG vs..
First some back story for those who don't know me, I've had 9 IIC+/++ of every iteration and 32 Marks in total. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them in that while I really do love playing Marks, I do recognize that they have things they aren't good at (like any amp) and also believe the C+ is over-hyped. All that being said, I keep buying them and here we are.
When the DRG C+ RI came out I didn't jump. I don't care for triode at all. Even with pentode Simul, it's fine, but I prefer straight pentode A/B amps as I feel Simul introduces a touch of mud from the blending. Tight & bold is just where my playing style is, regardless of what the internet values. I was fortunate to play a DRG RI when @frontline205 came by with his and generally speaking I was very impressed compared to the V, JP & VII. I thought Mesa did a fine job on that RI and while I still preferred the OG, the RI was very good & I felt I could recommend it without reservation to guys who couldn't swing an OG. The feels, overtones, harmonics were all there. There was a slight processed thing going on that pretty much all new amps seem to have, but aside from that I felt it's pretty legit. And, in the accuracy department, the reverb still sucked.
So, when the HRG was announced I became interested. Being a Coli guy I would of course prefer a RI of one of these, but my sources told me not to hold my breath so I decided to take a swing and the HRG RI arrived yesterday. First impressions:
- Right out of the box & was super impressed with the amount of push the rhythm channel has. VERY punchy, which the newer amps generally are not. This amp moves air.
- On the lead channel I felt it has a more convincing MOP tone than most of my OG C+ have, when running all amp straight in.
- The harmonics, overtones, dynamics, bounce and general feels under the fingers are very good. Very much a C+ here, like the DRG RI, but with noticeably more tightness and push. Also the individual note clarity on a big high gain chord is fantastic.
- The lead tone is good, but more like other modern Mesas and not quite as liquidy as the OG or the DRG RI, as expected.
- The reverb still sucks.
Is it a keeper? Time will tell for sure. For me, how an amp performs in the live band is king, and I'm looking forward to finding out. If they improved the mid control on this RI as well as they did on the Recto RI, it won't be hard for this HRG RI to out perform the OG C+ in the live band (which is one area that I've always been underwhelmed with them).
I'm planning on reamp comparo vids of the HRG vs..
- OG C+
- JP2C
- Recto RI
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Hell, it may be time to cash out on the OG sooner than I thought..?
