Mesa Mark VII vs JP-2C

[FourT6and2]

Educate me on these two amps. I've never owned a Mark Series. And I've only ever played one for about 10 minutes. At the time I had no idea the EQ controls were pre-EQ, before the gain stages and the graphic EQ was post. So I fooled around with the amp and went... meh.

But I watched a bunch of Ola's videos of both amps and I gotta say I like what I'm hearing from both. But I know nothing about 'em.

 

[griff10672]

yeah man ...... you got to get yourself a Mark .....

I haven't played the VII or the JP ..... but own a V and a III ( purple stripe )

once you figure out how to manage the EQ to your liking ...... and get used to the way the tone stack shifts and interacts just turning one knob ..

I bet you'll keep one !

The JP is really sweet having the two EQ's

 

[demondestroyer]

From my investigations I would take the vii over the jp. But you really cant lose either way. Wish I had the cash for one.

 

[Techdeth]

mark amp is a must once in life . They really are fun . My fave is my Mark III++ . But both amps you mentioned are super fun . I don’t own either but enjoyed the fuck out of

 

[Eazy-ESP]

Never played either, but the JP2C sounded way better in those particular clips.

 

[peterc52]

Get the IV. My favorite mark of all time. Have had them all

 

[ultimatemetalguitartones]

If I were you, I'd definitely play either of these amps first and then decide. Don't buy one based on Ola's clips. I've played both and I much prefer the Mark IV Rev A - less compressed / more raw sounding.

 

[glpg80]

Id consider a 100W HRG IIC+ over a JP2C unless you needed the gig friendly features. The JP has fixed knob settings baked into it that the HRG doesn’t.

 

[cobrahead1030]

They’re both very solid choices.

If I were in the market, I’d happily grab whichever I found a good local deal on.

 

[BenoA]

Great times for fans of Mesa. Lots of options out there. Some years back, I bought a mini Mark V:25 after hearing Petrucci demo the prototype. Very nice lunch box amp and sounds as good as in the video.

Last year got a IIC+ RI as that was my fav channel in the MarkV:25. I'm still discovering new sounds in IIC+ and been very happy with mine.

Never played a V, VII or JP2C but I bet with all the knobs and switches, you can surely all the sound you'll ever want from one of those.

 

[Simon Dorn]

I had a Mark V and two JP2C. They sound like a Mesa (Rectifier) minus the the extended Bass and Treble.
I liked both Mark V and the older JP2C better. My first JP2C was a limited model.
Same for the Triple. I guess i don't like the Gibson era stuff.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

JP has a weird mid hump thing happening. I dug the VII for a modern mark tone. For half the cost I would get a IV. It’s been my favorite even over the heavy hitter IIC’s. But if leads are your priority, a real deal C+ is amazing.

 

[Racerxrated]

The C+ reissue makes other Marks pale in comparison. It's like comparing your awesome Marshall clone build, which is killer, to a real vintage Marshall and realizing how good the vintage one is, even over a modern clone with the right parts.
The IV is the closest thing to a real C+ that I've played, and I went to a retailer to try the JP and liked the IV better. But, that's all moot now that Mesa has nailed the C+ reissue. There's nothing like the feel of a C+, and the clarity is another level too.
The Mark VII does sound good...but, I've heard from a couple owners (that sold theirs) that the power section is kinda weak in comparison to other 100w amps.
I'd recommend trying the HRG C+ reissue from a retailer and return if you don't dig it. Same with the VII if that's what you lean towards.

 

[technomancer]

I've owned a JP2C, VII, IIC+ reissue and a IIC++ reissue. They're all great amps. I've still got the JP2C and the IIC++.

Once you learn to dial in a mark you really can't go wrong with any of the above. Comparing the JP2C and the VII the JP2C has more mids and is a bit darker. The reissues are great amps but have the limitations that come with the control set of the old marks, so if you want THAT sound they're awesome but you're not going to be switching between sounds on the fly.

I'll probably get another VII at some point, but at the time decided I didn't need three marks.

 

[FourT6and2]

I had a Mark V and two JP2C. They sound like a Mesa (Rectifier) minus the the extended Bass and Treble.
I liked both Mark V and the older JP2C better. My first JP2C was a limited model.
Same for the Triple. I guess i don't like the Gibson era stuff.

I actually like this new era of Mesa. I played a new Triple recently and thought it was the best Recto I've personally played/heard. I had a three-channel dual many years ago and hated it. The new Triple sounded great. And I have a new Gibson-era (lol) 4x12 trad that kills.

 

[FourT6and2]

If I were you, I'd definitely play either of these amps first and then decide. Don't buy one based on Ola's clips. I've played both and I much prefer the Mark IV Rev A - less compressed / more raw sounding.

I'll try to find a shop that has them. But that's probably a long shot. Hell... Petaluma is like 30 minutes from me. I wish Mesa had a factory demo room. But they don't.

 

[BABMusic]

I own a IV. They are smooth amps. Probably the tightest amps in the low end I've ever played and you'll never need a boost. Even though people compare them to the Recto, they really sound almost nothing like them. Rectos have a looser bottom and more bass and a differnt voicing. Marks have lots of bass (or more like thump) from the slider EQ. Basically to dial a Mark, keep the bass at 4 or less. I keep the mids at zero too. Gain, Treble and Drive are gain controls. The graphic EQ is your real EQ. They are actually not that difficult to dial in once you understand them.

The feel of them is something I enjoy. They have this sort of nice balance of more immediate yet smooth and soft feeling. You wont' have to use a heavy pick attack. They are very unforgiving though so be aware of that. Contrary to what a lot of people say, they can sound surprisingly Marshall-y, but they always have that Mark series voicing. Also, I found mine sounds better with V30s -- Greenbacks don't seem to work as well as the amp becomes too smooth. G12T75s work really well with them too. If you don't mind endless options to tweek, you'll love them.

 

[cobrahead1030]

I actually like this new era of Mesa. I played a new Triple recently and thought it was the best Recto I've personally played/heard. I had a three-channel dual many years ago and hated it. The new Triple sounded great. And I have a new Gibson-era (lol) 4x12 trad that kills.

I think the amps they’re putting out now sound as good as anything they’ve ever done. Their marketing is just annoying these days.

 

[BABMusic]

Also, if you want the late 80s Metallica tone (Puppets, Justice, Black album), Marks are the answer.

What scares me though is the reliability. I had one of those orange capacitors go bad and had to be repaired. I was told that's almost expected of them over time. I might eventually upgrade to a VII if my IV ever gets to the point where it's too expensive to keep.

 

[stratjacket]

I think you can’t go wrong with either. I went through this same exact scenario, never owned a Mesa of any kind and spent tons of time researching between the two.

I ended up buying the VII. My reasoning, the VII had the IIC+ mode as well as other modes in it where the JP2C was really focused on the IIC+. So I went with the VII. I had no regrets but still kinda wanted the JP2C.

The VII mode on the VII was really good and can’t get anywhere but the VII. I had one channel on mode VII and the other channel on IIC+ and enjoyed switching between them.

If I did it again, I’d probably just go for the best deal I could find for them. They’re both great.