Mesa Mark VII vs JP-2C

[mentoneman]

What's your current favourite of the series?

the IIIs were sort of a pinnacle moment in the evolution of the Mark series if you ask me. like the IIB/Cs we were playing previously were moving towards where the III seemingly landed when it became the new flagship. higher gain, 3 modes/channels and still very raw and aggressive. but i have played mighty IIIs as in the no stripe Coli the year it was released fresh off the factory floor with brand new tubes of that era, and terribly maintained examples.

having recently played a IC+ and III ++ i’m totally satisfied with my III.

when the IV came out and me and my circle of boogie friends scratched our collective heads.
great on paper but it felt like the sharper edges of the III got smoothed off too much. the IV’s independent clean was awesome and a cut above the III cleans. although by comparison i was much happier with a triaxis than a IV. i’d also prefer a green stripe III than a IV.

wasn’t too into V or JP but i’d happily grab a VII if i didn’t have my blue III.

 

[2dor]

.... need to get me a Mark VIi now

 

[Anje]

Guys please stop it! Getting a new amp is not at the top of the prio list at the moment

@mentoneman & great team here who have been able to play all the Mark model variations since the beginning/back then/late 70’s - early 80’s: may I please ask you what model would you advise as the best to seek out for some « classic » 80’s/90’s hard rock / metal? The mighty John Sykes circa mid 80’s / 90’s for example is the first name that I have in mind.
I have to confess I’ve always been kind of lost between all the successive models/iterations/stripe colors etc. and they are not many around here in Europe to play, whatever the model, even more so the older ones.

 

[rsm]

In general I prefer Marshalls, so not a Mesa expert by any means.

a few years ago I was considering a Mesa, and it was before the more recent reissues before Gibson fired Randall; it was down to VII or JP-2C.

I have a JP-2C. I play standard tuning, or half-step down, 6-strings, so the features for downtuning to incoherent levels of sonic sludge are not something I use. But compared to the VII, the JP-2C has the sound and features I actually use, and less of what I don't want, need or use.

Sounds great to me. Just got a second Mesa compact 2x12 a few months ago, that was backordered for awhile

 

[TheGreatGreen]

Mark IVb

 

[mentoneman]

Guys please stop it! Getting a new amp is not at the top of the prio list at the moment

@mentoneman & great team here who have been able to play all the Mark model variations since the beginning/back then/late 70’s - early 80’s: may I please ask you what model would you advise as the best to seek out for some « classic » 80’s/90’s hard rock / metal? The mighty John Sykes circa mid 80’s / 90’s for example is the first name that I have in mind.
I have to confess I’ve always been kind of lost between all the successive models/iterations/stripe colors etc. and they are not many around here in Europe to play, whatever the model, even more so the older ones.

my brother the mighty zachman had his no stripe coli III at the same time i had a black stripe no eq III, a coli IIB and a triaxis/395. my amps were killer but his coli III was sykes in a box.
when he ran it in 2290/spx stereo with another boogie, into a pair of 1960As with his rhoads jackson, it was firery whitesnake 1987 + accept-hoffman tones with endless sustain.

 

[mentoneman]

Mark IVb

i wouldn’t turn down a good deal on a IV. my perspectives on it are specifically from playing through the evolution of Marks in the 80s and how the IV seemed to veer from the previous direction that the II/III series was heading.

the VII “imo” seemed more to me like what the IV should have been.

one of my initial impressions was that the VII was like owning a stripped down/ limited channels triaxis with more realistic tone due to the GEQ vs the digital dynamic voice replica in the triaxis. i lived on rhythm yellow hyper clean and lead II yellow mark IIC+ of my v2/no phat mod triaxis with various stereo rack fxs and it was great. but it could have been better with a VII.

 

[Fusionbear]

my brother the mighty zachman had his no stripe coli III at the same time i had a black stripe no eq III, a coli IIB and a triaxis/395. my amps were killer but his coli III was sykes in a box.
when he ran it in 2290/spx stereo with another boogie, into a pair of 1960As with his rhoads jackson, it was firery whitesnake 1987 + accept-hoffman tones with endless sustain.

I agree. When I had my Coli no stripe, I had the best tone I've ever had....

I sold it for the Quad/Strategy set up. It was more flexible, but it did not sound as good as the Coli IMO...

 

[mrbush]

Well thanks guys now I’m gassing for a mark

 

[TheGreatGreen]

i wouldn’t turn down a good deal on a IV. my perspectives on it are specifically from playing through the evolution of Marks in the 80s and how the IV seemed to veer from the previous direction that the II/III series was heading.

the VII “imo” seemed more to me like what the IV should have been.

one of my initial impressions was that the VII was like owning a stripped down/ limited channels triaxis with more realistic tone due to the GEQ vs the digital dynamic voice replica in the triaxis. i lived on rhythm yellow hyper clean and lead II yellow mark IIC+ of my v2/no phat mod triaxis with various stereo rack fxs and it was great. but it could have been better with a VII.

I had a VII in the studio for a while and I liked it. When the V came out I never messed with it because I was put off that Mesa jettisoned one of the drive controls for an internally fixed resistor value of 7 or whatever it was. However the VII’s gain knob feels like it has a better sweep / broader range of usable gain, so I didn’t miss the old extra knob as much.

One thing I did miss in the VII was the IV’s old Presence Pull Shift control. Both modes are useful and the fact that the VII is missing one of them did make the amp feel like something was missing. Although I bet that kind of thing could be modded back in if you really wanted it. I can’t imagine it would be much more than a simple change in some singular component value in the negative feedback loop.

Overall the VII’s voicing was really good though. I wish I’d have thought to compare it with my Triaxis though. I also have a v2 with the phat mod removed. I’m with you that the Dynamic Voice is useless though, I never play the Triaxis without an outboard EQ.

At any rate, again I really liked the VII. I thought all the modes (except the Mk VII mode which tbf I spent hardly any time with) sounded fantastic.

If I had to pick one amp to get as many great usable sounds out of as possible, the VII would probably be at the top of the list.

 

[FourT6and2]

I had a VII in the studio for a while and I liked it. When the V came out I never messed with it because I was put off that Mesa jettisoned one of the drive controls for an internally fixed resistor value of 7 or whatever it was. However the VII’s gain knob feels like it has a better sweep / broader range of usable gain, so I didn’t miss the old extra knob as much.

One thing I did miss in the VII was the IV’s old Presence Pull Shift control. Both modes are useful and the fact that the VII is missing one of them did make the amp feel like something was missing. Although I bet that kind of thing could be modded back in if you really wanted it. I can’t imagine it would be much more than a simple change in some singular component value in the negative feedback loop.

Overall the VII’s voicing was really good though. I wish I’d have thought to compare it with my Triaxis though. I also have a v2 with the phat mod removed. I’m with you that the Dynamic Voice is useless though, I never play the Triaxis without an outboard EQ.

At any rate, again I really liked the VII. I thought all the modes (except the Mk VII mode which tbf I spent hardly any time with) sounded fantastic.

If I had to pick one amp to get as many great usable sounds out of as possible, the VII would probably be at the top of the list.

The VII mode was my favorite haha. Sounded like it bridged the gap between a Recto and Mark.

 

[mentoneman]

The VII mode was my favorite haha. Sounded like it bridged the gap between a Recto and Mark.

great description!

 

[mentoneman]

i’d be remiss if i didn’t point to @GJgo and his exhaustive research and video/audio comparisons of different boogies old and new with and without backing tracks.

with his perspective geared towards heavier tones he’ll point to the reissue recto and IIC+ as the new mesa benchmarks. i haven’t played those but i trust he knows what he’s talking about.

 

[mentoneman]

i also requested that Randy Smith have his friends demo some of their boogies to use as a conversation piece on his YT channel and he said he would do that later this year.

 

[mentoneman]

this kills me as mine was imbuya/wicker with RS sig

https://reverb.com/item/94298705-mesa-boogie-mark-iib-coliseum-1981-300-series-ii-b-with-hardcase

 

[GJgo]

i’d be remiss if i didn’t point to @GJgo and his exhaustive research and video/audio comparisons of different boogies old and new with and without backing tracks.

with his perspective geared towards heavier tones he’ll point to the reissue recto and IIC+ as the new mesa benchmarks. i haven’t played those but i trust he knows what he’s talking about.

Thanks man. Really there's an ass for every saddle. I'm glad we have so many options and guys can dial in what makes the most sense for them. I know what I like, and am always happy to share my opinions, but I also know that 5 guys can play 5 amps and all have a different opinion about what's "best"! I do try to give nods to amps that aren't my "favorite" when I think they might fit a bill better- for example for heavy 7 string playing I think a C+ is really the wrong answer, and a V or JP might fit the bill better if you need a Mark.

Lately the only thing I'm playing in the band is the Recto RI. It just kills for what we're doing both at home & live.

Now if they'd make an amp that had Cali Tweed cleans, Blue Angel dirt and Mark IV lead tones, game over!!

 

[mentoneman]

Thanks man. Really there's an ass for every saddle. I'm glad we have so many options and guys can dial in what makes the most sense for them. I know what I like, and am always happy to share my opinions, but I also know that 5 guys can play 5 amps and all have a different opinion about what's "best"! I do try to give nods to amps that aren't my "favorite" when I think they might fit a bill better- for example for heavy 7 string playing I think a C+ is really the wrong answer, and a V or JP might fit the bill better if you need a Mark.

Lately the only thing I'm playing in the band is the Recto RI. It just kills for what we're doing both at home & live.

Now if they'd make an amp that had Cali Tweed cleans, Blue Angel dirt and Mark IV lead tones, game over!!

i like how you think…!
my brain is wired that way too! wanting to take the best of this amp, the best of that amp..etc.

another caveat worth mentioning is i didn’t get to play the VII at band volumes—just at bother the GC employees volume, which i feel is every rig talk forumite’s duty heretofore and in perpetuity

 

[Little B]

I'm still digging my v2 tx4 triaxis into strategy 500 or vht 2150.Its just a lot of fun.For amp heads,I'm firmly rooted in the iic+,iii, and colis.my iv a and b took a direction in tone I wasn't completely sold on.I would agree, having played the v,jp,and vii,I feel like the vii should've been after the iiis.Some of you commented on your fav new" dream" boogie- mine would be a vii coli,with 2 eqs..oh,and a new updated triaxis.

 

[JonPearson1994]

wasn’t too into V or JP but i’d happily grab a VII if i didn’t have my blue III.

Funnily enough, the only thing that pulled me away from my blue stripe was the VII

I had a blue stripe that had been freshly gone through by Mike B., I loved that amp. I got the VII right when it came out mostly because I had been so broke when the JP2C came out - this time time I really wanted to ride the hype train. The VII is the only amp I've ever bought new! It was so good, I ended up trading the III for a modded JVM (which I'm currently trying to hunt back down).

 

[anomaly]

I had a Mark III red stripe about 15 years ago. At the time was I was playing in a modern metal band tuned to drop C and Drop B...That head was that was one of the meanest sounding metal amps that I have ever encountered. I was baffled that Mesa produced such an amplifier in the mid-late 80"s. Even today few amps rival it's sheer aggression.

I had a Mark III red stripe that I used in a extreme metal band, drop-b and drop c tunings. I dug the amp, but when I went to record my bands demo it ultimately could not sound modern enough... I ended up using a Randall rg100es with a maxon od808 for most of the tracks. It made the Mark III sound a bit tame by comparison.

If I was in a thrash band though, it (the III) would have been much more suited for the job.