Something similar to a IIC+ ...

[willrock]

man after having a mark iv and mark v ,i found a iic+ to be dissapointing....like how i felt when i heard a vh4 after a herbert, but thats just me... everyone seems to think differently ....so i would try before buy

can you elaborate your experience?

 

[spawnofthesith]

Nope. I initially liked the amp as well, after about 3 weeks a MUCH different story. I got sick and tired of it really fast after the initial honeymoon wore off. All the bad qualities of the amp just kept growing more than anything good about it. The IIC+ mode is a lifeless dud compared to a good sounding IIC+. The clean channel was decent, the crunch mode on channel 2 was nice, the other 2 modes were garbage though on channel 2. And channel 3, i was constantly fiddling with the knobs and never happy.

Dumping the Mark V and getting my Cali mod was the best thing i ever did and i have to thank Gainfreak for telling me to stop thinking about Diezel, Bogner, Engl, etc when he said to just send Mike a message.

Just curious, but did you get a chance to run the Mark V with EL34s in it? That really transformed channels 2 and 3 for me on mine, and I think it sounds miles better with those than the 6L6's (as do most people on the boogie board). I am sure you would still be more pleased with your Cali Mod (I have been gassing for something Fortin ever since I registered here with all you people! ) but EL34s still might of left you with a better impression of the Mark V

 

[JB6464]

quad preamp into a simul 2:95??

+1 ^^^
Or save some cash and get a Carvin T100 power amp.
I love my Quad preamp with the Carvin T100 power amp with EL34's.
MKII C+ all day long and MKIII tones that crush other modeling amps.

 

[Digital Jams]

After owning all the Mark series amps from the IIC+ up to the V, i have a Fortin modded Marshall and it really makes me smile everytime i plug in. If you love the Mark series amp you can dial in tones on the Cali mod that would make John Sykes proud, but you can also dial in brown Marshall tones with much less compression.

As far as Boogies go, i disagree somewhat about the III sounding dead on with the IIC+'s. I've owned them both and played IIC+ amps in the same room as Mark III's, blue stripes though. If anything the III's have more gain but they sound nasty compared to a IIC+. The IIC+ will sound warmer, more organic, without the harsh top end all IMHO. Of course you can dial in III's to sound how you want, and i believe there's some MOJO in those coliseum amps that makes them sound better than a regular III.

And the Mark V....yeah, forget that amp, not close. The Mark V sounds like a more vanilla version of the Mark IV with less gain.

other than a few guys that I know I firmly believe 90% will NOT guess the IIc+ in a test three times in a row with a properly tweaked III or IV. Maybe lead tones but ug ug ug chug playing? Nope.

 

[thiswaythatway]

After owning all the Mark series amps from the IIC+ up to the V, i have a Fortin modded Marshall and it really makes me smile everytime i plug in. If you love the Mark series amp you can dial in tones on the Cali mod that would make John Sykes proud, but you can also dial in brown Marshall tones with much less compression.

As far as Boogies go, i disagree somewhat about the III sounding dead on with the IIC+'s. I've owned them both and played IIC+ amps in the same room as Mark III's, blue stripes though. If anything the III's have more gain but they sound nasty compared to a IIC+. The IIC+ will sound warmer, more organic, without the harsh top end all IMHO. Of course you can dial in III's to sound how you want, and i believe there's some MOJO in those coliseum amps that makes them sound better than a regular III.

And the Mark V....yeah, forget that amp, not close. The Mark V sounds like a more vanilla version of the Mark IV with less gain.

other than a few guys that I know I firmly believe 90% will NOT guess the IIc+ in a test three times in a row with a properly tweaked III or IV. Maybe lead tones but ug ug ug chug playing? Nope.

Me and Paige one time had 3 IIC+'s on the same cab once. I thought they all sounded a little different. 2 of them sounded real good, one didn't sound that great at all to me. I think i remember us swapping tubes. So if someone got that amp that didn't sound great and was expecting THE IIC+ sound and they were let down by it, what does that say? Would they think that a IIC+ isn't what it should be based off 1 amp? With older amps I'm guessing it happens more often that new amps. With new amps i do expect more consistency. I've played plenty of Mark V's in stores compared to the one i owned and thought they were all the same.

And with the IIC+ versus the others, i played them enough times to know that they sound different, the III's don't sound like the IIC+. Maybe you wouldn't hear the difference in clips but in the room it's a different story. I mean shit, i made clips with Boogies, Engl's, Diezel's, and there's not a lot of difference in tone between them because, probably, i sound the same on different amps and my recording equipment isn't good enough to capture the intricate differences in the amps? Ohhh, I'm getting a little Gear Page on you.

 

[Digital Jams]

I would think you would get it in a test, I know you have a ton of time on them I also bet most that received that "sick" IIc+, as you TGPers call grail amps that are not sounding right..... , would be blown away due to mind games

Ever think about the word "mint" on a 20 yer old amp cause the headshell looks great?? Kind of like a 1986 Ferrari 308 that looks mint and the engine passes more oil than BP.

 

[glassjaw7]

Haven't heard one in person, but I think the Friedman BE with the Saturation switch engaged sound a bit like the Mark series. I mean, it obviously has its own thing going on, but there's a resemblance.

 

[gibson5413]

After owning all the Mark series amps from the IIC+ up to the V, i have a Fortin modded Marshall and it really makes me smile everytime i plug in. If you love the Mark series amp you can dial in tones on the Cali mod that would make John Sykes proud, but you can also dial in brown Marshall tones with much less compression.

As far as Boogies go, i disagree somewhat about the III sounding dead on with the IIC+'s. I've owned them both and played IIC+ amps in the same room as Mark III's, blue stripes though. If anything the III's have more gain but they sound nasty compared to a IIC+. The IIC+ will sound warmer, more organic, without the harsh top end all IMHO. Of course you can dial in III's to sound how you want, and i believe there's some MOJO in those coliseum amps that makes them sound better than a regular III.

And the Mark V....yeah, forget that amp, not close. The Mark V sounds like a more vanilla version of the Mark IV with less gain.

other than a few guys that I know I firmly believe 90% will NOT guess the IIc+ in a test three times in a row with a properly tweaked III or IV. Maybe lead tones but ug ug ug chug playing? Nope.

This is how I feel. I still liked my IV better than the IIC+. It did my tones overall much better. The IIC+ had a killer lead tone but rhythm just lacked bite. I liked it but unfortunately had during a transition period for me. Just wasn't fitting my style anymore. If I had a chance to own a IV or a IIC+ I would go with the IV.

 

[FIREBALL]

man after having a mark iv and mark v ,i found a iic+ to be dissapointing....like how i felt when i heard a vh4 after a herbert, but thats just me... everyone seems to think differently ....so i would try before buy

can you elaborate your experience?

well first i had a mark4, it was my fav...then i listened to cds with a mark iic+,thought it would sound better, plus i heard the reviews....but when i played a couple it sounded a little thinner to me...not as beefy...i really did....the vh4 gave me the same feeling after having a herbert....i really felt that way

 

[FIREBALL]

After owning all the Mark series amps from the IIC+ up to the V, i have a Fortin modded Marshall and it really makes me smile everytime i plug in. If you love the Mark series amp you can dial in tones on the Cali mod that would make John Sykes proud, but you can also dial in brown Marshall tones with much less compression.

As far as Boogies go, i disagree somewhat about the III sounding dead on with the IIC+'s. I've owned them both and played IIC+ amps in the same room as Mark III's, blue stripes though. If anything the III's have more gain but they sound nasty compared to a IIC+. The IIC+ will sound warmer, more organic, without the harsh top end all IMHO. Of course you can dial in III's to sound how you want, and i believe there's some MOJO in those coliseum amps that makes them sound better than a regular III.

And the Mark V....yeah, forget that amp, not close. The Mark V sounds like a more vanilla version of the Mark IV with less gain.

other than a few guys that I know I firmly believe 90% will NOT guess the IIc+ in a test three times in a row with a properly tweaked III or IV. Maybe lead tones but ug ug ug chug playing? Nope.

This is how I feel. I still liked my IV better than the IIC+. It did my tones overall much better. The IIC+ had a killer lead tone but rhythm just lacked bite. I liked it but unfortunately had during a transition period for me. Just wasn't fitting my style anymore. If I had a chance to own a IV or a IIC+ I would go with the IV.

my mark iv sounded identical to my mark v as close as 2 amps could, and my mark 4 was amazing

 

[srommes]

I owned two different Mark IV A's and although they sounded excellent and were more versatile than my IIC+, neither had the tone equivalent of the lead channel on my IIC+. You can choose to say the sound of the IIC+ is all hype but those of us who own them know better.

 

[FIREBALL]

I owned two different Mark IV A's and although they sounded excellent and were more versatile than my IIC+, neither had the tone equivalent of the lead channel on my IIC+. You can choose to say the sound of the IIC+ is all hype but those of us who own them know better.

i agree the lead tone can be better and more liquidy, but if hes all about the heavy, the 2c+ could let him down after some of his other amps....but not all 2c+s and ivs r the same so u never know

 

[blackba]

A local guy is selling a mark IIC, don't know all the options, but I thought about buying it and having it converted to a IIC+. Then, I decided, it wasn't worth the hassle. I have a mark IVA that I really like. If any one is interested in a IIC or IIB let me know.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Why not bump an old thread.

I was in GC today and decided to plug into a Mark V again. I played a few amps first and just had a miserable time in there with pretty much every single guitar in the store setup like total GARBAGE. I played some Egnaters, an ED combo, a Lonestar, nothing was really working. I actually thought i was getting some decent sounds from the Mark V but still, that lead channel is really finicky. The Crunch mode on channel 2 is nice. But yeah, even if i got another one I'm sure I'd be selling it a month from now.

I've never owned a Quad and I'm really thinking about it since i have a Mesa 2:90 poweramp.

 

[Digital Jams]

A quad would be a cool way to get your boogie fix.

WAY better than paying for a IIc+ imo.

 

[thiswaythatway]

A quad would be a cool way to get your boogie fix.

WAY better than paying for a IIc+ imo.

That's what i was thinking. And I've found I'm NOT a menu scroller or patch saver and MIDI Schmitty, if you get my drift. Hope that doesn't hurt anyone's feelings.

 

[Digital Jams]

A quad would be a cool way to get your boogie fix.

WAY better than paying for a IIc+ imo.

That's what i was thinking. And I've found I'm NOT a menu scroller or patch saver and MIDI Schmitty, if you get my drift. Hope that doesn't hurt anyone's feelings.

Try working with an H3000 with a manual the thickness of the NYC whitepages.

 

[steve_k]

Mesa Boogie Mark 3 Red Stripe will get as close as the real thing.
I've owned both at the same time and decided the Mark 2c+ was not any better tone wise.
Any Mark 3 can get modded also.

I actually prefer my Mark III Red Stripe, which I picked up for $650 a couple years ago, over my IIC+.

Steve

 

[stephen sawall]

I have thought about picking up a Quad many times. There are two very different EQ shapes I like on the Mark amps and having a II and III preamp in one box sounds great to me.

I like my IV .... but if I was looking for a Mark it would be a III coliseum.