Thinking of saving up for a Mark iic+

  • Thread starter Thread starter BrentSSL
  • Start date Start date
BrentSSL

BrentSSL

Active member
I owned a MarkV for a year or so did not like other modes on the third channel other then the mk2c+ setting. I sold it and have been on an amp or rig hunt ever since. I have been working on a office/bedroom rig with a subway blues combo with a celestion greenback in it. Still trying pedals but I decided to try my pocket pod on California crunch setting and that sounded awesome but still felt like a pocket pod. I do not have much experience with the mark 2 plus I have heard that the original line 6 pod nails the tone pretty good. Could I just run a old school pod for a Mark 2 plus tone through a power amp or the back of an amp or should I get the Mark25 or 35 or should I get the real thing? How does the mk2c+ sound and feel in person is it as harsh as the mark v or the old mark iii? Is it super loud? what should I expect with this amp and which version should I look for? Finally is there any one who lives in or around north eastern ohio that had one I can try?
 
I don't know what a real Mark IIC+ sounds or feel like. I do know that I have just discovered how cool the 2C mode is on my Mark V. I like the Mark IV a lot and have had 2 mark IV's in the past. Up until just the last 2 weeks I was ready to sell my Mark V because I wasn't not happy with anything I was getting out of it. I picked up an Avatar 2x12 cabinet that is similar to the horizontal mesa recto cab. It made a world of difference. The amp seems to be very finicky about cab and speaker pairing. For me, the cabinet which I loaded with V30's sounds great with it and I think I'm finally content. The only thing I'd maybe opt to go with is a Friedman Runt 50. But the Mark V with my BE-OD is scratching that itch now. The thing with the Mark series amps is to eq with your ears and not your eyes. My graphic eq settings are kind of weird to look at, but they sound good. It's taken me over 3 years to dial this thing into where I want it. Another factor in the equation was using several different guitars all with different pickups and woods. It was a constant battle tweaking eq. I'm down to one guitar that I use and that's taken a lot of the fight out. The other thing with the 2c plus is shared eq. Have to decide if you can live with that. For me, total deal breaker.
 
I have a JP2C and I love it. How it stacks against an original 2c+ I have no idea but you see them used for $1900 which is a steal for all the features and tones the Jp2c delivers. Just a thought.
 
Yeah I for sure want to try a jp2c also I just figured the original 2 c plus was more idiot proof lol
 
One thing to remember, if you didn't like the Mark v, you may not like the 2c+ they're from the same gene pool, and the marks are a very unique voicing and require some patience to find the voice you like.
 
I had a IIC+ (a very long time ago) and now I'm a proud owner of a JP-2C.

While the IIC+ legend is true (I daily witnessed its amazing crunch/lead tones), it falls *very* short to what a modern amp (especially from Mesa) can offer.

The JP-2C is on a league of its own; tone and feature wise. Hell, even many would argue that the Mark IV is much superior to the fabled IIC+.

I'm convinced that John Petrucci aimed to create the "be all and end all" IIC+ amp; and this guy knew about the limitations of the amp from an active musician's perspective.

Simply put, the JP-2C is a far superior model (I dare say, it sounds better), but there will ALWAYS be a group of people out there (dentists maybe?) that are far more concerned about the lore of their $3000+ investment and will go at nothing to convince everyone that there is a valid reason to purchase an amp released 25 years ago because "it is the holy grail of tone".

In short, if you are more of a collector (and can afford it), then go for it. If you are a player, there are much better options out there, even outside of MESA.
 
Guys that have 2C+ amps have bought the JP2C. And then sold it. I'm sure they are cool, but fall a little short to the real deal.
 
I can get my mark iv to sound just like 2c+ I dont care what anyone says imo its a better amp too more tonal options...
 
Racerxrated":1h8em74q said:
Guys that have 2C+ amps have bought the JP2C. And then sold it. I'm sure they are cool, but fall a little short to the real deal.
Click to expand...

This. Can you find one single guy that bought the JP2C and said "Man, this is so much better. I'm going to sell my IIC+"... :D I've ran across lots of guys that have had both, and the JP2C was sold if they were selling one. I've yet to find a single person that has done the reverse.

I'm not knocking the JP2C. I think it's a fantastic amp and worth every penny. It's an infinitely more flexible amp with options the original IIC+ can't touch in terms of options and versatility. But, owners of both have consistently kept the original if one had to go.
 
Racerxrated":1zn4bcf5 said:
Guys that have 2C+ amps have bought the JP2C. And then sold it. I'm sure they are cool, but fall a little short to the real deal.
Click to expand...

I've had three 2C+ amps and have played 10+. I owned the JP2C at the same time as my 2C++. The JP2C is a killer amp and for the money, they can't be beat. That said, I found it was "almost" nothing like the real deal 2C+. It is kinda close, but I preferred my original a lot more and sold the JP2C.
 
So is it likely the transformers? Mesa knows what they're doing and it seems they'd try to get it there. I know you guys tried using same tubes so that's not it.

If so, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody, someday, did a transformer swap just to see. Wouldn't that be tits? JP2C versatility with 2C++ grail tone.
 
I've owned IIC+, several IIIs, a couple IVs, a V, several triaxis preamps, and a studio pre modded to IIC+ specs. They all can be dialed in VERY similarly. My fav of the bunch was a Red Stripe III. Least fav was the V. The IIC+ is awesome, but slightly overhyped IMO. YMMV as there are a multitude of variants of the IIC+.
 
155":2a9tson3 said:
I can get my mark iv to sound just like 2c+ I dont care what anyone says imo its a better amp too more tonal options...
Click to expand...

I've owned every Mark series amp from IIC, IIC+....several of them, plenty of III's and IV"s and a V. The closest to the IIC+ IMHO is the IV. I play hundreds of gigs with a IIC+ and if I did it over again I would have used a IV. Independent clean and gain with a little but shared between clean and R2. But being able to switch the loop in and out is big for me.


Between the IV and V, the V probably has a better clean and Rhythm channel but the lead channel of the IV is better...IMHO. You can really tweak the snot out of it, more so than the V.

I just sold a long chassis IV a few weeks back but bought another short chassis B version IV. On my OS Recto 4x12 is sounds pretty awesome. With the IV and my Fractal AX8 I have ZERO amp gas. Guitars? Well that's another story.
 
Rezamatix":myldut1y said:
155":myldut1y said:
I can get my mark iv to sound just like 2c+ I dont care what anyone says imo its a better amp too more tonal options...
Click to expand...


I would love to hear that example.
Click to expand...
you wont dork go buy one
 
All the Mark amps are great and they all have individuals that prefer them. The IV fits me best. Too be honest I wish I had them all. But from things you have posted BrentSSL I would highly recommend you check out JP2C. Just a guess but I think it might fit you best. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index. ... l.1719472/ The Heartbreaker, Lone Star, King Snake are all based on the Mark I. Added together on the link / poll it puts them in the same ballpark with the others. I will probably never sell my IV.... But have been thinking about picking up a Heartbreaker. It should be pointed out there is a lot of variation in individual amps sound on the Mark I & II. You can have two that look identical and they might sound pretty different. By the time the III came out that had changed. But each individual amp like a snowflake is a individual.
 
^^^^ awa I didn't think of that so all of them being built by hand they were all Sligh different. It's funny in the trucking world a semi that roles off the line will shift different then the one after it. Also I have noticed 3 channel rectos sound different as well. I'm starting to wonder if my mark 5 just needed a better cab then the Mesa one I had.
 
Had the chance to a/b my drg and my friends jp2c through a diezel 212 with v30s. I must say they are scarily identical. If anything the drg was a little brighter. Both were just as full sounding and felt really the same.

The mark 5 is deff tighter and obviously more modern sounding. Has a little more compression and will totally melt your face off with 7 string stuff.

I would honestly go for the jp2c, they did a great job with that amp. Whatever the dudes said above is true. the 2c+ sound is not hype...They sound/feel amazing, you wont understand what everyone means until your in a room with one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top