Price check: factory Mesa IIC+ DRG w/ 105PT

Let's see it Jeremy, I love my SG++ it plain kills. It is just even and in class A or AB surprisingly I no preference. It packs a punch that no one would believe.
 
The brown truck is delivering it tomorrow!! Will post when I get it. Based on how it sounded before I sent it in odds are good this might be one of my favs.

I sent Mike a check to ++ it but being a no-G he actually talked me out of it. I tend to take his advice. :)
 
He did a cap job, repaired a failure in the V1 socket, and a long list of other things it needed. It was all original. Resistors out of spec, pot cleaning etc.. He had about 3 hours in it.

I'd have to go count but he's fixed up about 10 old amps for me. Only 1 didn't need anything, a MkIV.
 
The Amp Has Returned!! Mike replaced a LOT of parts in it. And the tone KILLS!! This SR is without question the fastest, tightest, most aggressive of all the IIC+ I've had. Very aggressive. I think it might actually be a little faster & tighter than my IIB+ KRG, which is IMPRESSIVE. At first play I also think it has a killer tone w/o the GEQ- which is saying something for a Mark. I'll play it at band practice tomorrow night & see how it sounds in the mix. That's the real test, and where I've lost enthusiasm on the other C+.
 
I remember saying that DRG long heads were going for 5k or more with export transformer and everyone attacked me saying I was out of my mind on that price... now everyone agrees that a DRG non long head is worth 4-5k? :doh:

You can find a non long head fully loaded DRG for 3-4k all day but you have to be patient. Loaded long head, yes different story easy 5k+.
 
EXPcustom":2fh0ll85 said:
I remember saying that DRG long heads were going for 5k or more with export transformer and everyone attacked me saying I was out of my mind on that price... now everyone agrees that a DRG non long head is worth 4-5k? :doh:

You can find a non long head fully loaded DRG for 3-4k all day but you have to be patient. Loaded long head, yes different story easy 5k+.

I've been looking around for the last few months, and I haven't even seen a DRG with the 105PT that's legitimately for sale. But the upgraded IIC DRGs with the 100PT seem to be listed for between 3-4K. Not sure what they're selling for.

For the record, the 100PT sounds great. I have a Mark III that ended up with one somehow. Wonderful sounding amp.
 
On a side note, a friend of mine owned every 2C+, ++ available. Coli’s, long head, short head, etc. He now owns a Mark III++ with 105 transformer and pentode/triode switch and few other mods. His Mark III sounded every bit as good as the 2C+’s, and personally feel it sounded better in most aspects.
 
psychodave":ap4js7fg said:
On a side note, a friend of mine owned every 2C+, ++ available. Coli’s, long head, short head, etc. He now owns a Mark III++ with 105 transformer and pentode/triode switch and few other mods. His Mark III sounded every bit as good as the 2C+’s, and personally feel it sounded better in most aspects.


There you go again with your common-sensical level headed talk again. Stop! A MKIII better than the mythical MKIIC+... HERESY I SAY!

Well maybe that explains why I own bunch more modified MKIIIs and only 2 MKIIC++ amps... hmmm... :confused: :D
 
Wizard of Ozz":m14q7v8w said:
psychodave":m14q7v8w said:
On a side note, a friend of mine owned every 2C+, ++ available. Coli’s, long head, short head, etc. He now owns a Mark III++ with 105 transformer and pentode/triode switch and few other mods. His Mark III sounded every bit as good as the 2C+’s, and personally feel it sounded better in most aspects.


There you go again with your common-sensical level headed talk again. Stop! A MKIII better than the mythical MKIIC+... HERESY I SAY!

Well maybe that explains why I own bunch more modified MKIIIs and only 2 MKIIC++ amps... hmmm... :confused: :D
:confused:
Sure, sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while. I've owned 2 Mark IIIs(Purple, Red), 3 2B Coliseums(one with a loop mod) and the difference in tone between ALL those amps vs ANY of the C+s I've owned was huge. Like taking a blanket off the speakers huge. I'm sure there are some gems out there in non 2C+ land but every one of the 4 C+s I've owned would destroy any of the others in EVERY category. Not even close.

Now, Braintheory has a no stripe Mark III Coliseum that he likes more than his HRG C+. Of course, all the Coliseum power sections are pretty much identical from inception according to Mike B, with some filtering changes.

Btw, the 2 Mk IIIs I owned were Simulclass and loaded with 415s.
Go figure.
 
EXPcustom":20d9tfhk said:
I remember saying that DRG long heads were going for 5k or more with export transformer and everyone attacked me saying I was out of my mind on that price... now everyone agrees that a DRG non long head is worth 4-5k? :doh:

You can find a non long head fully loaded DRG for 3-4k all day but you have to be patient. Loaded long head, yes different story easy 5k+.
:confused:
You asserted that a long head original DRG sounded better than an upgraded short head. I say that the differences that exist are the normal differences between any 2 of the same make/model amps. The dreaded original vs upgrade argument. I have owned one original, and 3 upgrades. The 'worst' sounding? The original. Still a killer amp though.
I do agree with you that an original will ALWAYS fetch more cash than any upgrade. Just the way it is.
 
Racerxrated":2t8kun1x said:
Wizard of Ozz":2t8kun1x said:
psychodave":2t8kun1x said:
On a side note, a friend of mine owned every 2C+, ++ available. Coli’s, long head, short head, etc. He now owns a Mark III++ with 105 transformer and pentode/triode switch and few other mods. His Mark III sounded every bit as good as the 2C+’s, and personally feel it sounded better in most aspects.


There you go again with your common-sensical level headed talk again. Stop! A MKIII better than the mythical MKIIC+... HERESY I SAY!

Well maybe that explains why I own bunch more modified MKIIIs and only 2 MKIIC++ amps... hmmm... :confused: :D
:confused:
Sure, sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while. I've owned 2 Mark IIIs(Purple, Red), 3 2B Coliseums(one with a loop mod) and the difference in tone between ALL those amps vs ANY of the C+s I've owned was huge. Like taking a blanket off the speakers huge. I'm sure there are some gems out there in non 2C+ land but every one of the 4 C+s I've owned would destroy any of the others in EVERY category. Not even close.

Now, Braintheory has a no stripe Mark III Coliseum that he likes more than his HRG C+. Of course, all the Coliseum power sections are pretty much identical from inception according to Mike B, with some filtering changes.

Btw, the 2 Mk IIIs I owned were Simulclass and loaded with 415s.
Go figure.
From my experience the red, blue, or purple stripe aren’t gonna cut it you’re looking for what the iic+ does tonally (even with the c+ mod), but they’re still very cool amps in other ways like the blue’s bite and tightness compared to a c+. Just a bit different flavors to the iic+

That no stripe coli I have sounded very very close to my c+ hrg when AB’ed even before I sent it to Mike B for the mod and now to my ears it has literally everything I hear and love about my c+ hrg, but with the added horsepower and beefiness of the coli and the ++ option when desired. I’ve not tried other early no stripe/black stripe mark iii’s, but I’d bet others would sound very similar if not the same to how mine did stock

It’s definitely my favorite of any Boogie I’ve tried by a good margin and I’ve tried a few other c+’s
 
Ok pricing gurus. So I got this SR IIC+ back from Mesa as mentioned & it rips. Tight as a frog's ass, fast as a Ferrari and very minimal mid hump compared to most Marks, almost like Mike tweaked something for me. There are a lot of differences even amp to amp, and I can tell you this is a good one. So what would you guys put the value at? Do you add value for the fact that it just got a fresh Mike B. service? Do you add value because someone who has owned a whole bunch of these says "this is a really good one"?
 
GJgo":hsktv3t1 said:
Ok pricing gurus. So I got this SR IIC+ back from Mesa as mentioned & it rips. Tight as a frog's ass, fast as a Ferrari and very minimal mid hump compared to most Marks, almost like Mike tweaked something for me. There are a lot of differences even amp to amp, and I can tell you this is a good one. So what would you guys put the value at? Do you add value for the fact that it just got a fresh Mike B. service? Do you add value because someone who has owned a whole bunch of these says "this is a really good one"?

I always add a little to the value when the amp has been properly serviced... especially by Mesa Boogie and the same guy that’s been doing it for decades. The amp is 95% like new.
 
I'd say 2.5k to 3.5k $ range is fair nowadays. At least that's what I've paid in the past and would be willing to pay now. You also often see "less desirable" versions (no eq etc) go for 2k or under.
 
psychodave":1lvisrt9 said:
GJgo":1lvisrt9 said:
Ok pricing gurus. So I got this SR IIC+ back from Mesa as mentioned & it rips. Tight as a frog's ass, fast as a Ferrari and very minimal mid hump compared to most Marks, almost like Mike tweaked something for me. There are a lot of differences even amp to amp, and I can tell you this is a good one. So what would you guys put the value at? Do you add value for the fact that it just got a fresh Mike B. service? Do you add value because someone who has owned a whole bunch of these says "this is a really good one"?

I always add a little to the value when the amp has been properly serviced... especially by Mesa Boogie and the same guy that’s been doing it for decades. The amp is 95% like new.

I wouldn't consider filter cap replacement, pot cleaning, jack cleaning, new tubes etc. justification to call an amp 95% like new. Sure it's less likely to cause issues, but there's still a shit ton of components in one of these amps that never get touched I would assume (maybe I'm wrong here).

I would however agree that the value of a Mesa serviced amp is justified with a higher asking price.
 
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