Ok. I had a Mark V combo just before the Axe so my tweaking is "memory based" but still.
There are a couple of things that could be the reason why the Axe IIc+ and the MarkV IIc+ versions differ.
The biggest difference I believe is because(and correct me if I'm wrong) the Axe version is based on a GEQ-version and the MarkV version is a NON-GEQ version.
After reading the MarkV manual a couple of times were Dough West explains the reason why there is a difference between the GEQ version and the NON-GEQ version I have come closer to the Mark V version.
The GEQ version in real life according to the investigations done by Mesa Boogie has a bigger capacitor just before the GEQ sliders than the Non-GEQ version. This results in that the GEQ version has alot more low end, but because the time constant differs between the two different capacitors there is also a major difference in feel.
The GEQ version is fatter, more low end heavy and "slower" and the NON-GEQ version is tighter and faster but with less low end. These differences can be noticed in the MarkV when switching between the IIc+ and the IV modes. I used to be able to set the gain knob to 6 and still keep the bass at 5, for the IIc+ but on the IV mode I had to keep the bass at around 2 to handle the Mark bass flub.
Now back to the Axe II.
Use the low cut in the Advanced pages, both the input low cut and the power amp low cut to tighten it up. Try one of them or both at something up to 200-300 Hz, experiment!. Now it is possible to increase the bass in the preamp tab to 5 without flub. Try also the new bass cut underneath the bass knob in the preamp tab.
I also reduced the sag and increased the B+ Time constant to make the feel faster and tighter.
For me I got very close feel wise.
The missing sizzle your talking about I could make more sizzling by messing with HI FREQ and HI RES in the Speaker tab in the Amp block.
Good luck!
