Mark IIC+

F

firmani99

Inspired
I have been a long time Mesa user and I have quite a few. That being said I have never played a IIC+. The closest I have ever come is the IIC+ mode on a Mark V. Everyone has described it as "aggressive" but I never cared much for that mode on the mark V I always used mark iv or extreme, or my real mark iv.

I bought the AXE FX in july and have been loving it. I naturally gravitated to the MArk iv model to duplicate my old tone. Last week I played around with the IIC+ plus and there was the aggression everyone talked about!!!!! Anyone have a IIC+? does the the model do it justice? I don't know how to describe it but it has a spike in the lower mids or something.
 
People who own an actual 2c+ are few and far between. Given how good everything else I have experience with sounds, there's no reason to believe this model is anything less than a stellar representation of the original.
 
I think you are probably right. It's kind of funny that it took an amp model for me to finally see the magic in a vintage amp! lol
 
Don't feel bad .... The IIC+ was a fairly difficult amp to dial in and it was well neigh impossible if it didn't have the EQ option ....

I owned one w/ white Tolex back in the 80's and I always had difficulty balancing the clean channel vrs the gain channel ....

IIRC - I used to dial the clean side like a Fender ( very low bass ) and then use the EQ to get the gain channel to sound more like a Marshall ....

And I never thought of the knobs as 1 thru 10. It was more like 1.2 .., 1.3 ..., 1.4 ..., etc;

Small adjustments in the knob twisting made some drastic changes ( sometimes ) ....

I think it was because the tone stack was more interactive than other amps back in the day ....
 
I used a IIC+ as my main rig for quite a while. I love that amp, for me I always found that the trademark Mesa growl cut through a mix well. As R.D. said above, it's difficult to balance the clean and dirty channels, I had a complicated pedal board with relays and loops that would change channels on the amp and switch in/out a clean boost or EQ as needed to get a variety of sounds. I originally got the Axe to use in 4CM and replace that pedal board. At first it was just for FX, then I started bypassing the IIC+ preamp for clean and mid-gain tones. Eventually, I found sounds in the Axe I liked as much as the IIC+ for high gain and lead sounds, so I stopped using the IIC+ to save the weight. I was on firmware 6 at that point and was up until a wekk ago. When Quantum came out, I finally upgraded because I really liked the new FW. Since it had been a while, I set up my IIC+ alongside my Axe rig and A/Bed them. The Axe IIC+ model really sounds close to the real one. I have two IIC+ amps, and the Axe model is as close to the real one as the two amps are to each other (no two amps, even the same model, sound 100% identical). You can definately get an authentic IIC+ sound out of the model, especially with Quantum.
 
That is great to hear, I have never been a Mesa guy, but I love the IIc+, growl, so much more
full bodied and detailed compared to other amps back then. I am a Marshall guy at heart, but
when you need to really get heavy, Mesa will deliver every time.
 
You dont know who's using the IIC+ ? Well, there is Metallica and John Petrucci of Dream Theater to name a few.
 
LostInSpace said:
I used a IIC+ as my main rig for quite a while. I love that amp, for me I always found that the trademark Mesa growl cut through a mix well. As R.D. said above, it's difficult to balance the clean and dirty channels, I had a complicated pedal board with relays and loops that would change channels on the amp and switch in/out a clean boost or EQ as needed to get a variety of sounds. I originally got the Axe to use in 4CM and replace that pedal board. At first it was just for FX, then I started bypassing the IIC+ preamp for clean and mid-gain tones. Eventually, I found sounds in the Axe I liked as much as the IIC+ for high gain and lead sounds, so I stopped using the IIC+ to save the weight. I was on firmware 6 at that point and was up until a wekk ago. When Quantum came out, I finally upgraded because I really liked the new FW. Since it had been a while, I set up my IIC+ alongside my Axe rig and A/Bed them. The Axe IIC+ model really sounds close to the real one. I have two IIC+ amps, and the Axe model is as close to the real one as the two amps are to each other (no two amps, even the same model, sound 100% identical). You can definately get an authentic IIC+ sound out of the model, especially with Quantum.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that post, I would love to try one of your presets, if you're willing to share !
 
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