Mesa Mark II

HughJasol

Inspired
I'm trying to re-create the sound of a particular guitar solo using the actual documented amp settings (supposedly). The amp used was a 1979 Mesa Mark II. I looked through the FM3 amp models, and the closest match from what I can see is the "USA IIC+". I am not very well-versed in Mesa amps, and I'm wondering how close the Mark IIC+ sounds compared to the original Mark II? Or if there is a better model to use that more closely resembles the original Mark II (I see several model variations of the IIC+ and JP IIC+). I used the USA IIC+, but some of the documented settings I have don't appear to be present in the amp block settings.

The Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, and 5-band EQ settings were easy enough to duplicate. For the other settings, I could not find any obvious equivalent settings.

Here's what I'm trying to re-create (Green means I found and set the settings, and Red means I did not):

1979 Mesa Boogie Mark II
- Volume 1: 8
- Treble: 5/Pull Shift
- Bass: 3
- Middle: 10
- Master 1: Pull Gain Boost
- Lead Drive: 9/Pull Lead
- Lead Master: 7/Pull Bright
- Presence: 5
- Graphic EQ 80Hz: -4dB, 240Hz: +4dB, 750Hz: +11dB, 2200Hz: +9dB, 6600Hz: +8dB
- EQ In (not sure what that means?)

Into a Marshall 1960A 4x12 with Celestion G12M speakers - Is there an equivalent factory block for this? I see several factory 1960A cabinets, but nothing that indicates Celestion G12M speakers.

Can we start by confirming that the USA IIC+ model is the correct amp model I should be using? And then any help with these settings would be greatly appreciated ... TIA!
 
The IIB is more like a mix between the attack and tightness of a IIC+ and the compression and sweetness of a vintage Deluxe Reverb.
Old Boogie Marks are pretty much high headroom and tighter vintage Fender AB763 Blackface circuits.
 
I'm trying to re-create the sound of a particular guitar solo using the actual documented amp settings (supposedly). The amp used was a 1979 Mesa Mark II. I looked through the FM3 amp models, and the closest match from what I can see is the "USA IIC+". I am not very well-versed in Mesa amps, and I'm wondering how close the Mark IIC+ sounds compared to the original Mark II? Or if there is a better model to use that more closely resembles the original Mark II (I see several model variations of the IIC+ and JP IIC+). I used the USA IIC+, but some of the documented settings I have don't appear to be present in the amp block settings.

The Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, and 5-band EQ settings were easy enough to duplicate. For the other settings, I could not find any obvious equivalent settings.

Here's what I'm trying to re-create (Green means I found and set the settings, and Red means I did not):

1979 Mesa Boogie Mark II
- Volume 1: 8
- Treble: 5/Pull Shift
- Bass: 3
- Middle: 10
- Master 1: Pull Gain Boost
- Lead Drive: 9/Pull Lead
- Lead Master: 7/Pull Bright
- Presence: 5
- Graphic EQ 80Hz: -4dB, 240Hz: +4dB, 750Hz: +11dB, 2200Hz: +9dB, 6600Hz: +8dB
- EQ In (not sure what that means?)
Remember that the knob settings don’t necessarily correlate between the original and the modeled amp. “No Two Amps Sound the Same - Fact or Fallacy” talks about it.
Into a Marshall 1960A 4x12 with Celestion G12M speakers - Is there an equivalent factory block for this? I see several factory 1960A cabinets, but nothing that indicates Celestion G12M speakers.

Can we start by confirming that the USA IIC+ model is the correct amp model I should be using? And then any help with these settings would be greatly appreciated ... TIA!
The Cabinet models list has a number of references for G12M based speaker cabinets.
 
The IIB is more like a mix between the attack and tightness of a IIC+ and the compression and sweetness of a vintage Deluxe Reverb.
Old Boogie Marks are pretty much high headroom and tighter vintage Fender AB763 Blackface circuits.
Thanks, and I appreciate the reply . . . but I don't see any "IIB" model (I'm using the Wiki as a reference, as I don't have the FM3 right here in front of me ATM). Are you saying there is "USA IIB" model that might yield better results?
 
Remember that the knob settings don’t necessarily correlate between the original and the modeled amp. “No Two Amps Sound the Same - Fact or Fallacy” talks about it.
Thanks Greg - Yes, understood. And I did not expect it to be exact; but I did want to try those settings as documented wherever possible. However, I did (perhaps incorrectly) assume there would "equivalent" settings (for at least some of the settings, and at least to some degree) somewhere for some or all of those settings that did not have the actual knobs/switches explicitly identified within the model. For example, (from memory), there was a "Gain" and an "Input Gain" in the model (and I think maybe another setting) that could perhaps be equivalent to the original amp's "Lead Drive" knob, but I wasn't sure. Or is the "Lead Master" the same as the Master Volume within the model? Or perhaps one or more of the push/pull knobs on the original would simply equate to the Fat, Cut, or Bright switches in the IIC+ model (or maybe not); and what would the Bright Cap value be if that were the case? I thought someone well-versed in Mesa amps could chime in and tell me what those equivalents might be (perhaps "alternates" might be a better term than "equivalents"), or even just tell me that they simply don't exist.

The Cabinet models list has a number of references for G12M based speaker cabinets.
Thank you!

(Update: what I meant when I said I didn't see anything indicating GM12s was that I was only searching for 1960A cabinets, and none of those 1960A cabinets mentioned GM12s ... I didn't think to search for just the speakers themselves lol)
 
Thanks, and I appreciate the reply . . . but I don't see any "IIB" model (I'm using the Wiki as a reference, as I don't have the FM3 right here in front of me ATM). Are you saying there is "USA IIB" model that might yield better results?
Nope, not saying that at all.
What I'm saying is that if you want IIB tones on the FM3, either dial in a Blackface Deluxe Reverb with more gain and tighten up the lowend OR dial in a lower gain / looser MKIIC+ sound. You'll be in the ballpark then.
 
Also depends if it’s Simul-Class power I would think. I think Randall Smith came out with Simul-Class in the early eighties.
 
I have a Mark II-B and I remember vividly at the time that Boogie released the Mark II-C w/SimulClass right after I got it.. so I was a bit bummed.. if memory serves I contacted Randall to see if my II-B could be fitted with the SimulClass goodness and the answer was yes.. but I would have been without my amp for a couple months and it was a fairly expensive mod..

anyhow the Mark II-B served me quite well for many years playing everything from heavy metal to top40.. now I'm also wondering if I could tweak an FAS USA Mark II-C+ to get the Mark II-B tones.. I've texted @Leon and he's the one who suggested tweaking the II-C+.. I'd also like to know if @yek has some insight.
 
I have a Mark II-B and I remember vividly at the time that Boogie released the Mark II-C w/SimulClass right after I got it.. so I was a bit bummed.. if memory serves I contacted Randall to see if my II-B could be fitted with the SimulClass goodness and the answer was yes.. but I would have been without my amp for a couple months and it was a fairly expensive mod..

anyhow the Mark II-B served me quite well for many years playing everything from heavy metal to top40.. now I'm also wondering if I could tweak an FAS USA Mark II-C+ to get the Mark II-B tones.. I've texted @Leon and he's the one who suggested tweaking the II-C+.. I'd also like to know if @yek has some insight.
I had a cream IIB combo, and wanted to do the mod for the IIC, then decided it was too expensive too. IIRC, Mesa was trying to avoid the wasted parts caused by doing the upgrades.

The IIB had a great sound and I eventually decided I preferred its sound over the IIC. It was a HEAVY combo; I had the 50/100 option with an EV in it. It eventually ended up living in the closet and I sold it years later to pay rent to a friend who almost started crying when he saw how pristine it was.
 
I had the 50/100 option with an EV in it
I had a Mesa 4x12 w/EVs paired with my Mark II-B.. it was literally heavy as hell but it sounded great.. I don't have the cab anymore.. but the Mark II-B head (which includes the 50/100 watt option and the 5 band graphic EQ) is living comfortably in my studio..

re: tweaking one of the Axe-Fx USA models to sound like the II-B may be a futile task.. but if it can be done I'll let someone else lead the way.. there's just so much goodness in the bounty of FAS amps as is..

if @FractalAudio ever wants to borrow my Mark II-B for the sake of modeling I'd be honored.
 
i’ve just tried the BF Deluxe reverb and for the cleanish stuff seems to do the job quite well! changed the poweramp tubes for 6L6’s, put some OH 4x12 ev12L and changed the speaker impedance to match the IR. Very coo!! thanks
I would like to know all these tonestack alternatives
 
re: tweaking one of the Axe-Fx USA models to sound like the II-B may be a futile task.. but if it can be done I'll let someone else lead the way.. there's just so much goodness in the bounty of FAS amps as is..
The circuit boards were supposed to be very different between the IIC+ and the IIB. We have a lot of control in the IIC+ model but I'm thinking it'll need to be someone who really knows the two amps to be able to make a convincing sounding IIB. It'd be cool though.
 
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