IIC+ Verdict

  • Thread starter Thread starter Exo-metal
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Tone Monster said:
I wasn’t stating that as a fact. Complete conjecture on my part.
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dude once its on the internet....let the "i remember this one guy told me" threads commence

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You can’t mod it, you void the warranty running anything but 6L6s or single specific EL34 only they sell for it in the class A simul-class sockets, you’re going to go through tubes faster as unstable circuits play hell on preamp and poweramp tube longevity, and on top of it they won’t acknowledge there’s a real problem and state it’s an expected feature for $4000 high gain amps and to deal with it.

I’ll keep my perfectly stable mark iii Coli. No thanks.
 
jasonP said:
Agreed. I mean if a guy wants to go off compressed youtube video look at ola's compare of the amps and the JP2C does a fine job of capturing a more modern take on the IIc+ and comparing the amps and they basically all sound the same.
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Except in my case, since I played one in a shop. Cool amp, yes it's full of features etc etc but it ain't a C+. Not even close. The Mark IV right next to it had more C+ in it than the JP. And, stiff AF.
If they had called it something other than a C+ it would have been a cool but stiff playing modern Mesa amp.
But a C+ it isn't.
 
Racerxrated said:
Except in my case, since I played one in a shop. Cool amp, yes it's full of features etc etc but it ain't a C+. Not even close. The Mark IV right next to it had more C+ in it than the JP. And, stiff AF.
If they had called it something other than a C+ it would have been a cool but stiff playing modern Mesa amp.
But a C+ it isn't.
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My point being that you really, nor I have really yet to play a reissue, only clips, so how is one to tell the feel of the amp and then compare that to the JP2C. You also agreed that amps break over time, so what happens to the JP2C after it breaks in? There are so many different C+'s, which one was the JP2C copied from vs the reissue?
 
jasonP said:
My point being that you really, nor I have really yet to play a reissue, only clips, so how is one to tell the feel of the amp and then compare that to the JP2C. You also agreed that amps break over time, so what happens to the JP2C after it breaks in? There are so many different C+'s, which one was the JP2C copied from vs the reissue?
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The JP is a clone of an HRG C+. The one I played was in St Paul at a shop, and was used/bought new in 19, if I remember right. This was in 2021. I'm going off of Hellzington's assessment of his new RI in direct comparison to his OG DRGX. So, the JP was 2 yrs old, and stiff as a board. It is a cool amp and in no way am I saying it is somehow 'less' an amp, at all BUT the feel is utterly non existent. Very stiff. Great sound, though.
In the end I'm going off what the comparo vid sounds like, and his saying that the feel IS close to his OG DRGX, but not 100% there. So I trust his opinion as he's directly comparing his vintage C+ to the Reissue.
For my reference, I've owned 4..SRG C+, HRG C+, HRG C++, and a KRG C+. The HRGs had the same bouncy feel as the SRG, and KRG. They all seem to have it.
Maybe, the JP needs more break in time regarding the feel? It'd be interesting to play one again to see if it's gotten better.
 
Love this talk about an amp “breaking in”. Gettin’ juicier, less stiff. So what breaks in exactly? You have voltage specifications and parts at certain tolerances. Those tolerances may not waiver for 10-20 years. So what exactly is breaking in on a tube amp after the tubes are hot? Yes, I’m being sarcastic.

I have two amps that a I’ve had for at least 10 years (a Stiletto and a Laney 80’s pro tube 50), had a MKV for 13 years. They all sound and sounded the same as the day I got them. If they have changed in any way it is not discernible to me in any meaningful way.
 
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skoora said:
Love this talk about an amp “breaking in”. Gettin’ juicier, less stiff. So what breaks in exactly? You have voltage specifications and parts at certain tolerances. Those tolerances may not waiver for 10-20 years. So what exactly is breaking in on a tube amp after the tubes are hot? Yes, I’m being sarcastic.

I have two amps that a I’ve had for at least 10 years and had a MKV for 13 years. They all sound and sounded the same as the day I got them. If they have changed in any way it is not discernible to me in any meaningful way.
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My only experience was a new Naylor...SD60. When I got it, it sounded exactly as I remember the 1995 SD60 sounding. But, no feel...stiff and unforgiving. That is not how the 1995 SD60 was; very unique and 'sticky' feel that was a blast to play. But, at around the 6 month mark the amp started to exhibit that same sticky feel. So the feel is what needed time to appear, but the tone was great right at unboxing the amp.
 
Racerxrated said:
My only experience was a new Naylor...SD60. When I got it, it sounded exactly as I remember the 1995 SD60 sounding. But, no feel...stiff and unforgiving. That is not how the 1995 SD60 was; very unique and 'sticky' feel that was a blast to play. But, at around the 6 month mark the amp started to exhibit that same sticky feel. So the feel is what needed time to appear, but the tone was great right at unboxing the amp.
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Or at the 6 month mark the power company changed something at a substation and you’re wall voltage has been lower ever since 😂
I think you just got used to the amp and your memories and desires towards the older version filled in the rest.
Ultimately I’d be interested in what an experienced amp builder would say about it. Maybe it’s component/circuit dependent?
Someone could slip in the question on a 3 hr Tone Talk.
 
hellzington said:
If there's something specific you'd like to hear, I'm happy to put together a short, simple clip.

The Reissue has slightly less gain than my OG. On the clips I usually lowered the Lead Drive by .5-1 to make them equal.

The Reissue has slightly different treble content and is more present and cutting than the OG, which is a little spongier and smoother. This could be due to the recap, however. Someone somewhere said the string clarity on the OG was much better and I thought, "There's someone who's really listening." That string clarity was the first thing I noticed when I got my OG back from Mike B after the recap. Huge improvement.
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Some Metallica tones would be great! I think that's what everyone wants from this amp, and so far, I haven't seen it deliver.

I have seen some on YouTube, but they had this very stuffy, congested character, kind of like there was some kind of weird thing going on with the distortion rather than an EQ thing

Almost like when I dial in too much gain on my amp (which I do far too often) and the tone becomes bloated and the notes lose their definition.

Kind of like in this video at the 2.25-mark.



It's just got this sound like it's "too much gain", but it's not all that gainy, and yet it sounds so choked in the mids that I'm wondering.

Bear in mind that I don't have a IIC+ Reissue and I think this was one of the first videos out there, so perhaps it was user error.

Hey, this video just popped up on my feed. Interesting, I have been saying this for a long time on these forums now!

 
Mesa Mark series is such a rabbit whole. I have enough problems making a bar chord, too much for me to dive into. Earlier this year I did get the Mark VII as my first dive into the fray and I’m really happy with it.

In the words of Blind Dog Fulton, “he gave us 29 songs and it was enough.” There is no lost song
 
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