Mesa Mark IIC - upgrade to +?

[eecamichael]

So I was playing with a friend of mine the other night, and he had an old Boogie as a guest amp that crapped out on him a couple of months ago. He ended up GIVING IT TO ME. I took it home, did some research and find out it is a stock IIC with the EV speaker - Reverb, EQ, Simul Class. I messed around with it, changed the fuse which immediately blew, then retubed it with some Mesa tubes I had. Put a new fuse in, and powered it up - I started messing around with it, dialing it in and was able to get some pretty great sounds out of it. I reached out to Boogie and I want them to go through it, and think I will have the + added, as the loop as/is isn't really usable for me. I also wasn't able to get the footswitches on the underside to work. Thoughts? Downsides? Recommendations? Yes - I will be taking very good care of my friend for his most generous gesture. After playing with Fractal stuff for the last couple of years, this rekindled my love of tube amps, and had me cranking up my Mark IV too. Good times!

 

[CrystalSky]

It is not even a question, both + and switchable ++ mods are a must if you can afford it imho

Also congrats with a great amp!

 

[Beyond Black]

Not sure if Mike B still does the + conversion mod.
Tom Racerxrated had a IIC that he said sounded especially raw and nasty, and the + mod actually somewhat tamed it, so think it through.

 

[narad]

I upgraded my DRG to the switchable +/++. Originally I was super happy with the C, and I thought both the cleans and the singing lead sounds were among the best I experienced. But with a boost and the gain maxed out, I was barely into my ideal sound. It was just out of reach. So I wound up doing the upgrade. I can't say I regret it -- it has significantly more gain now so it can do a lot of metal stuff easier, even without the boost. But it also lost something IMO. It's not quite as inspiring in terms of the lead/clean sounds. So I think upgrade is not the right word -- it's a mod, and it's going to deliver some things better, and some things not as good. The differences aren't huge, but if we're having this conversation then it's assumed we care about nuances. So consider it carefully. It's not a cheap mod either! Mainly because you also have to have Mesa go through and do maintenance.

I never used the loop either way.

 

[c+addict]

I’ve sent in 6 for the upgrade. They all came back a better amp. I would send it in for service and the upgrade before Mike B. retires.

 

[Yehuda]

I would actually say keep it as 2c. As crazy as it sounds, those are much rarer nowadays, and Ive heard people say they liked 2c more. I know @braintheory wanted to try a 2c for that reason

 

[hellzington]

Wow man, WILD! I need a friend like that

I would personally probably have it done. Two reasons. First, it'll increase the resale value of the amp if you ever want to do that someday. Second, you'll always be wondering what it would sound like with the plus mod.

I'd also get Mike B to put it into a real Mesa headshell for you. I think they're selling them again.

Good luck!

 

[VHTStark]

Wow man, WILD! I need a friend like that

I would personally probably have it done. Two reasons. First, it'll increase the resale value of the amp if you ever want to do that someday. Second, you'll always be wondering what it would sound like with the plus mod.

I'd also get Mike B to put it into a real Mesa headshell for you. I think they're selling them again.

Good luck!

This right here!

Can also confirm Mesa is doing headshells again. Just got a new one for my mkiv.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an unplussed C. Honestly I’d keep it stock

 

[psychodave]

Just get a + mod.

 

[japetus]

I would send it in, get it healthy and get it back with no mods.

 

[Exo-metal]

Just get a + mod.

This^^^^

 

[cobrahead1030]

I would probably keep it stock, but it's your amp. If you're sending it in for servicing anyway, you can discuss it with Mike B once it's on his bench.

 

[thegame]

I remember when Boogie used to refer to these amps as the C minus. No joke, I’m not kidding around.