Most overrated amp ever... pick 1!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bloodrock
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:ROFLMAO: I just really don't like the Mark III.

I've had:
Mark IV (2)
Mark V
Mark VII
JP-2C
Studio Preamp
C+ Modded Studio Preamp
Quad Preamp
Green Stripe
Blue Stripe
Played a Purple stripe

I like or love all of them except the Mark III's and the second channel of the quad...which is also a Mark III.

They're ear piercing and boomy at the same time. Idk maybe they just don't like my cabs.
I really preferred T75 cabs with the MKIIIs, the V30 cabs were more grating.. Interesting where the MkIV basically requires a V30 cab and the MKIIs love all cabs.
 
Yeah they have a somewhat nasal/congested sound that I never cared for. I still think for the money they’re a good amp, but if money were no object I don’t see a reason to need to have one. A lot of my favorite metal bands I know used them and as a result I liked everything about them except their tone lol


I think people just use entirely too much midrange with them, it’s not surprising they get honky to people fast. I mean Van Halen ran his midrange at like, 2 max on those things, with speakers that didn’t have near the 1k hump that V30s have. Now everyone turns their mids to 6 on these things and then uses v30s with a tubescreamer, it’s not surprising. They are mid heavy as hell.
 
I think people just use entirely too much midrange with them, it’s not surprising they get honky to people fast. I mean Van Halen ran his midrange at like, 2 max on those things, with speakers that didn’t have near the 1k hump that V30s have. Now everyone turns their mids to 6 on these things and then uses v30s with a tubescreamer, it’s not surprising. They are mid heavy as hell.
I agree, I also dialed back the mids on them and prefer them with less middy speakers, but even so the inherent quality of its midrange still to me sounds nasal/congested. I still overall think it’s a good amp and makes sense why it’s a classic, functionally works very well, but I just don’t find anything about its tone to be exceptional or super inspiring, especially when AB’ed with top tier amps. To me it’s a good/solid amp that gets the job done, but was never like wow this sounds so amazing what is this amp like I have gotten with some amps. I think it’s overall tone quality and complexity is very middle of the road, like it’s not super artificial or cheap sounding like many Engl’s, but certainly no Wizard either imo
 
Every try one through a traditional cab? While the OS cabs are definitely part of the "wall of sound", they do add a lot to the tubbiness.

Yeah, the cab isnt going to fix anything, i'm talking about the low end response.

It's too flubby in the preamp section, and the only way to fix it is by boosting it with tube screamers and putting GEQs in the loop and then profiling it so you don't have to deal with it again
 
I have to admit that the Mesa Mark Series is responsible for one of the all time greatest hard rock rhythm guitar tomes of all time:

 
If I was starting my album reamping from scratch, honestly I probably wouldn't use the IIC+ for rhythm guitar. It's too polite. I'd use the IIB+ or the IVb which are much more in your face, and save the C+ for leads. That ship has sailed though and we're already locked in, so it is what it is.

Trainwrecks & Dumbles aside I do think the C+ DRG is probably the most overrated amp ever, and it's 95% because of nostalgia and not because of tone. Amazing amps, hell I've had 9 of them, but IMO they're a $4K amp tops when you compare what you can get for the money.
 
On a side note...Personal tastes aside, I think we can probably all agree that the Peavey 5150 series heads are responsible for MANY amazing recorded metal tones over the last 20 years....Like MANY.
 
I have to admit that the Mesa Mark Series is responsible for one of the all time greatest hard rock rhythm guitar tomes of all time:


True story, and that's because it's a Coliseum (a pair really) which is an entirely different animal. Once you experience one of these, if you go back to a 4 tube Mark II or III you'll start looking for where the tampon string is hiding.
 
I also trip out on the, “well in a live setting”. I think literally every time I’ve played live except MAYBE once I’ve been close micd.
 
On a side note...Personal tastes aside, I think we can probably all agree that the Peavey 5150 series heads are responsible for MANY amazing recorded metal tones over the last 20 years....Like MANY.


THAT DOESNT MATTER IT STILL SUCKS
 
True story, and that's because it's a Coliseum (a pair really) which is an entirely different animal. Once you experience one of these, if you go back to a 4 tube Mark II or III you'll start looking for where the tampon string is hiding.
That may very well be true, bit the Mark III red stripe I owned sounded very similar to that recorded tone. Never should have sold that amp.
 
On a side note...Personal tastes aside, I think we can probably all agree that the Peavey 5150 series heads are responsible for MANY amazing recorded metal tones over the last 20 years....Like MANY.
Top 3 examples? Actually, if Machine Head's Burn my Eyes is one of them, and I say this as politely as possible, then never mind listing the others. That is a perfect example of why I mentioned that amp earlier in this thread.
 
We all have our own tastes but saying a recto is undynamic is just wrong. It’s not a wizard or anything, but it’s not a super compressed amp. Can literally see it in the wave form recorded and hear it.


Exactly. That’s the dead giveaway. When I do a track with my Herbert for instance and it’s like some breakdown 808 drop thing that comes in hard, the Herbert sounds sick! No doubt…for like….2 seconds. And then it’s just kinda…there. Hard to explain. The recto is so dynamic, it runs around the track and your ears and bounces everywhere almost, making the track almost always feel more alive. Again, hard to explain but you know exactly what I mean I’m sure. Are there other amps that do that? Sure, but to me, not like a recto does.
 
???

I thought the first 2 albums sounded pretty great. Not sure about stuff after 85 though. No kazoo tone on the first few. Unless your kazoo impression is different than mine.
Oh yeah first two albums are kazoo city on solos. Rhythms sound like Rockmans. I didn’t even know theu had more than two albums. ?
 
I had my first 2C in 2014, that was the most raw open crushing non Marshall tone I've ever heard. Still regretting upgrading it to a +. That one had a GEQ of course.
By contrast, I had a 2C no eq no reverb back in 2019....THAT was a Kazoo for sure. No GEQ=No go for me. Those are horridly honky amps. ANY Mark without a GEQ is a flock of Geese.
This had the eq…dont remember if it had reverb though. I just remember messing with it and hating it. Moved it down the road…shoukd have held on to it a bit longer I think.
 
Also, pick one dipshit, because less than a week ago you just said here “rev G Rectos sound really good, but not as good as an F”…..Atleast I’m consistent.
Well, Rev G TRIPLES sound good (boosted) and G Duals are a bloated mess. Very un-dynamic to say the least. Earlier ones yes, are better, and the C I had was the best Mesa I've owned.
So if I said G rectos are ALL good, I meant only the Triples.
 
Reread your second fucking sentence again dude….. seriously, go read it. And then using YOUR logic, ask yourself what kind of hypocrite you are being by jumping on someone who doesn’t like this “legendary” amp. Don’t like Rectos? Cool. 5150s? Couldn’t care less, more power to ya. You can’t deny their ACTUAL use in heavy music, but that’s a different story completely. But I’m also not gonna start running my mouth about you not liking an amp in a thread you aren’t even apart of. I don’t like the amp for reasons I’ve stated numerous times. It’s a turd, plain and simple. Sorry you feel differently.


Still waiting for all those legendary albums it’s been used on. By itself, for heavy tones. Go on fanboy, let’s hear it. Name all those legendary heavy tones you just absolutely love where it was used. This is usually where you fanboys start REALLY losing your mind. your butthurt is showing sweetheart.
???

You're a fuckin idiot. Now, you're changing your dipshit tune to, "by itself, for heavy tones"....Ok nice of you to 'move the goalposts' so to speak. You said 'C+ is never used by anyone EVAR' which obviously is total bullshit. And, no one here ever said it's the "best amp EVAR" like your butthurt ass seems to constantly proclaim. Like I said, show us on the doll where the C+ hurt you so much. Sorry you didn't win the auction for one years ago...too bad so sad.
1. You say "No one ever used this amp to record"...clearly you're wrong. We've listed bands that used it. Oh, and the BIGGEST METAL BAND EVAR used one for the 2 most influential albums (MOP, AJFA). Oh, and yes they used it for the Black album with others. Per the FUCKING BAND..
2. NOW, you change your tune to "oh but they didn't use it by itself for heavy tones.." WTF are you talking about?? WHO FUCKING CARES
3. Clearly, some pretty BIG FAMOUS ACTS used the C+, and we've listed the bands. Sorry charlie but you can't avoid the facts. They are what they are.

It's an amp. You don't like it. Good for you. Many on here DO like it. You trying to convince yourself that it's somehow not a good sounding amp, makes you look like a total dipshit when you go off the ledge trying to convince others that C+s weren't used by anyone. When clearly they were.
Oh, and John Sykes used them in conjunction with his black stripe III Coliseum. Forgot about that one.
 
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