this old Mark IIB sounds as bad ass as any III or IV I've ever heard what am I missing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kmanick
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Racerxrated said:
Sorry brother, but not for me. Granted, I've only had 1 (2C S) but that amp was a honkfest. The only thing, that I would give it as an upgrade over the other GEQ Marks I've owned was the super fast response. That was cool. Like playing a modeler, super easy to play. If one could swap the tonal parts in the circuit for less low mids, and more upper mids I'd be all for it.
The feel with any C+ is above anything I've ever played; maybe it's better with a non EQ C+? Haven't played one so I defer to you on that one. But that 2C was horridly honky.
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It seems no one here enjoys the honk of them without eq’s lol, but the quality of tone itself is equally 3D and high quality, kind of like maybe having amazing quality food but the flavor itself just isn’t at all what we want

With IIC+ DR I had, despite that honky sound, AB with almost any non-top tier amp and it would still make them sound bad, but still sold it because of the HRG C+ I still have 10 years later. Feelwise they were #1 for me to for a while, but are now for me 3rd place behind my OG Uber and Hermansson Triple Recto
 
GJgo said:
If you compare a Mark II with no GEQ to an equitable Mark II with GEQ, but with it turned off, I'd be willing to bet the no-EQ has better tone & feel. (A test I've done many times..) So, I get it why he used that as the basis for the sound.

When you do find a no-EQ version that does sound balanced it's amazing, and you don't miss the EQ at all. They're not all honky.
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I had a iic+ DR and HRG (still have that). When I compared both without the GEQ, I still preferred slightly the HRG, but it was close (maybe I’d feel a bit different if I did the same comparison now). The DR was tighter, faster and a bit sweeter, but I’d think that would largely be just from being simul-class. I sold it because I have other amps that are even tighter and faster and preferred the HRG being more open, big, gritty and aggressive
 
braintheory said:
It seems no one here enjoys the honk of them without eq’s lol, but the quality of tone itself is equally 3D and high quality, kind of like maybe having amazing quality food but the flavor itself just isn’t at all what we want

With IIC+ DR I had, despite that honky sound, AB with almost any non-top tier amp and it would still make them sound bad, but still sold it because of the HRG C+ I still have 10 years later. Feelwise they were #1 for me to for a while, but are now for me 3rd place behind my OG Uber and Hermansson Triple Recto
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It took a while to get accustomed to, but I run my mark III without the EQ just as much as I do with it. Initially it sounds kind of muffled & honky in comparison, but it has it's own thing that's equally good.

I was playing in a 3 piece rock band for a while, and it sounded huge in that context.
 
cobrahead1030 said:
It took a while to get accustomed to, but I run my mark III without the EQ just as much as I do with it. Initially it sounds kind of muffled & honky in comparison, but it has it's own thing that's equally good.

I was playing in a 3 piece rock band for a while, and it sounded huge in that context.
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I can see that. It can also be very effective for fusion and different styles of leadwork, but in general for metal I just never really was convinced by it without the GEQ
 
@Racerxrated fair point, there are definitely bad ones. There's a lot of variance in those.

The C+ SR, DR & HR I had all three had a really special tonal quality. I must have gotten lucky. :)
 
GJgo said:
@Racerxrated fair point, there are definitely bad ones. There's a lot of variance in those.

The C+ SR, DR & HR I had all three had a really special tonal quality. I must have gotten lucky. :)
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I forgot I did try a while ago an SR that sounded great (was originally a IIC, upgraded to +), but I didn’t have any reference amps to compare to, so I don’t feel as strongly without that
 
braintheory said:
I had a iic+ DR and HRG (still have that). When I compared both without the GEQ, I still preferred slightly the HRG, but it was close (maybe I’d feel a bit different if I did the same comparison now). The DR was tighter, faster and a bit sweeter, but I’d think that would largely be just from being simul-class. I sold it because I have other amps that are even tighter and faster and preferred the HRG being more open, big, gritty and aggressive
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The only one I had, was a 2C. Maybe I'd have liked it much more as a C+; but I haven't had one without the GEQ. I have turned the GEQ off in the 4 C+ I owned, and no thanks...horrible nasty honkfest.
Gotta have that EQ, for me anyway.
 
Racerxrated said:
The only one I had, was a 2C. Maybe I'd have liked it much more as a C+; but I haven't had one without the GEQ. I have turned the GEQ off in the 4 C+ I owned, and no thanks...horrible nasty honkfest.
Gotta have that EQ, for me anyway.
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Yeah I’m not saying I’d choose to actually disengage the GEQ for the same reason, I just meant that without it the tone despite being so honky is still just as 3D and still can expose amps that lack comparatively, which is like 99% of other amps lol

My first iic+ experiences were the SR I tried and DR I had and while I was aware how honky it was, it was still obvious to me what they had over the mark iii and v I had at the time with geq’s as well as the iv’s I tried. A few months later I got an hrg iic+ and still have it 10 years later (now)
 
I had a 3++ and it was absolutely brutal, it was a black/no stripe and it sounded great.
 
I played on several with and without a GEQ. I never owned one without a GEQ.
I like the sound with the GEQ off to play lead. That is often how I set up my IV. GEQ on for playing rhythm. GEQ off to play lead.

Who is Tone Boy ? Doug West ?
I just remember him answering the phone that way 40 years ago.
 
@kmanick if you think those short IIB heads sound good in the Choptones demos, check this one out. :cool:
 
braintheory said:
It seems no one here enjoys the honk of them without eq’s lol, but the quality of tone itself is equally 3D and high quality, kind of like maybe having amazing quality food but the flavor itself just isn’t at all what we want

With IIC+ DR I had, despite that honky sound, AB with almost any non-top tier amp and it would still make them sound bad, but still sold it because of the HRG C+ I still have 10 years later. Feelwise they were #1 for me to for a while, but are now for me 3rd place behind my OG Uber and Hermansson Triple Recto
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Right, I get it but again, I only had the 2C S not a C+. And, the 4 C+ I had, I did try each of them with the EQ off and no thanks. The great majority of C+ users agree.....the GEQ is a must have. You and Jeremy can defer to the other side ; )
 
Racerxrated said:
Right, I get it but again, I only had the 2C S not a C+. And, the 4 C+ I had, I did try each of them with the EQ off and no thanks. The great majority of C+ users agree.....the GEQ is a must have. You and Jeremy can defer to the other side ; )
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I never play marks without a GEQ for the same reason as you. I just simply meant even without it the tone isn’t any less 3D/less complex or less connected, it’s just very narrow and honky that makes it unappealing, but because it still has the qualities that make iic+ special from others it’s still also IME able to expose where other marks and other amps in general are comparatively lacking

It’s not as black and white as just all good or bad. The exceptional c+ qualities are still there if you listen for it clouded by the annoying nasal honk lol. I never tried a IIC, but I’d bet it’s a similar scenario with and without the GEQ

I think basically without an geq it’s a scenario like “this kinda sucks” but then ab and most other amps other amps suck more lol, then turn on the GEQ and it’s better in both ways now
 
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paulyc said:
Exactly. Can’t rape the willing. You slut.
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IMG_1594.jpeg
 
Here's the best no-GEQ C+ I had. IIC+, ISP Decimator in the loop, Pair of Recto OS cabs. That's it. Double tracked & hard panned. Of the 9 C+ I've had, this one had the best pure tone and was also the most aggressive. What that means for me is that it's the one that I could lose the most time playing and just be completely engulfed in how epic it sounded.

 
GJgo said:
Here's the best no-GEQ C+ I had. IIC+, ISP Decimator in the loop, Pair of Recto OS cabs. That's it. Double tracked & hard panned. Of the 9 C+ I've had, this one had the best pure tone and was also the most aggressive. What that means for me is that it's the one that I could lose the most time playing and just be completely engulfed in how epic it sounded.

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There's anomalies everywhere...like a bad sounding vintage Marshall....a Mk III that sounds just as good as a C+....and a Mark of any kind that sounds great without a GEQ.
But I haven't played any.
I guess I might try one IF I could return it. Then I'd be protected from that nasty honk. I'd only have to hear it once. Lol
 
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