Help a mesa-tard out! (gain question - IIC or III?)

Greetings fellow Mesian's( :lol: )

I'm new here and I might just aswell tell you right now, that I'm a HUGE Mark series fan!

I'm playing guitar in a thrashmetal band and I'm after the mark lead tone for my playing, mainly because Lamb of God gets their crushing tone from their mark IV's.

I'm gonna take the cheaper route and get a mesa preamp instead, but I wonder - which one!?

I hear the studio preamp lead is based off the IIC+, or the IIC, and also that the quad also mimics the Mark III?

What's the difference between the Mark III and the IIC? :?

I don't want to buy the wrong preamp, so please guide me and tell me about the differences, and wether i should shell out the extra money for a quad or get the studio preamp(and an OD?)

I might aswell tell you that I'm not a clean player, IF i want clean, i turn down my guitar's volume knob :roll:

Thanks in advance

Chris

Lamb of God ~ you want a Mark IV. The preamps you mention do not sound like a IV. The power amp is a big part of the sound. What are you going to use for a power amp ? The III has more gain and is voiced different.

I'd be using my tube head's poweramp(preamp>FX return jack), until I can get myself a mesa poweramp!

I didn't know it was voiced differently That of course is a big thing then, I figured the gain difference could be remedied with an OD.

What tube head do you have ?
I never seen a pedal do that ?
Why do you want to go the preamp route ?
:mrgreen:

I'm using a peavey valveking, or I USED to use it :roll:

What!? OD pedal in front to push the amp more, giving more gain? Well, this is what I'd do if I wanted more gain :wink:

Well, I can't afford a mark III/IV head, and a preamp gives me more options to choose from, and makes home recording easier, if i want to do that Not to mention the poweramp options

Any of those preamps are going to sound pretty crap into your valveking. Sell the Peavey and get a Mark III, because the big advantage of the MkIV over the III is thatyou actually have real channels. If you only need one heavy tone, the III is pretty much perfect for you.

If you're so broke that the money is the main issue, you shouldn't be amp shopping; just save more money.

edit: the record outs on the studio pre will not make you happy.

I get what you're saying

It's not that I'm THAT broke, just that I'm a student and need money for just that

And a Mark III Will cost me ALOT

But I'll look around of course, thanks


PS. The peavey poweramp isnt actually that bad

Whats the hurry .....?I would say take your time and get what you want after you know what you want.
I meant that no pedal really sounds like a Boogie. Some get in the ball park.

I do not think a Mark III is going for a lot more than the preamps these days. But money is relevant to where you are and where you want to go in more than one way.

Make sure you check out one with simulclass power section !!!!

I don't mean using the pedal for its gain!

I mean taking an overdrive pedal, turning the level on 10, tone at what sounds best, and then taking the gain at about 0, just to boost my guitar's signal going into the input on the amp, making it drive the front harder and giving more overall gain


Alright, what is so special about the simul-class, if i may ask?

Thanks in advance.

Tone, dynamics, etc.... Mesa at one time offered a 100 watt AB class or simulclass class A/class AB. Now it is only simulclass. I believe this happened someplace in the Mark II's. This is only a matter of taste.....and is the reason I said a lot of the sound comes from the power amp. You need to plug into one to really appreciate it. World Class late great amp guru Red Roads and I talked about this. He felt it was a bad design. I asked him if he ever played thru one. He said no. Latter he called me back to say he had changed his mind after trying it.

Ditto. The tone and feel of the Marks is in the power section. I find that my Mark III doesn't care what kinds of preamp tubes are in it except for the level of gain you get. The real differences are in the phase inverter and power tubes.

Mark III simuls still have the "class-A" switch and while it sounds all right at lower volumes it's definitely not the same as the Simul-Class at full volume.

Again, on the money subject, that kind of goofy kiddie rig--running a preamp into the power section of a budget combo amp--is something you'll regret having wasted the coin on later. When you go see "real" bands, even just bigger local acts, is anyone doing that?

Um, no, because it doesn't work very well.

Sell the Peavey while it's still in good shape and put the money in the gear jar for a MkIII or MkIV. For silent recording, there's plenty of good modeling software available and you can find an interface for $80 or less if you poke around craigslist. That will give you better results than any line out or maxed-out attenuator unless you get into dropping $600 on Palmer speaker emulators or something.

The great thing about most music gear is that you *can* afford really decent used stuff with just a couple months of extra nights driving pizza or whatever. If you don't have time with college to work a part-time job for long enough to fill up the gear jar, just stick with the Peavey.

You're right, but the VK would only have been a temporary solution for the quad if i was to get one.

I'm pretty set on a mark III, and will save up for one.

What you didn't know when writing most likely, is that I'm stuck with the VK, since i'm currently in a band, rehearsing 3-4 times a week and will soon start gigging again.

The VK has a GREAT sound as long as you have a noisegate to tame the notorious feedback, but then again, I'm running a Marshall JMP-1 preamp through the power section of it.

I'm parting ways with the JMP-1 if i get a good enough offer, and that will help alot i suspect. When i'm not far from the target money sum, I'll sell it when i find a buyer so I won't go head-less.

I thank thee forr your time

To be honest I think your amp is not bad for the money and I like the JMP 1. I was looking for a power amp last year and after A/B I found I like the Mark IV power amp better than any other power amp. I use it and the power amp of my VHT Sig X as my power amps looping out and switching them GCX/GCP stuff ....

All I can say is go check some stuff out. There are a lot things out there. I would not mind having a Quad at all. I do not know where you are but did you see this ........

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/msg/1062196047.html

****!

I'm not located in the US though.

stephen sawall said:

did you see this ........

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/msg/1062196047.html

Click to expand...

For$200 :shock: I bet the sellers phone is getting a workout....

Thrashman said:

****!

I'm not located in the US though.

Click to expand...

It said cash only witch means pick up only for me .....
If it was close I would not be posting I would be in my car on my cell on my way there.

yea dude....i run a mark 3 red stripe into a avatar 2x12 with v30's and my rhythm guitarist runs a VK with mesa boogie 6L6's into his valveking 2x12 speakers.

for rehearsing/shows. there is NO comparison. the VK is just sooo gutless in the mix. my amp is at 4 he has to run his VK at about 1 o clock just because my amp cuts sooo much better in the mix/as well as jamming. and i run my amp at 85w, compared to your 100w.

even my bassist big block 750 drowns his amp out in the mix bro. and between the mark II or the Mark III as previously stated the mark 3 has more gain, and the mark II is usually famous for its voicing over the mark 3. i suggest you don't even consider running a mesa pre-amp into a VK power section. its like using a soul of a dragon into the body of a kitten. like, just save up bro. coming from a guy who has direct experience with both amplifiers, and is in a band with both that does shows with both and all that. oh and ... my rhythm guitarist is on his way on getting a mark 4 btw. but anyways....


save up man...you won't regret it.

I just bought a No-stripe/Black-Dot fully-loaded Simul-Class Mark III last week, and I must say that for me, it's the best Mesa I've owned yet. I've owned 2 Dual Rectofiers, a Mark IV, Mark I, Mark I Re-issue, and a Studio 22+, and for the tight, hi-gain tone that I've been after for the last 25 years or so, this is one great amp. Strangely, the lead channel cleans up really well from the guitar's volume control, even under Hyper-Gain settings.

Articulation? Unbelievable. Almost *too* articulate. :mrgreen:

I'm still dialing it in, but so far, what I'm hearing is all good. These things are sleepers and then some. Maybe that heavy, left-over Mark IIC+ iron helps.