Mark II, Mark III, in love

Just wanted to say I got lucky a couple months ago and scored a IIc+ combo for a pretty good price.

Got even luckier when I got it to the studio and found that it's not all hype and in fact a beautiful, inspiring little tone machine and perfect for one of my projects. Not metal! despite its well deserved reputation, it's also a great roots, rock n roll, and clean country machine. I love the lead channel though, biting and smooth at the same time.

Then, a few weeks later, a purple-stripe Mark III fell into my lap, also a pretty good deal, and somehow I convinced myself that I needed a backup. this Mark III has SimulClass and reverb, unlike the IIc+, and it's a head, so it's a little more versatile and possibly better for lower-volume gigs. How's that for justification?

Anyway, lately I've been happy as a pig in slop playing with these two little tone monsters. Definitely two of the best gear purchases I've made in the last few years. I was very much a "keep it simple" amp guy, love old Fenders and Dr. Z. I was looking for a combo amp a while back that would have enough clean oomph for a rock band I was in, and a used DC-5 ended up fitting the bill, which in turn got me reading up on Mesa, and doing some research. And reading the manuals! Important! Massive respect for the engineering and care that goes into these. And that's where I am today.

Thanks for reading this testamonial. I'm enjoying reading through these threads and this forum. Cheers!

Very nice! I would love to have a IIC+ as well, but they are well outside my budget. The III (blue) is close enough for me though.

I haven't had the time to do a proper A/B test with the same cab and at gig or loud rehearsal volume. BUT my impression so far is that the Rhythm I channels are very close in tone and response. The Lead on the IIc+ sounds brighter; the III is a bit darker, maybe a little more saturated/compressed. Tubes matter, I know -- I've got 2 6L6es in the IIc+ and SimulClass in the III. The Rhythm 2 on the III is pretty good too. Seems harder to dial it in the way I think it ought to sound. It's pretty crunchy, not as versatile as I'd like, but I like it for what it is.

I know, this is material that's been hashed over 1,000 times on the board before. New for me.