IIC+ mode tip

If you are struggling with IIC+ mode, make sure your cabinet is on the floor. This is covered in the manual but it's easy to miss and it makes an enormous difference in how big your amp sounds in the room.

From the manual: helpful hint #19

Your MARK V will sound better and feel better to play if you have at least one speaker cabinet (the combo or an Extension cabinet) touching the floor you are standing on while you play. The coupling effect and especially the transmission of bass frequencies will cause the amp to sound fatter and the strings to feel more substantial and tangible when the amp (or cab) sits on the floor. Wood floors (like stages) are really great! Let’s face it... the guitar can be one of those weird instruments that rarely feels the same way two days in a row - night to night, from room to room...we can use all the help we can get. This usually helps... with the only exception being a stage filled with too many live mics...sometimes then you are forced to lift the amp to the coupling effect.

Click to expand...

IMO, if your cab is on wheels, IV mode is better. But don't sleep on IIC+ mode + putting your cab on the floor. It's *great*.

Honestly, this makes all kinds of sense to me since IV has PULL DEEP hard-wired on and IIC+ mode has it hard-wired off.

Related: just took the casters off my cab for about the first time in a year. SO much better.

Signed off and played some more and oh my god, this is just fantastic. So brutal.

I use a homemade dolly with bigger casters to transport my 2x12 cab and I use to couple it to the floor all the time. Somehow, laziness settled in and I leave it on the dolly the whole time. I will have to rediscover this again.

Kind of makes me wonder if pull deep could be modded into the Mark V head....leaving this stuff out seems a poor design choice,

JKD said:

Kind of makes me wonder if pull deep could be modded into the Mark V head....leaving this stuff out seems a poor design choice,

Click to expand...

One could use the GEQ to boost the low end a bit :shock:

That’s what I did... :lol:

Eevil said:

JKD said:

Kind of makes me wonder if pull deep could be modded into the Mark V head....leaving this stuff out seems a poor design choice,

Click to expand...

One could use the GEQ to boost the low end a bit :shock:

That’s what I did... :lol:

Click to expand...

Yeah, not quite doing it for me...by current solution was a second cab (Mesa Widebody 1x12)....but I'd still like the option to add a cap or shift for the iiC+ mode.

I just discovered IIC+ mode. What a great classic rock tone, get the volume up and WOW! Now to figure out how to get Mark I mode to open up.

ranchak said:

I just discovered IIC+ mode. What a great classic rock tone, get the volume up and WOW! Now to figure out how to get Mark I mode to open up.

Click to expand...

It is dark and thick innit....

Maybe EL34s in power section?

JKD said:

ranchak said:

I just discovered IIC+ mode. What a great classic rock tone, get the volume up and WOW! Now to figure out how to get Mark I mode to open up.

Click to expand...

It is dark and thick innit....

Maybe EL34s in power section?

Click to expand...

I think a large part of the problem is the C90 speaker. I have a good tone now using the Mark I mode. It’s very similar to the Mark IIC+ mode, more gain, slightly darker. This is how I have channel two set

Mark I
EQ off
90 watt
Thick On

G 12:15
M 11:30
P 2:00
T 2:00
M Off
B 9:30

Effects loop On 12:00
Master Volume 10:00
Full power

ranchak said:

JKD said:

ranchak said:

I just discovered IIC+ mode. What a great classic rock tone, get the volume up and WOW! Now to figure out how to get Mark I mode to open up.

Click to expand...

It is dark and thick innit....

Maybe EL34s in power section?

Click to expand...

I think a large part of the problem is the C90 speaker. I have a good tone now using the Mark I mode. It’s very similar to the Mark IIC+ mode, more gain, slightly darker. This is how I have channel two set

Mark I
EQ off
90 watt
Thick On

G 12:15
M 11:30
P 2:00
T 2:00
M Off
B 9:30

Effects loop On 12:00
Master Volume 10:00
Full power

Click to expand...

Virtually identical to teh way I have mine dialed, except I tend to use the EQ (PRESET) and VARIAC:

Mark I
EQ preset
90W
Thick on

G 12:00
M 11:30
P 1:30
T 2:00
M 10:00
B 8:30

Effects loop On 12:00
Master Volume 9:30
VARIAC

I have a Combo running in tandem with the wide body 1x12 and I think the open back makes for a brighter tone overall but both have c90s.

I have a 2x12 with another speaker mix (G12h65 and v30..well WH speaker equivalent).....it wasn't quite the bright sound I was expecting there either, but it is an Oversize cab.

For what it is worth, I put a quad of MESA EL34s in there to get it but didn't care for the overall change in low end...though it sure made for a more classic, classic rock tone!


Right now I have a (non-recommended?) EL34 pair on outside and 6L6 on inner running in 6L6 mode and VARIAC. It's the best of any high gain tone I've had so far.

To me, the perfect IIc+ tone lies somewhere between the IIc+ and Extreme voicing...it's not quite the IV mode setting but that's where I usually set it.