Owner's of both JP2C & C+ which get's played more?

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I fired my C++ up this morning because it hadn't been turned on for a month or so. Sounded great. I'll turn it on in another month just to play it but I play the JP2C all the time and I'm about 50% at mastering the tone with it. The JP2C is nice and easy to quickly dial in tone when playing different places whereas the C++ took a couple of songs to mete out punishing tones. For practice, the option of changing between 3 real channels is hard to resist.
 
Markedman, after some time do you still feel like the IIC++ & the JP2C are close enough in tone that if you had one you wouldn't miss the other?
 
Edit. Screw it. I found a great deal on a clean IIC HRG that's headed my way now. Already have the call into Mike B. :)
 
GJgo said:
Markedman, after some time do you still feel like the IIC++ & the JP2C are close enough in tone that if you had one you wouldn't miss the other?

Although they sound very similar, they are so much different in features I would not think of selling either one.
I never had a problem with getting a clean tone and heavy tone with my C++ because I'm not an emulator type, I prefer to get my own tone and generally go with that tweaking the amp throughout the night as needed. For example, playing Metallica I pull the 750 fader down. Playing BB King I'll turn volume 1 down. I had a MXR Micro-amp in the loop for a volume boost and a mini tube screamer out front for "hair" making the C++ very versatile. I played the C++ a lot this week because I played out most nights so instead of setting my JP2C set up up every night at home I used the C++ set up. I also used my JP2C quite a bit this week at different practices and I must say I was floored by it tonight. I really mean it when I say it sounded unbelievable, shockingly great tone! I'm learning the ins and outs of the interaction of the GEQ/shred/treble/presence controls getting my totally awesome thick saturated uncompressed gained-up feedback at a reasonable volume.
Sophie's choice? Only one? C++
 
So I got the HRG back from Mike B., I now have a IIC+. Damndest thing though, I came up on a deal I couldn't refuse on a factory DRG & sent it off to Mike as well, in about a week I'll also have IIC++. :mrgreen:

I've been working on some simple recordings of the HRG vs. the JP2C. I hope to record something I can post soon. I do agree with what most everyone has said here:
- Yes, in a recording you can get them to sound the same, or at least VERY close.
- In the room the IIC+ does sound / feel more vintage & the JP feels more modern.
- Live the features of the JP definitely give it the edge. For recording I think the IIC+ has an edge.

To add:
- The IIC+ absolutely has a FEEL that you get as a player that is amazing, 3 dimensional with its harmonics & feedback, that I don't get with the JP. Now the JP is no slouch, but the original is just off the charts.
- The JP has WAY more gain, I'm really thinking the JP is modeled after a IIC++. I'll know in about a week!
 
Wow, great comparison. I love my JP-2C and I am always cusrious about the "Originals" this video confirms I'll continue to be staisfied with what I have. Great Job!!
 
In this context (isolated guitars) the IIC++ sounds the best to me: fuller, edgier and more aggressive.

Generally speaking for what I heard, I liked the IIC++, then the IIC+, then the JP2C.

But I also think that third place in this lineup is nothing to sneer at.

-Dan
 
I like all three. I am sure things would be different with a different cab. Awesome video BTW. Love the guitar case too with the Mesa logo, nice touch.

Thank you for sharing and your narrative comments were an added bonus. Well done.
 
Thanks :) I also have a 1960 cab, and an EVM12L I'm looking for a cab to stuff it in. Different speakers definitely change the tone, but the concept of differentiation between the heads is still the same. The G12T-75s are darker, and the EVM is very hi-fi.
 
Markedman said:
GJgo said:
Markedman, after some time do you still feel like the IIC++ & the JP2C are close enough in tone that if you had one you wouldn't miss the other?

Although they sound very similar, they are so much different in features I would not think of selling either one.
I never had a problem with getting a clean tone and heavy tone with my C++ because I'm not an emulator type, I prefer to get my own tone and generally go with that tweaking the amp throughout the night as needed. For example, playing Metallica I pull the 750 fader down. Playing BB King I'll turn volume 1 down. I had a MXR Micro-amp in the loop for a volume boost and a mini tube screamer out front for "hair" making the C++ very versatile. I played the C++ a lot this week because I played out most nights so instead of setting my JP2C set up up every night at home I used the C++ set up. I also used my JP2C quite a bit this week at different practices and I must say I was floored by it tonight. I really mean it when I say it sounded unbelievable, shockingly great tone! I'm learning the ins and outs of the interaction of the GEQ/shred/treble/presence controls getting my totally awesome thick saturated uncompressed gained-up feedback at a reasonable volume.
Sophie's choice? Only one? C++

Hey, don't mean to hijack the thread here, but I'm looking for a pedal to provide a volume boost for solos in the effects loop of my 60 watt IIC+ 1/12 combo. Do you recommend the MXR micro amp? Does it change the eq of the signal much? Using the overdrive pedals I have set for a clean boost always shaved off a lot of bass and/or treble. I'm looking for the exact same sound just LOUDER for solos. Also, any experience with the Mesa 5 band EQ pedal? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks! -Jack
 
After a few months I went back to mostly just playing the C++. The JP2C still has too much of that modern compressed tone, for my liking, and not near the edge and aggression of the C++.
 
That sums up how I feel about it too. However, I ended up putting the JP in my bedroom because it has a headphone jack so I can play when the kids are asleep, so technically I probably play it more, but my DRG C++ occupies a special place in my heart that no other amp has ever been before.

I think the modern compressed feel has its place depending on what you're playing, though. Modern metal = definitely the JP.
 
I've owned a JP-2C two different times and just never gelled with it. I ended up selling them both times.

I'm probably going to be leaving the IIC+ in my will for my kids.
 
GJgo said:
Alright guys, check this out! My IIC+ vs IIC++ vs JP-2C. No more guessing.

https://youtu.be/T8XI4fE46qk

I wanted to thank you for doing this video. This is the video I watched before I bought the JP-2C that convinced me to pull the trigger.

To my ears, the HRG IIC+ sounds weaker in the bottom end, I'm thinking that it's most comparable of the three to the Mark V I already had, which I felt was lacking. The IC++ is right on the money, that sounds fantastic to me, pretty much exactly what I'm looking for... The JP-2C follows up and I think it's just a tiny bit darker, perhaps a little less mids, but looking at how you have the EQ set it was apparent it was adjusted more toward that kind of sound regardless. (I use a shallower V with the mids just at the center).

Also agree with our comment on Youtube that the JP-2C does struggle a bit with the more "classic rock" tone. I find that bypassing the EQ and dialing the gain way back works well enough for my purposes, but when I really need a great classic rock tone I use a different amp more suited to that sort of thing. The JP-2C is a metal machine, though. Love this amp, no regrets, makes me smile every time I hit that first power chord.
 
Sure thing Davey, thanks. I think you've nailed it. I ended up sending the HRG C+ back to Mike for the ++ mod so now I have a pair of ++. MUCH happier with it now. I can still dial it back with the knobs, but with just the + I couldn't get where I wanted. I think a LOT of people have the ++ tone in their head from the music they hear but think it's + tone.

I think the JP has to stand on its own merits (epic gigging amp, metal machine), but in the room with a ++ (or even my IVa) it's a challenge to get the same huge all-enveloping sound out of it. You can get the recorded tone really, really close but what you don't hear in the recording is the feel.
 

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