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BOOGIE Mark II Users?


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Just to clarify, the amp in the picture of the control settings is a IIB with 100/60 watts, reverb, and graphic equipment. It has an EV IIRC, but it predates the Simul-Class feature so it lives on the 60 watt setting and I can't imagine (or am afraid to find out) how loud the 100 watt setting would be.

There's a Mark V:25 with a 1-12 slant Recto cab in my office that is my daily player. Most of the time on the clean channel with pedals for family-friendly volumes, but the dirt channel gets wound up now and then to blow off some steam from the workday. When Rodi comes over next week I'll plug it into the 4-12 split stack cab downstairs just for giggles.

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I've always liked the tone that others got with Boogies but never had enough patience to learn their unique EQ design. Had one of the early Lone Stars and struggled with it for about a year and gave up. Seems like the low end is all too easy to fart out. Oddly enough when I saw Andy Timmons a couple years back, he had an awesome live tone and was using Lone Stars.

soulfield  on a side note, we are just down the road from each other.  We are in between Dawsonville and Cumming.

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Just to add more detail here: I've played MKI, MKIIB and mine (C+) and what they all share is a certain responsiveness which is hard to describe. It's like your fingers blend with the amp's circuitry and you are actively shaping tone. THat's why I feel my amp is alive because it's linked to me almost biologically as an extension of my fingers.

The Gain in a C+ is unmatched --- quite literally the most brutal and sweetest lead tone you could ever dial in from an amp. combined with the ability to control gain using the volume pickup combo from your guitar and your fingers makes this amp "the" amp for me.  The only thing it lacks is additional channels that allow independent EQ for lead/vs rhythm ---- and a quieter switching system.

I've heard sounds replicated -- but never the responsiveness. The amplifier is truly and instrument unto itself in your signal chain.

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15 minutes ago, Dasein said:

Just to add more detail here: I've played MKI, MKIIB and mine (C+) and what they all share is a certain responsiveness which is hard to describe. It's like your fingers blend with the amp's circuitry and you are actively shaping tone. THat's why I feel my amp is alive because it's linked to me almost biologically as an extension of my fingers.

The Gain in a C+ is unmatched --- quite literally the most brutal and sweetest lead tone you could ever dial in from an amp. combined with the ability to control gain using the volume pickup combo from your guitar and your fingers makes this amp "the" amp for me.  The only thing it lacks is additional channels that allow independent EQ for lead/vs rhythm ---- and a quieter switching system.

I've heard sounds replicated -- but never the responsiveness. The amplifier is truly and instrument unto itself in your signal chain.

Having owned neither a IIB or C+, but having played a few and recorded with the former, I tend to agree.

Which leads me to ponder...If only Mesa's founder had continued to harvest old Fender amps for parts in lieu of setting up his own manufacturing process and supply chain, had chosen to limit production to a handful of professional players per year, and had otherwise exhibited an odd, somewhat antisocial approach to the business, he might have been the next Dumble.  What a failure Randall Smith has been. ;)

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1 hour ago, Biz Prof said:

Having owned neither a IIB or C+, but having played a few and recorded with the former, I tend to agree.

Which leads me to ponder...If only Mesa's founder had continued to harvest old Fender amps for parts in lieu of setting up his own manufacturing process and supply chain, had chosen to limit production to a handful of professional players per year, and had otherwise exhibited an odd, somewhat antisocial approach to the business, he might have been the next Dumble.  What a failure Randall Smith has been. ;)

^^^^^THIS!^^^^^  Except for the Randall Smith 'failure' part.  ;)  That Dumble 'mystique' BS has really gotten thin over the years IMO, I've never had the patience, money, or interest to care much about Dumbles.  <_<

Edited to add:  Found an article that might be of interest (note the 'smiley face' position of the EQ sliders :rolleyes: :lol:):

http://www.guitarplayer.com/amplifiers/1017/score-how-ross-davison-ended-up-with-princes-mesaboogie-mark-iic/59475

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On 19/03/2017 at 2:42 AM, jettster said:

I've always liked the tone that others got with Boogies but never had enough patience to learn their unique EQ design. Had one of the early Lone Stars and struggled with it for about a year and gave up. Seems like the low end is all too easy to fart out. Oddly enough when I saw Andy Timmons a couple years back, he had an awesome live tone and was using Lone Stars.

soulfield  on a side note, we are just down the road from each other.  We are in between Dawsonville and Cumming.

The trick sometimes is when you have the gain up, you need to turn the bass down

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Mesa Boogie amps are ones where you really need to understand them to get the most out of them. They also tweaked things all the time, so you've got to make sure which particular version you have.  A lot of the controls are highly interactive, so changing one things means you need to change everything else.

I have a DC-5, and even that can be tricky to dial in. Reading the manual regarding the controls for the DC-5 definitely helped. Mesa LOVES to write documentation, so definitely check out the Mk IIB "manual" on their website: http://www.mesaboogie.com/support/user-manuals.html?page=2

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Well, I had the same problem as the original poster, though my problem amp has been a Fender Prosonic. Both channels share one EQ, never got to dial in both channels to my satisfaction at one setting. So I only use the clean channel (which I really love) and have a pedal in front of it. Usually I love to use the hi gain sound from the amp. I have a Mesa Mk. V 35 and though the sound options are very diverse it wasn't hard to dial the amp in to my liking. I am not a kind of "sound chaser". I just wanted a good clean sound and a good distortion sound, about some punchy midrangey sound each channel. Then the smiley EQ for a bit more transparent tone (without boosting the signal level) and solo loudness for each channel. It is not that hard. I got similar experiences with the Marshall 30th Aniversary model (6100/6101), lots of knobs, easy to dial in.

 

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On 3/22/2017 at 3:40 AM, KH Guitar Freak said:

The trick sometimes is when you have the gain up, you need to turn the bass down

the nice thing about Marks is that the graphic EQ is post preamp so you can turn down the bass to prevent flub in the preamp and then bring it back with a vengence with the graphic.

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On 24/03/2017 at 3:17 AM, SteveB said:

the nice thing about Marks is that the graphic EQ is post preamp so you can turn down the bass to prevent flub in the preamp and then bring it back with a vengence with the graphic.

That's generally how you would set it on the Mark series amps, especially when you turn the gain up. Not so much with the other non-Mark series of course, but one thing is for sure, if you turn a single knob on a Mesa, you'll more than likely will have to tweak the other knobs too. Best to start from the gain control and work your way across until you reach the master volume channel control. Don't attempt to simply tweak any knobs in a random fashion and expect miracles to happen. The upside to this is that you get plenty of variety of flavours of tone that way

 

Yes, I'm a massive Mesa Boogie fanboy. I would sell my soul to Satan Flanders to get a Boogie doughnut

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On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 1:13 PM, Jeff R said:

After owning IIs, IIIs (every stripe series), IVs and Vs, my favorite is the green-stripe (last revision) III. It has my favorite gain channel and I get "good enough" with its sister modes. My latest and last III (hopefully) is in Petaluma getting the A-to-Z TLC treatment, including adding a R2 volume pot on the back chassis and tweaking the reverb circuit for my supplied preferred settings (Mark series reverb circuits are rarely as lush as say a Fender combo's circuit). The III I sent off is the one that I recently bought used online and we questioned if the circuit had been tweaked aftermarket. Maybe that's why it belched a little preamp section smoke up a couple weeks ago, hence the trip to California. :)

My favorite Mark for clean sounds was the Mark V (cloned off the Lone Stars I'm told) but I never could get the high gain channel as aggressive and soulful as a III's lead channel, so the V and I parted ways last year. I'd love to play around with that new Petrucci signature Mark, but I'm staying away because my wallet doesn't need to go there.

The II and IIB are not as able to get modern gain as the later stuff. The IIC and C+ are where you start getting into III/IV'esque territory. I personally like the green-stripe III more than the IIC+ or the IV - maybe it's just the examples I've played through. Like others said above, I'd personally treat a IIB as a one-channel amp with a glorious power section that loves pedals. Dial a good clean to pushed and put your OD or dist of choice up front. Watch your bass. I'd probably be at "2" or "3" for humbuckers and "4" or "5" for singles. Yes, the controls are that finicky, they like different pickups different ways. They even react to pickup height in my experience. Back to the bass control ... anything above what I put numerically and you're in pharty territory unless you are trying to play very clean clean. The presence control can be a sleeper too as far as overall aggression or lack thereof.

That first volume stage is the alpha-omega for what and where you're going - it dictates all the shit behind it. Keep that in mind and play around with that. Think "around 6" for big clean" with more aggression as you continue (subtle) turning clockwise. And as you'd suspect, that V1 is going to change proportionally to where you're parking your master vol. Be ready to play around, tweak and re-tweak. Be thankful you have a generation with relatively few knobs/push-pulls/switches. A Mark V is like a modern jet cockpit with a speaker attached to it. Fucking insane.

Boogie's manuals from back in the day (free and online at their website) often included "instant gratification" settings that are/were great starting points to figure out what the hell is in front of you. A quick perusal indicates some suggested sample settings ... http://www.mesaboogie.com/media/User Manuals/Mark IIb.pdf

I expect M/B to call me in the next couple of days with the diagnosis on my III, their course of action and my cost. I'll ask them for shits and giggles how much a IIB to C+ conversion costs while I'm on the phone with them.

One last thing. Play with a closed-back extension cab if you have one. I love the head/cabs and kinda meh at the combos for what my ears and hands want. That much of a night-and-day difference.

 

Is $1000 too much for a green stripe head? I've always wanted to try a Mesa Boogie Mark but have been scared off by the reputation for its loudness. I'm guessing the 25watt mode shouldn't get the neighbors too riled up.

 

https://reverb.com/item/6418762-mesa-boogie-mark-iii-head-green-stripe-simul-class-25w-85w-monster-tone-black

 

 

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12 minutes ago, LordsoftheJungle said:

Is $1000 too much for a green stripe head? I've always wanted to try a Mesa Boogie Mark but have been scared off by the reputation for its loudness. I'm guessing the 25watt mode shouldn't get the neighbors too riled up.

https://reverb.com/item/6418762-mesa-boogie-mark-iii-head-green-stripe-simul-class-25w-85w-monster-tone-black

Hahahahahahaaaaaaah! Don't kid yerself, kid! 25w will still be crushingly loud when you rev it up to its sweet spot.

And, yes, $1k is a good price for a MkIII with all of those features. Make him an offer and see if he'll actually do it for $1k, shipping included.

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17 minutes ago, LordsoftheJungle said:

Is $1000 too much for a green stripe head? I've always wanted to try a Mesa Boogie Mark but have been scared off by the reputation for its loudness. I'm guessing the 25watt mode shouldn't get the neighbors too riled up.

 

https://reverb.com/item/6418762-mesa-boogie-mark-iii-head-green-stripe-simul-class-25w-85w-monster-tone-black

I have had a lot of fun with various Mark series amps. For some reason, I seemed to like the various IIs more then the IIIs, but that is probably just me.

One thing to ponder.....You may well be able to pick up a Mark V head for not a lot more than that. In addition to having a newer amp that should have less of the effects of age, you would have an amp with multiple power settings (10/45/90 watts) for each of the three discrete channels (each of which also has 3 different modes). Not to mention a footswitchable EQ function (presettable for each channel) and solo/boost function. It would give you a good deal more versatility. And arguably has "all the classic Mesa tones". And, unlike many earlier Mark versions, no need to share tone controls between "channels".

FWIW,  I found a Mark V locally for $1500, but that was for a combo with the optional (added cost) cabinet and grill.

 

 

 

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19 minutes ago, RobB said:

Hahahahahahaaaaaaah! Don't kid yerself, kid! 25w will still be crushingly loud when you rev it up to its sweet spot.

And, yes, $1k is a good price for a MkIII with all of those features. Make him an offer and see if he'll actually do it for $1k, shipping included.

 

3 minutes ago, django49 said:

 

 

Jeff's opinions carry some weight so I was hoping the Green Stripe might be a possibility, but now I'm  back to being scared off by the loudness! Those Mark Vs are very appealing, I like the modern connectivity and options, those and the Petrucci version are looking like the most likely options now.

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10 minutes ago, LordsoftheJungle said:

Jeff's opinions carry some weight so I was hoping the Green Stripe might be a possibility, but now I'm  back to being scared off by the loudness! Those Mark Vs are very appealing, I like the modern connectivity and options, those and the Petrucci version are looking like the most likely options now.

Yep, Jeffro knows his Boogs. Don't let the loudness scare you off. You can certainly get a great sound at living room volumes, though you might want to boost the front end with a OD pedal or some such. I just meant that they really start to get that saturation when you open them up on the master volume. 

You should get the amp! If it's not your thing, you can always move it. Consider the Mk5/25, too. They can get hella loud, but sound GREAT on the 10w setting.

In real world terms, 25W amps are plenty loud for most band situations. My Splawn combo really starts to open up at about half, and that's about as far as I can push it without being stupid. I'm thinking of bringing my Astroverb 16 head home and getting a Mk5/25 for the S.F. practice pad. I think they are the best value in a low-wattage, high gain head out there.

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5 minutes ago, RobB said:

Yep, Jeffro knows his Boogs. Don't let the loudness scare you off. You can certainly get a great sound at living room volumes, though you might want to boost the front end with a OD pedal or some such. I just meant that they really start to get that saturation when you open them up on the master volume. 

You should get the amp! If it's not your thing, you can always move it. Consider the Mk5/25, too. They can get hella loud, but sound GREAT on the 10w setting.

Thanks.... I like the idea of lower wattage in the 25s but wasn't sure about the EL84s, seems like it wouldn't sound like the classic Boogie with those tubes. (but I'm totally guessing on that )

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I put a Xotic BB Preamp set as a dirty boost more so than a Tube Screamer/OD thing if I'm trying to get stun gun tone out of the Boogie's gain channel at house/conversation volumes. The BB adds harmonic liveliness and the touch/hands thing you would typically get at high volumes. And the amp sounds incredible regardless of which wattage mode it's in. Truth be told, the 25/85 watt thing is more voicing (British versus American) than it is a volume thing. The BB Preamp works wonders on either mode at low volumes - my BB stays near my amp at all times. And that fucker can get LOUD as all hell in either mode. As for low end/high end at different volumes, that EQ is perfect for sweetening things on a case-by-case basis.  

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4 hours ago, Jeff R said:

I put a Xotic BB Preamp set as a dirty boost more so than a Tube Screamer/OD thing if I'm trying to get stun gun tone out of the Boogie's gain channel at house/conversation volumes. The BB adds harmonic liveliness and the touch/hands thing you would typically get at high volumes. And the amp sounds incredible regardless of which wattage mode it's in. Truth be told, the 25/85 watt thing is more voicing (British versus American) than it is a volume thing. The BB Preamp works wonders on either mode at low volumes - my BB stays near my amp at all times. And that fucker can get LOUD as all hell in either mode. As for low end/high end at different volumes, that EQ is perfect for sweetening things on a case-by-case basis.  

Great info, thx! So now I'm back to considering this green stripe. B). The cab condition doesn't matter, if I like it I plan on building a new head cab with some nice wood and classic wicker grill.

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I have owned a bunch of different Mesa amps over the years Studio 22+, DC-3, MKIV, Lone Star, Blue Angel.  If you enjoy twiddling knobs to get "your sound"  out of it, you can do it, especially the MKIV.  its all about patience, keeping track of your knob settings.  Remember, your guitar knobs are in that signal path. An LP or a Studio will require different settings than a Strat orTele

Start with the knob setting examples in the user manual.  

I'd recommend getting one of the DC models or Lonestar models. Why?   Separate dedicated knobs for each channel. No push/pull knob sharing between channels, its maddening, pull your hair out, throbbing forehead vein, maddening.

Document your knob settings, they are very, very sensitive.  For example 3 to 4 on any knob can cause a huge diff.  If you like a certain knob at 7½ document it, not 7 or 8, 7½ .   All the pots are quite interactive.   I got lucky,  The sample settings in the manual required very little tweaking  to get what I wanted out of the MarkIV.  The DC-3 was easy.  2 channels, all separate knobs.  No push/pull sharing.  The footswitchable,  5-slider is very cool.  You can use it as a boost for channel 1 or channel 2 or an EQ for a Strat or as EQ for a Hamer Studio. 

Its kjnda obvious, my favorite was the DC-3,  I know,  i know, "I need more power than 30w bro!" Perhaps you do.  DC-5 is 50W.  DC-10 is 100W.  When are you playing Wembley?  Mesa power ratings are diff than any other amp brand I've played thru.  Don't be fooled by numbers, 30w of Mesa is louder than 45w of Fender, 50w of Marshall. 

Just MHO.  YMMV

caddie

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I have a iic+ and it's the touch sensitivity and response  where the magic resides.  There have been alot of good things said so far, but there is one thing OP said that about 4 gain stages that makes things difficult for people.  Volume 1, lead drive, lead master, then master 1.  Really if you are using it as a two channel amp then you don't want to think of it as four gain stages.  You need to think of the lead master as a volume balance knob between the clean channel and the lead channel.

When using the amp as a  two channel amp. Set your clean volume with volume 1 and  master 1.  Set your lead sound with vol 1 and lead drive and then use the lead master to balance the volumes of the two different channels.

If you are using it as a single channel lead amp then you can think of it as a three stage lead channel (vol 1, lead drive, lead master) with an added  master volume control at the end of the chain.

The difficulty lies in setting the vol 1 control so it works for both lead and clean.  And the other more difficult problem, and which  is the achilles heal of this amp, is balancing the EQ for both clean and lead settings.  The newer amps all have separate eq controls for each channel which fixes this problem.

Really I think this is one of the best sounding high wattage amps I have ever played.  You can get incredibly sweet clean sounds if you set it right and the most incredible lead tones.  But trying to do both at once is problematic.  But it can do amazing things and is incredibly versatile with no compromises in quality of tone,  if you just use it one channel at a time and learn how to set it.  Believe it or not, to me mine sounds better clean than the blackface twin I've had for 25 years.  But if I get that tone I won't be able to use the lead channel the way I want without changing the setting.  Yes this is a two channel amp but in a way it helps to not think of it as a channel switching amp but a very versatile amp.

Here are the setting for the mark iic that boogie released.  I know you have a mark iib , but I hope this can steer you into the right direction.

 

boogie settings.jpg

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Did someone say MK IIB? One  (60 watt combo) is listed locally with EVM that appears to be in great shape and  only $800. All else equal, I'd prefer the Simul-Class, but seems like a very good price.......A new EVM alone will cost you at least $265.

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/d/mesa-mark-iib-1x12-evm-12l/6289851025.html

Just to derail slightly IF you run into the Mesa Quad Preamp (and it has an intact footswitch) seriously consider it. It is, in essence, both an Mk IIC+ and a MKIII in one chassis, so you deal with the issue of balancing rhythm and lead by having 2 flavors of each. Seem to be hard to find anymore. And they ARE the rack mount stuff, with an implication you pick up a stereo power amp. The 2:Fifty is a very good match, the 2:Ninety even better. The latter has 90 watts of Simul-Class power per side, as well as "preamp" tubes inside the power amp that allow other footswitchable functions (half power, "deep" and "modern". Running that sucker through a pair of the "half back" type cabinets (EVM/Thiele below, V-30 semi open above) was my weapon of choice for a  good long while. A real monster----EIGHT Freakin' 6L6s!....I am going to have to break that beast outta the vault for another spin......

http://mesaboogie.com/media/User Manuals/Quad Preamp.pdf

 

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13 hours ago, django49 said:

Did someone say MK IIB? One  (60 watt combo) is listed locally with EVM that appears to be in great shape and  only $800. All else equal, I'd prefer the Simul-Class, but seems like a very good price.......A new EVM alone will cost you at least $265.

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/d/mesa-mark-iib-1x12-evm-12l/6289851025.html

Just to derail slightly IF you run into the Mesa Quad Preamp (and it has an intact footswitch) seriously consider it. It is, in essence, both an Mk IIC+ and a MKIII in one chassis, so you deal with the issue of balancing rhythm and lead by having 2 flavors of each. Seem to be hard to find anymore. And they ARE the rack mount stuff, with an implication you pick up a stereo power amp. The 2:Fifty is a very good match, the 2:Ninety even better. The latter has 90 watts of Simul-Class power per side, as well as "preamp" tubes inside the power amp that allow other footswitchable functions (half power, "deep" and "modern". Running that sucker through a pair of the "half back" type cabinets (EVM/Thiele below, V-30 semi open above) was my weapon of choice for a  good long while. A real monster----EIGHT Freakin' 6L6s!....I am going to have to break that beast outta the vault for another spin......

http://mesaboogie.com/media/User Manuals/Quad Preamp.pdf

 

Hmmmm, I already have a rack setup with a Peavey 50/50 pushing two 112 cabs loaded with an EVM and an EVM-esque speakers,,,

This seems like a good price too,

https://reverb.com/item/6480995-mesa-boogie-quad-preamp-w-footswitch

 

This has a power amp that comes with

https://reverb.com/item/6127250-mesa-boogie-quad-preamp-simul-class-stereo-295-power-amp-1987-black

 

 

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19 minutes ago, LordsoftheJungle said:

Hmmmm, I already have a rack setup with a Peavey 50/50 pushing two 112 cabs loaded with an EVM and an EVM-esque speakers,,,

This seems like a good price too,

https://reverb.com/item/6480995-mesa-boogie-quad-preamp-w-footswitch

 

This has a power amp that comes with

https://reverb.com/item/6127250-mesa-boogie-quad-preamp-simul-class-stereo-295-power-amp-1987-black

 

 

Worth consideration.....A couple thoughts. The Quad (that era) was MADE to work with the 295 power amp. It is not nearly the equal of the (later) 2:Ninety, but the only thing wrong with it (other than possible age issues) is that it is much bigger than the 2:90 and not quite as versatile.But expect to pay much more for the newer power amp. I DID, at one time, use a Mesa Pre with the Peavey 50/50 and it worked well for me. You would do fine without the Mesa amp.

The other thought is that the second ad does not appear to show or state that the footswitch is included and fully functional. There IS a non-working link that MAY be intended to show it. It is not uncommon for them to come up missing, esp if a person has been touring with it. NOT having one is a big deal, IMO. You can control it with another form of controller (I never had a need to try the MIDI). It is very nice to be able to not only select any of the 4 presets with a stomp, but also either of the preset EQ settings. In effect, you get TWELVE different tones without further tweaking of knobs. And that is not to mention the "secret" way to get BOTH channels at once and blend them.

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