Anyone convert their MKIII to a MKIII+ (IIC+)

[Guitar Adjuster]

Was wondering if anyone here had their MKIII coverted to IIC+ by Mike B and how they liked/disliked it? Does the switching still work the same? Thanks,

Allen

 

[GIG4FUN]

I did read in the last few weeks that someone here did it.
I discussed it with Mike B. when mine was in their shop for service work and I decided against it just from our discussion.

It is going to be different and I don't know that different is a good. My Green stipe Mark III :lol: I totally dig it the way it is.

Think it through, be ready for a different amp if you send your off for it. AND in my view "different" is not always good. And.. it will never sound like the Mark IIC+ (no matter how it scopes etc.) is what Mike B. told me.

 

[Paul Secondino]

I had a blue stripe Mark 3 that Mike modded to a 3+ as he calls it. The modification will widen out the lows and smooth the highs which are the two main differences between a 2C+ and a 3 . However, the real 2C+ has a unique tone and vibe on the clean channel that just isn't 100% copyable .

However, I already have a stock Mark 3 blue stripe and a Mark 4 and the 3+ got sold. I prefer the stock 3 for the main reason that it's stock voicing cuts extremely well without being harsh or nasty.In fact, I had a 2C+ coliseum head here and recorded it next to my mark 3 and thought that my 3 cut better where the presence control had to be turned up on the 2C+ to make it cut through.

I would only recommend doing the 3+ mod if you really want to smooth out the preamp voicing of your Mark 3.Otherwise, leave it alone.

 

[ahoi]

Hello everone,
about a year ago i called mike b. and asked about modding the mark iii as close as possible to a iic+ and make it a bit smoother.

He told to me to replace 3 capacitors. One made the basic clean sound smoother, one for smoothing out the lead channel and one for the presence circuit.

The clean channel of the amp got smoother and rounder, not as chimey as before - but i liked that a lot. The presence knob was a lot more usable. Now i have it around 3 and can turn it up to seven without bleeding ears. And i can still make the amp sound bright if i want to ... . The lead channel got also smoother - it did not sound as harsh and got more vocal.

All in all i really liked the result. For me the mark III was simply a bit to bright before and i always had to keep the presence below 2 and could not dial the treble above 7 without the amp sounding somewhat harsh or raspy. Maybe that is what some people like but for me the amp works a lot better now.

Sorry for any english mistakes,
ahoi :wink:

 

[Boogie Woogie Man]

could not dial the treble above 7 without the amp sounding somewhat harsh or raspy.

7 !! I seldom have mine above 5 and never above 6.

 

[ahoi]

i use it mostly in the 6 to 7 range. Before the mod i set the treble like you do

 

[lionel69]

i had the mod [III+] IT TOOK MIKE B ALOT LONGER ON MINE ...LOL...HE FOGOT I PUT A BLUE LABEL FENDER SPEAKER IN IT TO KEEP DOWN THE WEIGHT ...WHICH GAVE HIM FITS TO MOD AFTER LISTENING TO IT....HE EVEN DID NEW THINGS WHICH I AM GLAD HE DID...AFTER REPLACING THE FENDER WITH A EV ...**** ITS THE BOMB... ... THE ONLY DRAW IS STRIGHT SINGLE COILS TAKES SOME TWEEKING...HUM'S WITH SPLIT COILS ARE GREAT AT ANY SETTINGS

 

[Guitar Adjuster]

Thanks for the replies. I had recently purchased a MKIII Combo with a build date of '86 black dot/stripe and it was not working when I purchased it so I sent it back to Boogie for service. I had Boogie convert it to a short head shell with new fan and reverb tank. I went ahead and had Mike B do the mod but I told him to make it agressive sounding but smooth so it may not be a "true" III+ mod? I will find out on Wednesday as that is when it's scheduled for delivery. Boogie gave me a great price on the new short head shell too.

 

[GIG4FUN]

Thanks for the replies. I had recently purchased a MKIII Combo with a build date of '86 black dot/stripe and it was not working when I purchased it so I sent it back to Boogie for service. I had Boogie convert it to a short head shell with new fan and reverb tank. I went ahead and had Mike B do the mod but I told him to make it agressive sounding but smooth so it may not be a "true" III+ mod? I will find out on Wednesday as that is when it's scheduled for delivery. Boogie gave me a great price on the new short head shell too.

sneaky fella ! And you knew all the time!

I sent you a PM (question)

 

[Guitar Adjuster]

Thanks for the replies. I had recently purchased a MKIII Combo with a build date of '86 black dot/stripe and it was not working when I purchased it so I sent it back to Boogie for service. I had Boogie convert it to a short head shell with new fan and reverb tank. I went ahead and had Mike B do the mod but I told him to make it agressive sounding but smooth so it may not be a "true" III+ mod? I will find out on Wednesday as that is when it's scheduled for delivery. Boogie gave me a great price on the new short head shell too.

sneaky fella ! And you knew all the time!

I sent you a PM (question)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[trem]

He told to me to replace 3 capacitors. One made the basic clean sound smoother, one for smoothing out the lead channel and one for the presence circuit.

Hi. Care to share with the rest of us which capacitors to replace? Thanks.

 

[ahoi]

Yes ofcourse i can. I would have done so earlier but i was not at home then

1) C27 : 10 pf should be stock - replace it with a 20 pf capacitor.

This mod is quite common and already known here i think. It smooths out the clean channel and affects all other channels as well. I like that mod, because you can turn the treble knob at about 7 or even 8 without the clean sound sounding too snappy,

2) C30 (near V3) : 500 pf should be stock there - replace it with 1000 pf to smooth out the lead channel.

3) C516 (In presence control circuit) : 0.01 microfarat should be stock - replace it with 0.005 microfarat. The presence control works different afterwards. I set it normally around 3. At 5 it is still usable for distortion. And at 7 it starts sound really bright.

These mods do change the amp a lot - but you can still make it sound bright if you want to. Raise the eq on the treble side and or set the presence higher. The difference is mainly that distortion sounds in general more vocal and not as trebly.

I had this modification done to a mesa mark iii simul class red stripe. When i called Mike B. i told him that i wanted to get better smooth high gain sounds (like Petrucci or Vai ...).

I now use the amp with an engl 1x12" (v30) cab and i have to say that although i thought sometimes about a change in equipment i have not found an amp that i really liked better. It is more versatile and sounds more organic than an old two channel dual recitifier of a friend of mine(Although bouth can be dialled in to sound similar). It a bit more vocal than my second amp, an engl thunder head (A really simple and very good amp!). The only amp i liked somewhat more so far is a mark IV i played at a store in Denmark. It is more versatile for live use and sounded similar and good on the distortion channel. However - it is quite expensive here in Germany

Feel free to ask any other questions about the mod if you like ,
ahoi

 

[CoG]

Thanks ahoi! The C27 mod sounds very worthwhile for me; I think I am going to give that a go.

 

[trem]

That's uberkool ahoi, thanks a lot!

 

[goodwill559]

Ahoi,

Did it the cap replacements take you about 2 hours to complete?

Also, have you done the Rhythm volume knob?

 

[ahoi]

I had the mod done by a local tech. It did cost me about 50 Euros including a general cleanup of the amp.

It's funny you ask about the R2 Volume mod, it was already added to the amp (repaced the direct out knob) whe i bought it

 

[goodwill559]

Mike B. recently modded my Mark III black dot to III+ and did the rhythm vol. mod. He said he calls the mod the III+ to avoid any confusion because it comes close, but is still different from the IIC+.

I hesitate to really compare its pre-mod to post-mod sound because when I got my Mark III, it had a couple of issues which adversely affected its performance, including a shorted out EQ cap, so I don't really know how a healthy Mark III itself sounds.

What I noticed with my particular amp was a smoother sound with less harshness, but the aggressive Mark III personality is still prominently there, and it has a very bold sound, due in part to the 105 tranny. If I had to quantify the difference is sound, I would say it was a 10-15% change.

Having no personal experience with a IIC+, I can't comment on how close the two are. The way Mike B. put it was, "you could still pick out the IIC+ blindfolded, but the tone is close and very good."

It does have a very good tone, and I'm happy to have the amp working and sounding so good. I'm still learning the controls so in time, I'm getting more acquainted with the subtleties this amp has within.

For reference, he are a few pics of Mike's chassis marks.

Can you see how the "black dot" is now covered by the "+" sign?

the purple "R" is for the reverb mod, and the "R2VOL" label is for the Rhythm 2 mod.

 

[Dan__O]

Mike B. recently modded my Mark III.......... "you could still pick out the IIC+ blindfolded, but the tone is close and very good."

He means HE could still pick out the 2C+ blindfolded :lol:

 

[timjtitus]

has anybody else had these mods done?

 

[robredo_mattila]

has anybody else had these mods done?

I'm planning on doing them but I also want to hear from anybody else who has done these mods FIRST... just to be sure...