Restless Rocks said:
As far as building a new run of say 1000 or so C+'s I would think it would be a peice of cake for mesa to do. Having a batch of trannies made up would be no big deal and the complexity of manufacturing the C+ in comparison to say a Road King or a Nomad or a Mark IV is very minor. The actual circuitry in a C+ is really quite uncomplicated compared to many of the amps they now produce. Having worked in a small scale electronics manufacturing company I can see how it would be easier to run off a batch of C+'s and maybe even cheaper now than it would have been in 1983 given today's improved manufacturing techniques . If Randall just wanted to he could have say even a hundred circuit boards etched up and build them one at a time on order and charge boutique prices. I for one would rather see a Mark IVc or a Mark V that was based more closely to the C+ sound but with the extra features and channels of the IV.
Exactly. Plus, it doesn't seem that reasonable to go back to the IIC+, really, in practical sense. I mean, having one myself, yes, the sound is gorgeous, but considering features for live usage, etc. it's far from keeping up with amps made today, like the Road King, for instance. And there's really no reason why they couldn't keep both the IIC+ and the Mark IV in production at the same time. I'm guessing it'll be just a further development in the Mark line. And really hoping for more practical live solutions like more channels, easier layout, more assignment options with the loop(s) and EQ(s), (obviously requiring a bigger chassis) and even progressive linkage and cabinet switching and stuff like that.
Generally, I'd want it to be something like the Road King, only a Mark. With Graphic EQ, and the same control functions like on the Mark IV. I just love how the Road King is set up, with it's features and all. It's just so versatile with all its bells and whistles. I've never encountered a head that is so great set up for live usage. Problem is, I just don't really dig the Recto tone. I mean, it's cool, but it's still only one sound to me. While I find myself going from smooth hollowbody jazz tones to heavy Petrucci-esque rhythms on the same amp (my IIC+), and that's what I love about the Marks. They are just so **** versatile in tone. But like I said, when it comes to switching and features, my Mark is just lacking. And I find it very hard to get all the tones that I want live. In studio, it's perfect, but not live, in my opinion. In practical sense, of course. The tone is still gorgeous!
And it's because of that, I think a new Mark model deserves the versality of features found in the Road King even more, actually. Given the extreme diversity in tones they can produce, I'm hoping for at least four channels with even perhaps two fully assignable graphic equalizers (maybe a new, more compact EQ design?), as the foundation. And of course, lots of bells on whistles found on both models. Voicing switches, pull functions, progressive linkage, loop assignment, tuner out, and stuff like that.
However, it would also be cool with a smaller, simpler Mark model. With two channels perhaps, laid out a lot like the Lonestars. I would really want the Mark line to grow a bit, seeing as many Rectifier models, and Lonestars, etc. The Marks are really great amps, perhaps harder to dial in, and that may turn off many users at first, but still, they deserve a bit more recognition, in my opinion. And if Mesa started to market some new Mark models, I think they would get a lot of popularity as well.
