Mark II ID’ing

[dr_love6977]

Hey all! My wife’s dad had a friend who passed away years ago. My FIL recently told me that he remembered him having a Fender Vibroverb, and being interested, he contacted the wife for us to go check it out. While we were there, the wife mentioned a couple of “Boogies” in another room, so we crack open the road cases, and lo and behold, this beautiful Mark 1X12 and extension cab greeted us! I’m trying to get an ID on the amp. The serial matches up to the serial range for a IIC+, but the mark above the power cord doesn’t look like the plus sign I’ve seen on other examples. I didn’t pull the chassis, or get any codes of the transformers. Has anyone seen the mark like above the power cord before?

 

[JD]

Need a pic of circuit board to confirm

 

[domct203]

If you’re sure it’s a IIC you should do the loop test to confirm if it’s a +.

https://mesaboogie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217026138-Is-my-Mark-IIC-a-Mark-IIC

Dom

 

[GJgo]

Yes, some Cs had a dot or a stripe above the power cord. I agree, do a loop test & see what preamp board is living in there.

Personally I think the no-EQ 60s are great. If it goes up for sale let me know.

 

[dr_love6977]

Welp, I seem to have an anomaly of an amp. I pulled the chassis to check it out. The chassis code is “SR” (its non-EQ) written over “SRG.” The week code is 51, which doesn’t really lineup with the 1260X serial or the “3/84” date etched in the top of the chassis. It has the correct RP11A preamp and PWR-7D1 power boards. I couldn’t find the code on the PT, but the OT is the correct T60-152019.

The effects loop test….. failed. I plugged into the return, engaged lead mode and turned the lead drive and lead master, and they definitely had an effect. The lead master changed the volume slightly, and the lead drive added a little bit of gain till it got to about 7, at which point it squealed.

For the final piece of the puzzle - I called Mesa customer service. They said that serial number is a IIC+. I’m not even sure what to think at this point!

 

[woodbutcher65]

Does it look like an EQ might have been installed and removed afterwards? Look at the mount points for scratches, signs of screws having been installed and removed, etc.

That would make sense given that it's a remarked chassis. So it's from an earlier period, pre-C+, and rebuilt with EQ removed to fill a newer order.

That's my guess.

 

[dr_love6977]

I’ll pull the chassis again and see if it was obvious there was a an eq previously installed.

 

[Juicy2C]

Nothing unusual. It’s a late model 2C made during the 2C+ era.

 

[GJgo]

Looks like it was downgraded! hehe Must have been a customer that specifically wanted a not-plus. Well, the parts are there if one could ask Mike to re+ it, however I'm not sure if he's doing mods anymore...

 

[funk49]

Nothing unusual. It’s a late model 2C made during the 2C+ era.

Maybe I'm wrong but I was under the impression that as soon as MB came up with the IIC+ circuit, all the amps afterwards came with it. The story I remember was that the lackluster sound of the IIC prompted MB to make the mod in the first place. That being said, I could be misremembering some of my conversations with MB. I don't think I've ever seen a regular IIC that is dated in the middle of the IIC+ run.

OP, just call Bendinelli at Boogie and get the story straight from the horses mouth.

 

[dr_love6977]

I was under the same impression that Cs weren’t made after the C+ went into production. I know there were some Cs that made it through in the transition (12400-12500,) but I can’t find any examples beyond that. I don’t know why anyone would want to specifically request a custom built downgrade, that’s odd too. I’m gonna try and get in contact with Mike B and see his thoughts!

 

[Juicy2C]

Not odd at all. There were plenty of C’s mixed in with the C+’s, especially early on in the run. There are later examples of non+C’s out there.

 

[Henz]

I've been in my 1984 DRG C+ RP11A # 12732 sooo many times, somethings just don't look right on the preamp board. I understand there's no EQ. But other places. You called and they said its a C+?

 

[dr_love6977]

I've been in my 1984 DRG C+ RP11A # 12732 sooo many times, somethings just don't look right on the preamp board. I understand there's no EQ. But other places. You called and they said its a C+?

Yep. I want to try and get it in front of Mike B and see if he can shed some light/upgrade it.

 

[Henz]

Does it look like an EQ might have been installed and removed afterwards? Look at the mount points for scratches, signs of screws having been installed and removed, etc.

That would make sense given that it's a remarked chassis. So it's from an earlier period, pre-C+, and rebuilt with EQ removed to fill a newer order.

That's my guess.

There does seem to be some residual solder on upper left on preamp board. Is that normal to have the pilot light there? If not, that may have been where the eq switch was. I dunno.

 

[dr_love6977]

Update!

I was able to get in touch with Mike B and sent him pics. First off, what an incredibly helpful person! He did confirm it’s not a C+, and it doesn’t look like anyone has done anything to the amp. What I did learn is that the serial (at least back then) wasn’t stamped into the chassis until final play through and burn in. His thought was that it was an assembled C chassis that could’ve been sitting on the shelf for weeks until they had to fill an order for an SR. At that point, it gets pulled, assembled and the current faceplate (Pull Deep) slapped on it.

So the mystery has been solved… its an IIC.

 

[Henz]

Update!

I was able to get in touch with Mike B and sent him pics. First off, what an incredibly helpful person! He did confirm it’s not a C+, and it doesn’t look like anyone has done anything to the amp. What I did learn is that the serial (at least back then) wasn’t stamped into the chassis until final play through and burn in. His thought was that it was an assembled C chassis that could’ve been sitting on the shelf for weeks until they had to fill an order for an SR. At that point, it gets pulled, assembled and the current faceplate (Pull Deep) slapped on it.

So the mystery has been solved… its an IIC.

Are you the original owner?

 

[dr_love6977]

Are you the original owner?

Nope, I’m the second owner. It had belonged to my father in law’s friend he used to play with in a country band in the 80s and 90s. He had passed away about 11 years ago, and this has just been sitting there untouched since.

 

[Henz]

Nope, I’m the second owner. It had belonged to my father in law’s friend he used to play with in a country band in the 80s and 90s. He had passed away about 11 years ago, and this has just been sitting there untouched since.

That saddens me over your father in laws friend. May he/ she R I P. Mike is super cool to talk to. Dang, I wish that I had a fraction of his knowledge, as well as others here in this forum. But I'm scratching my head over this. I'm kinda leaning with WoodButcher. It looks like, to me, that there is solder where the EQ circuit would be. And Mike said it looks like nothing was done to it. Oh well, there was lots of confusion in that era with Mike leaving with Prince for a bit. Are you getting it upgraded to a + ?

 

[Joey1970]

From what I got these amps might have set on the shelf with no serial #s, until they were installed into a head or combo shell. That might explain things a bit.