Mesa Road King II or Mark II C+?

[axelfatu]

Hey guys,

I'm a brand new former here! This place is awesome. I am a huge Dream Theater / Petrucci fan and was looking to obtain a new / used amp. I just wanted to know if the Road King II Series is awesome?? I was thinking about getting it very soon. However someone else is offering me a MARK IIC+ for ~$3500! He states to me (in an e-mail) that this monster KILLS the Road King 2 hands down. That price is too hefty and I have never heard a IIC+ in person. He lives in another state and just wanted your opinions.

Is it really worth it?? At Guitar Center, I loved the Road King tone with the JP EBMM guitar plugged in. It was better than the what I thought it would sound like.

I did see a video on youtube with Petrucci showing his RK rig and his sounds were awesome. I didn't get that smooth, compressed, heavy distoration he had though. Any reason why? He was playing really basic stuff.. so it could / couldn't be his hands.

 

[CudBucket]

They're 2 different animals. Yes, the Road King II is awesome. In every way. The Mark IIC+ is a much different amp though. It's apples and oranges. I happen to think that at $3500, the IIC+ is WAY over priced. And of course, anyone who has one to sell will tell you it kills the RKII. Play them and decide for yourself.

 

[Random Hero]

Hi, I too am a HUGE DT/JP fan.

What kind of volume did you play the RK at? Rumour is too that JP occasionally boosts his RKs for leads, judging by the fact he seems to have a MXR ZW OD pedal in his rack. However, it could just as easily be his insane technique.

Also, IMO, his RK tone kills his IIC+ tone, but I know i'm in the minority for that. Bear in mind that he hates the IIC+ lead tone so his leads are normally Mark IV or Recto, even going back as far as Awake. His IIC+s do sound killer on Six Degrees however, but I still prefer the Road King tone - I guess that's why I own a Recto myself.

The RK is also far more versatile.

My main advice however would be to try and play a Mark IIC+ first, or atleast a Mark III, and see if you like it as much as a RK.

 

[axelfatu]

Only problem is.. I can't play a mark iic+. The guy lives in another state. I love the 6 degrees tone, but loved his TOT also. I loved his octavarium tour rig, and the last show at RCHM, his tone was beautiful, but people were saying he used the iic+ on that whereas I thought it was the RK's....



What makes the iic+ better than the retifier or vice versa?

 

[alejandro]

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2006/0906_MesaBoogieRoadKing.php

 

[ytse_jam]

if you need ONLY good cleans and smooth, tight, rich distortion (not the recto growl of Train Of Thought) you'll like the markIIC+... if you're searching for that huge rhythm tone of ToT (and many other cool tones between great cleans and that "modern" distortion), then get the Road King...
both the mark and the road king can never produce the tones of the other one.
speaking as a DT fan i suggest:
do you like I&W and Awake? get the mkIIC+ (even if in Awake he started using the recto too)
do you like ToT? get the Road King!

 

[Elpelotero]

the 2c+ is the smoothest amp you will ever hear. Period. Not to mention the tighest mesa amp ever made. The road king, as stated, will give you many more options and sounds, but it won't do the C+ sound. Liekwise a c+ won't do the ultra heavy modern sounds of a recto.

The road King 2 has EVERYTHING mesa can offer right now, Except the famous sound of the marks. Go back and listen to old metallica stuff. anything from puppets to S&M is a C+ sound. That will give you the best examples of the range of tones to get out of a C+. Also, talk to Boogiebabies...He's got both of 'em!

FWIW, my dream amp is to this day the C+.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Saying John Petrucci hates the lead tone of his IIC's is like saying babies don't like milk. It's rediculous. You guys are chasing a white rabbit.
In the photo of his current studio rig there is no RK, but beyond the overdrive and phase pedals is a very important effect that provides stereo separation, buffered outputs and a preamp. It is one of the best pedals in existence and makes the tone spatially separated, buffered and adds depth beyond belief. Mix the MK IV and IIC+ for lead and rythym mixed and then kick out to the Lone Star for cleans. It's basic, simple and incredibly effective. For a guy who hates the IIC+ so much, why has his collection increased to 12. I have never met a IIC+ that would not flat out rip and now with the Metallica / Petrucci high gain mod it is even more of a complex tone. I can easily hear the increase in depth, bottom end. harmonics, gain and drive.

 

[axelfatu]

Boogiebabies:

So what do you think of the RK2 then?

 

[Platypus]

I'd love to play a C+

I'd buy one if I could find one around here.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Boogiebabies:

So what do you think of the RK2 then?

I love it, with the exception that mine pops and Ch. 2 Brit is too bright.
If I had to choose and amp to use for my lead tone it would be a IIC+, III or IV. The RK II has plenty of gain, but its more blurry than the focused MK Series lead tone, which I like in it's own right.

Also, a serious thanks to Mesa for making an RK II version 2 when my **** amp is three months old. They are really starting to piss me off with this crap. Now it has a tuner out !!!!

 

[CudBucket]

Bear in mind that he hates the IIC+ lead tone so his leads are normally Mark IV or Recto

Utter crap.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Bear in mind that he hates the IIC+ lead tone so his leads are normally Mark IV or Recto

Utter crap.

Amen, CB , Amen.

As we say in Scotland, eez fool uf *****.