Unfortunate, that minor change went back to worse, near deaf. All thanks to blocked Eustachian tubes and trapped fluid in the inner ear. Last resort is to have glass tubes inserted in the ear drums. No plan on doing that just yet.
NAD: Mesa Boogie Mark VII head. WOW
- Thread starter bandit2013
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Hey, anyone removing their Reissue IIC+ Chassis out of the head shell, there is one thing you need to be aware of. (I did not take this picture, I borrowed it as I have not uploaded my pictures yet).
In the upper left area just below the large toggle switches (the cap just below that between the standby and GEQ switch) Look at the one capacitor with the green insulator on it. That needs to be there when you go to put the chassis back into the head shell. Since the cap is probably in series with the one next to it, the metal canister of the capacitor is connected to the -terminal, not at ground potential but half the plate voltage. If that insulator is missing, the power supply could arc or may even touch the foil on the head shell. I do not believe it makes direct contact. The insulator is more than likely required by UL for proper creepage clearance to the foil shield that makes contact with the chassis when it is installed.
Also figured out where the hum was coming from. V1. Found that if the bass shift was pushed in, the hum was much louder and would go away when pulled out. I assume that all of the preamp tube heaters are AC sourced.
In the upper left area just below the large toggle switches (the cap just below that between the standby and GEQ switch) Look at the one capacitor with the green insulator on it. That needs to be there when you go to put the chassis back into the head shell. Since the cap is probably in series with the one next to it, the metal canister of the capacitor is connected to the -terminal, not at ground potential but half the plate voltage. If that insulator is missing, the power supply could arc or may even touch the foil on the head shell. I do not believe it makes direct contact. The insulator is more than likely required by UL for proper creepage clearance to the foil shield that makes contact with the chassis when it is installed.
Also figured out where the hum was coming from. V1. Found that if the bass shift was pushed in, the hum was much louder and would go away when pulled out. I assume that all of the preamp tube heaters are AC sourced.
Here is the picture I took of the Reissue IIC+. I copied the other images to compare or to see if the wiring was done the same way. A few wires were up against pin 9 of V4 so I did move them. The lead drive wires were forced against that pin. I had already moved them. when I took the picture. That did help with some of the hum. Now it is more or less noise floor that is tolerable. I did have the face plate removed just in case the face plate would grab onto it and get bent. Made it much easier to get the chassis back in too. A bit more of a juggling act to set the chassis screws, could not do it the same way as the Mark VII or JP2C. Had to set the head shell upright and carefully get the chassis in. Total PITA but manageable. That attached heat sink makes for a good place to hold onto. I really see no purpose for it except to make it look like the original. I could see that being practical if there were some voltage regulators or power supply components that would require heat sinking. Chassis does not get hot so it is more decorative than useful. (I know, I need to clean off the stove top. I am lazy).
You can see the green insulator on the one capacitor, the one pictured here was barely in place. It fell off while carrying it to the kitchen. I stuck it back on and added a short strip of electrical tape to keep it in place.
After finding the right combination of preamp tubes that did fix the low hum issue and improved the overall performance of the amp, I wanted to get a good feel with the Standard 412 cab. Meh. It is ok. Rolled out the modified OS Recto 412 loaded with the EVM12L Black Label speakers. Nothing epic with that either. Interesting. The Mark VII and JP2C seem to favor any cab, and the EV loaded one was tops. Just takes up too much room. I think the V212 cab performed the best with the Reissue IIC+. Perhaps some may favor the MC90/EV cabs from the 1980-1990 era. I do not have one of those. Almost thing the traditional 412 may be a good fit, I do not have one, so for me, the V212 was more ideal. That small cab does pack a punch. I used them with most amps if they fit. When it comes to the Royal or Dual Rec, it is 412 only.
Now that all of this is out of the way and finally satisfied with the amp's performance. Time to put the cover on it and set it in the storage area next to the JP2C so I can set up my two Badlanders and Mark VII again. I bought the Mark IIC+ Reissue as it seemed to be of interest. Cool. So, what comes next? I am fighting the urge to get two more V212 cabs so I can set up another stereo rig with the JP and the Ri. They do pair up so well together. Perhaps I can store the badlanders for now and run the two Mark VII with the two IIC+ amps. That may be very interesting combination. I have too much stuff. No more room. I will quote the JAWS movie, instead of a bigger boat, I need a bigger house.
This is due to some fear I may be expanding the drum set in the near future. Nah.
You can see the green insulator on the one capacitor, the one pictured here was barely in place. It fell off while carrying it to the kitchen. I stuck it back on and added a short strip of electrical tape to keep it in place.
After finding the right combination of preamp tubes that did fix the low hum issue and improved the overall performance of the amp, I wanted to get a good feel with the Standard 412 cab. Meh. It is ok. Rolled out the modified OS Recto 412 loaded with the EVM12L Black Label speakers. Nothing epic with that either. Interesting. The Mark VII and JP2C seem to favor any cab, and the EV loaded one was tops. Just takes up too much room. I think the V212 cab performed the best with the Reissue IIC+. Perhaps some may favor the MC90/EV cabs from the 1980-1990 era. I do not have one of those. Almost thing the traditional 412 may be a good fit, I do not have one, so for me, the V212 was more ideal. That small cab does pack a punch. I used them with most amps if they fit. When it comes to the Royal or Dual Rec, it is 412 only.
Now that all of this is out of the way and finally satisfied with the amp's performance. Time to put the cover on it and set it in the storage area next to the JP2C so I can set up my two Badlanders and Mark VII again. I bought the Mark IIC+ Reissue as it seemed to be of interest. Cool. So, what comes next? I am fighting the urge to get two more V212 cabs so I can set up another stereo rig with the JP and the Ri. They do pair up so well together. Perhaps I can store the badlanders for now and run the two Mark VII with the two IIC+ amps. That may be very interesting combination. I have too much stuff. No more room. I will quote the JAWS movie, instead of a bigger boat, I need a bigger house.
This is due to some fear I may be expanding the drum set in the near future. Nah.
Just for closing out the weekend with something a bit riveting. This: One of the Boogie 410 cabs and a widebody open-back 112.
Just buy this image alone, it is evident they are not stock cabinets. The EV logo is showing through the grill cloth.
SPOILER ALERT: The Boogie 410 cab is not stock either.
I do have another 410 but it is not suitable for the music I like to play. It fairs ok, so far the only amp I was able to get some decent tones despite having more midrange and low end was with the JP2C. I was foolish thinking I could build a mini 410 stack. It is not out of the question though. I will have to modify the other one to do just that. If you did not notice what I did with the 410 cab, I put the speaker jack on the top. Simple trick in removing the back panels and swapping them, then to rotate the jack plate so it reads right side up. This cab was transformed from 180W 10" creambacks to 200W of Jensen power: Silverbird 10, Electric lightning 10. To be honest, after doing this to the 410, it was epic with the Badlander 100W head. It is even better with the Reissue IIC+. Did not have the swamped bottom as you would get if you dialed in any bass. However, there were limits on how high you could run the 750Hz slider on the GEQ. The amber guitar is what I was using. It has a thin maple lamination over a mahogany body. Talk about some coupling between guitar and amp. Of course I was right in front of this cab stack. I was using a short guitar cable and sitting down. I could tell the EV was providing content but the 410 was more dominant. Later on, I disconnected the 112 cab and moved the V212 to get in some of the action. If I do the other 410 cab, I will get the same speakers. the combination is nice and aggressive.
This is more incentive to mod the other 410 cab. I may choose the same speakers or look for something that has a bit more bottom. These Jensen speakers just rip as good as the V212 but more punchy and immediate. This was fun and quite enjoyable change from the V30 V212 or the 412 cabs. Most of the noise floor I was getting with the 12 inch appeared to be far less noticeable. Note: the mod 410 adds in some weight compared to the stock form. The magnets are thick and heavy on the 10-inch speakers. It weighs close to a Mark V90 combo, ok that is an exaggeration but it is close. Cab in standard form is 39lbs. The modified 410 with the Jensen speakers I have in it now weights 47.9lbs. 3lbs heavier than a Mark V35 combo. That brings in more balance to the stack. If the amp was the heaviest object, it would be top heavy and easily tipped over if on carpet like it is here.
I guess my next plan is to upgrade the other 410 cab. By itself, I thought the IIC+ sounded really good. Did not feel the EV classic was a good fit. Something with the tone of the amp I suppose. It is not bad but I favored the V212 but that modified 410 is something else. Just as aggressive but more tight and focused. I see no value in keeping the other 410 in stock trim. Sure, I hate spending money only to find out it did not meet expectations. Case in point, the stock preamp tubes just made the IIC+ a bit bland. I had the NOS tubes on hand so it was not additional cost as money was spent 5 to 10 years ago. The bigger issue was this amp cost how much? $3600 and it did not wow me right out of the box? That is a bummer man. Now it sound great but took some NOS tubes to get there. At least the stock power tubes are good. Still feel the Mark VII is the best of the three (IIC+ Ri, JP2C and Mark VII). I still have the stock tubes in the Mark VII (Ok, I did not care much for the STR445 green but got some yellows and problem solved). JP2C, the STR443 are junk. The original STR440 did not last long before making static noises. I went through two sets, odd those same tubes work well without issue in the MWDR. I went to the expense of buying STR415 from Mesa. Actually, their price for the quad was quite fair considering what it would cost from other places.
The IIC+ Reissue does have some potential. I am also thankful it is not an ice pick like the Mark V90 I bought in 2012. I often question why I still have it.
Just buy this image alone, it is evident they are not stock cabinets. The EV logo is showing through the grill cloth.
SPOILER ALERT: The Boogie 410 cab is not stock either.
I do have another 410 but it is not suitable for the music I like to play. It fairs ok, so far the only amp I was able to get some decent tones despite having more midrange and low end was with the JP2C. I was foolish thinking I could build a mini 410 stack. It is not out of the question though. I will have to modify the other one to do just that. If you did not notice what I did with the 410 cab, I put the speaker jack on the top. Simple trick in removing the back panels and swapping them, then to rotate the jack plate so it reads right side up. This cab was transformed from 180W 10" creambacks to 200W of Jensen power: Silverbird 10, Electric lightning 10. To be honest, after doing this to the 410, it was epic with the Badlander 100W head. It is even better with the Reissue IIC+. Did not have the swamped bottom as you would get if you dialed in any bass. However, there were limits on how high you could run the 750Hz slider on the GEQ. The amber guitar is what I was using. It has a thin maple lamination over a mahogany body. Talk about some coupling between guitar and amp. Of course I was right in front of this cab stack. I was using a short guitar cable and sitting down. I could tell the EV was providing content but the 410 was more dominant. Later on, I disconnected the 112 cab and moved the V212 to get in some of the action. If I do the other 410 cab, I will get the same speakers. the combination is nice and aggressive.
This is more incentive to mod the other 410 cab. I may choose the same speakers or look for something that has a bit more bottom. These Jensen speakers just rip as good as the V212 but more punchy and immediate. This was fun and quite enjoyable change from the V30 V212 or the 412 cabs. Most of the noise floor I was getting with the 12 inch appeared to be far less noticeable. Note: the mod 410 adds in some weight compared to the stock form. The magnets are thick and heavy on the 10-inch speakers. It weighs close to a Mark V90 combo, ok that is an exaggeration but it is close. Cab in standard form is 39lbs. The modified 410 with the Jensen speakers I have in it now weights 47.9lbs. 3lbs heavier than a Mark V35 combo. That brings in more balance to the stack. If the amp was the heaviest object, it would be top heavy and easily tipped over if on carpet like it is here.
I guess my next plan is to upgrade the other 410 cab. By itself, I thought the IIC+ sounded really good. Did not feel the EV classic was a good fit. Something with the tone of the amp I suppose. It is not bad but I favored the V212 but that modified 410 is something else. Just as aggressive but more tight and focused. I see no value in keeping the other 410 in stock trim. Sure, I hate spending money only to find out it did not meet expectations. Case in point, the stock preamp tubes just made the IIC+ a bit bland. I had the NOS tubes on hand so it was not additional cost as money was spent 5 to 10 years ago. The bigger issue was this amp cost how much? $3600 and it did not wow me right out of the box? That is a bummer man. Now it sound great but took some NOS tubes to get there. At least the stock power tubes are good. Still feel the Mark VII is the best of the three (IIC+ Ri, JP2C and Mark VII). I still have the stock tubes in the Mark VII (Ok, I did not care much for the STR445 green but got some yellows and problem solved). JP2C, the STR443 are junk. The original STR440 did not last long before making static noises. I went through two sets, odd those same tubes work well without issue in the MWDR. I went to the expense of buying STR415 from Mesa. Actually, their price for the quad was quite fair considering what it would cost from other places.
The IIC+ Reissue does have some potential. I am also thankful it is not an ice pick like the Mark V90 I bought in 2012. I often question why I still have it.
