Zoner
Well-known member
My first time in a band situation with the IIC+ and I was a bit surprised by a few things to say the least. Running the first drive stage at 5 and the master about 4 made for MUCH less volume than my MkIII rig - with far less clean headroom to boot. Putting the master at 4 on the MkIII would be getting antisocial and might get some drumsticks tossed my way, but the IIC+ was not obnoxious at all at this level. I noticed there was a fair amount of grit present, too, where the III stays clear as a bell even jacking the first volume up into the 7 range. The IIC+ seemed to respond much better to pick attack and subtle volume knob or coil tapping changes and was much more fun in this mode when riding the line between clean and a little hairy. The QUALITY of the cleanish tones was also a very pleasant surprise. Where the MkIII is punchy and percussive, the IIC+ has a much sweeter, rounder, and more complex thing happening (crap, I sound like a freakin' wine snob!) and I was really, really happy with this tone. The dynamic response on this amp is really in a different ballpark. On the lead channel, the biggest difference I noticed between the IIC+ and the MkIII's I have been using for a few years is again, the pick response and dynamic characteristics that make playing so much fun. This amp is like a direct extension of my playing intensity - dig in, it barks and screams, back off and caress it a bit and it will sing a sweeter, softer, but still powerfully cool song. There is a certain "sag" to the notes, not such an immediate cannon shot like the III, and the tone was almost 3-D compared to what I am used to. I missed some of the hard-edged clarity of the III on a couple occasions, like when doing a few chord that were using several open strings in a more "complex" voicing (got a bit smeary and cluttered sounding) but just a tiny rolling back of the volume knob fixed that quickly. The singing quality and all the extra hamonic complexity made for a whole new experience that I am eager to dive into again. This amp actually sings! I haven't felt inspired by a piece of gear like this for quite some time.
The funniest part of this tale is how I came to have this opportunity in the first place. I have been through a crapload of Boogie gear in the almost 30 years I have been playing. Nomads, DC's, Maverick, Subways, Studio-Pre and Simul-Sat, etc. Never had a Recto because I didn't think it fit my style. Played a ton of other stuff, too, but kept circling back to the Mark series and the MkIII in particular. After hearing so much about the IIC+ and how "it is totally the Metallica tone, dude!", I figured it was not gonna do MY thing and besides, they are too outrageously expensive now anyways. Well, I strolled into a local shop and found a Simul-Class, E.V. equipped IIC+ with its quad of 415's, looking all cool in cream tolex with a cane grille, and saw an opportunity to flip it based on its seeminly low, low price. Little did I know it was what I had been looking for all this time. Folks, this amp is so much more than the scooped-mid MOP or DT sound, this amp is capable of almost anything and is totally deserving of the mystique that surrounds it. I have never heard an amp that does the tough clean/on the edge of breakup so well, with a lead channel that absolutely wails, then can do a tight, chunky rythmn tone just by backing off the volume a hair and changing your pick attack. Don't think of it as strictly a "metal" amp, because that really does the MkIIC+ a disservice. I wish everyone who wanted one could experience it and make it theirs. It is a musical instrument itself and feels like a direct connection to the expression of my very soul. Needless to say, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Sorry to be so long-winded but my mind was truly blown and I had to share with a group that might understand, because my wife just kinda rolls her eyes and says "yeah, I've heard that before". At least she likes the cream/wicker look. :wink: Z
The funniest part of this tale is how I came to have this opportunity in the first place. I have been through a crapload of Boogie gear in the almost 30 years I have been playing. Nomads, DC's, Maverick, Subways, Studio-Pre and Simul-Sat, etc. Never had a Recto because I didn't think it fit my style. Played a ton of other stuff, too, but kept circling back to the Mark series and the MkIII in particular. After hearing so much about the IIC+ and how "it is totally the Metallica tone, dude!", I figured it was not gonna do MY thing and besides, they are too outrageously expensive now anyways. Well, I strolled into a local shop and found a Simul-Class, E.V. equipped IIC+ with its quad of 415's, looking all cool in cream tolex with a cane grille, and saw an opportunity to flip it based on its seeminly low, low price. Little did I know it was what I had been looking for all this time. Folks, this amp is so much more than the scooped-mid MOP or DT sound, this amp is capable of almost anything and is totally deserving of the mystique that surrounds it. I have never heard an amp that does the tough clean/on the edge of breakup so well, with a lead channel that absolutely wails, then can do a tight, chunky rythmn tone just by backing off the volume a hair and changing your pick attack. Don't think of it as strictly a "metal" amp, because that really does the MkIIC+ a disservice. I wish everyone who wanted one could experience it and make it theirs. It is a musical instrument itself and feels like a direct connection to the expression of my very soul. Needless to say, it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Sorry to be so long-winded but my mind was truly blown and I had to share with a group that might understand, because my wife just kinda rolls her eyes and says "yeah, I've heard that before". At least she likes the cream/wicker look. :wink: Z
. I agree, the C+ is definately capable of more than the "metal" sound. It's a shame that it is only thought of as a "one trick pony" by some of the Boogie fans. 
