afxwinter

I understand that you guys pay a premium on that stuff but I'd go for a used mark with a used 1x12 or 2x12 cab. It should be within your price-point, and if you like petrucci I gaurantee you'd like the marks. Mark III or IV specifically as the IIC+ is out of any normal person's price range anyways. =)

What's your price range. That'd help a lot for figuring out something for ya.

Do you think running 75 watts into a 60 watt cab would be a big problem?

Thanks for the advice. In regards to the price, while it does seem high, my only other option since they don't pop up too often in my area would be to ebay one from the states and then I'd have to pay shipping/tax/duty so I feel like it would be even pricier to do this like that.

Anyone able to help me with the issues mentioned above?

Needed some help. I have an opportunity to buy a Red-stripe Mark III fully-loaded and with Simul-class. It's the short-head and has been well-maintained and has new tubes (2 6l6's and 2 el34's). Just wondering if I should be able to get close enough to the IIC+ tone. Will I have to put in 4 6l6's to nail it or is that not necessary. Any info on the difference in tone from the 15w vs the 75w modes would be helpful as well. As for a cab, I was thinking about getting a closed-back 1x12 recto cab, but it's only 60 watts. Will that be a major issue when running the head in 75 watt mode? The guy wants $825 US for it which seems alright since I don't have to pay for shipping. That seem about right?

Sure I noticed that on the Mark each control affects the other, but I also noticed that to my ears the preamp gain on the lead channel was enough that I didn't have to dial the master above 1. That wasn't too loud at all. The reason I didn't like my old 5150 wasn't because I found that dialing in tone was difficult, It was just that to my ears it didn't sound great at lower volumes, plus the tone was just not what I was looking for.

I'll admit I do need to learn more about the Simul-class vs regular Marks. As for the playing volume, the consensus is that the Marks all sound really good at conversation volume, as I can attest with the one's I've played. I would however like to know about the wattage options and how they'd affect the sound in general. I've seen some that are 60/100(i'm guessing any non-simul has this option) and some that are 15/75(which is the simul version) I wouldn't mind hearing how they sound in the 15-watt mode. Someone said it isn't any less loud, just different sounding.

Which Mark III would be ideal for playing at low volumes? Or does it really matter? Most people seem to not like the simul-class versions, but I figured those would be better at lower volumes wouldn't they?

Most of the Mark III clips I heard sound a little brittle. Could just be the cabs used. If anyone knows where I can hear some nice examples I wouldn't mind checking it out. Damn right M/B should make a IIC+ reissue! Would that affect the resale value of the used ones if it sounded just as good?

I'm definitely interested... Which stripe if it's a mark III and has anyone A/B'd it with the IV? I wouldn't mind hearing the difference.

Reality's setting in, and the steep prices are just too rich for my blood. I really had my heart set on a IIC+ as my one and only amp, but can't get together the 2-3000 US they seem to go for. I'd have to go for the head/cab, as I could manage carrying them separately vs the combo, so that pegs me at about $400 for a nice 1x12 cab and $2-2500 for the head. Way too much. I'm trying to convince myself that I might be happy with something else much cheaper. My favorite tone is still Hetfield's rhythm tones, but unless I totally missed something, it's not going to be possible to achieve that on a lower budget. The plan was to get the IIC+ and tweak it into my own sound, so I suppose I could do that with a cheaper high-gain amp. I've owned a 5150 II, but it was way too much power/headroom for me, plus it didn't sound anything like the Mark series imo which is my taste in tone. As sad as it is I've been looking at either a Line6 Spider II 1x12 or a Roland Cube. Any advice would be much appreciated. Sound clips are always welcome as well! I can't play for too long at a time as my wrists suffer from really bad tendonitis at the moment but I want the little time I have on the guitar to be that much more worth it with a great tone.