Mesa Boogie Limited Edition Mark IIC++ Tube Guitar Amplifier Head, Black Bronco/Black Grille

Maybe it was mythical once, but the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ today is as real as you or me. Mesa, legendary amp company that they are, is not without their secrets. Throwing it all back to their high-gain mid-'80s tube amps, the Mark IIC++ marks a return of a specialized, if-you-know-you-know amp model spurred on by the Mesa champions of the day. Guitarists like Vivian Campbell and Kirk Hammett had tapped Mesa back in the day for even more gain in their Mark IIC+ amps. Such a modification, later known and highly coveted as the Mark IIC++, made a lasting impression on players and collectors. Though previously never properly introduced in a mainline production model, the Mark IIC++ finally emerges today in a very limited worldwide run.

This limited edition release from Mesa Boogie sets out to capture the sound of the original "++ Mod," only estimated to have been originally produced about twenty times. Approximately twenty amps and the veil of forty years' time do quite a bit to mystify the myth, if we could say ourselves, so we'll cover the brass tacks of this mythical model.

The Mark IIC++ was the result of guitarists who simply couldn't get enough of Mesa's blisteringly high-gain sounds. Today's Mark IIC++ drops in with a similar experience to your usual IIC+ model, since at the core of this amp is a spin on an existing circuit, after all. The Mark IIC++ drops in with a modified preamp, affecting the Lead Mode channel only. This new Lead Mode tone bolsters its original's low-end response, top-end gain, cut, and harmonic complexity. Making the amplified character of the Mark IIC+ only more tantalizing and compelling, the IIC++ delivers on its mythical high-gain character to match the kinds of tones the heavy metal guitarists of the mid-'80s were dishing out. You know the type.

Visually, the Mark IIC++ is identical to production IIC+ models, save for its "IIC++" notation on the front of the amp and above the power cord connector. The magic of this Mesa comes purely in the soul of its Lead Mode channel as is sure to blow away all expectations just when you thought you'd seen it all from the legendary amp company. This limited model from Mesa Boogie is limited to two hundred pieces worldwide.

There's "coveted" and then there's "approximately twenty pieces ever produced forty years ago coveted." As one of the great myths of modern amplification, the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ appears for the first time forty years after its inception. Find your Mark. Stick your landing.