Worth modding an old Boogie Mark IIb?

FreddieVanHalen

I've got an old Mk IIb combo that's in need of some TLC. The valve sockets are loose, reverb isn't that great and is a bit noisy.

I appreciate it will be a fool's errand in terms of value, but I'm quite fond of it for sentimental reasons so was wondering if it's worth getting some mods done whilst it's in the shop.

Does anyone know of good mods to improve the balance between channels and maybe take it towards the fabled 2c+ ?

Or shall I just harvest the EVM speaker, chuck the rest in the sea and buy a JPC or something ? ;-)

webrthomson

To get all the way to a IIC+ you need a new board that Mesa dont have any left off, it's why they no longer offer the upgrade, I dare say you could get a bunch of the changes done though and bring the drive channel up a bit.

I always thought the clean channel on the Mark II range was an overlooked jem, so I think it would be worth getting spruced up just for that!

In terms of what can be done I'd talk to Dennis Marshall - he was (and might still be) Mesa's uk tech for years and I also happen to know he's got a IIB too, so I would think he would know what can and can't be done to it:

http://www.dennismarshall.co.uk/

ICBM

I would just get it restored properly as the model it is.

FreddieVanHalen

@webrthomson yeah, the clean channel I really like. Drive is mixed, but I like it for what it is. I don't gig it so it doesn't matter so much it's impossible to properly balance the channels.

@ICBM yep, I'm not usually a fan of mods but though if there was a good proven one for this amp it might be worth doing whilst I'm paying for the service, and lugging the bloody thing there which is actually more painful than the cost of service!

ICBM

FreddieVanHalen said:

lugging the bloody thing there which is actually more painful than the cost of service!

lol

Yes, I knew my broken arm was more or less healed when I could lift one with that arm . I had one to service late last year and even though I'm familiar with them, the sheer density is still hard to believe when you try to pick one up!

webrthomson

ICBM said:

FreddieVanHalen said:

lugging the bloody thing there which is actually more painful than the cost of service!

lol

Yes, I knew my broken arm was more or less healed when I could lift one with that arm . I had one to service late last year and even though I'm familiar with them, the sheer density is still hard to believe when you try to pick one up!

Very true - how Mesa made something that small so heavy is beyond me, even swapping out the EV does not seem to make that much difference