the LEAD MASTER control to set the level of the Lead Mode. Turning the MASTER control up or down will raise
or lower the overall volume level of both Modes. Another way to think of it is that the LEAD MASTER controls
only the Volume of the Lead Mode relative to the Clean Mode’s MASTER setting, which is your basis for overall
volume.
You will find the MASTER control rarely needs settings above 3.0 for levels loud enough to play with an ensemble.
That said, the amplifier starts to really “come to life” above say, 2.0 in terms of hearing the power section open
up and be dynamic. So, between 2.0 and 3.5 you will likely find your adequate and/or appropriate volume levels
for ensemble playing live and for at least Soloing levels in recording sessions. These higher volumes will more
readily showcase the dynamic and ever-changing harmonic content of your tube amplifier.
MASTER / PULL DEEP
This pull switch activates a low-end boost farther downstream in the signal path than that found on the BASS
control’s PULL SHIFT. The PULL DEEP aects both Rhythm and Lead Modes.
DEEP rounds out the bottom end and adds fullness that sounds more “fundamental” and less “airy” than that
of the BASS’ PULL SHIFT. Because it is farther downstream in the signal path, it works well in both Rhythm and
Lead Modes and is not as likely to cause unfocused or “tubby” low end as the gain is increased.
Many players leave the PULL DEEP engaged all the time, citing the amp sounds too “small” or “empty” without
its enhancement. In a straight A/B outside a musical context, we can understand this perspective. However,
within a musical context, there are times when the added low end slows the attack or “clouds up” the sound and
pulls down (in the time domain) the feel. Tight clean rhythm comping might be one example of this, along with
single note lines in either the Rhythm or Lead Modes that you want tucked up in a mix and not sounding too
wide. For such applications, the PULL DEEP can make the attack cumbersome and make you feel as if you are
“dragging around extra weight” with the pick, as well as sounding too thick or heavy for certain parts in a mix.
If you like the PULL DEEP engaged or rely on it for feel, one remedy to the above challenge may be found by
adding some measure of top end in the stylistically appropriate places; TREBLE for cut, the PRESENCE control for
overall brilliance, or the highest two Bands of the Graphic EQ for specific and more personal shaping. Sometimes
even all three. Most times this “counter-weighting” on the top end can bring things back into balance, albeit
creating an even wider sound.
If the biggest, widest sound is your goal, the PULL DEEP’s enhancement can be a good starting point, adding
width and girth in the lower half of the spectrum. From there, try balancing the low end with the appropriate top
end from one of the three places it resides (TRBLE, PRESENCE or the top/highest two Bands of the Graphic EQ).
LEAD DRIVE / PULL LEAD
NOTE: Before we get to the LEAD DRIVE control’s function and operation, we’ll need to access it. If the Footswitch
is connected, you likely have already. If not, here’s how; unlike the other pull switches on the IIC+ that activate
voicing changes, the pull switch on the LEAD DRIVE simply provides a way to access the Lead Mode when
the Footswitch is not connected or unavailable. Pulling the control out engages the Lead Mode.
The LEAD DRIVE control is a separate and dedicated gain control for the Lead Mode’s overdrive. It meters gain
farther down the signal chain in the two triodes that create the additional cascading tube saturation necessary
to create the thick, smoldering overdrive and sustain the Lead Mode is famous for. This characteristic, or rather
one similar in the Mark I model – along with separating overdrive from playing loudness as facilitated by the
LEAD MASTER control – is what put Randall Smith and MESA Engineering on the map in the early 1970s.
Before this groundbreaking advancement in amplification exemplified in the original Mark 1 Boogie, to approach
this level of overdrive and sustain, one needed to turn an amplifier all the way up, saturating the power tubes
at blistering volume levels and all but losing the (preamp’s) shaping power over the sound...not to mention
punishing audiences no end in the search for sustain.
Here in the IIC+, you can achieve even more gain and sustain, still retain all the shaping power in the preamp (by
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