Is the Express 5:25 in 5W mode close to the LSS?

[Humbucker]

I was wondering if the Express 5:25 is in the same ballpark as the Lone Star Special when the 5:25 is in 5 watt mode, which is pure Class A at that point? They're running the same power tubes (EL-84s).

And I believe that the clean channel and reverb in the Express are the same ones in the Lone Star Special. Is that correct or am I misguided here?

I really like the LSS but if the 5:25 is that versatile, it's hard to pass it by. The 5:25 is definately a fair bit cheaper then the LSS.

The 5:50 was nice too. I'll have to try all of them out at higher volumes next time. Too bad there aren't many decent videos out there on these amps.

 

[davidrg1550]

The power tube wiring is the same and the reverb is as you correctly stated taken from the LS brighter voicing. The clean channel on the LSS is more full bodied to be, and when using the valve rectification the sound is so much warmer and softer to the touch.

They can be put into similar ballparks but the LSS is really a bit more special (pardon the pun) because of its circuit design and stands out more for me.

The question is really in what you need the amp for? The 5:25 is a jack of all trades and master of none and I mean that in a good way, as you can instantly cover multiple styles wherea the LSS really excels at blues and cleaner styles.

 

[Don]

When I bought my 5:50 3 years ago I also tried the 5:25 and the LSS. The difference between the sound of the 5:25 and LSS was significant. The LSS had a very lush sound. The 5:25 had a more much dryer sound.

 

[THE TUBENATOR]

The LSS is a tube rectifier amp in the 5 & 15 watt modes and diode in the 30 watt mode. I love tube rectification and truly wish my 5:50 had a tube rectifier. I've even looked at getting it modified for that. Anyway, getting to your question about the EL tube 5:25 and LSS being in the same ballpark tone wise because of their family history. I think you might get close but is it close enough to satisfy your needs? David posted on this thread that the Express is a jack of all trades and master of none. So true! And that is why I purchased my 5:50. It gets me into a LOT of different ballparks but never into home plate! But that's okay with me. I have the same attitude regarding pedals, I don't need no stinkin' pedals my gain section gets me close enough.............. "Close Enough". Close enough works for me; question is, does close enough work for you?

 

[Humbucker]

Hey, that's great guys. Thanks for your comments.

Yeah, I realize that it comes down to personal tastes. I guess that it'll end up being a shoot-out between the 5:50 and the LSS. We don't have any regular Lone Star combos at this store, so I can't check that one out.

Just by going with my low volume demo yesterday at the music store, the LSS really wowed me but the 5:50 was good too. But the LSS might have edged it out for me, I'll have to do another side by side demo at higher volumes to make sure though.

I'm looking for a good quality tube combo amp that's pretty easy to lug around, has a big sound, has a really good clean tone with good reverb. The distorted tones need to be good too. I'm more of a 70s-era rock player who also likes blues guitar players, SRV.etc...

I don't need super high-gain modern rock tones. But it would be nice to have a nice singing lead tone.

Even though the LSS is an extra $450 over the 5:50, I'd pay it if it turns out to be more my style. But if the 5:50 has good enough cleans and semi-crunch tones and a good lead tone, it'll be hard to pass up, especially since it's more affordable.

Choices, choices, hhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm :?: ............................

 

[jmontgomery]

I'm going to have to disagree about the 5:50 being " a jack of all trades and master of none ".
I believe the the cleans on the 5:50 are as good as any out there. You can dial in a very good blues OD tone with the 5:50. The LSS has a very slight edge here, but it is very close.
And of course the 5:50 kills the LSS in heavier OD tones and versatility.
I used to own a LSS. It kills the Texas blues/SRV tones, but so does my 5:50.
After trying a 5:50, hearing the simular/different tones it can get, and feeling the weight difference I sold the LSS and bought a 5:50.
This is my opinion of course 8)

 

[J.J]

I'm looking for a good quality tube combo amp that's pretty easy to lug around, has a big sound, has a really good clean tone with good reverb. The distorted tones need to be good too. I'm more of a 70s-era rock player who also likes blues guitar players, SRV.etc...

I don't need super high-gain modern rock tones. But it would be nice to have a nice singing lead tone.

The other thing that no one has mentioned is that the LSS probably has a longer reverb tank than the 5:25

For the music you describe, you really need to check out the Electra Dyne and the transatlantics . I have both a 5:25 and an ED. The ED is great for SRV and does clean as well as anything else in the Mesa range. The Lonstar clean does go further in terms of versatility if that makes sense, but is not better. I just can't get a good SRV tone from the 5:25.

For 70's rock, the ED has it covered with the vintage lo and high gain modes. I choose the ED over the Lonestars because of the vintage gain modes. The ED has two preamp circuits, one Based on the Fender black face and the other based on the Classsic Marsahll. The reverb is apparently borrowed from the Lonestar and sounds like it (a great reverb in my opinion).

 

[Humbucker]

I'm glad that you brought up the Electra Dyne. I'm sure that it's a great sounding amp and does both Fender-like clean and Marshall-like crunch but how about the fact that you don't have the ability to tweak the tone for each channel/mode?

Was Mesa able to dial in the tone so that each channel or mode blends together well enough to be able to go with only one set of tone controls for the whole amp?

The new Royal Atlantic seems to be more tweakable. I wonder if that's basically a very close cousin to the Electra Dyne but with a bit more tone control for each channel?

 

[J.J]

For me the ED works very well with the one set of tone and gain controls. It has some tricks to help and there are some sweat spots. I spend almost no time adjusting it. When we set up, I dial up the volume I want and then just do the clean/gain channel balance. If the room is bright l will drop some treble. I have a few dirt pedals, but all I usually use now is just a good Wah and the ED. I do need to get a volume pedal and delay for the loop.

From what I have heard most people are pretty happy with their ED. There are of course some that were not as happy and moved on. The two or three guys I that I know of moved across to the Lonestar or MKV. You would really need to go and test one to see if it will work for you though.

I thought I wanted a three channel amp so I could have an ideal clean, crunch and lead sound all at the click of my foot and was set to get the MKV. I loved channel 1 and 2, but could not get the third channel to work for me.

I am told the Royal Atlantic is quite different sounding to the ED. It will certainly be more versatile and I would bet that it is or will be hurting ED sales. It has an EL34 power stage rather than 6L6 so I doubt it will be as good for Fender tones, but can probably do the British sound better. I had wondered about putting EL34s in my ED until I played one with them. The clean just looses a bit to much of its magic for me. I am quite fussy about my SRV tone so that has a big part to play in my choice.

I you do look at the ED combo, keep in mind that with the combos you can get 2x12 with V30 speakers or the 1x12 with a C90. They both sound great, but the C90 version has more sparkle and top end presence and more bass. I can do without the extra bass, but the V30 does not cut it with me for clean tone. It has to much grit with a pronouced upper mid and then not enough top end. I wanted to get the 1x12 C90 combo, but in the end decided to get the short head and a 1x12 cab for ease or carting around. The 5:50 combo is probably the lightest of the big Mesa combos though if it comes down to wieght.

 

[Humbucker]

J.J.

Thanks for your insights on this!

My local Mesa dealer has an Electra Dyne head, I'll have to get over there and give it a test run. It might be the best choice for me and if I like what I hear from the head version of the ED, I might order the 1x12" combo instead, at this music store chain, they only charge and extra $125.00 for the 1x12" combo version.

BTW, will the Electro Dyne sound good at lower volumes or do you have to really open it up to band volumes for it to sound good?

 

[J.J]

The combo is good value.

As for mine, I use it to practice at home at low volume as well as band practice and live. It does sound good at low volume and on par with my 5:25, but as the master is raised it transitions to spectacular IMHO.

If you can, download the manual before you go and test the head out. Try and get a good understanding of the gain trim and clean level controls. These controls are the key to balancing the 3 modes. Basically the gain trim lets you adjust the gain down by about 3 notches and can be set to reduce gain for the clean mode OR the vintage modes. It can be set to clean, vintage gain or off. The clean trim then alows you to match the clean mode volume to the gain modes. It will take a little getting used to.

Make sure you wind the bass control back too, it is very powerful on the ED. Mine is rarley used above 10:00 even with a Strat.

 

[Newysurfer]

Hey guys- lets not start confusing EL84 & 6L6 amps.

They are 2 very different amps types with EL84 and 6L6 tubes.
The LSS is EL84 so can be compared to the 5:25 but not really to the 5:50 imo which has 6L6's.

While the 5:25 maybe be a jack of some trades and master of none I don't think the 5:50 is.
5:50's cleans, blues OD and reverb tones are up there with the very best imo.

I also think the 5:50's cleans are better than the LSS and that's partly because I'm not a big EL84 tube amp fan. I prefer 6L6 type amps myself.

 

[jeffp]

I have a 2x12 5:50(6L6`s) combo with C90`s. The clean channel is awesome.I tried out a 5:25 Express combo because that`s all they had at the music store. I liked it!.I ordered a 5:50 because I wanted more of the same. Mistake. I didn`t realize the 5:25 had EL84`s and they would be so different. In short I love the clean with 6L6`s but not the gain.I do however love the gain with EL84`s. I learned a lot there!They are both Express amps. I didn`t think they could be SOOOOO different. I wonder about the ED though(6L6`s again). I have a RA-100 ordered(EL34`s), but I`m really not sure. I like what I see on the TA-30 with BOTH clean modes but don`t want to get caught short on power. Wow..........We`ll see how it plays out. Jeffp