Lone Star Classic needs to be brighter?

[fishyfishfish]

I have been playing a '05 LSC for a while, and the problem I have is that Ch2 sounds too dark for what we are playing. I love the lead sound, but when it comes to dirty rhythms I totally get lost in the mix. Would changing the presence pot to a different value brighten things up a bit? Thanks!

 

[plan-x]

I forget, have you done the Reeder mod?

 

[fishyfishfish]

I have tried that, but it still wasn't getting enough high end. Don't get me wrong I love the amp, but I just need some more "Crispy".

 

[plan-x]

I use a BBE stomp and that really helps ch 2. It helps brighten around 5k according to the specs.

Maybe Monsta-Tone or Charles could chime in on the presence pot value.

 

[jaxonmills]

I use my Skreddy Screwdriver (hybrid treble booster/od/fuzz), setup as a treble booster with a little extra dirt, when I need Ch 2 to go from a mellow, bluesy tone to a more aggressive, present sound. It does the job perfectly and is great for vintage rock sounds. Shifts the mids to give a more Marshallish sound. It's frequency response is very open, unlike a Tubescreamer, for instance. I love it.

Also I use Vintage 30s, not the other speakers Mesa uses.

 

[Barry]

where are you running the bass control ? It should be at 9:00 or less .

 

[fishyfishfish]

I have done the "Reeder Bass Mod", which has really removed all the tub on the bottom end, and even with that I run the bass @ 9:00, or off.

 

[djw]

Hey fish,

I can offer one add-on suggestion if you just want more highs: try boosting your input with a Boss GE7 graphic EQ, with just a little bump on the right. It's too sizzly for my taste in the LSC (though I love it going into my Marshall); but it's amazing how much bite it gives the amp. It's definitely worth a try.

But since you're asking about getting it straight from the amp, I have a couple of questions... Firstly, have you tried new tubes? Since you've gone as far as to do a couple of mods on the amp, I'm assuming you have... but if you haven't, swapping power and preamp tubes can really change the character of the amp, depending on what sort of shape you want the gain and eq to take. I know that my amp's bite and attack really changed when I upgraded my preamp tubes.

Secondly, what sort of sound are you after? It's possible that what you're going for is not comfortably in the LSC's natural repertoire without a stompbox. It is, after all, a 6L6-based design and has a different character than amps that are EL34-based or otherwise. So it kind of depends on where you're feeling like the highs are missing. Is there a reference you can point to as the sound you're after?

Not sure about the presence pot value question (Monsta?). Charles told me he'll be out of touch for a little while; if he were to chime in, he might suggest brightness caps, which I don't know much about but I know he has discussed once or twice around here. Try searching his posts for brightness caps.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Thanks for the info. I have tried different tubes, and finaly decided just to go back to stock powers and pre's. I guess the sound that I am after is on My Dual Recto : Clean Channel /Pushed mode. I know now you might be asking "Why don't I just use the Recto?" Well, it's a long story, but I just was wondering if I could make this amp Cut through a little better.

 

[djw]

I guess the sound that I am after is on My Dual Recto : Clean Channel /Pushed mode. I know now you might be asking "Why don't I just use the Recto?"

I'd never ask you that, because I know that ultimately the answer to that question is: JUST BECAUSE. There are a million reasons why not! Ya just want it.

Anyway, I still strongly recommend giving new preamp tubes another try. Talk to Doug or the Eurotubes guy; they can set you up pretty quick. After doing this, on top of those Reeder pot-mods, I found that I had to totally rethink how I set up my gain and EQ. It was back to that "close your eyes and just use you ears" approach. You know how awfully sensitive those controls are.

One other thing: pushing the Drive higher than the Gain also has a brightening effect, and with better preamp tubes this is pretty pronounced.

 

[Don]

Try getting the amp off the floor. Put it on a stand or a couple of milk crates.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Cool responses guys! I have done all recommended (Reeder Mod, Reeder Bass Mod, Different Pre tubes) and to me the amp is about 90% there. Just wondering if the presence pot would be the missing key.

 

[Telemaster]

I had the same issue with my 05 LSC...recently changed out the power tubes and replaced the reds with some greens and that did a lot for it as far as regaining the clean, crisp, brightness I wanted.
I play a Ric 330-12 with a Janglebox thru my LSC and it sounds much better now with a nice brightness that wasn't there before. Maybe it sounded that way when it was new...dont' remember.

 

[Pageburst]

Have you tried el34Ls.

Plenny bright to my ears. Touch Sensitive too