Lone Star fun

[user 696]

I took part of my Saturday afternoon to try out a couple of Lone Stars. One Classic and one Special.

To sum up, it would be nice to have one of each, but if I could only have one, it would be the Classic.

Why? Ever since I sold my last blackface Twin in 1973, I've been looking for an amp that sounded as good. The Lone Star Classic takes away any desire to be nostalgic about the past. The Special is a nice amp, to be sure. Kudos to Mesa, in that the differences between the Classic and the Special are so huge, that there is no difficulty hearing the difference.

Now, I suppose I should have played an F50 while I was there. Must go back!

 

[DoTheDo]

I took part of my Saturday afternoon to try out a couple of Lone Stars. One Classic and one Special.

To sum up, it would be nice to have one of each, but if I could only have one, it would be the Classic.

I'm curious. What in particular do you like better about the Classic? I own a classic and never got to try a special. But I like the clean headroom I get from the classic's 100 watts. So, i'm happy with my purchase.

 

[user 696]

I'm curious. What in particular do you like better about the Classic? I own a classic and never got to try a special. But I like the clean headroom I get from the classic's 100 watts. So, i'm happy with my purchase.

For me, it is that awesome clean headroom. I think the Special gives you more definition at lower volumes that might be just the right thing, depending on what you're doing.

But I was able to easily verify that the Classic plays real loud and stays real clean. Oh, and it sounds real good, too!

For me, each amp had that distinctive character that you associate with the power tube. The EL84 sounds like an EL84 and the 6L6 sounds like a 6L6. So, the Special has a real sparkly, in your face quality that really brings attention to itself, where the Classic is almost dull by comparison. The Special is sparkly and fun, but the Classic loves to lift heavy objects and throw them through space for fun. Maybe "meatier" is a good word for the Classic.

I didn't push either amp out of "clean headroom zone", but I've played enough EL84 amps and 6L6 amps to know what each one is going to do when pushed hard. In that regard, I might actually like the Special better, but since I don't use an amp in that way, clean playing is really what I'm interested in. In general, I don't like EMG "S" pups and I don't care for EL84's, but that combination cranked is pretty sweet, imo.

That said, I did delve into channel two a bit on the Classic, and getting good crunch was easy enough to do. Imo, it's really nice all around amp.

 

[user 696]

Do you know how much your Classic weighs? Is it a 2x12?

 

[SabuJSE]

Somebody define "clean headroom" for me. I get the feeling my definition is special and specific to me

I'm glad you are happy with the LSC - I went for the LSS myself as I prefered the "sparkly" tone of the LSS and the LSC did sound "dull" to me... but again, only in direct comparison and only to my ears. Both are incredible amps and the best I've heard in some time...

 

[user 696]

Somebody define "clean headroom" for me. I get the feeling my definition is special and specific to me

I'm glad you are happy with the LSC - I went for the LSS myself as I prefered the "sparkly" tone of the LSS and the LSC did sound "dull" to me... but again, only in direct comparison and only to my ears. Both are incredible amps and the best I've heard in some time...

I don't know if there is one good definition for clean headroom, but two things come to mind. First, as an amp gets louder and louder, how clean does it stay? An amp would "perfect headroom" would stay clean to the bitter end, whereas with "poor headroom", would start distoring early, but still have the ability to get louder (and more distorted). And the other is that there is no substitute for watts. 100 watts will stay cleaner louder longer than 30.

As far as which amp sounds better, it's partly a matter of taste and partly a matter of useage. Depending on the number and kind of instruments in a band setting, style of song, etc., one amp may be a much better than the other. And if you play in a large mixture of settings, my guess is that you would want both, or at least "two of something different". I think the Classic will cut through more thiings, wheras the Classic can muscle its way through. OK, yeah, I want one of each...

 

[cnumb44]

Sutton, my LSC 2x12 weighs in around 70-75 lbs.

I like your definition of clean headroom. I think the epitome of a clean amp is the old HIWatt which stayed clean all the way to the bitter and very loud end.

I've played them both extensively and I like the 6l6 sound. The nice thing about the LSC is that you can put EL34 and 6v6 tubes in and get a fully different sound. An el84 amp can only use el84s. Actually, if you want the el84 sound, you can put some THD yellow jackets in and that will cover the spectrum for you. Also lower the output power.

hmmm. There's a few hundred dollars of tubes if you want to go for the full mix!

 

[axwielding1]

I tried 'em both. I preferred the LSS by a long shot....
The whole point of the LSS is that it's run pure class A. The LSC does not.
The comlexity of the tone in the LSS was phenominal. The harmonics were awesome. I also liked the fact that you could really push the tubes to get a full bodied tone.
What it lacked was clean, loud, headroom......
When I play out, I'm always mic'd anyway, so that was not an issue for me. It won't do Twin Reverb on 10, that's for sure..They don't give an inch..
The fact that it's run pure class A is what attracted me to it. My lack of funds is what prevented the purchase... I may troll for a maverick 2-12 which is also class A, and being used, I've seen 'em for around $750...
I'm sure it won't sound like the LSS, but it should be close. The only diff is the single ended 5 watt mode, and the un-godly beautiful 'verb..... 8)
ax. :twisted:

 

[SabuJSE]

Sutton - thank you. And I was right - my definition was a bit different... yours sounds like the correct one

Clean Headroom is not a big concern for me and it is certainly not something I'd be willing to trade the Class-A goodness for. If for some reason I start playing arenas next week, I'll ask the sound guy to mike me up... ^.^

One thing I am noticing about the LSS - small adjustments make a WORLD of difference. I am finding the sweet spot for the presence control - for both single-coils and humbuckers in both channels - is around 1:00 to 2:00...

 

[user 696]

Sutton, my LSC 2x12 weighs in around 70-75 lbs.

I like your definition of clean headroom. I think the epitome of a clean amp is the old HIWatt which stayed clean all the way to the bitter and very loud end.

I've played them both extensively and I like the 6l6 sound. The nice thing about the LSC is that you can put EL34 and 6v6 tubes in and get a fully different sound. An el84 amp can only use el84s. Actually, if you want the el84 sound, you can put some THD yellow jackets in and that will cover the spectrum for you. Also lower the output power.

hmmm. There's a few hundred dollars of tubes if you want to go for the full mix!

Thanks for the weight. Mesa used to publish the shipping weight on their website, but I couldn't find it. That's actually the biggest hurdle for me. I'm 56, bad back, old and worn.

I've thought about loading Yellow Jackets into one side of my 2:90. That way you have instant LSC in one channel, LSS in the other. OK, not really the same, but not a bad idea either!

Except that after playing the LSC, I fired up my rack rig for the first time in over a year. If it don't sound good, I don't know what does! And the stereo thing sounds so sweet. The downside is that my FormulaPre has a hum, so I'm thinking about putting an ISP Decimator in it, pulling the 2:90 and putting it in a separate rack. Still heavy as all getout, but distributed into a number of easily carried items. Just more trips to and from the car. Two cabs at ~30ish pounds each, preamp and efx at ~30ish pounds, and the 2:90 at ~40ish pounds. I can deal with that.

 

[user 696]

Sutton - thank you. And I was right - my definition was a bit different... yours sounds like the correct one

Clean Headroom is not a big concern for me and it is certainly not something I'd be willing to trade the Class-A goodness for. If for some reason I start playing arenas next week, I'll ask the sound guy to mike me up... ^.^

One thing I am noticing about the LSS - small adjustments make a WORLD of difference. I am finding the sweet spot for the presence control - for both single-coils and humbuckers in both channels - is around 1:00 to 2:00...

I noticed the same thing with the LSC. While all of the tone controls are very effective and a little does a lot, the presence should almost be relabeled "magic fairy sparkles" or something. It's the one thing I'm going to try and find something similar for my rig. Maybe the presence on the 2:90? We'll see!

 

[SabuJSE]

"magic fairy sparkles"

That was both very funny and very accurate - and Mesa's marketing department probably would not approve that

 

[Guitar55]

For my third post today, I'll say that the LSC is like a Twin on steroids.

"Clean Headroom" is subjective in that it means I can be as loud as I need to be and still stay clean.