Lone Star Reeder Mod #1: Channel 2 Pot-Swap

[FunkyMonkey]

Thanks all - actually made a little bit of progress by having channel 2 in 50w diode, rather than 100w diode mode. This has surprised me a little and will post separately in the main channel on it. Some of the propper strat neck tone came through even with the drive and gain around 2pm. Still more work to be done, but progress made, may try the mid mod to get a bit more control over the bass and mids on CH2.

D

 

[rfrakes]

Thanks Mr. Reeder. I guess I knew there was a reason why I gravitated toward the Clean channell. It is ethereal. Now CH2 can give me that same feeling. And the guy that installed pickups for you should be well good enuf to swap these 2 pots.

VR, Ron

 

[rfrakes]

I made the mod yesterday. It made a world of difference in responsiveness. I notice my Gain pot had number 5988739 1036 and Master Gain 598792 1036.

This MB LSS was bought new in January of 2011. So at least this mod applies to newer LSS amps.

I do wish they had put a shelf to slide the chassis out on. It fell, but nothing broke.

Thanks, Ron

 

[dukasound]

???? On schematic Gain and Master are same value 1MA ????

 

[rfrakes]

Yes both pots are 1M but the taper is different. Switching puts the better taper where it should have went in the first place. There are pictures wi the original thread.

 

[dukasound]

Yes both pots are 1M but the taper is different. Switching puts the better taper where it should have went in the first place. There are pictures wi the original thread.

Thanks!!

 

[adrianni]

I did the Reeder Mod today and I couldn't be happier with the results. Channel 2 is way more open and clear, no more blanket over the cab sound. Very easy to get the tone I like. By the way, I can get the Electric Gipsy sound using exactly the same settings that Andy Timmons shows in his 3 parts Mesa rig presentation on youtube.

I played a strat with an AT1 in bridge position. Nothing in front of the amp, just the "usual" DMM in the loop and it sounds amazing. Engaged the BB Preamp and the results are fantastic. Treble at 10.00! Thanks mr Reeder!

 

[Hollis]

I also play a strat with an AT-1 in the bridge. Awesome pickup!

 

[diddlydan]

Has anybody ever tried an eq in the fx loop instead of doing the mod?Tried it earlier and seemed to work pretty decent.I can understand why people do this alright as channel 2 on my special is pretty dark and muddy and doesnt cut through.

 

[djw]

Has anybody ever tried an eq in the fx loop instead of doing the mod?Tried it earlier and seemed to work pretty decent.I can understand why people do this alright as channel 2 on my special is pretty dark and muddy and doesnt cut through.

That's cheating. :lol:

Seriously, yes, an EQ in the loop definitely works wonders. Post-gain EQ is a reliable recipe for zeroing in on the sweet spot and reducing unwanted frequencies -- most large-scale pro rigs have this as a necessity, but it's as easy as running a Boss GE7 in the loop.

I suppose the point of this mod and the discussion is to get the amp's OD to a happy place without adding pedals or other outboard gear. Why? Who knows? It's all part of the fun.

 

[rfrakes]

djw, I would have to agree. Some pedals don't have boost to them and end up sucking tone from the guitar signal.

 

[diddlydan]

So for the first time ever i decided to crank the gain up full on the clean channel(dont ask me why i took so long to do this) and i was surprised how good it sounds.Way clearer than channel 2.So by the sounds of things,with the mod i will have this sound plus the drive and thicker switches??Ill call my tech tomorrow ha

 

[djw]

So for the first time ever i decided to crank the gain up full on the clean channel(dont ask me why i took so long to do this) and i was surprised how good it sounds.Way clearer than channel 2.So by the sounds of things,with the mod i will have this sound plus the drive and thicker switches??Ill call my tech tomorrow ha

Very close to it, though not quite exactly. I know what you mean, the cranked Ch1 drive is pretty sweet. The mod gets you closer to that, but Ch2 has a hair more emphasis in the upper mids and some more grit.

 

[djw]

Just an update: some of you in The Club know that circumstances led me to justify the acquisition of a Lone Star Special last year (having been quite happy with my Classic for several years). Until very recently, I had refrained from performing either of the Reeder mods on my LSS, just to see if I could get the same kind of response with the drive channel that I'd been enjoying with my modded LSC all this time.

Until today. I finally decided I'd struggled enough. I'm actually very, very happy with my LSS -- I love the low wattage options (my LSC is the 50/100 model) and the clean channel is to die for... but once again, I found that I was not as easily able to get the tone I wanted out of the drive channel. So I took the plunge today and did both of the mods to my LSS's drive channel, and so far I am really, really happy I did.

I know there's gotta be a way to get the same tones without the mod, but somehow the modded amp just gives up the goods I'm after so much more easily than the stock amp does. I really think it's a question of combined, usable settings on the pots. It's night and day. And I'm happy to report that the Special really does benefit equally from the mod as does the Classic. Maybe even more (though time will tell).

Double good.

 

[diddlydan]

Looks like im gona have to get this done to hear the difference.Havent really been using channel 2 much but channel 1 is unreal.After the mod does it still have that touch sensitive response?

 

[djw]

Looks like im gona have to get this done to hear the difference.Havent really been using channel 2 much but channel 1 is unreal.After the mod does it still have that touch sensitive response?

Yeah, totally. It smooths things out but still maintains the dynamics 100%. What I really like is I find I could probably go a whole night just on Ch2 with my guitar volume down and it will sound very, very close to the way my clean channel is dialed in. That's something I could never quite get before the mod.

 

[rfrakes]

He might be fine for this mod. I am also miltary tech, but had a Stroke and did it with no problems.

VR,

Ron

 

[utop]

Hi!
Just wanted to join in on the praise of the Reeder pot-swap mod. I have a classic 2x12 vers 1, owned it for about 9 years and like many others i´ve been struggling with channel 2 felt it was a bit dark and muddy.I always wished for a gainier channel 1. Last year i did the mod and since then im very pleased with the sound of ch2, it´s just what i wanted a gainier ch1. I rarely use the drive option but i feel that the hi-gain sound also benefits from this mod. Recently i also got me a special 1x12 mostly beacuse the 2x12 classic is so darned heavy to bring around to local jamsessions.
I immediately felt that ch2 was too dark and did the mod on the special as well with the same great result!
I feel the tone is so sweet and touch sensitive. I´m very happy with both of them and would like to thank Charles Reeder for this great finding.

Cheers
utop

 

[Bill]

First, I'm way late to getting word on this mod. I've got a LSC that I've owned since about 2009. I absolutely love this amp. I do have a 64 Super if I really feel the need to get totally back to a Blackface, but this amp really does what I need BUT... I too have not been completely happy with CH2 and have struggled with tweaking it.

So here's the rub for me on this. I've actually broken the shaft off my gain on CH2 and need to replace the pot, which is how I found this post, as I was looking for a replacement pot. No possibility at this point of doing the straight swap. As this whole issue seems to be about the taper of the pots, what would I change to as I cannot find a 591047 in the US aftermarket (don't know if MB actually has it). I do find a 591278 at amprepairparts.com and I've found the 591047 on some UK aftermarket sites, but nothing in the US. So THE question is whether the 591728 is the same as the 591047 or is it the same as the 591739 (581739)? Hopefully somebody has some ideas on this.

Love The Boogie Board, such a great resource. THANKS!!

 

[ggwatt]

Contact Mesa, they will fix you up.