LONESTAR AS A DO-IT-ALL ???

[Les Van Perfek]

Hi all, I need advice from some you pros...

Although I'm just an amateur, as I suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) I own a pretty neat set-up I currently play through 3 amps simultaneously. My main amp is a 1972 Super Reverb (Silverface) and for more crunch I have a Marshall Artist 3203 coming out on both 1965A and 1965B cabs. Both these amps go through THD HotPlates. The 3rd is a 1962 Silvertone 1484 "Twin twelve" coming out on a home made cab loaded with 2 Jensen reissues. The 3 amps are selectable with a Morley Tripler. I run the guitar in a pretty elaborate pedal board. Sounds awesome!! Although I own Gibson, Gretsch, I tend to use the Strats and Teles more.

As you can see, ton of tones, tons of fun...


The problem is SPACE. This takes up a lot of space as you can imagine. I don't gig very much, I play with friends who have a tendency to play loud (I guess I do too...),

Finding the solutions
I'm thinking of selling the 3 amps and getting a "do-it-all amp", if this exists... Internet searches as well as Youtube and of course advertising is pointing me to the Lonestar 2X12 or Lonestar Special 2X12. Actually I'm, thinking of getting the head and a Cab. I tried it for a few minutes in a store but did not get convinced.
The sounds I love are : SRV, Mr. Jeff Beck, Derek trucks, Bonamassa, John Mayer, Nels Cline, ZZ Top, to name a few. So Rock and Blues is kinda my thing.

Here are some of my questions on which your opinions made guide me;

-Will I miss The Super Reverbs clean lush sound and headroom?
-Is the Lonestar Special's 30w enough power to get loud with loud a band without get miked ?
-Is the Lonestar a better pick?
-Am I a fool? will I regret selling of these amps?

Any advice/input would would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Les Van Perfek

 

[BoogieDown]

Hi all, I need advice from some you pros...

Although I'm just an amateur, as I suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) I own a pretty neat set-up I currently play through 3 amps simultaneously. My main amp is a 1972 Super Reverb (Silverface) and for more crunch I have a Marshall Artist 3203 coming out on both 1965A and 1965B cabs. Both these amps go through THD HotPlates. The 3rd is a 1962 Silvertone 1484 "Twin twelve" coming out on a home made cab loaded with 2 Jensen reissues. The 3 amps are selectable with a Morley Tripler. I run the guitar in a pretty elaborate pedal board. Sounds awesome!! Although I own Gibson, Gretsch, I tend to use the Strats and Teles more.

As you can see, ton of tones, tons of fun...


The problem is SPACE. This takes up a lot of space as you can imagine. I don't gig very much, I play with friends who have a tendency to play loud (I guess I do too...),

Finding the solutions
I'm thinking of selling the 3 amps and getting a "do-it-all amp", if this exists... Internet searches as well as Youtube and of course advertising is pointing me to the Lonestar 2X12 or Lonestar Special 2X12. Actually I'm, thinking of getting the head and a Cab. I tried it for a few minutes in a store but did not get convinced.
The sounds I love are : SRV, Mr. Jeff Beck, Derek trucks, Bonamassa, John Mayer, Nels Cline, ZZ Top, to name a few. So Rock and Blues is kinda my thing.

Here are some of my questions on which your opinions made guide me;

-Will I miss The Super Reverbs clean lush sound and headroom?
-Is the Lonestar Special's 30w enough power to get loud with loud a band without get miked ?
-Is the Lonestar a better pick?
-Am I a fool? will I regret selling of these amps?

Any advice/input would would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Les Van Perfek

If you get the LSC, you will not miss the headroom at all. It is darker than the classic Fender clean, but I wouldn't describe it as a lack of highs. I think the sound is actually more pleasing and I generally found myself dialing in darker sounds on my old Fender to boot so its definitely a win for me. The preamps on the Lonestar series are identical so power handling is the main difference between them.

A Class A 30 watt tube amp is LOUD as hell. Its not much quieter than a 50 watt, and we know that a 50 watt isn't much quieter than a 100 watter. What changes is the headroom factor and I would think that a miced 212 at any respectable wattage would be more than enough. I've never met a drummer that could overpower a 30 watt amp unless he was miced (or at least overpower the amp for long, physical stamina limits kick in after a while). I think the headroom effect is different in these amps. I definitely wouldn't say that the LSS doesn't have any, just a little less. When you hear a high wattage Fender amp, it gives the illusion of unlimited headroom. With the LSS, you know there's a limit but it's not exactly a limitation, more of a characteristic.

The Lonestar Classic and Lonsestar Special are overwhelmingly similar amps. I think its mainly a question of the amount of power you need. In trying out both amps side by side, I leaned heavily toward the LSS. I found it to be a little brighter than the LSC and that the LSS had a sweeter more Marshally distortion sound (bear in mind I was trying out a 112 LSS vs a 212 LSC, both combos). I think the versatility of a head/cab arrangement might be greater as you can mismatch the two until a desired tone is obtained. In your case though, I would think that it's a win/win. I can't imagine you regretting selling your current amps. I would however look into getting either amp in a 112 format and buying another 112 extension cabinet. BoogieBoard lore says that the 112s sound fuller than the 212 because both of them have the same cabinet dimensions. I would imagine that two 112s might result in a somewhat enhanced version of a general 212 sound experience. It would also give you a lot of versatility in playing smaller gigs because this stuff gets heavy (I don't think that's a pressing concern for you given your current rig though :mrgreen: ).

 

[Heritage Softail]

I have a MKV and Single Rec. Although most people say the MKV covers Fender well, I have elected to keep my Blues Deluxe. I do believe some of the Lonestar is in the MKV. Not the Boogie expert that many on this site are. MKV will cover much ground, clean to a good bit of metal, but not a REC 8) That's why I have both.. If anything is a Do-it-all from Boogie, I would say it is the MKV.

On trading parts of your cool setup....I would rather go hungy for a while than sell an amp.. :wink: Almost like handguns. I have a few of them and never consider trading when looking for another.

 

[plan-x]

TMI. Get back down there and put that LS thru its paces then you decide. Fender cleans are not LS cleans. The LS's are fat, warm and slightly scooped. Although some Stevie stuff is doable, without the pushed mids in this amp, you'll need those pedals' of yours.

 

[lonestarpaul]

...of course you won't get the exact same sounds on a Lonestar as your Fender or Marshall, BUT considering your tastes I think you won't be disappointed with a LS Classic. You'll easily cover blues and rock without any problem, plus it takes stompboxes really good if you need more tones "on the fly".

If you need to go further on the gain side and you want a "do-it-all" machine, I think you could also look at Road King II. But, as I said, only if you need to cover heavy rock or metal otherwise I'll keep the LS, no question.

Good luck! :wink:

 

[Les Van Perfek]

Thanks guys I really appreciate your comments. As it stands, I am leaning towards the Lonestar Classic Head plus cab.

Les

 

[djw]

Thanks guys I really appreciate your comments. As it stands, I am leaning towards the Lonestar Classic Head plus cab.

I was just going to say that this is the way to go. I think the headroom thing is going to be big for you, AND with the Classic you can fiddle with tube types in a way that you can't with the Special. Though I think you'll probably just stick with the 6L6s. You'll have tons of muscle. The LSS is sweet, and loud, but you'll be pushing it to its limit and it'll always be running EL84s.

The LSC cleans are similar to Fenders, but not the same thing -- personally, they're what I'd always wished Fenders were like. Maybe it's because you can adjust the ratio of attack/compression better on the Mesa, but I find the LSC to be way less ear-fatiguing than say a Super or a Twin or even a Deluxe. It's warmer and more controllable.

A Lone Star Classic head through a good 4x12 cab is a terrifyingly beautiful thing.

 

[Leroy the Massochist]

To give you an idea of LSS volume I played last week with a bass player that had a 900watt Mesa Boogie bass rig played through a 15 inch box and a 4*10 box. The singer could not be heard.

I ran Channel 2 at 15 watts with the master at 12, volume at 1 the two gains at 10 oclock - it was extremely loud (way beyond small gig volume, for small gigs I have to turn the master down to about 10 and the volume down to 10. If you have to turn down lower, do not (it gets muddy and too overdriven) just change your wattage.

The clean channel was gain at 1, master 12 and volume of course at 1.

The clean was not clean with my JB Seymour Duncan humbucker it was more like very very early ACDC or edgy Rolling Stones sound. With the Tele it was clean enough for funk (and sweet and bouncy) but it was not Pink Floyd pristine clean. Remeber though the bass was ridiculously loud it was like back to the 80's stuff. If you are after versatility, this volume set up is very versatile as guitar volume and picking volume has a major impact (and also fingers v plectrum) on overdrive.

When you go back to the shop tell them they will have to put up with the volume as you must turn it right up to truely understand the sound and dynamics of the amp. I cannot imagine you will reach the amps sweet spote at 100watt through a 2*12 (luckily the new LSC's you can take the wattage right down). If you have ever seen Robben Ford he plays so loud I have seen him and you could not hear the bass, barely the drums and the saxophone almost had to be carried off in an ambulance and you could not hear a note, but he had a sweet sound. I struggle with the LSS and a 1*12, too loud hence now running Channel 2 at 5 or 15 watt to hit the sweet spot.

It would appear the only thing you need to focus on is what clean sound you like and at watt volume.

Cheers

 

[Mister John]

I've been a gigging pro for over 30yrs and have owned quite a few amps.Several of them were very pricey modern boutique amps.The LSS is by far the most enjoyable amp I've ever used and I can't wait to get it in a recording studio.For years I had a huge pedalboard with compressors,boosters,EQ....you name it.......my board now consist of the Mesa switch a wah and tuner.I'm getting what I can only describe as a true natural/real guitar sound.Clean and overdriven.

 

[mdortona]

I used to own a LSC head and now own a LSS combo. When I gig, I use a mid-70s Bandmaster Reverb head and the LSS, which covers all my bases. Based on my experience, the LSC will give you the closest thing to the Fender (not exactly, but close. A bit darker than a Fender is a good description of it). FWIW, the MK series clean is not in the Fender realm, (I used to own a MKIV, have played a MKV), it is much more pristine and hi-fi clean, if you will, than a Fender. The LSC's overdrive channel I found to be muddy, but I did not do the Reeder mods on it at the time. I tried using EL34s which did improve things somewhat. Reportedly, the Reeder mods do help with this problem, but YMMV. The LSS' overdrive is much brighter to my ears and is better since doing Reeder Mod 1 (pot swap). I use it in a band context with another guitarist, keys, drums, and bass and have no problems being heard. Either Lonestar will cover the bases for you. If you're doing more bluesy material, check out the Lonestar demos on Boogie's website to really hear how it sounds in a band context. Just for the heck of it, I also would play an Express 5:50 ( I used to own this one too). Quite versatile and has "Lonestar cleans". THe Electra Dyne's cleans are on par with the LSC too. Good luck!

Matt

P.S. - Hang onto your old amps if you can afford to do so. I wish I still had my old Fender Twin.

 

[GUITARSAM]

I don't proclaim to know it all yet, but I have been gigging since i was a teenager, and I'm 43 now and I have learned a few things over the years. You probably won't take my advice because (from the gear you listed) you seem to think bigger is always better, but you already have the idea that you may have too much gear, so... maybe you are learning and are on the verge of the next stage in your musical evolution. Think about this: If you watch pros play in local venues, you can usually tell the ones with the most experience because they carry the lightest load. I can make it to the car after a gig in one trip if its not raining lol. And, it all fits in the trunk of a midsized car :wink:
First, I recommend narrowing down your accessory board to the things that actually have USEFUL and often needed effects on your sound. Then read all you can about class A and learn how tubes work and how the chain of tone controls works on a LSS. You will find that you can do so much more with the 30 watts of the LSS that you wouldnt realize you could. I have played though everything from Marshal stacks, half stacks, had a twin, MV and 15 or 20 other amps over the years(including a LSC). I haven't found anything that I could do with any of those that I couldnt handle with a LSS. More watts isnt always better or louder. Sometimes more watts means that you have a harder time finding you amp's tonal "sweet spot" without being TOO loud, which drives up the volume of the whole band until it becomes a pissing match that sounds like crap. Also, as far as loud goes, the 30 watts in the quality level of the LSS will probably surprise you as to how well it cuts through a mix(which is what you really want when you think you want loud). I play with a band that has bass, 2 electric guitars, 1 acoustic, keys, a drummer that is too loud, 3 backup singers and have no problem cutting in with my LSS in venues sized from small club to gymnasiums. If you can't cut through with a LSS, your band mates are the problem. You may have evolved earlier than they have, in fact (900 watt BASS?OMG! if the vocals cant be heard tell the bass to pipe down) you may want to have a chat with them! I don't say this to be mean to them, but if you are ever going to have a good sound as a band, you guys have to be able to manage stage volume and house volume. I know they are probably your buddies, but ****! My advice: Talk stage volume with your bandmates and try to impart the value of the bands sound as whole as opposed to a loudness contest, then ditch half the effects, all the amps(store them, dont sell them), and get a LSS. But, make sure to read up well on the tone chain and on class A in general if you really want to make your class A LSS sing.
Sam

 

[Barry]

The LSC is an amazing amp and it loves single coil instruments . On channel 2 make sure to not run the bass over about 8:00 . IMHO its one one of the best amps Mesa has ever crafted and I own a Stiletto and a Mark V as well as the LSC . I would hang on to your old amps if possible .