Lonestar classic vs Special

[Sounds like Roy]

One more thing - I also saw and heard the video demo in current G1 mag. Let me tell you, those sounds don't even do the amp justice. Go try one and I think you will be mucho impressed.

 

[old-guy]

Steve,
Again, it's a matter of tone. Do you like 6L6 or EL84's. Apparently all these guys that say go with the Special because of the lower power don't know how to operate the Classic. I play at home only, I can set up the Classic on "Tweed" 50 watts, set the tone to taste, and kick in the "output." Channel one clean and channel 2 has the "Santana sound" dialed in, all at low volumes. If my wife is in the den watching TV she can't even hear me and I do not have a big house.

I made a mistake the first few times because the 50w / 100w
scared me. I thought I would blow the walls down. Mesa makes some VERSATILE AMPS. I was fortunate enough to have both amps, side by side, in a private room and had all the time in the world with both.

Again, both are great amps. It's what you like that matters.
The guys that have the Special will say they're both great amps, but deep down inside they're saying the Special is better because they like the 84's. The guys who have the Classic will say both amps are great, but inside we're saying the Classic is better because we like the sound of the 6L6's.
Bottom line .............................. they BOTH REALLY ARE GREAT AMPS. Don't make yourself crazy with who likes what. GO LISTEN FOR YOURSELF. You have hundreds of cooks here who can all make the same meal, but each one will tell you a different way to prepare it.
They'll all taste good, but the one that you like best is the one that matters.

Go have fun with both of them!

 

[TheRazMeister]

To get the almost best of both worlds...buy the Classic and pick up a Crate V series amp...preferably the V3112 (or V32 at GC). These are excellent inexpensive alternatives for a good Class A sound. It's not the Special by any means but a very nice tube tone none-the-less. priced at $399 for the 15 watt and between $549 (V3112)-$599 (V32) for the 30 watt. If you're wondering, the difference in the 30 watters is that the V32 is a made for GC only version of the V3112 with a different speaker and a beautiful blond tolex. Tonally, they're close.

Steve,
Again, it's a matter of tone. Do you like 6L6 or EL84's. Apparently all these guys that say go with the Special because of the lower power don't know how to operate the Classic. I play at home only, I can set up the Classic on "Tweed" 50 watts, set the tone to taste, and kick in the "output." Channel one clean and channel 2 has the "Santana sound" dialed in, all at low volumes. If my wife is in the den watching TV she can't even hear me and I do not have a big house.

I made a mistake the first few times because the 50w / 100w
scared me. I thought I would blow the walls down. Mesa makes some VERSATILE AMPS. I was fortunate enough to have both amps, side by side, in a private room and had all the time in the world with both.

Again, both are great amps. It's what you like that matters.
The guys that have the Special will say they're both great amps, but deep down inside they're saying the Special is better because they like the 84's. The guys who have the Classic will say both amps are great, but inside we're saying the Classic is better because we like the sound of the 6L6's.
Bottom line .............................. they BOTH REALLY ARE GREAT AMPS. Don't make yourself crazy with who likes what. GO LISTEN FOR YOURSELF. You have hundreds of cooks here who can all make the same meal, but each one will tell you a different way to prepare it.
They'll all taste good, but the one that you like best is the one that matters.

Go have fun with both of them!

 

[RR]

OK, here's my opinion...Vox are the single most overrated tube amps in the history of electricity. Actually, I just don't particularly like their brand of tone. It's very glassy and brittle sounding and I just didn't want anyone thinking that the Special even remotely sounded like a Vox, because they don't. Also, I've never heard or played a vintage Vox but along with Fender, would NEVER consider any of their new amps over a Mesa. When I think of Vox I think of British Invasion bands of the 60's and look at the amp as being very limited, especially for gain tones.
Let me state also that to me a gain channel is imperative, thus my reason for spurning the Fender, Vox style amps. Plus in 10 years of gigging (in NYC and Virginia) and umpteenth years of watching, I've never met or seen a single guitarist that used a Vox other than Brian May.

Yes, you make some good points about Voxes. They are pretty expensive for limited sounding amp. And I sure would not purchase one.

But there's this chime about playing a Rickenbacker 12 string through a Vox or like above post chimes with delays that Edge gets. I just wondering if LoneStar Special (or maybe the Maverick) could do that.

Sorry Steve777, did not mean to open a can worms. Did not mean to hijack this post.

=> Back to contrast and comparison of Classic -vs- Special 8)

 

[TheRazMeister]

Probably with the right settings, but don't confuse Class A with Vox. The Vox is voiced to a certain sound in the preamp stage, as are the Mesa's. I can kind of get a Marshall or Fender tone from Mesa's and I could probably "kinda" get a Vox tone also.

OK, here's my opinion...Vox are the single most overrated tube amps in the history of electricity. Actually, I just don't particularly like their brand of tone. It's very glassy and brittle sounding and I just didn't want anyone thinking that the Special even remotely sounded like a Vox, because they don't. Also, I've never heard or played a vintage Vox but along with Fender, would NEVER consider any of their new amps over a Mesa. When I think of Vox I think of British Invasion bands of the 60's and look at the amp as being very limited, especially for gain tones.
Let me state also that to me a gain channel is imperative, thus my reason for spurning the Fender, Vox style amps. Plus in 10 years of gigging (in NYC and Virginia) and umpteenth years of watching, I've never met or seen a single guitarist that used a Vox other than Brian May.

Yes, you make some good points about Voxes. They are pretty expensive for limited sounding amp. And I sure would not purchase one.

But there's this chime about playing a Rickenbacker 12 string through a Vox or like above post chimes with delays that Edge gets. I just wondering if LoneStar Special (or maybe the Maverick) could do that.

Sorry Steve777, did not mean to open a can worms. Did not mean to hijack this post.

=> Back to contrast and comparison of Classic -vs- Special 8)

 

[Brewski]

Boy did I ever open a can of worms

Yes you did!! HAHAHA! Those who've seen this come up before either went into hiding or put on their steel cup! Well, this is a discussion forum.

I hope that your amp search goes well and whichever amp catches your fancy, you will have done well and I'm sure that you'll be pleased. Both are top notch amps.

 

[TheRazMeister]

Honestly, and all kidding aside....the problem with asking an amp opinion is that you really must understand that unless the guitarist giving the answer has a very similiar style, you'll get a biased response. At my local GC there is only 1 sales rep that I trust because he plays a Maverick, can shred, play bluesy and can kick out southern licks (not at the same time :lol He knows my style and preferences and even with that I take his advice only to a certain extent. This isn't to say that you can't trust what you hear from others but look more for a quality issue response rather than whether the amp will make you sound like Stevie RV.

Boy did I ever open a can of worms

Yes you did!! HAHAHA! Those who've seen this come up before either went into hiding or put on their steel cup! Well, this is a discussion forum.

I hope that your amp search goes well and whichever amp catches your fancy, you will have done well and I'm sure that you'll be pleased. Both are top notch amps.

 

[Guitar55]

To get the almost best of both worlds...buy the Classic and pick up a Crate V series amp...

[/quote]

The Crates sound good, but I hear they are not very roadworthy. If you're playing at hhome it probably doesn't matter too much.

 

[TheRazMeister]

I've heard the same thing to some degree, although they are made in the USA and carry a 5 year warranty. But for home, recording or leaving at a practise facility they are terrific.

To get the almost best of both worlds...buy the Classic and pick up a Crate V series amp...

The Crates sound good, but I hear they are not very roadworthy. If you're playing at hhome it probably doesn't matter too much.[/quote]