Lonestar Friends... Do I see a Roadster in my Future?

[Kiteboarder]

Hello guys,

I've had my Lonestar Classic for over 8 months now. I still love that clean channel as I did on day one! I converted the big blue pig into a separate head and 2x12 cab, both in matching pig blue. I currently have a pair of V30's in it but I'm going to try the original MC90s again soon.

I did the Reeder mod on channel 2 and it's definitely much better than it was. There's only one problem. It's still not right for my needs.

See, here's the deal. Channel 2 with or without the Reeder mod, works best as an overdrive channel. Not a hi-gain channel. A lot of my songs have perfectly clean sections that jump into overdriven sections and finally into higher gain. To get what I need, I'm currently running another amp, an Egnater Rebel 20 into a 2x12 cab. I can get more pleasing higher-gain tones out of the Rebel than I can out of the LSC.

So lately, I've been using only channel 1 on the LSC and then switching over to the Rebel for the higher gain stuff. When I try and use the LSC's channel 2 for higher gain stuff, I'm always less than pleased. This is all in a band situation at high volumes.

I'm considering a Roadster. If it can give me the bell-like tones of my LSC's with good higher gain tones in the other channels.

What do you guys think...? -D

 

[plan-x]

For an all in one amp, I guess it would be the Roadster, or Roadking II, which has the LSC clean ch in it. I suppose the Mark V could be something to consider as well. Definitely would want to play one of these amps to hear if it gets into the territory you desire. There is a thread running comparing the LS to the 5:50. The main advantage they say is the dirt is better.

 

[thejay]

Interesting because I have a Roadster and pondering getting a Lonestar.
Roadster is a fantastic amp and you can get tons of tone out of it. The Roadster does not have the Lonestar clean but does have the Reverb from the Lonestar. The clean channel is great however I use it on FAT not CLEAN. I like the CLEAN but FAT suits my taste more overall. The high gain channels are superb though. I would get to a dealer and play a Roadster and like all Mesa's it takes some tweaking to get it just where you want it. The BRIT channel on 2 is fantastic too by the way.

 

[Kiteboarder]

Cool, thanks for the advice. What's your name anyway...? We talk all the time and I've never gotten your name. I don't want to know you as plan-x forever!! -Danny

The Road King is much more than I want to spend on an amp at the moment, so see about checking the other option.

 

[Kiteboarder]

Interesting because I have a Roadster and pondering getting a Lonestar.
Roadster is a fantastic amp and you can get tons of tone out of it. The Roadster does not have the Lonestar clean but does have the Reverb from the Lonestar. The clean channel is great however I use it on FAT not CLEAN. I like the CLEAN but FAT suits my taste more overall. The high gain channels are superb though. I would get to a dealer and play a Roadster and like all Mesa's it takes some tweaking to get it just where you want it. The BRIT channel on 2 is fantastic too by the way.

Brit channel? Vox or Marshall? I do have to try it out. I want to see how far away from the LSC cleans it is.

 

[Kiteboarder]

I enjoy using 2 different amps on stage. But I want to do it by choice and not because I have to. You know? It's tricky when you play really clean music that suddenly jumps over to high-gain territory.

What about a good 'ol Dual Recto?

 

[plan-x]

When shopping my LSC, I tried out DR's, Triple rec's, Nomad's, Maverick, Mark I-V. Nothing could hold a candle to the LSC for cleans and the LSC dirt was warmer than all those models. Of course with the exception of the recto dirt stuff, (nu-metal) does just that. Since I got my LSC, Mesa has come out with the Roadster, Roadking. That definitely caught my attention.

PS: Danny, I added my name down in my signature.

 

[Kiteboarder]

Got it John! Cool. It looks like I might stick to the dual amp configuration.

I just read some stories about a lag in channel switching on the Roadsters. I would absolutely hate that! I used to have a Digitech (Distortion Factory) pedal that would lag before it engaged. I got rid of it! I thought it was the most annoying thing!

 

[Bill11]

Hi Kiteboarder,

You may have already tried these options but just in case, here are some other considerations.

I had a Roadster and loved it, but couldn't keep it so I experimented with my LSC head. I run my LSC at 100 watts to bring in the tightness of the solid state rectifier and with some other changes, I seem to get what I need from pop/rock/country to high gain.

I use early break up GT EL34's; sometimes all four, sometimes 2 x EL34's and 2 x 6l6's. Don't forget to turn up the Send Level. And if the gain still isn't high enough for what I need or we are doing, I push it with a Barber Burn Unit.

Hope this helps and let us know what you decide.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Check out a Radial Hot British pedal. I found it was the missing link.

 

[thejay]

Interesting because I have a Roadster and pondering getting a Lonestar.
Roadster is a fantastic amp and you can get tons of tone out of it. The Roadster does not have the Lonestar clean but does have the Reverb from the Lonestar. The clean channel is great however I use it on FAT not CLEAN. I like the CLEAN but FAT suits my taste more overall. The high gain channels are superb though. I would get to a dealer and play a Roadster and like all Mesa's it takes some tweaking to get it just where you want it. The BRIT channel on 2 is fantastic too by the way.

Brit channel? Vox or Marshall? I do have to try it out. I want to see how far away from the LSC cleans it is.

Honestly I would have to say more Vox than Marshall... although Vox has a its own sound. I have no lag issues with my Roadster either, just for a side note.

 

[lonestarpaul]

Hello guys,

I've had my Lonestar Classic for over 8 months now. I still love that clean channel as I did on day one! I converted the big blue pig into a separate head and 2x12 cab, both in matching pig blue. I currently have a pair of V30's in it but I'm going to try the original MC90s again soon.

I did the Reeder mod on channel 2 and it's definitely much better than it was. There's only one problem. It's still not right for my needs.

See, here's the deal. Channel 2 with or without the Reeder mod, works best as an overdrive channel. Not a hi-gain channel. A lot of my songs have perfectly clean sections that jump into overdriven sections and finally into higher gain. To get what I need, I'm currently running another amp, an Egnater Rebel 20 into a 2x12 cab. I can get more pleasing higher-gain tones out of the Rebel than I can out of the LSC.

So lately, I've been using only channel 1 on the LSC and then switching over to the Rebel for the higher gain stuff. When I try and use the LSC's channel 2 for higher gain stuff, I'm always less than pleased. This is all in a band situation at high volumes.

I'm considering a Roadster. If it can give me the bell-like tones of my LSC's with good higher gain tones in the other channels.

What do you guys think...? -D

Hi Kiteboarder,
I have more or less the same needs for what I play, so that's a pretty interesting discussion.
In my search I've realized that if you play a particular music genre, there's almost no problem choosing your amp: if you play Metal then you have your amp, if you play Blues there are certain amps out there that can fit your needs, and that's the same with Jazz, Country and stuff like that.

But when you need to have different tones - from "fenderish" cleans to high-gain - under the same roof, then it's not so easy to find what you need. I have a LSC head and right now I'm using pedals on the clean channel to cover all those tones while I keep channel 2 (without Reeder mod) for a "Mesa-flavored" pushed sound, even if it obviously cannot cover high-gain stuff.

If I'll decide to move on my LSC for this reason, I'll probably choose between Road King II and Diezel VH-4 (right now this one would win) but for now I'll keep my fat Lonestar vibe pushed with some great effects. :wink:

 

[Kiteboarder]

Hey lonestarpaul. Thanks for the detailed post. I've been pushing the LSC with an OCD through the clean channel. Sounds great, but the Egnater in drive give me better tone IMHO.

It kind of makes me feel like I'm using the LSC as a single channel amp. Because when I want overdrive, instead of using channel 2, I end up using a TS808.

I'll put and effort and use channel 2 more often and see if I warm up to it.

In a post I did a while back, I talk about how the channel is much better after the Reeder mod, and it really is much better. But still not quite what I would like it to be.

 

[lonestarpaul]

Hey lonestarpaul. Thanks for the detailed post. I've been pushing the LSC with an OCD through the clean channel. Sounds great, but the Egnater in drive give me better tone IMHO.

It kind of makes me feel like I'm using the LSC as a single channel amp. Because when I want overdrive, instead of using channel 2, I end up using a TS808.

I'll put and effort and use channel 2 more often and see if I warm up to it.

In a post I did a while back, I talk about how the channel is much better after the Reeder mod, and it really is much better. But still not quite what I would like it to be.

...no prob man...always great to share experience! :wink:
I have an OCD too paired with a Xotic BB Preamp and I'm about to add a Fulltone Fat-Boost 3 to achieve even more tones on my clean channel.

Anyway I mostly feel the same, just like I'm using the LSC as a single channel and that's almost true...I use ch2 for a few tracks, in particular where I can leave that setting for the entire song without changing anything; if I've to go from a clean (or almost clean) tone to a high-gain one, I prefer to use pedals on my ch1 as long as they can push the amp very far.

I like ch2 sound too, but I feel like it's not always usable for my needs considering the fact that it can't be driven too much into higher-gain tones without "help". When I started to play LSC, my goal was to use ch1 for clean and crunchy tones while keeping ch2 for heavier stuff, but lately I found that pedals worked better with ch1 and they could push the amp even further compared to ch2. So I started playing with that configuration and I'm still doing the same...yeah, more or less a single channel use...

 

[Kiteboarder]

I'm not an expert in circuits. But it seems to me that not very many amps can do both bell-like cleans and tight hi-gain well. It's either one or the other.

I'm not impressed with Marshall cleans for example. But in the gain department, awesome. The one amp I found does both quite well in both camps is the Fender Super-Sonic. I haven't had experience with Egnater's Mod50 and Mod100, but I would guess that with the right modules they should be able to do very well.

-D

 

[lonestarpaul]

Yeah, that's the point...there aren't so many choices when you look for these characteristics.
I heard good things about the Fender Super-Sonic but I guess it would be pretty strange to play metal with a Fender amp! ehehe :lol:

Road King II is a good attempt in that direction imho: great Lonestar cleans and a solid hi-gain side...interesting at least. Bogner and Diezel have good cleans too and they're high-gain beasts for sure but not so cheap :mrgreen:

 

[Kiteboarder]

I don't play metal. At least not on stage. The high gain I use is not as hairy as metal. It's more punk tones like old Green Day and The Offspring. If you listening to noodles on a record like "Ixnay" you'll see what I mean. A song like "The meaning of life" is a great example. Especially the verse sections. Anyway, that's just one example, as I have many influences.

My band also plays a lot of cleaner Indie sounding stuff, so I can get away with a blonde fender

Road King II, check! I see if I can try one out soon. I need to drive out to Mesa Hollywood one of these days.

-D

 

[lonestarpaul]

...neither do I...we play mostly rock/alt. rock with a great spectrum of inluences, from "classic" rock to grunge/post-grunge, but sometimes I need to push my sound to cover heavier tones.

Anyway, RKII seems like a great choice for this kind of needs...hope I can try it soon! :wink: