Lonestar Reverb.. so subtle its barely there.. Any ideas ?

[1028paul]

Hi djw, I'm just running out of ideas now, tried all thats been mentioned. I always felt from the start that as its described as '' our best ever '' by Mesa, I must have been missing something .. I could never ever describe it as anything other than very subtle, distant, lacking, and barely noticable, so I know I have a problem. lol. I'm going to connect my HRD/luxe tank in the morning to see if we can eliminate one more culprit..!

 

[1028paul]

Guys.. I will keep you up to speed, and if I solve it will let you know.. in the mean time if you have any other ideas feel free,, off to bed now.. last test woke a grumpy teenager... at least one thing tonight is the wrong way round lol :wink:

 

[1028paul]

Hi everyone,

Right...my fender reverb tank was awkward to connect. So I spent the whole morning on this, I disconected and removed the reverb tank again, upon closer inspection one of the soldered joints inside the tank looked suspect. I stripped and resoldered all of the joints as all of them were less than perfect. (very thin wiring inside the tank) I made sure all the springs were free and vibrating cleenly and clear of anything, and that the four support springs were attached properly, then reassembled the tank. I used contant cleaner to clean on all plugs/sockets from amp to tank, and removed my footswitch jack and ensured the socket and jack were pristine. (again lol) upon reconecting and firing the amp up, THERE WAS A SMALL BUT NOTICABLE IMPROVEMENT

Still sure its not as it should be, I began valve switching again.. put my highest gain SPAX7 from V1 in V4 ... although the whole pre section is now missing the noticable overall volume and quietness, the reverb was louder.. overall there has been a noticable improvement in the verb... All I need now is another SPAX7 to replace the one I took from V1 seriously I cant believe the difference in volume a SPAX7 makes over standard Russian 2's in V1. I'm kind of guessing that when I put another good SPAX7 in V1 the overall increased output and quietness may reduce the percieved improvement Ive just made in the reverb.

I wondered if there is something as simple as a trim pot inside the amp ?

Anyway,.. Thanks again guys for all your help and advice

 

[stonevibe]

Wow, I'm having the exact same problem with my LSS 2x12! Its as thought he reverb isn't really there at all.

If I shake the cab you can just about hear the reverb go clunk.

Maybe there is a bad batch of reverb tanks out there?

I'm also in the UK


Jef

 

[plan-x]

Been watching (lurking) :twisted: from the side lines here. Anyway, after all that has said and been done, and the last tube exchange didn't do it, or just a little, the pot theory sounds reasonable. A call to Mesa couldn't hurt either.

 

[1028paul]

Yes.. I agree Plan X.. It's time to call Mesa and ask if they cam shed any light on this. Mines a 2X12 too.. maybe as stonvibe says there's a bad batch, or perhaps its something common to 2X12's. although that would be something that you all would have sussed by now. I did notice years ago that small tonal changes and subtle differences often show or are more apparent with 1x12 cabs, reverb is such a low level decaying signal (comparativley) that if its not very 'present' in the first place maybe its easy for it to get a bit more 'lost' with two speakers ?

 

[plan-x]

I don't recall if you did the cable exchange as charles suggested. A couple of RCA's? And Stonevibe should follow this thread also. The suggestions given here are really good basic trouble shooting steps. Primarily by Charles and his faithful

 

[1028paul]

plan-X,

Hi, Yeah, that was done. no difference, I tried two different cables, a set of cheepo audio interconnect ( the ones mesa put in are really thin) and even tried som QED silver spirals lol. no difference.

 

[1028paul]

To try and give some idea of what I'm hearing... I have used many amps over the years.. the current crop all have verb onboard, Fender hot rod deluxe is more than twice as loud/rich/lush on full its too much to use sensibly. I have a Line 6 flextone in my recording room and that too has a much more useable and obvious reverb. In comparison my LSC's reverb is barely there, and as mentioned earlier during sessions or sets, its only during pauses that I can tell its on.. ie) when its quiet enough to hear it. even fully dialled up. the quietest most 'subtle' amp reverb Ive ever owned. ( whats there sounds great mind you lol )

 

[plan-x]

the quietest most 'subtle' amp reverb Ive ever owned.

Maybe? here's a clip of mine dimed. Done with a digital camera, but it gets the point accross.

http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/plan-x/Head%20cab/?action=view&current=ReverbTest.flv

 

[1028paul]

Great plan-x,

I can even tell the difference between your switch settings through your camera over the internet and through my pc.. not that much difference on my amp sat here next to me.. lol ... AND your reverb is way more there/lush/present than mine.. thanks for sharing. I know I have a problem for sure now.. !

 

[stonevibe]

Nice one plan-x.

Nice Parker, mine is a dusty black.


You just confirmed my suspicions. My LSS is reverbless!!!!! So I'm pulling the tank out and cleaning the contacts. etc

Then I will re check the tubes (again) and cabling (again), followed by the foot switch...

I think there must be a bad batch of reverb tanks or possibly amps. How did they ever get past quality control?

I will post some pics later so if anyone spots anything they can enlighten me.

I really appreciate all for your words of advice, I'm sure I can speak for all us 'verb' less Boogie owners and say "Thank You"

 

[1028paul]

Hi Stonevibe,

We possibly should work together... Ive been through the steps your taking ( or by now have probably taken ) .. after re soldering all the connections in the tank I did notice a small improvement, High gain valves in V4 help too, but there is something still not quite right. currently checking other possibilities. ie) bright warm switch, and wiring to pots.

 

[plan-x]

Hey guys, I know it has been suggested, but another reverb tank that is known to be good would certainly reveal whether the problem lies in the tank or the amp. If you don't have one, you must know some one who does.

Stonevibe, yea my parker is my fav, anything else just seems archaic.

 

[beachjammer]

The tank on my old LSC went out after a gig once. I noticed it after I got home and reset my gear up. I took the tank out the bag and it had never been fully assembled :evil: With all the screws and stuff banging around in there the transducers had gotten damaged. I confirmed the tank was bad by taking my amp to the local dealer and plugging in the tank from a working Lonestar. My amp was out of warranty but they sent me a new tank for like $60. Then it was business as usual.

 

[stonevibe]

Yeah I'm thinking a new tank is a sure fire way of working out the issue. I even went to the trouble of writing out the model when I took it all to pieces earlier today.

I'm sure its probably a bad tank and they seem pretty cheap to buy. So I will try and order one next week from my local guitar store.

Added a few pics so you can see what I have found...

 

[1028paul]

This is really odd, !!!!!!!!!! I just managed to hot wire my hot rod deluxe tank up and it works brilliantly... so yeah... it must be a bad batch of tanks,,, I cant see anything wrong in your pics, and couldnt see anything wrong ( apart from re soldering all the wires ) in mine. wonder what it could be ? my switch and pots are fine .

 

[1028paul]

Stonevibe ..

the four bits of foam rubber strip on the top of the tank case, (the usual padding/protection stuff) ... I listened to see/hear how much of the overall reverberation of the springs transmits to the metal casing through the suspension mechanism, I decided to remove the foam rubber strips as it would be easy enough to replace them. also I made sure the tank was replaced absolutely flat and not higher at the right (from rear ) side, where the tolex case folds under it, suddenly my reverb is definately a bit better. Its as though the strips were deadening the verb ! try this. see if it helps.

Paul.

 

[stonevibe]

I'm just placing an order with the Tube Amp Doctor in Germany for a new Accutronics tank.

I figure that if I swap it out and it fixes it then all good and if it doesn't I have a spare tank for backup.

Then I go see an Amp Doctor...

 

[1028paul]

probably too late but I found this UK supplier.