Lonestar Special 2x12, pic and question(s)

[Sebber]

Greetings guys and gals on this board, I can't believe it's taken me this long to find this place.

I pulled the trigger on my Lonestar Special (pictured above with some of my guitars) coming up for a year ago. I've had a few issues with it, like after a couple of months of playing it in a band situation the power transformer blew, overheating and causing the resin sealant to melt. I sent it back to the local distributors (I'm an Englishman living in South Africa) and it took them ages to replace the transformer... then, when it came back I'd get all sorts of fading out and crackling sounds once the amp warmed up... long story short, that turned out to be a dry joint in the effects loop circuit, which has just been fixed, I've got the amp back, and for the first time in about 9 months, it's working 100% and sounding fantastic. I've also got a VOX AC30 (my backup amp that's stood in for the Lonestar Special in the band the last few months), and together, in stereo, it's the best sounding rig I've ever played through. Now that I've finally got the amp back in working order I'm really hoping I don't have any more problems with it.

I'm totally in love with the clean Channel 1, but I've often struggled getting a really great higher-gain sound from Channel 2 without using pedals. So on finding this forum I see there's this "Reeder Mod" for Channel 2: on the whole I like the moderate crunch available on Channel 2 but I agree with some of the others who've posted here that if you try to dial the crank up, it gets a bit muddy sounding with rather "boxy" sounding bass overtones. Because of this I tend to use pedals to get higher levels of gain, and leave Channel 2 as a slightly crunchier version of the clean I get out of Channel 1 (sort of like the Lonestar State sample settings from the manual) for rhythm playing.

Am I the only one who doesn't find the additional drive stage available on Channel 2 all that useful or usable? Am I "Doing it Wrong"? Will this Reeder Mod do anything for me? I'm a single-coil nut and don't own any humbucker-equipped guitars anymore... the thing is, I'm liking the moderate crunch I'm getting on Channel 2 for rhythm chops, but the same tone just isn't working for me in the lead breaks. If I up the gain to and tune the EQ to beef up my leads, my rhythm sound goes all fuzzy... I'm not a shredder or a metal head... blues, old (real) rhythm and blues, classic rock, that sort of stuff floats my boat. Does anyone else struggle to get good gainy lead sounds out of this thing with normal output single-coils without having to use pedals?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[screamingdaisy]

The only single coils I use are a P90 Les Paul. I find channel 2 a little harder to dial in for the P90s as they don't have the output of humbuckers (which were pretty easy to dial in).

What worked for me is that I upped the gain to around where you have it set in the picture above, put it on either normal or thick (depending on how I feel) and backed down the treble to just below half (somewhere in the 11:15 to 11:45 range). I think you know by now that the treble knob is very sensitive, and a small change can really alter the sound and feel of the amp. Reducing the treble puts more midrange and bass back into the amp, which in turn gives you better control of the bottom end using the bass knob.

I also really like the solo feature, as having a jump in volume when soloing makes the amp sound thicker without actually needing to touch the EQ.

 

[plan-x]

The popular thought around here (me also) to get immediate satisfaction on ch 2 for higher gain is to run the drive higher than the gain, thick on. Your Eq looks good.

As for the Reeder mod. It will give you a clone of ch 1. Returning the sparkle and definition allowing even a better chance of the above settings to sound clearer without the inherent muddiness of ch 2.

There is a 2nd Reeder mod that futher enhances the reduction of mudd. I recommend on ch 2 only. http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27487

90% or better, of the guys who did the mod loved it. They were guys like you who felt that ch 2 wasn't all it could be and used pedals instead. I had the amp for years before the mods and only used pedals. The mods are very pedal friendly allowing you to set up a good mid gain and kicking it over the top with a pedal.

 

[djw]

Ditto plan-x!

Nice rig Sebber, and you fit the profile of the typical Reeder-mod enthusiast, i.e. you will love it. It's also easily reversible, so if you don't like it, you can always just undo it.

It's been such a long time since I did the mod in question that I forget what life was like before it. :lol: Because of that, or because I never really was able to bond with Ch2 until I made the change, I don't know if I can offer advice on how to get the good, sweet mid gain thing going out of the stock config.

I do know that, with the mod, I am totally comfortable in a rock or funk band situation using Ch2 only, no pedals, and controlling my sound with the guitar's volume knob. This is a new thing for me, but I like it and it seems to work especially well with my single-coil LP Special and Tele; they just clean right up and for all intents and purposes this arrangement gives me everything I need: clean, mid-gain, solo-level gain. The clean in this scenario is not exactly like Ch1 -- it's a little murkier, what with my guitar level cut -- but in a group setting it's easily good enough. In other words: Ch2 has lost all muddiness and really delivers.

I also find that my single coils really like Thick and Thicker.

I *love* this because I can show up with Guitar + Amp + Cable, and because the amp sounds so damned good by itself, I feel like I can kick *** without stepping on a single pedal. There's nothing like letting the wood and the tubes sing, unfettered by signal degradation and junk.

Here's another thing: if you want to play with the dynamics and have just *one* pedal, I'd recommend -- and I know plan-x would too -- one of the lower-gain Barber ODs (I like the LTD) because they're so transparent. They match well with the LS, add a very complementary color, and can kick either channel into the perfect "extra" with little fuss. A single setting can add a nice crisp low gain to Ch1 and push a moderately-driven Ch2 into high gain.

Hope that helps.

 

[Leroy the Massochist]

Try your output at 3 to max oclock and use the master as your volume control. You should then be able to pul gain right back as you will not need it.

together with the gain (I think it is gain, the left knob, I am going 12) up higher than the drive (I'm at 9).

The above has been the greatest revelation for me after 3 years. My excitement after 3 can be hardly be contained. I am more exited now than when I bought the thing.

Also treble at 2 and presence back to 8 or 9 oclock. Mids and Bass around 12 and you will have one smokin single coil sound.

Regards

 

[Sebber]

Thanks for all the responses guys, I've tried a few things out and I guess I'm still learning when it comes to using these EQ controls... the depth and breadth of tones available really is quite astonishing.

Having played around now I think I shall try out the Reeder mod at some stage soon: since it's easily reversible I'll give it a go, and I happen to have recently purchased a brand new solder sucker/pump/jobby so this is as good a job as any to use it on.

On a separate note: a the optional speaker outputs on the back. I really like the additional punch that comes using the Optional for 35 Watts output. Is that output only optional when using the 30 Watt power amp mode, or is it ok to run at 5 or 15 Watts? If I were to use that output with the channels at 5 or 15 Watts, presuming it's safe to do so, will I still get the nice punchy speaker response?

 

[screamingdaisy]

On a separate note: a the optional speaker outputs on the back. I really like the additional punch that comes using the Optional for 35 Watts output. Is that output only optional when using the 30 Watt power amp mode, or is it ok to run at 5 or 15 Watts? If I were to use that output with the channels at 5 or 15 Watts, presuming it's safe to do so, will I still get the nice punchy speaker response?

No. You'll get the most punch from matching the speaker impedance, so use one of the 4ohm (main out) jacks with 5w and 15w, and the 8ohm (optional) jack with the 30w mode.

That said, it's perfectly safe to experiment with either jack and find which works best for you.

 

[toneguy86]

I have done a few things to get my sound on channel 2 and I have tried it now at gigs under several conditions and with some minor tweaking really like the results. Keep in mind that I am using P90 and humbucker equiped guitars with mahogany bodies so some of the added brightness may not work for single coils, but your LP special will smoke with this set up. My mids are at 10:00 and my bass is at about 11:00 or 11:30.

First, I am running my treble pretty high (between 2:00 and 2:30 on both channels). I am going for a bit of a bluesbreaker Marshall type tone, so this helps accomplish that. This does allow me to back the presense down a bit and pull some of the treble out of my bridge pickup but brightens my neck pickup.

Second, I do run my drive higher then the gain. Right now I have my gain at about 10:00 and my drive at between 11:00 and noon, sometimes slightly higher depending on the gig.

Lastly, to deal with the flabbier bottom I experienced (especially on channel 2) I replaced my stock Mesa tubes with JJ tubes from Eurotubes. They have a specially biased tube that works for Mesa lonestars. If you to to their web site and search through the products you will find it. OR just call. They guys there are great.

Right now I have a great blues/blues rock/classic rock tone that eliminates all need for pedals or mods. The tone is bright enough without being overly bright and has a low/mid substance that makes all my guitars growl.

Oh...I tend to use the "thicker" setting as well...especially for gigs in brighter sounding rooms. As others have said, the solo boost function adds a ton of flexibility. I am cutting right through the mix now and can even dial things down on both channels and boost that sound for cleaner things.

Mark

 

[djw]

Attababy, toneguy86. Thanks for the breakdown. I know I already pontificated about the straight-in approach to the amp, but it's a beautiful thing. You can really hear yourself, and the amp is so expressive that you can create all this varied sonic texture with just your friggin' hands.

I really like the way my P90s sound through the LSC too; the subtlety that these pups have gets lost in some setups, but they come right out in a Lone Star. The clean/dirty with just the guitar volume really works with this combo.

Right on.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Attababy, toneguy86. Thanks for the breakdown. I know I already pontificated about the straight-in approach to the amp, but it's a beautiful thing. You can really hear yourself, and the amp is so expressive that you can create all this varied sonic texture with just your friggin' hands.

I really like the way my P90s sound through the LSC too; the subtlety that these pups have gets lost in some setups, but they come right out in a Lone Star. The clean/dirty with just the guitar volume really works with this combo.

Right on.

+1.

I like going to channel 2 and dialing the neck down to somewhere between 2 and 3 (P90 Les Paul). So far my only concession to the strait in approach is to occassionally stick a Vibe out front, dial the neck down to somewhere between 2 and 3 and start doing a Bridge of Sighs type thing.