Lonestar Special owners..Please advise.

[axwielding1]

I currently have a Mark III and 2 EV/ thieles, hardwood/wicker, loaded head. I'm thinking of replacing it with a LSS 2-12". I play Classic rock/blues/jam, and like the idea of a combo in class A with EL84's.
questions:
Is it loud enough un-mic'd for practice with loud drummer?
How high is the gain and still sounds good? (comparison)
Which speakers, C90, Fillmore,Vin 30....
Will it carry high gain via a VTwin pedal?
Does it take pedals well.
Does tube rec make it too muddy in gainier settings?
Any things you wish it had?
Anything else?
I need an all aroung combo, not just a studio amp..I played it along with a 1974marshall, and liked the LSS ALOT better...But,, if I purchase the LSS, I'd have to sell my mark III and at least one thiele to fund purchase.
So, I need to make the RIGHT choice...
Thanks in advance..
ax. :?
BTW, any clips of this amp would be great!

 

[cnumb44]

although I ended up with a LSC, I did play an LSS at home for about a month. Believe me, 30W of tube is a very loud amp. I was never able to take it to the max and still have my ears function. Even the 5W setting can be very loud. The BlackShadow speakers have a loudness like a Celestion V30 (90dB or something along those lines). I found the clean channel to easily take effects pedals - I use a distortion and a wah-wah and both sounded good against that channel. The channel two sound is a little rounder and warmer. When I cranked the gain to about 3oclock it had some balls. It was the best el84 overdrive I've heard outside an Aiken Intuder. I did find that I am not a big el84 fan, so that is why I opted for the 6L6/el34 of the Classic.

I hope that helps. Also, I had a 1x12 combo, but got the 2x12 in the Classic. I think the 2x12 Special would give you a little more depth adn spread and would help in jam sessions. Think about it. Neil young plays through a 60s Fender Pro Reverb that puts out like 18W and he can get plenty out to that live.

Best of luck. I think the LL is great for what you said you played. What type of guitar? I use a Les Paul and the LSS sounded very good with it.

Enjoy!

 

[axwielding1]

I have a Les Paul Custom, a strat, and an RG520QS.
So, you got the LS classic over the LS special just to run 6L6/EL34, instead of the EL84, but do you miss the class A ? That's what kinda attracted me the the Special.
Would you say the gain on the Special is similar to a marshall JTM 45 pushed tone?
How's the classic? What tubes do you run in that? Does it have similar tone to the Special?
ax. 8)

 

[axwielding1]

I just got back from my local dealer, and spent an hour on the LS special.There are so many different cleans, it's incredible! I spent most of the time on channel 2, and got excellent tone out of it, both with a Les Paul and a strat. The strat was quite exceptional though, and the amp seemed to prefer it to the LP... With the gain up high, the strat howled like mad, and then cleaned up nicely with guitar volume...If I order one, which I probably will, I'll get the 2-12" with vin 30's.. I think they'll react better to the characteristics of the amp... This one had C90.
What frigging tone! I think I'm in love!
ax. 8)

 

[MesieBooga]

I currently have a Mark III and 2 EV/ thieles, hardwood/wicker, loaded head. I'm thinking of replacing it with a LSS 2-12". I play Classic rock/blues/jam, and like the idea of a combo in class A with EL84's.
questions:
Is it loud enough un-mic'd for practice with loud drummer?
How high is the gain and still sounds good? (comparison)
Which speakers, C90, Fillmore,Vin 30....
Will it carry high gain via a VTwin pedal?
Does it take pedals well.
Does tube rec make it too muddy in gainier settings?
Any things you wish it had?
Anything else?
I need an all aroung combo, not just a studio amp..I played it along with a 1974marshall, and liked the LSS ALOT better...But,, if I purchase the LSS, I'd have to sell my mark III and at least one thiele to fund purchase.
So, I need to make the RIGHT choice...
Thanks in advance..
ax. :?
BTW, any clips of this amp would be great!

I just bought a Thiele w/ an EV... did you like them?

 

[SabuJSE]

I bought a LSS 1x12 last weekend - with the C-90 Black Widow.

1) Plenty Loud for pretty much anything - and you can get a 1x12 widebody speaker cab for extra oomph (and I'm going to order one today).

2) The Gain is typical Mesa/Boogie, in a Class-A wrapper. Need serious overdrive? Through a tube screamer on and you are golden. To me, you need that superb clean tone to build upon first.

3) I'm running a Pod XT Live in the Effects Loop and it works flawlessly - even a good chunk of the amp models in the XT Live!

4) No muddiness at all that I have seen - see my sig for the guitars I use with it.

I love this amp and imo, the extra speaker will make it complete. I chose this over the 2x12 as I figure and extra cab doesn't make it that hard to move around and gives a bit better sound seperation... I love my purchase!

 

[RR]

Anyone owning a Lone Star Special tried it out with a pair of Alnico magnet speakers like Celestion Blues, Weber Blue Dogs, Eminence Red Coat Red Fang?

Man, quartet of EL84s Class A with Vox AC30 written over it but with verastility of is various preamp gain modes ...

I'm salivating all over ...

 

[axwielding1]

Well, I went back to my dealer and played the LSS for 2 hours, and was very pleased with all the tones in it. I brought my TS9/808 to see if it would add the crunch it does to my Gibson 1-10" hawk. It added more gain, but no crunchy Marshall tone.. I still loved the amp, but have decided to wait until I can "ADD" it to my collection.. I got to take it home overnight, to A/B with my mark III, and I must say that I copped all the tones the LSS had. I, of course, couldn't get that class A harmonics going, and the thieles make the tone a little too immediate, but I can't get rid of my mark..... I've decided to find a beat up old 2-12 open back cab with maybe VIN30's for my mark III, and maybe a better reverb like the holier grail. The open back 2-12 will be for blues/classic rock etc.
I'm keeping the thieles for when I want to let it RIP! Plus they're cool as hell! The LSS is an awesome amp, and gets great tone, but it will not replace my Mark III...
ax. :twisted:

 

[Guitar55]

Neil young plays through a 60s Fender Pro Reverb that puts out like 18W and he can get plenty out to that live.

Actually, the Pro Reverb puts out around 40W. I use one.

 

[bungalowbill]

Neil young plays through an ancient Fender Deluxe if my memory serves me.