picnic
Well-known member
I left GC with a LSC 2x12. The LSS wasn't enough for outdoors and I don't/can't mic the cab. Gigged with it last nite and the tones I got were turning heads. Clean and dirty tones, unbelievable amp.
Lonestar Special Problem
- Thread starter Bloozman
- Start date
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Finally got a call from the dealer...The new reverb unit didnt change a thing...I told him to call Mesa and ask for either a new amp or a refund on the old one..either way is fine with me, but This amp has been in the shop twice as long as Ive had it to use...Im throught with it!! :evil: :evil: :evil:
Just got off the phone with Mesa..The guy there told me...and I quote....'We didnt sell you that thing...take it back to the store where you bought it and have him replace it"...
SO MUCH FOR MESA BOOGIES WARRANTY AND CUSTOMER SRERVICE!!!
SO MUCH FOR MESA BOOGIES WARRANTY AND CUSTOMER SRERVICE!!!
roundaboutmusic
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- Oct 16, 2005
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Hi,
I'm a fellow LSS owner, and i gotta say it pains me to hear about all the trouble you're having.
Have you tried removing the reverb tank to see if that helps? It's only starpped in with velcro i think so it should be pretty easy to get out, at least that'll tell you if the tank's the problem.
I tried cranking mine and i found that if i cranked everything (even the reverb) with the effect loop switched out, then no squeal. but if i switched in the loop i got a squeal (everything was maxed out though, and personally i'd never use the amp with those settings)
makes me think the problem is more to do with the effects loop, possibly a microphonic tube, or possibly the loop feeding back in itself... just my 2c.
good luck though.
-tom
I'm a fellow LSS owner, and i gotta say it pains me to hear about all the trouble you're having.
Have you tried removing the reverb tank to see if that helps? It's only starpped in with velcro i think so it should be pretty easy to get out, at least that'll tell you if the tank's the problem.
I tried cranking mine and i found that if i cranked everything (even the reverb) with the effect loop switched out, then no squeal. but if i switched in the loop i got a squeal (everything was maxed out though, and personally i'd never use the amp with those settings)
makes me think the problem is more to do with the effects loop, possibly a microphonic tube, or possibly the loop feeding back in itself... just my 2c.
good luck though.
-tom
Roundabout...Thanks for your interest....If I unplug the reverb unit, the problem stops completely...if I even turn the reverb off the problem stops completely. All the tubes have been replaced by 2 different techs. They are both stumped as well as I am..Also, The reverb unit has been replaced as well....SAME PROBLEM as the old one..I know that Im playing the Amp at high levels, but honestly...has anyone ever had an amp that they couldnt crank up because the thing would just about explode?...Ive been playing for 40+ years, and Ive played Bandmasters, Showmans, Kustoms, just to name a few, and Ive cranked them all up very loud..Ive never had a problem...Thats why I believe that the design on the LSS is faulty...The reverb unit is placed way to close to the speaker...They should have made the cabinet a little taller so they wouldnt have to put that piece of foam between the reverb and the speaker...Thats all an opinion though...Im gonna try and build a seperate cabinet for the reverb. We tried a reverb that was in a different LSS just by running extension cables from one LSS to the other...There was NO feedback...the minute we plugged the reverb that is in the same cabinet back in,,,FEEDBACK!...I may just disconnect the reverb altogether, and get a holy grail reverb box to use instead...Im just mad cause Mesa is supposed to be this great amp with great Customer Service etc.. The minute they get a real problem, they stick their head in the sand. I think Mesa is overloaded with orders, and their quality is suffering. another thing I noticed...If I eliminate using the effects loop, the problem stops as well...go figure huh?? :shock: 
LSCMan
Well-known member
Have you tried it with a pedal or effect in the effect loop, not just running the loop empty?
Hey Bloozman,
Sounds like there's some capacitive coupling going on in your amp.
If some amps do it and others don't the most probable cause for this is the wiring. I haven't seen inside the Lonestar, but is the reverb on a separate board? If it is, did mesa use shielded cabling to connect the reverb board? If they didn't, I'd change the wire over to shielded cabling. Also, I'd have a go at moving the wire, if possible, to see if this helps.
Another option you might want to try just for a test is to get some 12ax7 shields, and shield some of the tubes, most probably V1 and the reverb driver. This may also help.
Sounds like there's some capacitive coupling going on in your amp.
If some amps do it and others don't the most probable cause for this is the wiring. I haven't seen inside the Lonestar, but is the reverb on a separate board? If it is, did mesa use shielded cabling to connect the reverb board? If they didn't, I'd change the wire over to shielded cabling. Also, I'd have a go at moving the wire, if possible, to see if this helps.
Another option you might want to try just for a test is to get some 12ax7 shields, and shield some of the tubes, most probably V1 and the reverb driver. This may also help.
This is a good one...The dealer got the rep on the phone...The rep has his personal LSS with him...The rep set his personal LSS to the same settings I have mine on when it feeds back...whattya think happened?...The reps amp started to howl too...I asked if it was a design problem...I was told in essence...You play too loud...Unbelieveable...anyone who buys one of these needs their head examined..Im sure there are plenty of good Mesas out there, but this one is a dog, and it sounds like the problem is not specific to my LSS. I love the tone, and the features, but I need an amp I can crank, and not worry about it sounding like a jet engine taking off...In the meantime, Im gonna route it through my fender Tonemaster so I can keep the Mesa's volume down....ahhh good old Fender!!
Bloozman, don't take this as a put-down, but do you really need reverb when cranked? I have heard lots of guys use reverb live, and at best, it usually just muddies up the sound of their guitar. The audience can rarely hear it.
In a venue with great acoustics, I suppose it sounds great, but most bars etc really suck in terms of acoustics, with the bass and drummer drowning out just about everything half the time anyway.
If you don't want to restrict the reverb to just when you are practicing at bedroom levels, you might want to try miking the LSS and putting reverb and / or delay just on the PA signal. This will give the reverb some spatial separation and make it easier to hear out in the audience, and should eliminate the LSS' reverb feedback.
By the way, I have a couple of (not Boogie) amps that do this (reverb feedback), so it probably isn't so unusual. The accutronic units are electro-mechanical, so naturally they can pick up vibrations and feed these back into the amp. You might try putting the reverb tank in some sort of heavily padded bag to improve sonic isolation.
In a venue with great acoustics, I suppose it sounds great, but most bars etc really suck in terms of acoustics, with the bass and drummer drowning out just about everything half the time anyway.
If you don't want to restrict the reverb to just when you are practicing at bedroom levels, you might want to try miking the LSS and putting reverb and / or delay just on the PA signal. This will give the reverb some spatial separation and make it easier to hear out in the audience, and should eliminate the LSS' reverb feedback.
By the way, I have a couple of (not Boogie) amps that do this (reverb feedback), so it probably isn't so unusual. The accutronic units are electro-mechanical, so naturally they can pick up vibrations and feed these back into the amp. You might try putting the reverb tank in some sort of heavily padded bag to improve sonic isolation.
Bloozman, I'm not sure if this applies to the problem that you are having, but the manual states: "Due to the LONESTAR’s extreme gain potential, the highest regions of the GAIN control may possibly push the pre-amp
tubes past what they can handle, producing microphonic squealing. While we screen and test the tubes your amplifier was shipped
with and the tubes in your amp passed our rigourous test, we can’t predict how the tubes will respond over time exposed to extreme
gain settings. Your tubes are warrantied for a period of 6 months under normal use, but you can save yourself the present and future
inconvenience of having to deal with annoying microphonic tube problems by simply using a little common sense...Don’t turn the
Gain all the way up!"
tubes past what they can handle, producing microphonic squealing. While we screen and test the tubes your amplifier was shipped
with and the tubes in your amp passed our rigourous test, we can’t predict how the tubes will respond over time exposed to extreme
gain settings. Your tubes are warrantied for a period of 6 months under normal use, but you can save yourself the present and future
inconvenience of having to deal with annoying microphonic tube problems by simply using a little common sense...Don’t turn the
Gain all the way up!"
You know I've read your complaints about this problem for days now. If this problem with the extreme setting made the amp unusable I could understand the moniker of "dog". Everyone that has duplicated your problem has responded with the same sort of shrug. I've played this amp very loud and it performed superbly, the sound was unbelievable. IMHO the LSS is an amp to be miked in extremely loud situations, there might be better amps out there to suit your playing needs. Take it back, I would(I still can if I want to) if I hated it that much, I can't imagine any reputable dealer turning you away after all the time you've spent showing them their design error.Bloozman said:
Titan...This occurs on the CLEAN channel where I set the gain at the lowest possible setting..wish the solution were as simple as that but it isnt.
olt...it isnt that simple as taking it back...the problem is, I like everything else about the amp...so Ive been using another amp as a power amp to substitute for the Mesa's lack of...If my posts about this annoy you, dont read em..Im posting so others here wont have to go thru the same detective work I had to...Ive solved the problem by isolating the reverb unit in a self made cabinet, and now the amp works just fine...I just wish Mesa would admit they have a design flaw, and fix em...Maybe too many are willing to accept an inferior item these days...not me!
olt...it isnt that simple as taking it back...the problem is, I like everything else about the amp...so Ive been using another amp as a power amp to substitute for the Mesa's lack of...If my posts about this annoy you, dont read em..Im posting so others here wont have to go thru the same detective work I had to...Ive solved the problem by isolating the reverb unit in a self made cabinet, and now the amp works just fine...I just wish Mesa would admit they have a design flaw, and fix em...Maybe too many are willing to accept an inferior item these days...not me!
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood when you called the LSS a dog. Annoying...nah... you found an interesting characteristic of this amp I hadn't found, it just doesn't bother my use of the amp. I'm probably more like you than you would imagine about letting things go, if I was dissatisfied to a great extend, I'd for sure get another amp. As for staying on Mesa about this design flaw... well, more and more these days I find myself forced to recite the serenity prayer.
Maybe I should re-read the thread, but have you tried pluggin a short cable into the send and receive jacks on the FX loop? I've had problems with noise on FX loops before and found just putting a short cable in fixed it.
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