Lonestar Special Reliability

[rasj76]

A lurker and a Newbie here.

I've been shopping around for a small wattage tube amp and came across the Lonestar Special and have been GASsing for this amp for quite a while.

My dilemma is I live in a country (in the Middle East) that doesn't have a Mesa Boogie dealer. So should I pull the trigger on this amp I would have to get it from an online vendor that is willing to ship out the amp outside of America. My concern however is the warranty of the amp. I found out from Mesa Boogie that they don't cover the warranty of amps bought this way.

My question for Lonestar Special owners and Mesa Boogie amps afficionados is how reliable the Lonestar Special and Mesa Boogie amps are? I'm afraid if I should bite the bullet and do pull the trigger on the LSS is that somehow I get a lemon of an amp and be left hanging on how to service it. I'm not worried about tubes as they can be easily replaced. I'm talking about serious defects that might render the amp unusable.

P.S.

I'm not looking to stir things up around here. Just looking for inputs from people who owns Mesa Boogie amps.

Thanks and God bless!

 

[SabuJSE]

I've had no problems with mine, but it seems to me you would have this type of an issue with quite a few different manufacturers models.

If you have heard a LSS and really want one, would it make sense to locate an amp repair person that would be comfortable working with whichever model you wind up purchasing prior to said purchase?

Good luck!

 

[Mork]

If you consider that most electrical items are most likely to fail early on in their lives then maybe buying a used LSS is the way to go? any problems have probably been ironed out and the savings made would pay towards the unexpected. And as you say, the Mesa warranty is not much good under your circumstances. As SabuJSE said, maybe finding a reliable repair person would be a good start.

Coincidentally...I do have a used Lonestar Special for sale...LOL!

 

[screamingdaisy]

I could be wrong, but I believe that if you live in country/region where there is no Mesa dealer that Mesa will sell direct from their factory, so it may be worth contacting them to see if they'll do so in your case.

 

[Octavarius]

I could be wrong, but I believe that if you live in country/region where there is no Mesa dealer that Mesa will sell direct from their factory, so it may be worth contacting them to see if they'll do so in your case.

I agree! This may very well be the case, in my opinion too. It's in their best interest to sell products, and when international customers would like to buy one of their expensive products but have no authorized distributors in their country, I can't see a reason why they shouldn't sell one to you directly. It may be expensive, but it may also be cheaper than some of the prices here in Europe. I'd call them or send them an email and see what they say. And your amp would definitely be under warranty in that case! :wink:

 

[rasj76]

I could be wrong, but I believe that if you live in country/region where there is no Mesa dealer that Mesa will sell direct from their factory, so it may be worth contacting them to see if they'll do so in your case.

I agree! This may very well be the case, in my opinion too. It's in their best interest to sell products, and when international customers would like to buy one of their expensive products but have no authorized distributors in their country, I can't see a reason why they shouldn't sell one to you directly. It may be expensive, but it may also be cheaper than some of the prices here in Europe. I'd call them or send them an email and see what they say. And your amp would definitely be under warranty in that case! :wink:

I could be wrong, but I believe that if you live in country/region where there is no Mesa dealer that Mesa will sell direct from their factory, so it may be worth contacting them to see if they'll do so in your case.

I did email Mesa Boogie regarding the warranty issue should I buy an amp from the US and have it shipped here. It's how I learned that the warranty is voided for amps bought this way. When I asked the same person if I can buy an amp directly from them, I got no reply.

Anyways I'll try again and shoot Mesa an email regarding buying direct.

If you consider that most electrical items are most likely to fail early on in their lives then maybe buying a used LSS is the way to go? any problems have probably been ironed out and the savings made would pay towards the unexpected. And as you say, the Mesa warranty is not much good under your circumstances. As SabuJSE said, maybe finding a reliable repair person would be a good start.

Coincidentally...I do have a used Lonestar Special for sale...LOL!

Are you in Dubai??? Your LSS doesn't happen to be a 4x10, is it?

 

[Mork]

Are you in Dubai??? Your LSS doesn't happen to be a 4x10, is it?

No, England and no it's a 1x12. Post?

 

[rasj76]

Are you in Dubai??? Your LSS doesn't happen to be a 4x10, is it?

No, England and no it's a 1x12. Post?

I thought you are the same guy who is selling a used LSS 4x10 here in Dubai.

Can you PM me how much you're selling your LSS? Do you have an idea how much to ship an amp from England to here?

 

[Blue Fin]

I've had my LSS for a while now and have had no issues. Good luck.

 

[Steve73]

If you are buying new, I would definitely try and get some kind of warranty lined. My LSS head seems bulletproof after two years of gigging it but I did have to send the first one I got back. I got it home, was playing it for a half hour, and the transformer went. You never know with electronics.

 

[rasj76]

If you are buying new, I would definitely try and get some kind of warranty lined. My LSS head seems bulletproof after two years of gigging it but I did have to send the first one I got back. I got it home, was playing it for a half hour, and the transformer went. You never know with electronics.

this is one of my big concerns. i don't mind tube issues. it's when there's an issue like a fried output tranny's that I'm afraid of.

I've contacted Mesa Boogie again about buying direct and still no reply.

to all that replied, thanks a lot!

hopefully i'll get to experience owning and playing thru a Mesa Boogie amp in the future!

 

[picnic]

Only issue I have had with my LSS is blowing two rec tubes. One time the fuse went too. I bought a couple of spares.
Hope you solve this dilemna, It's a great amp

 

[CGM]

I've gigged with an LSS for over a year now and haven't had a problem yet. I even went out and bought a back up ( Rivera Venus 6) just in case. Now I use both amps at the same time. Still..no problems.....

 

[scottieL]

my mark IV os as old as I am (16) and is still tearing the paint off the walls :twisted:
you may want to look into the marks as they are renowned for reliability and longevity. Don't know how many marks you'd find in dubai though.