LSC 100-50 watt version 1 - pros and cons?

[MODD0682]

Hello!

I have an opportunity to purchase a Lone star Classic 2x12 100-50 watt version and I was wondering if there are significant differences from the v2 100-50-10 watt version. The amp looks to be in very good condition cosmetically and the seller states it is in perfect working order. I would appreciate any opinions, feedback or personal experiences with this series of the amplifier.

Thank you in advance,

Ralph

 

[guitar99]

Ive got one, gig with it, and I think the only con Ive come across is the weight. Sucker is a tank.
But it does alot of tones really great, so its worth the hernia.

 

[MODD0682]

Thanks for the reply guitar99. So, the 10 watt Class A mode is not something your missing? Do you believe the tonal quality of both models are equal?

Thanks!

 

[Stretto]

The 10W is probably not a huge difference than the 50W. I have the 50/100 and exclusively play on the 50W. There are more compelling issues with the LS than the lack of 10W.

I had to extensively mod my amp to get a good sound. I have a killer metal sound now but now lack a good clean sound that has any volume to it. I remember that always being the case but now that I modded it to give more gain it also has it on the clean channel. I suppose I could add more additional switching to it to make the clean channel more clean when selected only.

The main issue I have with the amp, and it could simply be the one I have, is that there is a nasty distortion effect when intervals are played when slightly to moderately overdriven. It drives me up the wall ;/ I don't remember this happening with other tube amps I've played on and I haven't been able to find out how to remove it except through removing the a great deal of treble(which obviously isn't a solution).

If I were you I'd make sure to get it an extensive sound test before I would buy it. Spend at least an hour with it if you can. Supposedly the clean channel is the best and I remember when I first got it feeling it was pretty good. The drive channel sucks(at least it did on mine). I modded it a lot so now it's very usable. If I could get good cleans at volume and remove that nasty intermodulation like distortion it would be a great amp.

Personally though, I wouldn't buy it and get recto(which, IMO has everything the lonestar has and more) or possibly a stiletto.

But if you don't wanna make a mistake make sure you really take a critical ear to it.... that is unless you can get an awesome deal for it(say around $500).

If your good with electronics you can mod till your hearts content and get a wide variety of sounds but it can be a pain and involves less playing.

If you want a good clean amp it may work but mine doesn't. A fender hot rod or blues jr has much better cleans IMO(brighter, less distortion, and more shimmering). If your looking for a slightly overdriven clean sound then the LS may work(mine has that nasty added distortion that drives me up the wall). If you want a very heavy high-gain amp then the LS can do it with mod's but it's not made for it(not as many gain stages) but the original drive channel seems to suck by most accounts.

Again, this is from experience with my LSC. I've spent countless ours screwing around with it and feel like I might have just gotten an amp that's worth playing. It could have been the amp itself(the guy I brought it from said he didn't like it either so who knows if it's the amp or the model). I regularly play on a recto and you can get shimmering cleans to metal which a flip of a switch and turn of a nob.

Don't get me wrong, the LSC is a decent amp but you can get much better for the same price IMO(again, it's from my experience with my LSC which may not hold true for all LSC's).

 

[djw]

Different strokes. I've modded mine a fair amount, but mostly just tweaks really; I'd have been quite happy with the amp stock, but I like to tinker. Then again I don't play metal with the LSC, I have other amps for that when the mood strikes. :roll:

Anyway, you really have to just try it to see how you like it. I don't see a big difference between the earlier and newer versions, tonally speaking. I've heard some testimony that the 50/100 has something the 10/50/100 doesn't, but I haven't spent any real time (other than in-store) with a 10w version so that could be baloney. The 10w setting gives you something that you might really love... depends on what that lower wattage is worth to you I guess. It isn't that much quieter than 50, really. But if you're already semi-loud onstage it might allow you to get that much more juice out of the power tubes.

Mine's the 50/100, and I feel like I can get decent tone in just about any setting or venue. One or two exceptions where loudness of any sort is unacceptable, but in those cases it's hard to feel like you can really rock anyway, so... the master volume works pretty well, so it's not difficult to get a decent sound at 50w and low volume. Just above bedroom-levels is where it starts to really cook though. I don't think the 10w setting is that much better for low-volume cranking.

 

[MODD0682]

Thnks for the feedback djw. May I ask, which mods you made to your Lone Star?

Thanks,
Ralph

 

[djw]

Thnks for the feedback djw. May I ask, which mods you made to your Lone Star?

Thanks,
Ralph

I should put it all in my sig.

I've done both of the Reeder mods, as well as a bunch of tube swaps and eventually a combo-to-head+cab switcheroo. I've also tried different speakers, but eventually went back to the original C90. I'm waiting for my warranty to expire before I get into the footswitchable drive and adjustable bias mods. However, these are all tweaks, IMHO; they don't change the overall character of the amp, the voicing and gain qualities are roughly the same as they were originally. They're more like fine adjustments to the way the amp works.

As I said, I was already very, very happy with the amp out of the box, it was just too tempting to try and make some easy improvements; hell, I do that with all of my gear, there's nothing special about the LSC that requires it, it just made itself available to the act of doing it. But many people around here are just as happy with the amp as-is.

Also: I play funk, R&B, jazz and some classic-sounding rock, so the LSC falls right into my sweet spot. And the more you get to know it, the easier it is to figure out what subtle tweaks get you which results, so after a while it seems like you can get just about any sound out of it, bone-crushing metal tones notwithstanding.

 

[guitar99]

Thanks for the reply guitar99. So, the 10 watt Class A mode is not something your missing? Do you believe the tonal quality of both models are equal?

Thanks!

I play in a motown, funk, r/b band...So I use the clean channel religiously. 10 watt class A, and the tweed setting is what I use almost all the time.
Both models?
Ive only owned the one I have, Ive been a mesa guy for years with racktifyers, triple rec, espress, and a nomad but this is my first lonestar.

 

[djw]

I play in a motown, funk, r/b band...So I use the clean channel religiously. 10 watt class A, and the tweed setting is what I use almost all the time.

A player after my own heart! I love a good, controlled dirty clean for funk, and I truly think the LSC's is the best amp for that out there.

That being the case, I like what I can get in that zone with 50 watts too; though maybe I am missing something with the lack of the 10 watt setting. I'm picky about it though, so...

 

[igfraso]

Big pro... The lesser the amount of swithces, the better the amp sounds.
I could have bought a Version 2 for the same money but I preferred to go for the version 1.