LSS Speaker Swaps

[picnic]

I was wondering what other speakers anyone has tried in their LSS and with what kind of success. I have an extra Greenback and a Jensen from a Koch Twintone that are laying around. I don't know if they are the right fit.
I'm interested if there is a speaker that clicked in your LSS. The stock is fine, but I'm a tweaker and can't leave well enough alone.

 

[RocksOff]

I tried Vintage 30's in mine, both together and one mixed with the stock speakers... I liked the stock speakers better.

 

[rickc007]

at first I wanted a little extra sparkle

below are the ones I've tried so far

1) Celestion Blue, at first, I couldn't believe how much the sound opened up. Was curious why Mesa didn't sell this amp with this speaker. In time, I thought it sounded to Voxey, not what I wanted in the Mesa. Bass is not tight on the LSS, and the Blue didn't help. Was "ok" on the gain channel, but not ideal

2) Tried a Weber Blue Dawg 30w undoped. Helped a little, little tighter bass, little less clangy, little smoother, little warmer...but still not there

3) Celestion Gold - much tighter on the bass, still nice highs and mid. Like it better than the other two, and much more so on the gain channel. Still I was lookin for a diff tone

4) Celestion G12H, really like this speaker. It's in a bunch of botique amps, and I've noticed when I really dig the tone of an amp I'm trying, I look in the back, and there it is. Sounds quite good in this amp. nice highs. Wish it had a little more oomph in this amp for some reason

which brings me back to the original speaker. I play the LSS in stores a bit, and am always diggin the tone. Mine just doesn't sound like the one in the stores (no wonder with all the speaker changes). So it's funny to see this topic today, cuz I'm about to put the original speaker back in tonight

Maybe it wasn't broken enough
I'll report back in a week or so...If my memory doesn't fail me

 

[picnic]

Thanks to all for the feedback.

Did you ever try a Weber Beam Blocker? I have had them in most of my amps with success. Nice dispertion to the sides. The LSS has no beaminess that I can hear, but a BB helped my other amps.
I'm happy with the stock speaker, but it's a tweaker's thing that's got me now. The Greenback may be under rated at 25 watts to put in the LSS. The Koch/Jensen didn't do it for me, too sterile sounding in the Twintone.

Before I look, are there any obstacles to removing a Mesa speaker? Is it a easy in and out swap?

 

[Bill11]

Hi picnic,

I have experimented with a number of speakers in and out of my LSS, as well as with my Blue Angel, and for now, I favor two (2) Celestion Golds in an external, closed back Zinky 2x12 cabinet.

My second choice for the LSS after the Golds, and after all my experimentation turned out to be the stock LSS Mesa Black Shadow, which surprised me. I take this result as a testament to the insight and expertise the Mesa folks have, and exercise in their speaker choices, speaker designs, and amplifier pairings. I think the Mesa folks are amazing, and appreciate their expertise.

I am playing Les Paul or Les Paul type guitars with Seymour Duncan or EMG humbuckers. I wired the tests so I could hear both speakers at once with one on my left and one on my right, and/or, so I could A/B back and forth between the speakers with only one speaker on at a time.

To date I have compared these 12 inch speakers:

Eminence Cannabis Rex
Eminence Legend 1258
Eminence Red White and Blue
Eminence The Wizard
Eminence Zinky 12” Custom Speakers
Fane AXA12
Fane 50 watt, no clear model markings, made in 1978
Celestion Vintage 30 in 2x12 closed back
Celestion Vintage 30 in 4x12 closed back
Celestion GM12 Greenback
Celestion G12-T75
Celestion Alnico Golds
Mesa Black Shadow (the stock LSS speaker)

From this experimentation I learned that each of these speakers can work with the LSS, and as different as some of these speakers sounded, I enjoyed the tone nuances that each provided. I really didn’t find any undesirable speakers or tones, just differences. I also learned that the tone controls on the LSS are extremely responsive and because of this, could mold the LSS sound to coerce pleasant tones and good response from each of these speakers.

So far, though, my favorite configuration for the Lone Star Special is a Zinky 2x12 cabinet with two (2) Celestion Alnico Golds. To my ear, the Golds in the closed back Zinky cabinet just sound better. Describing their sound is not easy, but here goes; they provide tighter bass, are overall, more “defined” than the other speakers, have clearer highs, have tighter, more focused distorted tones, and they add an overall tone that has been described by others as being "transparent" or “3D”, and with which, I agree.

To my ear, while the Golds are clearly my first choice and are worth the extra expense, the most interesting bit was that among all these speaker options, the stock Mesa speakers came in as my second choice!

 

[picnic]

Bill11,

thanks for the post. My opinion has been going in the same direction. Swapping and demoing a bunch of speakers, only to come back to the MB stock speaker. The stock speaker is just fine as were the stock tubes. I put in JJ's only to reinstall the Mesa's, whatever they are. I liked the MB stock tubes more this time.
As for the speaker, I'll stick with the MB. As far as the Beam Blocker goes, I don't think it's needed either. Last night's rehearsal I had a chance to walk around out in front of the stage. Two 25 ft cables let hear my LSS from a good distance and the "beaminess" was never an issue. Plenty of dispersion from the amp in all directions.

My opinion of the LSS has only gotten better. It's a very well thought out amp.

 

[secretsoundz]

I'd try some Tone Tubbys. They have very strong hemp cones so you can really send 'em some juice...

 

[AJ_Newkirk]

I *loved* my old LSS with Celestion Gold speakers loaded. I miss it like mad...may have to replace that setup over the summer.

 

[dougn]

I think Mesa puts a lot of thought into the components they use in their amps. From tubes to speakers, they are a high end company that puts in the best components that fit the design. Their cost isn't too much of a factor because they can pass that on to the buyer. As far as speakers go I'm wondering what the status is on the Fillmore that was supposed to come in the LS and LSS. Before I bought mine I checked with Mesa and they said that when the Fillmore is released they would swap out the stock Celestion for the Fillmore if I paid the shipping. I have no complaints about the stock speaker but before I'd invest in a replacement I'd like to see what the Fillmore is all about.

The LSS is extremely sensitive to the settings and although I'm still looking for that perfect tone after a year and a half, I find myself appreciating the amp more and more. Part of my battle was trying to get sounds out of it that it wasn't necessarily designed for but the extra 20 pounds that the LS Classic carries steered me toward the LSS.

 

[madryan]

I've been using my Lonestar Classic head with one of two 212 cabs that are both loaded with one V30 and one C90. Since one's an open back and one's a closed back I get fairly diverse tones from them. I picked up a set of CL80's to try paired with either a V30 or a C90 to see if that sounds better. I'm basically looking for two speakers that compliment each other. BTW... Mixing the V30 and C90 works pretty well.

 

[boogieman90]

I loaded my 2x12 with Celestion Golds. Greatly improved my tones with my Les Paul. I do have a 2x12 Recto cab with Vintage 30's in it and may switch it out with 12H 30's in the near future.

 

[timmerel]

The Mesa website seems to list the Fillmore as being available. Wonder what the difference might be?

 

[boogieman90]

Sorry, I checked the Mesa site and did not see the Filmore speakers. I did the 25 watt reissues from Celestion. I hadn't seen these before. Could they be somewhere else and I just didn't see them?
Anyway, I've been looking at the tranny upgrade by Mercury Magnetics. Preliminary research looks positive, but I don't want to get crazy or spend more than my amp would benefit.