LSS vs Express...

[GuitarusMaximus]

I know its a bit early to post one of these threads but to those who have played the express, which, not taking price range into account, do you like better tone wise?

 

[enigma]

Express 2/25 wins it, especially in the cleans. Perhaps the LSS has edge on the 5 watt setting, but not by much.

They both love single coils! I'm a bit perplexed as to their product offering. It seems the Express is a square competition to the LSS. But, then what do I know :roll:

 

[rickc007]

I know its a bit early to post one of these threads but to those who have played the express, which, not taking price range into account, do you like better tone wise?

I own both the LSS and a 5-25

I like the LSS better for clean, and some settings

I like the 5-25 better for gain, versatility and transport

the setting I like better on the LSS are independant power settings per channel, and the 5 watt clean on the LSS is my favorite
I can go 5 watt on ch1 and 15 or 30 watt on ch2

on the 5-25 there is one wattage switch, both channels 5, or both channels 30
You can get more tones out of the 5-25, has a great clean
and everything in between, the 10 inch speaker is great for home
has a lot of bite, without knocking the walls down
I also plugged it into a 12inch cab, from my Deluxe Reverb
great tone


The LSS is the ultimate in warm plush clean, and some nice small/mid amount of overdrive, the high gain/lead is not the strong point of the LSS
The high gain/lead on the 5-25 is a screamer


haven't had the 5-25 long enough to go into more detail, will be spending some time with it this weekend, see what else it can do. But I am very impressed with it, I can see I'm going to spend more time dialing in tones than playing it, there are so many settings, (clean,crunch,blues and burn), 5watt, 30 watt, and countour....and so far I like all of them execpt crunch, I would have labeld it harsh, but maybe it needs more play time

 

[JAZZGEAR]

No Disrespect Enigma, I have a different take on the Express 5:25 -- it is not in the same league as the LSS...not even close.

I own the LSS and have played the 5:25 . The cleans are superior in the LSS. And the leads are voiced differently in both amps.....the LSS is not intended to be high-gain. The 5:25, on the other hand, is.

I went out today to test drive the 5:25 and was quite dissaponted with it -- at least in the 1x10 format. This would definitely be an amp that if I purchased, would be in the head form factor and use with a cab. IMHO the 1x10 sounds too boxy.

The 5:50, is a different story altogether, Wow! is all I can say.

 

[rickc007]

No Disrespect Enigma, I have a different take on the Express 5:25 -- it is not in the same league as the LSS...not even close.

I own the LSS and have played the 5:25 . The cleans are superior in the LSS. And the leads are voiced differently in both amps.....the LSS is not intended to be high-gain. The 5:25, on the other hand, is.

I went out today to test drive the 5:25 and was quite dissaponted with it -- at least in the 1x10 format. This would definitely be an amp that if I purchased, would be in the head form factor and use with a cab. IMHO the 1x10 sounds too boxy.

The 5:50, is a different story altogether, Wow! is all I can say.

I like the 1x10 for high gain for indoors, the clean on a 10 inch speaker is "different". The 1x10 is no match for an LSS, but plugging it into a 1x12 makes a great combination.

I went for the 1x10, cuz it's easy to transport as a head would be
and it's only 50 bucks more, the 1x10 is actually great for practicing
in a house, it just doesn't sound near as large

I was just playing with the internal 1x10 connected, and a 1x12 at the same time...this is pretty nice

 

[Strat N My Stuff]

I checked out this Forum on recommendation, and am glad I did! Although, with what I have read today, the LSS vs. Exp 5:25 debate may have just begun.

I was sold on the LSS. The idea of class A 5 and 15 watt choices and the overall very high opinions from most. At least the single coilers. Being unable to keep my attention in musical direction, I play an Amer. HSS Deluxe Strat. I love the verstatility.

Now, I just am not sure. Seems that the LSS isn't the total solution I thought. The idea of better lead tone might move the 5:25 ahead. I don't need great volume (so the 10" might work) and don't play grittier or harder than say Nickleback, who might be tame to some. Although I wanted to keep it grab and go, a head/cab may be the only solution?

So I guess I'll try to be patient and see if someone can record and post a few samples of each??? But it is killing me 'cause I got the money together and WANT a new amp. No, I GOTTA HAVE a new amp. None of you have ever been there before????

Time to go play the tired, old stuff..... later, Jeff

 

[enigma]

JAZZGEAR, I respect your opinion very much! My take on the LSS was that it produced the most satisfying "blues" tone out of a single coil. Nothing beats that. But, to me that's what's limiting about the LSS. It's not the most versatile amp.

5/25, on the other hand, is incredibly versatile in tone variations and practical. The 1 x 10, to me, simply is a head w a bonus speaker, and a black shadow to boot. However, as I mentioned before, like the LSS, it does not take humbuckers well - I don't know why? I love my humbuckers through my Vox.

I guess it does sound a bit "boxy" b/c Mesa tried very hard to create a headroom out of this little "booger."

I'll have to try out the 5/50 soon, though I already own a Rivera Quiana Studio (6L6/ 50 watts).

 

[Brewski]

I went out today to test drive the 5:25 and was quite dissaponted with it -- at least in the 1x10 format. This would definitely be an amp that if I purchased, would be in the head form factor and use with a cab. IMHO the 1x10 sounds too boxy.

I would expect 1x10 will sound a bit more boxy because of the speaker size and the smaller cab. But it may sound less boxy once the speaker is broken in. I found that true of my little 1x10 amp. The speaker took quite a while to break in, but you could actually hear quite a difference once the speaker had some time on it. It warmed up and sounded bigger.

Don't get me wrong, I prefer a 12" speaker, but this hadn't been mentioned.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

If you're a bedroom/living room player, then there's absolutely no doubt, the 5:25 should be at the top of your list -- above the LSS. But if you intend to use it for a band practice/gigging amp, then you'd better bring along an extra cab.

I had the rare opportunity of trying both the 5:50 and 5:25 side by side, and it was simply, no contest. And it's not like the 1x12 5:50 is world's bigger...it is still small and light enough to be carried easily in one hand and axe in the other....but the difference in sound, presence and headroom is huge.

YMMV....

If the 5:25 had been in the $700 range, then I'd definitely give it the nodd. But it is not and the 5:50 is just $150 more --so it get's my vote when choosing one over the other.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

A good way to break in the speaker faster is to this:

After playing for a while, or before you are ready to play.
Turn the amp on.
Let it warm up.
Plug a Strat with true Single Coils in, the Am Deluxe has the SCN's, which are actually humbuckers. Very nice pups though.
Set the Volume to a moderate level on the Clean channel.
Place the guitar in a stand close enough to the amp so that it makes a lot of hum.
Take the amp off of Standby.

Let it sit for about 20 minutes a day for a week. This should make a drastic difference. I've done this to a lot of speakers and it really helps.

Most of my new speakers are Webers though, and they will break them in for free if you ask.

 

[jkdnick]

I own a LSS (as well as two LS Classics) and love it, works great for smaller venues where LSC would be overkill. Last weekend went to jam with a buddy and hauled the LSS up and down a flight of stairs, big mistake, VERY sore back! Anyway decided to check out smaller lighter amps to use for rehearsal, I'm in a country rock band currently and usually use my LSS at 5W with a HotPlate, so it's pretty low volume. I saw the 5-25 at my friendly neighborhood music emporium and played it for about 25 minutes and fell in love with it, about 2/3 the weight, so much more easily transportable, sounds were great, very similar to LSS, although the 1X10 pushes less air so there is a bit less girth to the tone, but still very full. I think if I plug in a 2X12 cab it would sound very full, both rhythm and lead channels. I would have bought it but noticed a lot of popping on Ch 1 on Clean, it became more subdued in Blues mode but was still there, was even more subdued but still present on Ch2, both settings. I pointed it out and was told it was not right, so the store is having it fixed in their shop, the other unit didn't have the problem but maybe a design flaw? I dunno, maybe, it is likely a first production build and I remember Gen1 LSCs had problems, anyway they are also going to do whatever is needed to fix the problem unit to #2 as well so that it doesn't have the same problem down the line, so I couldn't buy either, have to wait until this weekend. Rats. I'm an electrical engineer by trade and have designed and built a few tube amps for fun and profit, so it's a little bit unsettling to have this occur on a production unit, but since #2 didn't do it maybe not an issue? I hope not, as the tones, while possessing a bit different voicngs than my LSS, were not really all that different (taking into account the 1X10 vs 1X12) so that I'd use the 5-25 for rehearsals and LSS or LSC for gigging. So, I'm going to take a leap of faith and buy the danged thing, if it screws up I'm only 40 miles from Petaluma and worst case can try to fix it myself - if I can get schematics. I can't even find schematics for my LSS or LSC, so it may not be a trivial exercise... :shock: I just hope it doesn't come to that! Pray for me! Pray for all of us!! :?

 

[SabuJSE]

The LSS does just fine with humbuckers. I run a Les Paul with two Burstbucker Pros and a SG with the 490/498 combo and both sound wonderful. Use those tone controls on the guitar and the amp to taste - the LSS gets a bad rep with humbuckers that I just do not agree with.

As far as higher overdrive sounds, that's why there are overdrive pedals. No one amp does everything perfectly.

EDIT:

"Plug a Strat with true Single Coils in, the Am Deluxe has the SCN's, which are actually humbuckers. "

They are? I did not know that. And yet, I still love the sound of my Strat through the LSS as well. I guess my taste must just really suck

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I disected mine.

The SCN's are great pickups though, very versatile.


The reason for using true single coils is to push the 60 cycle hum through the speaker. This will help to loosen the parts up a bit.

I've done this with a few newer Black Shadows, Mojotones, and even Webers before they started breaking them in for free.

 

[SabuJSE]

You are a brave person, Monsta I appreciate the knowledge!

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: If I don't blow something up every day, I don't feel like I have accomplished anything.

 

[BIG L]

How about a comparison of tones between the LSS and the 5:50? Which one would be a better buy? I like warmer thicker tones as well as a sweet lead tone with heaps of sustain. I play a PRS McCarty almost exclusively on the humbucking neck pickup but occaisionally step up to the bridge pickup when soloing. Thanks.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

How about a comparison of tones between the LSS and the 5:50? Which one would be a better buy? I like warmer thicker tones as well as a sweet lead tone with heaps of sustain. I play a PRS McCarty almost exclusively on the humbucking neck pickup but occaisionally step up to the bridge pickup when soloing. Thanks.

By far the 5:50 :mrgreen:

 

[rickc007]

How about a comparison of tones between the LSS and the 5:50? Which one would be a better buy? I like warmer thicker tones as well as a sweet lead tone with heaps of sustain. I play a PRS McCarty almost exclusively on the humbucking neck pickup but occaisionally step up to the bridge pickup when soloing. Thanks.

warmer thick tones - LSS

heaps of sustain 5:50 (F-50)

 

[BIG L]

Ok, which one for living room/practice/smaller venues? LSS or 5:50? With same tone criteria as above?

 

[rickc007]

Ok, which one for living room/practice/smaller venues? LSS or 5:50? With same tone criteria as above?

the LSS for me, I usually only play mine clean, and
slightly overdriven, to get that sustain, you're probably going
to need a pedal. I have used the Keeley Java Boost
in "trebble screamer" mode, and adds a nice bite
but I have not gotten F-50 sustain out of it

I spent a little time with the 5:50, and I have an F-50
I like the gain up high for the sustain you mention,
but with the gain up, any movement on the master
and cops come, but it'll sustain forever

but I do keep the master on low and use it in my living
room, but it is an animal, it wants let loose on the gain
channel