Need some advice (Roadster / Stilleto Ace / Lonestar)

[Jammin J]

Hey all,

I'm thinking of biting the bullet and going for a Mesa Boogie combo.

A little back story...I've played/owned just about every combo amp under $1400 and have yet to find one that I really like. The closest I came was a Marshall DSL401, but I had trouble keeping it running as it loved to over heat. That and it only had 1x12 w/ an open back cab, which made it sound kinda thin.

So back to present....I'm considering dropping the cash on a Mesa, but I want to make sure that if I spend that kind of cash, I'm going to have a great amp w/ little-to-no issues.

Ultimately the tone would be my deciding factor between the above listed combos.....but I want to make sure that I'm not missing something important as far as known issues or reliability problems. I read about the RK's having some issues with the FX loops and hope that problem does not transfer over to the Roadsters....since they are similar in platform.

All opinions are welcome and any information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

J

 

[djw]

What style of music do you intend to use this amp for? All of the above are excellent, just depends on your taste.

 

[Mr_You]

I would suggest trying to play those amps first. They are all very different. And yeah we don't know what kind of music you want to play.

I picked the one I like best, I don't know whats best for you.

 

[Jammin J]

I play a little of everything... Metal, rock, R&B, Blues, Gospel, jazz...so I need something versatile...

Do any of the above mentioned amps have any known reliability issues?

If not, then the tone will make the decision for me...

Thanks!

J

 

[Mr_You]

Not familiar with Mesa? They've always made high quality very reliable products.

Sounds like the Roadster would work best.

 

[TheFullNelsons]

I origianlly bought the Lonestar 2 X 12 Classic combo. Loved the clean channel and overall a great amp but could not cover the heavier stuff. I play in a cover band and we are all over the map style wise. I ended up taking the Lonestar back and getting the Roadster. I will take some heat for this but I like the cleans in the Roadster every bit as much as the Lonestar and It can get as wild and heavy as you want. Really a great amp if you want a wide variety of sounds.

Try them all and good luck

 

[srf399]

It really depends on the sound you want... all of those amps will play all of those styles but what do you want YOUR sound to be while you're playing those styles?

The Lonestar is an absolutely beautiful amp! In the Fender voicing it is untouchable and one of the nicest amps EVER!

The Roadster will give you the aggressive Recto chug with a Vox style British option and a very close to Lonestart clean.

The Ace is a very bright aggressive EL34 amp and it won't get you the warm Joe Pass jazz sound like the Lonestar will but it will do 60/70's and some 80's British Rock better than the others. One thing the Ace will get you though is a nice jangly almost country sound on the fat clean. Think Martina Mcbride's song "Anyway" or Tim Macgraw's "Drugs or Jesus" They probably used a Dr. Z for that sound but the Ace will get very very close to that... and it's an exceptional sound. Actually the Fat Clean is very close to a Fender Blackface sound with a bit of Plexi punch added. it's very unique and a treat to play with....and not many amps can get it.

 

[djw]

I will take some heat for this but I like the cleans in the Roadster every bit as much as the Lonestar and It can get as wild and heavy as you want.

Well, it makes sense since theoretically the Roadster's clean and reverb are based on the Lonestar's. It's nice to hear some testimony to this effect, because I have a hard time believing so much amp can be packed into the Roadster, but so it is. Sounds like the Roadster is the ticket if you need that kind of range.

Personally, I really like the simplicity of the LS, and don't really need the high gain beyond what I can get with a pedal. But that's just me.

 

[djw]

It really depends on the sound you want... all of those amps will play all of those styles but what do you want YOUR sound to be while you're playing those styles?

Amen to that.

The Lonestar is an absolutely beautiful amp! In the Fender voicing it is untouchable and one of the nicest amps EVER!

Amen to that.

The Ace ... Fat Clean is very close to a Fender Blackface sound with a bit of Plexi punch added. it's very unique and a treat to play with....and not many amps can get it.

I've heard this too, though I've never actually gotten my hands on a Stiletto. I saw a demo on YouTube that demonstrated a pretty damn good clean tone, really sweet and colorful. If the Stiletto came with a highly-touted reverb, I might have more aggressively sought one out when I was shopping around.

For me, though, the LSC clean has become almost the best part of playing, period. It's the kind of thing you can't fake.

 

[srf399]

Things to look for when trying these amps out:

These are only my opinion and preference... but look for these when you play them.

1. The Roadster will have the most bottom end and chug
2. The Lonestar will have an incredible solo voice in the Fender style
3. The Stiletto has a unique clean sound and the Marshall style. And is the best solo voicing of the three... IMHO

 

[srf399]

Don't worry about the Stiletto not having a reverb... A digital reverb and delay make this amp magic.

 

[jdurso]

it's not in your list but you may want to check out a mark iv combo or even a nomad 55 2x12..... personally i have the roadster head because i didn't like the way the combo sounded... i find the head through either a 2x12 or 4x12 of your choice sounded a lot tighter than the combo... just my opinion.... there are a lot of choices in the mesa world so your best bet is to find what fits your ear

 

[robstar]

Don't worry about the Stiletto not having a reverb... A digital reverb and delay make this amp magic.

Mr. Jammin' J, I don't see where you indicated what guitar(s) you are using for those styles?

I agree with srf399 on getting past the built-in reverb; it was a stumbling block for me at first but he so aptly pointed out that I want an amp for tone, not a built-in effect. My primary buying motive having owned Mesa in the past was purely the tone and the Ace fit the bill perfect for me.

Having just spent the last month researching and testing those combos until I was blue in the face, the Ace Head with 2x12 Recto cab was my choice but all my Ace tests were on the Ace combos. I've only had it barely three days now and don't play jazz but so far I've yet to stumble across a jazzy sound out of it with my Les Paul. But, again I've only had it a few days and I'm not a jazz player or even close to it.

Otherwise, it kicks A$$ for me and is incredibly versatile.

 

[woody]

What about the Stiletto ace head with a 2x12 cab? Anyone have this rig ? How is the stilletto on classic rock, zz top, Srv, ac/dc, eagles and som rockabilly country stuff, I have been thing about changing my rig to The head and 2x12 cab.

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Can't say I've played the Lonestar, but here are my takes on the other amps:

1) Roadster 2X12:

I owned this amp for a couple months. Make sure that you don't have to move it a lot or at least have a band member there to help you. The thing is ridiculously heavy. Ultimately, this was the main reason why I sold it.
Sound-wise it was great. The cleans were superb and on the other extreme, its got all the recto sounds you could want.

2) Regarding the stiletto amps, I've played a deuce and an Ace combo. I found the Ace combo to really kick some a$$ without having to tweak it much (where as the roadster will require some more tweaking). The deuce, similarly, is not hard to dial in some instant gratification and it sounds awesome....less bright than the ACE but good. (note, ACE combos are really friggin' heavy too).

3) Versatility: The roadster is the clear winner here, but you really want to be sure you're going to utilize all 4 channels. Otherwise, something like the ACE may be more appropriate. On the stiletto amps, you'll probably find that leaving CH1 in crunch gets the job done and just roll off the volume knob on your guitar for more clean sounds.

Play all the amps to see what you like. The recto and "marshall"-esque sounds are two totally different animals.

 

[djw]

The thing is ridiculously heavy.

Ditto with the Lonestar as well. I think someone on Epinions noted that it's a great amp if you don't mind something that weighs as much as a nuclear attack submarine.

Also a good point, Artie, on the instant gratification thing; it's difficult to get a bad sound out of the LSC (like, you really have to try). If lots-o-gain is your thing you might have trouble, but other than that it's like flicking on the amp and sounding like Exile On Main St. before you even know what's happening. Sounds like the Stiletto is similar that way.

 

[robstar]

What about the Stiletto ace head with a 2x12 cab? Anyone have this rig ? How is the stilletto on classic rock, zz top, Srv, ac/dc, eagles and som rockabilly country stuff, I have been thing about changing my rig to The head and 2x12 cab.

See the post just above yours, I have it; sounds awesome on all the classic rock, zz, SRV and AC/DC but I don't now about " eagles and som rockabilly country stuff"... that's not what I'm into. My initial impressions and a photo of the rig were posted earlier in another thread.

 

[Jammin J]

Thanks again everyone for all your comments!

Mr. Jammin' J, I don't see where you indicated what guitar(s) you are using for those styles?

I mostly play a mahogony Les Paul Standard and then I have a modified Ibanez Joe Satriani for the fast/heavy stuff.

Oh, and as far as using a head and 2x12 cab....while I'm not 100% opposed to doing that, the stage we play on is fairly small and so I kind wanted to keep things simple. I have a 4x12 and a original Line 6 head at the house, but it's a little too much for our situation so it stays at home and is my practice amp :lol:

The ACE. I originaly went into this looking only at the ACE because I've owned a few marshalls in the past and I am familiar with the EL34 sound. I'm not a fan of 6L6's.....but to their defense, the only amp I've owned with them is my current Fender HRD 4x10 (which I absolutely HATE! :evil: ).

The Roadster. The Roadster is very appealing with all the features and the 4 channels. It would be nice to have a DR sound if/when I needed it.

The Lonestar. No one has had a single bad thing to say about this amp....atleast that I could find while doing some quick research. Everyone seems to really like it and it has reverb, which is a plus.

It sounds like all three choices are solid amps.....now I just need to find a dealer so I can put some time on each one and see what I like. I also wanted to make sure that none of these amps have any serious known issues.

Thanks again!

J

 

[robstar]

T
It sounds like all three choices are solid amps.....now I just need to find a dealer so I can put some time on each one and see what I like. I also wanted to make sure that none of these amps have any serious known issues.

If any of these amps had serious issues you'd find them here. If you mean quirks in design or repetitive failures, any product can have an problem but in my past experience Mesa has always been rock solid. Quality and support being one of their strong points.

The Roadster was way up on my list and it came down to that or the Stiletto. Both could get any tone that I wanted / needed and the reverb on the Roadster was tempting; but you want jazz and rockabily/country right?

In the end it came down to my perception of the Roadster being just a bit overkill in terms of knobs, i/o options and finally weight. Then when I looked at the Stiletto it gave me everything tone-wise I needed but the combo was still fairly heavy so I decided to get the head and cab. When I lugged the 62 lb cab upstairs I was glad it wasn't the 70+ lb Stiletto combo and especially not the 90+ lb Roadster combo. BTW, both of those combos are big combos. My idea of a combo is something like the Express or .50 cal series in size but that is just me.

Head up to Tampa or Orlando and spend a day with a dealer if you can. I found that by going to GC on a weekday morning they'd give me a side room to test amps in and I didn't have to deal with all the after-school background noise.

 

[Jammin J]

Thanks Robstar.

The only big plus of the Roadster...dispite it's weight is the fact that I most likely would not need to be another amplifier for a long time as it will cover a large array of sounds from clean to heavey, should my style or tastes change over the years.

I would also like to know if anyone has run EL34's in there Roadster. That might make up some of the ground it loses to the ACE.

The closest dealers are either in Tampa or Ft Myers/Orlando and yes, I would need to spend some quality time with each amp and my LP to make a real decision. Right now I have been just researching the amps and establishing some feedback from you folks as to your likes and dislikes.

Thanks again!

J