New Lone Star Special - any comment??

[jonmm66]

I am considering buying a Lone Star Special. Just wondered what any owners of these amps think of them.

Any comments, good or bad, will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Kyle]

I think mine is great. Look at some of the other posts and you'll see great reviews. If you're into nu-metal, this ain't the amp for you. It's more for everything else.

 

[jonmm66]

did you get the 1x12?

 

[Kyle]

Yes, I have the 1x12. I REALLY like it. I couldn't justify the extra weight and size of the 2x12. I wanted a nice combo and I believe I have it. I play blues, classic rock, country, but nothing with that over-the-top type distortion, but you can put a pedal in front of it if you want that. I have a preamp I insert in the effects loop, just to get that marshally or recto sound if I want it. This thing sings through my 4x12 cab with celestion v30's also. This amp sounds so good that I don't want to even add any effects other than a little of the onboard reverb. I believe others on this site who have one will testify to this.:wink:

In my opinion, as I've posted before, you've got to do some tweaking for your guitar/pickups and playing style, so if go into a store to try one out, be prepared. Most of the stores I've been to don't know a whole lot about it, other than "It's pure class A man". :lol: I took my guitar to the store and gave myself some time to tweak. Read the downloadable manual before you try it. The tone controls make a HUGE difference. The instant gratification settings work for a general starting point. Hope this helps in your decision.

 

[jonmm66]

very helpful. thanks

 

[marlon]

...love my 1X12 LSS. If you really want to crank the tone out of it at manageable home volumes, get a moving van blanket and fold it in half and just lay it over the front side of the amp. You can then crank it a little more but still appreciate the tone. Junior Brown does that - I think his tone comes from running his Super Reverb all the way with a couple blankets duc-taped to the front of it. Then it just comes down to the volume pedal :roll: The lo-vol edge from the 5w Chan 2 is pretty cool...switch to 30w for clearer highs. Right now I'm pushing my LP through it...aggresively shopping for a Jap Tele though

 

[jonmm66]

Ordered my LSS yesterday!

Hoping it arrives today

 

[tuna]

Mine came with the Celestion Black Shadow speaker, which I don't really care for. Got a Vintage 30 coming next week, will give you a follow up. You might consider that speaker if you ordered it. Mesa Boogie will put either in and I don't think there is an upcharge. I have also heard that Mesa Boogie has a new speaker getting ready for production, called a Fillmore, that's all I know is the name. Other than that I love my amp, not too heavy, looks great and very versitle pallet of tones available.

 

[jonmm66]

it's arrived.

very pleased and impressed. lots of tones to get my head round!

 

[Sounds like Roy]

Jonmm - you already got it, so no need to describe or convince you. Enjoy! I'm loving my 1x12." Kind of bummed about the speaker issue as it was supposed to come with the fillmore from the beginning but I guess they were not ready. I really don't have any complaints about the tone from mine, just a grass is always greener kind of thing I guess....if I did not know about it, I would not have even thought about it.

Marlon - The moving blanket idea is interesting! I may have to try that. Though I have been pretty happy with the bedroom level tones I get, always interested to do more "cranking it up!"

 

[tuna]

SLRoy, you know anything about that Fillmore speaker, tone wise etc? Thanks

 

[Sounds like Roy]

tuna - no I don't. But if mesa picked or designed a specific speaker to go with the amp, I would have liked to get it as I would think that the amp designer felt this was the best match to accentuate the tone of the circuit. Since I doubt mesa would exchange it for no charge, now I'll always wonder....and unless I hear that it is so superior, I'll probably not change because as I said above, I am not unhappy with the speaker in there. It could be that the fillmore is just a relabled black shadow....maybe someone could shoot mesa an email and ask them about the difference.....

What didn't you like about the Black Shadow that came with it? and please do report back on how that V30 works. I wonder what traditional model Celestion the black shadow equates to? Its rated at 90 watts which is quite a bit higher than a V30 no?

 

[dzeitlin]

I had some time to noodle yesterday, so I finally dug deeper into my LSS. I put both channels on the 5 watt setting, and pumped up the master volume to see how it sounded. I have to say, that I ususally like more pre-amp gain than post, but the LSS sounded so sweet (both clean and dirty) at 5 watts. That power tube overdrive was great. It kept the tone from getting too mushy, still had tons of dynamics, and was much more touch sensitive. Surprisingly, there was plenty of volume to be had. Made my approach to playing change overnight!

 

[Nomad]

As I understood it in the begining at least. They were making a speaker to replace the EV's for thsoe who prefered them. I believe the Fillmore was to be that but mat have evolved into something else.

I believe a local (to Boogie) guy was developing them.

 

[tuna]

I replace the Black Shadow in mine for a V-30. I personally like this better as I feel it warms the tone up. Gotta break in it, then reply back my results

 

[ned]

Read through the online manual but didn't find the answer - is the FX loop switchable via footswitch or only through the toggle on the back of the amp.

Ned

 

[jonmm66]

Just the switch on the back of the amp. With it switched off, the Solo button on the footswitch doesn't work ( I think)

 

[LSCMan]

Mine seems to have a blown speaker already, as does my Super Reverb Reissue I bought less than a year ago. :evil: