Please help me decide which Mesa to buy

[Luca79]

Hello anyone,
I'm looking for the following features for my new Mesa purchase:

_not too much power (at least, I need a low Watt switch);
_not too big in size (small head or 1X12 combo);
_capable of big, open and bright light-medium crunch, think cranked Fender or Plexi sound, not just the mid-heavy compressed smooth Santana thing;
_not too many bell and whistles (I would get lost in them);
_no compromise on the clean sound (as Fenderish as possible);
_equally good with single coils and humbuckers.

Which models should I look at?
Please tell me the best options, thanks!

Luca

 

[Barry]

Hello anyone,
I'm looking for the following features for my new Mesa purchase:

_not too much power (at least, I need a low Watt switch);
_not too big in size (small head or 1X12 combo);
_capable of big, open and bright light-medium crunch, think cranked Fender or Plexi sound, not just the mid-heavy compressed smooth Santana thing;
_not too many bell and whistles (I would get lost in them);
_no compromise on the clean sound (as Fenderish as possible);
_equally good with single coils and humbuckers.

Which models should I look at?
Please tell me the best options, thanks!

Luca

LoneStar, Express, Stiletto Ace

 

[zappaslaughter]

Sounds like a Lonestar to me. I just purchased one a couple of weeks ago. Before that I used an alo Fender concert II 83, and man I just knew I needed that old fender clean for my style of playing.

The lonestar has very nice cleans and very nice break up on the clean channel if you like...that warm slightly overdriven sound that really comes out when you hit the strings hard.

The new lonestar will have the 10 watt option too, but the old ones are on sale now ...I have seen two posts with 2006 lonestrs around 1000 bucks. (wish I woulda seen those two weeks ago) thats at least a few hundred less than what you will be paying for the new LSC Class A.

I got the 1 x 12 combo and a LS 1 x 12 widebody extension cab. Sounds amazing. the open back over size cabs give the the illusion of reverb when none is present.

I have the 50/100 W option, and I found that I can still play low at home late at night, but it does sound better loud. gotta try a hot plate.

Go try a few out!
Let us know what you decide!

 

[Brewski]

1+ on either model of LoneStar and the Express 5:50. Those are going to give you the most "Fenderish" cleans. They both have low watt switches and they're fairly uncomplicated. I didn't add the Stilleto in because I actually haven't heard one, so it would be unfair for me to comment on it.

The Express would be the least complicated and the least expensive. It has a 5 watt switch. You'd still have a 50 watts of power on tap if you needed it.

Try them out and see what works best for you.

 

[mesanomad100]

lone star is a good choice but,It sounds more like a nomad combo(have to pick one up second hand),It has three independant channels which will cover everything you could ever ask for(this is without the use of a boost pedal),has a power reduction switch(mine is the 100 watt version which can be switched to 50 watts),these thing are really,really small,Inever got lost with mine,the cleans IMHO are some of the best around,period.
I used an RG(with humbuckers) and I ran a custom shop strat(single coils) through it,both amazing and right now I use a tele,it add the most tremendous bite to the cleans and orange(amber)channel.

If your budget is big buy a RK,or RKII(roadking series),these have the fabled clean sounds of the lonestar and the recto authority as well as everything else with the proggresive linkage function!!!!

Take what you like the sound of