First post on TBB! I'm going to buy another amp. I have and have had Marshalls, Mesas, Matchless, Blah, Blah, Blah. My main gigging amps now are a Mesa 5:50 Express 2x12 combo and a Matchless Independence. I'm getting rid of the Matchless and am considering a LS head. I have an OS Bogner 2x12 that I'll slap some MC90s in should I get the LS. I've heard SO many mixed reviews on channel 2 of the LS, even played a combo and told the guy at the store that channel 2 sounded odd and he said "could be a bad preamp tube". I even saw the thread about swapping the pots. A great freind of mine is playing a MKIII and he had 2 LS's at one time and said the dirty channels were awesome. Should I order the LS head? Or go play a bunch more of them or what? I'm scared I'll be stuck with what I get.
The Lonestar Dillema......
- Thread starter rastaman
- Start date
Help Support The Boogie Board:
CGM
Well-known member
Check out the Riveras...Venus-6, Fandango, Quiana,...just a suggestion....CGM
phyrexia
Well-known member
are you looking at the Classic or the Special?
madryan
Well-known member
Mine's my main amp. I play it out at least once a week. Absolutely killer amp. EQ it with your ears, not your eyes tho.
Barry
Well-known member
Good advice . There are some settings for the LS on John Petrucci's site that will get you in the right directionmadryan said:
plan-x
Well-known member
I wasn't to fond of ch 2. But ch 1 is to die for. So I got some pedals and didn't use ch 2. Then came the Reeder mod. Basically cloned ch 1 but with a drive tube stage. Now I still use my pedals along with ch 1 & ch 2 and it sounds great. It's like an 8 ch amp now. To many options, not enough money. I bet some EL-34's would sound good with the mod. Check out this clip. I go into ch 2 about a min. or so into it.
http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/plan-x/Head%20cab/?action=view¤t=ReverbTest.flv
http://s118.photobucket.com/albums/o82/plan-x/Head%20cab/?action=view¤t=ReverbTest.flv
plan-x
Well-known member
Thank you! Didn't you catch the settings as I was dialing them in on the fly? Ha ha.pine said:
Looking where they're at now, which I've fiddled with since that vid but probably are similar.
To start: Reeder mod #1 & #2 w/2x12 ext cab added to combo, These things will drastically improve overall sound. Settings below may vary on stock units. (Disclaimer)
Drive: 3:00
Gain: 1:00
Thick on (probably wasn't on vid, who knows?)
Treble: 1:00
Mid: 10:00
Bass: 11:00
Presence: 1:30
Ch vol: 9:00/Master 12:00 Optional settings
50 w
Reverb: 11:00/ warm
Loop on: 1:00-1:30 with pedal board in loop(nothing engaged) It's possible my BBE stomp was engaged, It's always on when I play, and that's another secret weapon to improve ch 2's sound.
Single coils p/u's, or hum's in split mode, for the purist.
djw
Well-known member
Hey, shout-out received, plan-x! Nice licks, my friend! And sweet tone! 
Your settings are similar to mine. I've been experimenting with the relative positions of the Drive and Gain controls, but usually I come back to
Drive: 10:00-11:30
Gain: 2:00-3:00
And lately, Normal voicing with Les Paul/HBs, Thicker with Strat/SCs.
rastaman, if you're into old-school tones then the LSC is your baby. If you like the basics of the amp, I can't imagine you'd ever feel "stuck" with it because you'll have a totally amazing amp even if you only use Ch1.
The mods mentioned here definitely improved Ch2 tremendously -- this is important -- for many of us who were dissatisfied with the sound of Ch2 stock. Several people who did one or both mods switched back, and many of us liked the amp as-is anyway.
If what you don't like about Ch2 is that it seems to have less definition, maybe a lack of sparkle and transparency, then these mods will get you there. They don't really increase the gain, though in my case they made me more comfortable using more gain, so in a way they provided more usable gain. The pot-swap mod definitely gives Ch2 more teeth (fangs, more like it).
Experimenting with tubes is pretty rewarding too. Personally, I'm really digging the Weber Blue Dog Ceramic speaker I installed in my combo last week, thanks to BobL's suggestion. There are a lot of little tweaks that can bring the amp closer to your liking. But the basic platform remains expressive and fundamentally solid. The LSC seems to kick *** no matter what you do.
Your settings are similar to mine. I've been experimenting with the relative positions of the Drive and Gain controls, but usually I come back toDrive: 10:00-11:30
Gain: 2:00-3:00
And lately, Normal voicing with Les Paul/HBs, Thicker with Strat/SCs.
rastaman, if you're into old-school tones then the LSC is your baby. If you like the basics of the amp, I can't imagine you'd ever feel "stuck" with it because you'll have a totally amazing amp even if you only use Ch1.
The mods mentioned here definitely improved Ch2 tremendously -- this is important -- for many of us who were dissatisfied with the sound of Ch2 stock. Several people who did one or both mods switched back, and many of us liked the amp as-is anyway.
If what you don't like about Ch2 is that it seems to have less definition, maybe a lack of sparkle and transparency, then these mods will get you there. They don't really increase the gain, though in my case they made me more comfortable using more gain, so in a way they provided more usable gain. The pot-swap mod definitely gives Ch2 more teeth (fangs, more like it).
Experimenting with tubes is pretty rewarding too. Personally, I'm really digging the Weber Blue Dog Ceramic speaker I installed in my combo last week, thanks to BobL's suggestion. There are a lot of little tweaks that can bring the amp closer to your liking. But the basic platform remains expressive and fundamentally solid. The LSC seems to kick *** no matter what you do.
plan-x
Well-known member
Glad you enjoyed djw. That vid reveals the ch 2 tone really transparent, and it is sweet. Not like before the mods. Speaking of webers...that 2x12 ext. has a V-30 and a mojotone V-30 knock off and it sounds eh, alright. But when loaded with my Blue dog/ Silver bell ceramics in conjunction with the C-90's in the combo, it's awesome :twisted: Those speakers are in another cab at the moment down at the church. This thread just about qualifies for a hijack. I hope this info allows you(Rastaman) to see that this LSC is a complicated professional amp. Between the mods, speaker selection, tube varieties(such as djw's 6v6/el84 combo) not to mention el-34's, pedal friendlyness, I'm not so sure there is an amp that can do everything the big blue pig can do!
FWIW, I would try more LSC/LSS before you buy. I used to own a LSS and the honeymoon didn't last long. Channel two I found to be muddy and non-distinct. Almost bought a LSC, but once again, muddy channel 2, actually worse than the LSS. Of the 2, the LSS was much more usable. Also, I am not a fan of spending close to 2K for an amp that needs a transistor pedal in front of it to sound good. Just me. My personal opinion of the LSS/LSC is that they seem to sound fabulous with single coil pu guitars (i.e. Strats and Teles) and I'm a Les Paul guy, but YMMV.
I too encourage you to check out the Rivera Fandango, Quianna and Venus 6 amps before you spring for a LSC. Good luck!
Matt
I too encourage you to check out the Rivera Fandango, Quianna and Venus 6 amps before you spring for a LSC. Good luck!
Matt
djw
Well-known member
Stay tuned, more modded LSC sound samples coming -- I had some time tonight...
I have the complete opposite opinion. I think my Tele and my G&L are a little harsh sounding out of my LSC. My LP and RG550 sound perfect though. I end up rolling back the Tone on the Tele & G&L to take that edge off.mdortona said:
I wish the amp would muddy up a bit. When I hit a wrong note or play a C sus 2 instead of a C Major it beams out of the amp like a sun ray from God
I gig with both the LSS and the LSC a lot and on both models channel two is dark and muddy........until you turn the bass knob all the way off!
Most amps you have to crank the bass up because they are so trebly not so with the Lonestar.
I just turn it back completely off and channel two sounds wonderful.
It is not a high gain sound but it sounds very sweet for what it is.
The Lonestars are great amps! Both channels are excellent. You just have to learn how to eq them.
Most amps you have to crank the bass up because they are so trebly not so with the Lonestar.
I just turn it back completely off and channel two sounds wonderful.
It is not a high gain sound but it sounds very sweet for what it is.
The Lonestars are great amps! Both channels are excellent. You just have to learn how to eq them.
Sounded good with both single coils or humbucker here. For HB just a few tweaks to roll of the bass, mid, and add a little presence.mdortona said:
That 'compressed muddy' ch2 allows me to get close to the Santana tone w/o using a compressor/sustainer in front.
djw
Well-known member
Ditto about getting great sounds with both SCs and HBs. I'm usually pretty happy using the same settings for both, actually; maybe that means my overall tone is middle of the road.ja22y said:
Makes life easier, though.And actually, since I said I was going to earlier, I finally found time to put up those clips I made the other night. Some more stuff is coming, but here are the basics. Some clean, some dirty, both HBs and SCs. Enjoy.
Edit: Made it a blog post for easy updating. Here's a direct link to the clips if you want to skip the text
