Thoughts on the Lonestar Head

[jonanderson23]

I'm new to the forum and had a couple of questions about the Lonestar. I've been amp shopping. I currently use a Vox Valvetronix 120VTX and am ready to get back to a full tube amp. I used to have a Blue Angel which was great. I'm into that Warren Haynes, the Clapton From The Cradle sound, as well as clean blues and country rock. My band plays anywhere from Allman Brothers, Clapton, CCR, ZZ Top etc. I'm not ready to shell out the dough for a Soldano SLO. Can the Lonestar provide the versatility of the clean blues and country and also the smooth lead gain? The wattage change is a real plus on the Lonestar for varying gig sizes. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[Mountain Fever]

I am also a 'newbie' with my Lonestar Special arriving a few days ago.

You did not mention which Lonestar you are interested in and I can only speak to the LSS which I ordered as a "Widebody" single 12" combo.

This amp does exactly what I was hoping for. I have a VibroKing which does what it does wonderfully. But, I could never get it to bloom without blasting out the windows. The LSS allows for great sounds at lower to moderate volumes and sound way better than the VibroKing did with effects pedals.

I certainly am a long way from understanding all that the LSS can do, but I know that there is no way that I will not be delighted with the choice.

Seemingly, the new three power choices on the new Lonestar Classic make it more similar to the LSS as far as versatility, but I needed/wanted a certain sound more than I needed the extra power of the classic, and was fearful that the Classic would be too similar (6L6's) in its sound.

 

[lukeness]

If you can, you should go to your local GC and try out the Lone Star Special and the Lone Star Classic. Most GCs will have em in stock.

I personally, own the Lone Star Classic and I love it. It can cop the sounds that you want with some pedals.

I've tried the LSS on several occations because a lot of people on this board seems to love em. I just can't get into em. They sound too harsh to me.

So my conclusion is: try em both. They sound immensely different in my opinion.

 

[joe.h]

i pretty well play all your kind of music in our band i use a lss 2x12 combo this amp can nail all those sounds and in the thirty watt mode i have mine pluged into the optional for 35 watts it makes the amp more punchy great for country rock if you are useing single coils i use a tele this is a great amp but if you use humbuckers then i would go for the lsc i find my les paul with burst bucker pros to chimey and break up the clean ch 1 to early so thats why i custom orderd a lsc 2x12 a les paul is to die for with a lsc 2x12. they are both great amps. lss for single coils lsc for humbuckers and the c 90's speakers sound great with both amps!

 

[pjrhd28]

I have both Lonestars and based on the music you discussed, I'd go with the Classic- especially if you're looking for humbucker tones. I think the Allman/ ZZ TOP tones will be much easier with the LSC than with the LSS (although the best freakin soft clean in the whole world is that LSS on the 5 watt setting- so light and airy.)

All of my El-84 amps (Victoria, LSS, Maz Z 38) are MUCH better wih single coils than humbuckers.

IMHO, it won't quite "purr" with high gain the way a SLO does (does anything???). But its MUCH better clean than a SLO.


If you can A/B them, it'll take about 2 minutes to hear the difference- the LSS is airy, jangly, whispy--like a lot of EL-84 amps. Even driven, it keeps that chime.

The LSC is all about the 6L6's- warm, big, dark- with the SRV mid "honk". Stays clean forever if you want it to. Great with humbuckers or single coils.

Something else--my guess is that if you need only the 50 watt/100 watt settings on the older LSC's, a used LSC will be a pretty good bargain relative to either a used LSS or either LS new.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. If Mesa builds a 4 channel amp that incorporates the 2 LSS channels (with 4 EL-84's) along with the 2 LSC channels (with 4 6L6's), I'll buy that amp the second it become available.

 

[lukeness]

I have both Lonestars and based on the music you discussed, I'd go with the Classic- especially if you're looking for humbucker tones. I think the Allman/ ZZ TOP tones will be much easier with the LSC than with the LSS (although the best freakin soft clean in the whole world is that LSS on the 5 watt setting- so light and airy.)

All of my El-84 amps (Victoria, LSS, Maz Z 38) are MUCH better wih single coils than humbuckers.

IMHO, it won't quite "purr" with high gain the way a SLO does (does anything???). But its MUCH better clean than a SLO.


If you can A/B them, it'll take about 2 minutes to hear the difference- the LSS is airy, jangly, whispy--like a lot of EL-84 amps. Even driven, it keeps that chime.

The LSC is all about the 6L6's- warm, big, dark- with the SRV mid "honk". Stays clean forever if you want it to. Great with humbuckers or single coils.

Something else--my guess is that if you need only the 50 watt/100 watt settings on the older LSC's, a used LSC will be a pretty good bargain relative to either a used LSS or either LS new.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. If Mesa builds a 4 channel amp that incorporates the 2 LSS channels (with 4 EL-84's) along with the 2 LSC channels (with 4 6L6's), I'll buy that amp the second it become available.

This description nailed it on the door. Good stuff.

 

[123thefirst]

I'm curious. Can the classic give you great mid-gain tone such as you get from the Recto series amps in Raw mode with gain set to about 10:00 to 12:00, bass way down and treble maxed out?

 

[MONGO]

ONE AMP

LSC

The LSS is great but no headroom and the 84 tone is not close to a ZZ or Gov mule tone. Between both play the LSC and use a boost or pedal in front when you cant get the volume up high. I use it at 50 watts both channels and its a good loud not over the top. Set the loop to 12 and the output to 12 and you get great tone without cranking it all the way

 

[oyster]

If you're not ready to shell out the dough for an SLO100, have you considered a Soldano Hot Rod 50+ or 100+ for substantially less $$? Same overdrive circuit as SLO, you can get all the sounds like govt mule etc. and get your own tone as it is very versatile. the overdrive channel is of course pure SLO, and on the normal channel the cleans are very nice and they gradually get dirtier and crunchier as you up the gain for a solid hard rock tone. Add a mild overdrive pedal and essentially double the number of channels from 2 to 4.