Tube Change

[JLBoogie]

Ok, who has changed the 6l6's to L34's on their lonestars and what is the results. Do you lose those great cleans or keep them just in a slightly different form. I am into a brit amp mode and trying to think of the way to get there with a lonestar classic. And don't forget to tell about the effects on channel 2

 

[plan-x]

My experience with them was a slight loss in the full/fat, bubbly sound and a tightening up of the amp. The mids were more pronounced, and sweeter. A little less sparkle. It was a definite improvement on ch 2's crunch tones for stock LSC. Actually, a hybrid LSC with both tubes, 6L6-ch1 and EL34-ch2 (Switchable like a RK) would be a nice upgrade from boogie. Overall the difference is not that dramatic and I wouldn't call it a Marshall either. But it does move the tone more towards a brit sound.

 

[mdortona]

I just picked up a used EL34 LSC this past weekend. I very much like the EL34s vs. the 6L6s. The clean is still "Lonestar clean" with no appreciable loss of sparkle to my ears. Yes, it loses a bit of bubbliness, but not hugely. The 34s clearly improve Channel 2, with better clarity of notes, "less mud", and a tad of a midrange boost. While I agree that it is no Marshall, it does have that Brit overdrive character to it. I plan to try a quad of 6V6s in the future to see how things sound.

Matt

 

[fishyfishfish]

Mine sounded a little more up front with the EL's in. Tightened up the bass and made the amp more touch sensitive. I didn't really like what they did for channel 2, almost made the amp have to much mid-range, like a cheap tube screamer or something. Just my 2 cents.

 

[toneguy86]

Ok, who has changed the 6l6's to L34's on their lonestars and what is the results. Do you lose those great cleans or keep them just in a slightly different form. I am into a brit amp mode and trying to think of the way to get there with a lonestar classic. And don't forget to tell about the effects on channel 2

I love it. I use JJ E34Ls. They seem to help solidify the low end a bit. As far as cleans, you won't notice that difference. It's not like the amp suddenly becomes a heavy metal machine on all channels or something--That kinda sound is not really what this amp does. On the other hand I love the character of the amp changes slightly.

Mark

 

[toneguy86]

I just picked up a used EL34 LSC this past weekend. I very much like the EL34s vs. the 6L6s. The clean is still "Lonestar clean" with no appreciable loss of sparkle to my ears. Yes, it loses a bit of bubbliness, but not hugely. The 34s clearly improve Channel 2, with better clarity of notes, "less mud", and a tad of a midrange boost. While I agree that it is no Marshall, it does have that Brit overdrive character to it. I plan to try a quad of 6V6s in the future to see how things sound.

Matt

Well said, Matt. That's exactly what I found. I love the way channel 2 sounds. There is a bit more midrange and it took a bit of dinking around to come up with a nice mid level and voice setting. I have my mids at about 10 o' clock now and I actually like the thicker setting for the stage. The mids seem more prominant in that setting and I like the way the amp cuts and carries.

Mark

 

[mdortona]

Yep, I'm running my mids around 9-10 o'clock too. If I roll them lower on the clean channel and add some treble, it's like I'm in Twin Reverb land

Matt

 

[Kiteboarder]

So guys, If I want to replace the tubes for EL43's then, and the bias is fixed. Who, other than directly from Mesa, can I buy the tubes from? And... Is there something I need to look out for? I can see my stock 6L6s are coded RED.

 

[plan-x]

I've only purchased from Eurotubes. They sell JJ's. Just describe to them what your after tone wise and they'll do the matching(bias,voltage)for you. Or here is a link to his LSC tube kits.
https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=6&sub_category_id=139

 

[mdortona]

I've purchased tubes from Eurotubes and Doug's Tubes and have been happy. Both are stand-up guys and will be able to correctly hook you up with what you need for the Lonestar. Give either one a call.

Matt

 

[Ham]

I just got my Groove Tube EL-34s yesterday and put them in last night. The ones I got in are rated at a 7. I bought them from Musician's Friend. Althought they haven't had the normal 50 hours to burn in, one thing I did notice was the improved note clarity that someone else had also mentioned. I was mostly playing on channel 1 and noticed that they tended to break into distortion a lot easier, especially if I attacked the strings more aggressively.

If you buy Groove Tubes, you'll want the Medium tubes, which are rated 4-7. So far, I like mine. I'm planning to try some 6V6 tubes after these have had about 50 hours of runtime.