Mesa Lonestar special

[sambrowne]

Hi guys,

I have been recording with my '61 Vox AC30 on full volume and as you can imagine it sounded absolutely amazing. I'll be posting the song here once it gets back from mastering. I've never heard an amp sound quite so glorious as my dear old Vox.

I'm looking for a way to get that sound (obviously it's never going to be quite the same thing but I'm wanting to get as close as possible) with controllable volume, as well as having a very good clean sound, and ideally reverb across the board. The mesa lonestar special seems to be the answer to my prayers.

Has anyone got one of these? Love it? Hate it? Love some things, hate others?

I'd be particularly interested to hear the opinions of ampophiles like Martin and Ryan on this and how suitable it would be for what I'm after. I'm also hoping RockShop Matt will chime in (pun definitely intended) as he has one of these little beauties.

The model I am looking at is a 1 x 12 version, which I might run at times with my mesa 2x12 cab for added girth but probably a single 12 is all I need these days.

I am also looking (vaguely, since it's so goddamn expensive) at the Bad Cat Black Cat on TM, so if anyone has played one of those and thinks it might/might not be suitable I'd love to hear about it.

[mr_sooty]

I tried a Lonestar special 112 at Rockshop Hamilton, and I din't really like it at all, couldn't really get a nice sound out of it, which was dissapointing. But there's so many options on it, that it's quite possible I just wasn't driving it right. I always think an amp should be easy to get good sounds out of though. I just thought it sounded a little boxy and and not like a $4000 amp.

Or it could be that my idea of 'a nice sound' is entirely different from yours. Can't say I've ever played through a '61 AC30 cranked to the max (or at any volume), so I'm not the best person to make that comparisson.

[snitchez]

if im not mistaken, the black cat was 'modelled' after the old ac 30s.
not sure how it performs at lower volumes tho.
but i would think it would do the job fairly well, its the same designer as dc30. well, one half of em atleast.

[snitchez]

the lonestar is an awesome amp tho. but im no expert in guitar amps

yeah, lets wait for martin and ryan

[ant]

Wouldnt common sense point toward an ac15, some of those have reverb? (custom classic maybe ) Or get a decent attenuator, or get a switch on your vox to switch out two power tubes - Still dam loud though.

[snitchez]

...no?

[sambrowne]

Wouldnt common sense point toward an ac15, some of those have reverb? (custom classic maybe ) Or get a decent attenuator, or get a switch on your vox to switch out two power tubes - Still dam loud though.

Yeah too loud and too nice for gigging, I want to keep my Vox for studio only really, and have the two channel thing available for live. I thought about getting an AC15 and A/Bing between that and a hot rod deluxe or something for clean, but a two channel mesa would be MUCH more convenient and probably sound better anyway. That said, a UK built AC15 would be welcomed into my house.

[handsoffmatt]

Hey Sam,

I have to say that although I LOVE my LoneStar Special head/4x10 quad (it sounds amazing), the combos do indeed sound pretty boxy. I can't figure out why - the original Lone Star combos (100W/6L6's) sound great as a combo...

If you can be bothered carrying around a head + cab (the 2x12 cab is good too) - this amp WILL be the answer to your prayers.

DEFINITELY don't get the combo...

[Phildo]

the original Lone Star combos (100W/6L6's) sound great as a combo......

I was gassing for one of those for a while, now Im stuck on a Roadster head.

[sambrowne]

Hey Sam,

I have to say that although I LOVE my LoneStar Special head/4x10 quad (it sounds amazing), the combos do indeed sound pretty boxy. I can't figure out why - the original Lone Star combos (100W/6L6's) sound great as a combo...

If you can be bothered carrying around a head + cab (the 2x12 cab is good too) - this amp WILL be the answer to your prayers.

DEFINITELY don't get the combo...

Hey Matt,

Thanks for the advice mate.
But you can run the combo into a cab without a hitch right? I already have a cab (2x12 recto cab) so it wouldn't be a big deal to have the combo for practice/small gigs and then run it into a 2x12 for bigger gigs. Would that work?

Cheers

[Bg]

depends if you want reliable too, bad rep for letting the smoke out and DC made one meltdown in the shop...
sort of puts you off a bit

Finally got to try a Lonestar. I'd read lots of reviews on Harmony about major meltdowns as soon as people get them home. Guess what happened in the shop? I've heard of amps having lots of effects but I'm sure smoke isn't a desirable one.

[Phildo]

depends if you want reliable too, bad rep for letting the smoke out and DC made one meltdown in the shop...
sort of puts you off a bit

Finally got to try a Lonestar. I'd read lots of reviews on Harmony about major meltdowns as soon as people get them home. Guess what happened in the shop? I've heard of amps having lots of effects but I'm sure smoke isn't a desirable one.

Thats actually quite uncommon to hear about a Mesa, every review I've ever read has been nothing but good in the reliability category.

[Bg]

not for the lonestar apparently, though I'm only passing on the info...

[Phildo]

not for the lonestar apparently, though I'm only passing on the info...

Yeah. The reviews I read of the loanstar were good. I guess dc just got a dud.

[handsoffmatt]

Hey Sam,

I have to say that although I LOVE my LoneStar Special head/4x10 quad (it sounds amazing), the combos do indeed sound pretty boxy. I can't figure out why - the original Lone Star combos (100W/6L6's) sound great as a combo...

If you can be bothered carrying around a head + cab (the 2x12 cab is good too) - this amp WILL be the answer to your prayers.

DEFINITELY don't get the combo...

Hey Matt,

Thanks for the advice mate.
But you can run the combo into a cab without a hitch right? I already have a cab (2x12 recto cab) so it wouldn't be a big deal to have the combo for practice/small gigs and then run it into a 2x12 for bigger gigs. Would that work?

Cheers

Yeah, totally! That would be a good way to go! (though I'm not certain the Lone Star Special will suit V30 speakers/closed back cab....would be good to try out!)