Mesa Lonestar amps

Ryan Dyck · Post by **Ryan Dyck** » 6 Nov 2014 9:49 am

Anyone using Lonestar amps for steel or steel & guitar? Particularly the 2x 12" combo 100w? I'm currently using a twin for double duty and curious about alternatives.

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 6 Nov 2014 1:44 pm

I think it would be one of the better double duty amps around.

Mesa's are fender derivative amps with hard feeling power sections...they have a great feel with steel guitars. My experience is though that 50w 2x6L6 is plenty and sounds better...that amp has a half power switch though if you don't mind packing the weight of 100w tube amp.

The possible drawback is the lead channel may not be to your liking, it is a close clone of the original mk1 lead circuit but needs a small mod to sound optimal, can be researched on the boogie board. There are two places where I like the mark 1 lead tones...a very light clip aka Keith Richards, and the liquid high gain santana type sound...I prefer tele country tones straight off the clean channel with the gain dimed....so....depends on what type of double duty you do, and how often you are switching between duties...every other song or every other set...? You may be stuck with tube screamer and eq pedals to really make it stick depending on the circumstance.

If it's possible, get a head, then match it to a steel guitar cab...funny thing is before I was playing steel regularly, I liked the sound of the stock, nashville 112 speaker that I was using it with my guitar rig.

Ryan Dyck · Post by **Ryan Dyck** » 7 Nov 2014 10:52 am

Thanks Tom. I did like the Lonestar Special (used one once for tracking) but i doubt it would have the headroom for the various live scenarios i encounter. haven't had the opportunity to try the 2x12" 100w lonestar but saw one for 1100$ the other day.

Matt Bush · Post by **Matt Bush** » 7 Nov 2014 2:30 pm

I had a Lonestar 2x12 for a long time. I traded it in a few years ago and am still kicking myself. It sounded great with every guitar and pedal I ever used with it. I definitely miss that amp.

I played a little 6 string lap steel back then, and that sounded great too, but I wasn't very serious with the steel playing way back then, so I can't offer a good opinion on how well it handles steel.

I'm also a huge fan of the Lonestar Special, but I think you're right that it might struggle with headroom for PSG.

John Booth · Post by **John Booth** » 16 Nov 2014 5:03 am

I have a lonestar 2x12 but I didn't particularly like the sound of steel through it.
But that's just me friend.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 16 Nov 2014 12:12 pm

To my ear, the Lonestars are much, much harsher and dry than a Twin or Super. YMMV. MESA amps have "too many knobs" syndrome, IMO.

I've kind of given up on gain stages within amps - it's a pedal or two for me.

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 16 Nov 2014 3:14 pm

Les Cargill wrote:To my ear, the Lonestars are much, much harsher and dry than a Twin or Super. YMMV. MESA amps have "too many knobs" syndrome, IMO.

I've kind of given up on gain stages within amps - it's a pedal or two for me.

I disagree, I have a 2005 Lonestar 1x12, it is to me a great amp for both steel and guitar. The first "clean" channel doesn't have the extra gain stage, it's only in the second and is switchable (by-passable). The basic circuit, tone stack etc. are very similar to a twin.

It's as loud and clean as you'd ever want and I have no trouble dialing in a nice smooth, warm tone with nice sparkly highs on any of my PSGs (Emmons & Sho-Bud w/ stock single coils, BMI w/ George L's humbucker) or 6 strings. The only extra knob in the primary clean channel (where I run my PSG) is presence. It has a nice reverb, I run from my PSG through a Goodrich L120 straight to the amp, great sound.

It has a very traditional tone stack, I tend to run mine with the bass and mids cranked pretty far and adjust the treble and presence back for different guitars/rooms. Lane Gray posted a link somewhere that explains the tone stack, interesting reading for anyone not familiar with this, it's a bit counter-intuitive in some ways.

For 6 string guitar it's much more versatile than a twin with the extra gain stage in the second channel. One drawback is, like a twin, it's really heavy. But you know, different strokes...

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 16 Nov 2014 6:29 pm

Ian Worley wrote:
For 6 string guitar it's much more versatile than a twin with the extra gain stage in the second channel. One drawback is, like a twin, it's really heavy. But you know, different strokes...

Absolutely, sir. I have a real prejudice towards actual Fenders. Something about that input likes my right hand.

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 16 Nov 2014 10:35 pm

A couple of things about stock mesa's...

Typically stocked up with rebranded. sovtek wa and/or the JJ 83S preamp tubes. My experience is that the wa/wb/wc tubes are very harsh sounding. The jj83S tubes are dark and dull.

We're not even talking about the stock power tubes yet. Blah tonality...and then biased as cold as the north pole possibly to manage warantee claims..

Mesa's are big iron amps...big power supply, big output transformers...they're cleaner toned than fenders and many of them respond very well to investment in higher quality tubes, and power tubes that are selected to counter the cold bias.

I run a lot of vos preamp tubes and the SED winged C 6L6 rated at 23 (thetubestore.com).

Rick Hearne · Post by **Rick Hearne** » 21 Nov 2014 8:28 am

Mesa just me a custom Lonestar with a 15" neo in a figured sapele cabinet, it sounds amazing, I use it with a Walker programed TC Electronics, too cool, it does help that I sell them wood

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 21 Nov 2014 8:56 am

Not sure you will be happy witht he bottom end of the Lonestar..The real "beef" in all the Boogies is midrange..I have used the Lonestar Special, and I also have a 1979 MKIIB in a 15" Combo...It sounds pretty damn good, but its heavy as heck!..FYI..

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 21 Nov 2014 10:31 am

Rick Hearne wrote:Mesa just me a custom Lonestar with a 15" neo in a figured sapele cabinet, it sounds amazing, I use it with a Walker programed TC Electronics, too cool, it does help that I sell them wood

We won't believe you till we see pics.

Rick Hearne · Post by **Rick Hearne** » 21 Nov 2014 1:29 pm

Tomorrow

Rick Hearne · Post by **Rick Hearne** » 25 Nov 2014 8:43 am

I'm having some trouble uploading the images, but I'll figure it out maybe

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 25 Nov 2014 8:46 am

I've found you have to hit the submit button, and then go have a coffee...

Rick Hearne · Post by **Rick Hearne** » 25 Nov 2014 1:32 pm

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 25 Nov 2014 4:35 pm

Wrong brand of coffee

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 25 Nov 2014 8:04 pm

At 70-80 lbs......... it's an invitation to spine surgery.

Josh Yenne · Post by **Josh Yenne** » 26 Nov 2014 9:23 am

Don't get me started on all the fr*@king knobs and switches!!!

I've heard some good tone come out of Mesa's thats for sure.. but it might take you an hour to get it with all those knobs.

But one thing I will definitely say is that Mesa verb SUCKS compared with Fender. Granted just my opinion. But its sort of famous for having crappy verb.

GREAT bass gear though!!!

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 26 Nov 2014 11:28 am

Original poster asked:

Ryan Dyck wrote:Anyone using Lonestar amps for steel or steel & guitar?

I sometimes find these conversations, replete with the requisite superlatives and hyperbole, well... comical. At least amusing. Thanks for the entertainment y'all.

Someone said that tone is all in the hands anyway, I guess I better get back to practicin'...

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 26 Nov 2014 12:53 pm

All the knobs...

Well, multichannel amps that give you voicing control over each channel need more than one tonestack.

As for the switches, they do simple things like switch a resistor in or out of a tonestack for a different voice that may work better with a different genre or speaker.

I can see how having too many options can lead to an abundance of fiddling, but there are standout tones that can be found if you have the patience to get to know the amp.

The biggest issues with Mesa amps has been they are mostly 100W, great for playing football stadiums...for the 0.00001 percent that have accomplished that opportunity.

If you are trying to get sweet tube tone, it's not gonna happen playing a 100W amp with the master volume at one or two.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 26 Nov 2014 2:39 pm

Ryan Dyck wrote:Anyone using Lonestar amps for steel or steel & guitar? Particularly the 2x 12" combo 100w? I'm currently using a twin for double duty and curious about alternatives.

I have used a Lonestar Special for steel and guitar. I found the clean channel quite good for pedal steel--most of my gigs, thankfully, don't require extremely high volume. The other channel sounds fine for guitar with just a little breakup, but, surprisingly for a Mesa amp, I could never find a good sound with substantial overdrive. It seems quite incapable of that Santana-type smooth, long-sustaining thing, and what it does do sounds sloppy. And this is coming from someone who once owned and used a Mark I (it was stolen from my car in the late Seventies) and currently owns a Trem-o-verb head (great sounds but ridiculously big and heavy) and a Maverick 1 X 12, my workhorse for guitar for many years.

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 26 Nov 2014 4:19 pm

Gotta turn the tone control on your guitar down a ways to get the santana tone.

Also, there are lonestar guru's that believe two components on the lead channel need interchanged, possibly a production blueprint error, who knows.

As for tone adjustments, seems to me, you need the treble and bass about 2:30 and mid at 9:00, gain at 3:00+. Switches to fat.

The liquid part of the tone doesn't occur till the phase inverter is distorting...loud...I tried a maverick also an El84 Mesa mk1 type design, and the santana tone was a cinch on that amp

Alan Berdoulay · Post by **Alan Berdoulay** » 7 Dec 2014 5:16 pm

So......is anyone else USING a lonestar (100W...not the 30W special) for pedal steel......besides ian and rick hearne....whose amp btw sounds fantastic.....?

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