Jared Purdy
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Anyone have any info to share?
Jared Purdy said:I think that you have nailed it my friend. I use to have the 112 LSS and had to return it to the store owing to a repeating electrical issue. If that had not happened, I'd likely still have it. As you put it, the clean is sublime, better than Fender. Channel 2 on the other hand, as you point out is darker, and occassionally muddier, which needs to be tweaked (an oft repeated complaint of LSS users). Still, it's a great amp. and then along comes the Transatlanitc. It's more open, breathier, less mid range, spongier. I was checking out the TA 30, both combo and head and cab (couldn't really tell the difference in tone/sound in the store) and I really like it. I'm back on a tone quest, looking for the one amp that can satisfy a variety of needs (Voxy, Fendery, multi watt, reverb, combo) and the TA pretty well nails it. I ventured into a boutique amp over the last few months and while it is incredibly well built, and has some great tones, there are a couple of things that don't work well for me: it's a VERY loud 18-20 watts, I'm not overly thrilled with the non-master tone of the amp when playing my LP (too compressed), and it has to be played loud enough for decent tone that I cannot play it when other people are home. I found the Mesa LSS to not be problem (largely because I kept it on 5 or 15 watts) at home, and having played the TA 30 next to it at the same settings (wattage), it would also fit in. A very interesting design, though a truely strange cab shape, deep and squat. Still, easy to manage.
I see you are in Joburg. It's been many moons since I was in that neck of the woods. I was a teacher in Swaziland in 1989. Loved it.
Jared Purdy said:One thing I noticed with the LSS compared to the TA30 is that it appeaqrs to have more mid range. Do you find te same withe TA15 compared to the LSS?
MBJunkie said:Sebber, your comparison between the LSS and TA is spot on as far as I am concerned. I used to own a 112 LSS, and loved the clean channel! However, I wasn't able to achieve high gain lead sounds that I was after in Ch2 after much experimentation with all of its features.
I love my TA30 112 combo because I can easily achieve excellent clean, crunch and high gain lead sounds without the need to add pedals. This amp just sounds fantastic for vintage clean, crunch a lead tones!! I usually prefer both channels in 30W mode.
While it is true that the 5 modes are not footswitchable on the TA, the LSS doesn't have preamp modes at all. It does offer some toggles for different voicings of Ch2, but it still sounded too dark for my tastes in Ch2. The only feature additional feature of the LSS that I miss is the solo boost, but this really isn't a big deal, and the lack of this additional circuitry on the TA makes the TA a much lighter amp to carry around (TA30 112 combo - 42 lbs, LSS 112 combo - 57lbs).
Overall, I much prefer my TA30 combo compared to the LSS.
Sebber said:Jared Purdy said:One thing I noticed with the LSS compared to the TA30 is that it appeaqrs to have more mid range. Do you find te same withe TA15 compared to the LSS?
The LSS second channel is voiced much stronger in the mids than any channel/mode in the TA. It's fine if you use channel 2 in the LSS as a pure lead channel because the added midrange "hump" you get when switching to it from channel 1 can help cut through the band mix without a major increase in overall volume.
MBJunkie said:Sebber, your comparison between the LSS and TA is spot on as far as I am concerned. I used to own a 112 LSS, and loved the clean channel! However, I wasn't able to achieve high gain lead sounds that I was after in Ch2 after much experimentation with all of its features.
I love my TA30 112 combo because I can easily achieve excellent clean, crunch and high gain lead sounds without the need to add pedals. This amp just sounds fantastic for vintage clean, crunch a lead tones!! I usually prefer both channels in 30W mode.
While it is true that the 5 modes are not footswitchable on the TA, the LSS doesn't have preamp modes at all. It does offer some toggles for different voicings of Ch2, but it still sounded too dark for my tastes in Ch2. The only feature additional feature of the LSS that I miss is the solo boost, but this really isn't a big deal, and the lack of this additional circuitry on the TA makes the TA a much lighter amp to carry around (TA30 112 combo - 42 lbs, LSS 112 combo - 57lbs).
Overall, I much prefer my TA30 combo compared to the LSS.
I played two gigs over the weekend: on Friday night I used my LSS 2x12 combo (5 watt mode both channels, mic'ed up with an SM57), and last night I used the TA-15 with the two 1x12 cabs (15 watt mode both channels, channel 1 in Normal mode for clean and channel 2 in H1 mode for crunch, mic'ed up with an SM57). I think I marginally prefer the LSS channel 1 for cleans over the TA channel 1 Normal mode: the LSS is just a touch more sensitive to playing dynamics. When it comes to crunch, I definitely prefer the TA: while neither amp has a true high gain preamp, there is more gain available with the TA, and the gain structure is smoother and more complex with the TA too. The reverb on the LSS, even though I use it sparingly, is probably the best I've heard in any amp.
One thing I have noticed between the two amps though: the LSS is MUCH louder than the TA when they're both in 5 watt modes, I'm not sure why that is, probably something to do with the relative size and rating of the output transformers in each amp.
If I were to pick a favourite, I think it would have to be the TA: the tones and versatility in such a tiny footprint amp continue to astonish me. I love the LSS, it's a fantastic amp, but when you compare it with the TA, especially when using the LSS's channel 2, it's a hell of a lot easier to dial in a good sound with the TA.
Sebber said:Ok, I'll come clean and admit that I don't have a TA-30 1x12 combo, nor a LSS 1x12 combo. I do, however, have a TA-15 head that I run through two 1x12 LS cabs loaded with C90s and I also have a LSS 2x12 combo also loaded with C90s, so perhaps my 10 cents might be worth something in response to your question.
When it comes to clean tones, the two amps are, in my view at least, almost identical. Both amps' Channel 1 (TA-15 set in the Normal mode) have a chimey, VOXy sparkling clean tone that can be pushed to crunchy break-up if required. Both clean channels are extremely touch responsive, so if you've dialled-in verge-of-break-up levels of gain, you can easily clean-up just by lightening your touch, and then make 'em bark when you dig in. That, really, is where the similarities end.
The LSS's second channel is basically a higher gain version of it's first channel: yes, it has an additional drive switch to add another gain stage, as well as a voicing switch to thicken up your tone (this works on both channels, some on the forum here seem to think it's exclusive to channel 2). Even with these features, the LSS is far from a traditional Mesa high-gain amp. You can crank additional gain out of the channel by winding up the treble and taming the high frequencies with the presence knob, but the LSS will never give you full, saturated recto-style preamp distortion: for that kind of gain, you have to push it with pedals. Also, although channel 2 on the LSS is a higher gain version of channel 1, it's also voiced just a little bit darker, quite a bit stronger in the low-mids, things can get muddy without judicious tweaking on the mid and bass knobs. I suppose you could, just about, compare the LSS's channel 2 with the Top Boost mode on the TA's channel 1, but the TA's Top Boost has more sizzle to it, and doesn't have the LSS's darker, sometimes muddier sounding low mids and bass response. The TA in Top Boost, H1 or H2 modes gives you much more preamp gain than either the LSS channels will, especially with the TA-30's additional drive switch.
While I absolutely love my LSS, I've got to say that the TA is my preferred amp, tone-wise, because it really does do just about everything the LSS does, with the added benefits of Fendery cleans in channel 2 tweed mode, Marshall/Plexi-esque gains in channel 2's H1 mode, and the H2 mode, which sort-of-kinda does more Mesa high gains. There can be no doubt about it, while the LSS is a fabulous amp, the TA is more versatile.
Disclaimer: I haven't played a TA-30 head or combo yet (although I'm sure I'll pick up a TA-30 head and LS 4x10 at some stage), so everything I've said depends entirely on the assumption that the TA-30 is almost the same amp as the TA-15 but with the added reverb, drive boost, fx loop and higher-rated output stage.
Jared Purdy said:Just out of curiousity, have you had problems with your LSS blowing rectifiers and fuses?
Sebber said:Jared Purdy said:Just out of curiousity, have you had problems with your LSS blowing rectifiers and fuses?
Yep, I'd had it for about six months when, at a band practice, we noticed a nasty burning smell, reminiscent of burning carpet... investigation lead to the source of the smell being identified as the Lonestar's power transformer. Switching the amp off and back on again and the fuse went (and I think the rectifier tube too), replacing the fuse didn't make any difference. It turns out the power transformer had melted down (or something, I'm not very technical when it comes to these things), the resin coating of the transformer had basically melted off it.
I returned the amp to the local authorised Mesa tech and he replaced the transformer under the terms of the 5 year warranty. Since then I've had no problems with it. I do, also, have a problem with the fx loop/solo boost functionality where, when either is enabled, the output of the amp fades in and out. I'm not too bothered about it because I don't actually use either the fx loop or the solo boost so both are hard bypassed: the amp is still under warranty so I really should get it looked at, it's just that I've been too lazy to drop it off with the amp tech again.
Jared Purdy said:Interesting. Do you know what year your amp is?
Sebber said:Jared Purdy said:Interesting. Do you know what year your amp is?
I bought it in May 2008 so it's manufactured in either 2007 or 2008.
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