New Member, new Mesa LSS owner....

[Jared Purdy]

Hi, Hopefully this post isn't redundant, as I posted it a few minutes ago, but it is no where to be seen, so I thought I'd give it another go in the event I did something worng.

I have a couple of questions concerning the Mesa LSS. I recently bought one (new), and am still figuring it out out, as it seems to be fairly well documented the time it takes to get to know this amp. I have read about the reeder mod, and want to know if - what some describe - as an over midrangy done in Ch 2, is more of an issue with earlier LSS, or is it still an issue with the current production? I have already started asking myself what a Celestion G12 Gold alNico would sound like in there, as I put one (a G10) in my PRRI, and again, the difference is huge (for the better).

As an alternative, is it possible to control the mid range in channel two with a tube swap, and if so, what tubes have users tried, and liked?? I have a Fender PRRI, and I found that by swapping out the stock 6V6 GTs and and the 12AX7 GTs for Tung Sols, had a dramatic effect. I went one step further, and put a 12AY7 in V1, as the PRRI has a known reputation for farting out with the volume past 5/10. It can now be played at 10 (if I want to!).

Thanks for your time. Regards, Jared Purdy

 

[ja22y]

First congratulations and welcome to the forum.
I'd strongly recommend that you spend the next month getting to know the amp real well and note what you like and what you don't like about the amp. Ignore what you've read about modding for now. Too many people read these mods and did the mods without really knowing what they want to achieve. Once you know what you 'wish' the amp could sound like then perhaps there's mod that can help. Remember there's no magic bullet.

 

[screamingdaisy]

It took me a long time to get channel 2 to sound the way I wanted it to. My problem was that I was 1) afraid to turn the treble up (I don't like bright guitar tones), and 2) afraid to turn the midrange down (I don't like excessively scooped guitar tones).

The results were that overly dense midrange with a lack of clarity that a number of people complain about.

A couple of things I learned that helped me was that I remembered that on Mark amps (the Lonestars are basically an evolution of the Mark 1) the treble doesn't actually control the treble so much as it shifts the tonality of the amp. With early Marks it was common to run the treble knob up around 7 or 8 (~2:00 to 4:00 on the LS) and doing so clears up the murky midrange.

The second thing was someone telling me that on early Marks the midrange is 'flat' when the knob is set to ~9:00. Anything lower than 9:00 starts to put a scoop in the sound and anything over 9:00 acts like a mid boost... similar to driving the amp with a tubescreamer. This changed my perspective on how I set the mid knob, and the results were outstanding.

The last thing is that the combo sounds way better with an 1x12 extension cab under it. I'm not really a fan of using a single speaker with any amp...

I've steadfastly refused to mod my amp.

 

[Jared Purdy]

First congratulations and welcome to the forum.
I'd strongly recommend that you spend the next month getting to know the amp real well and note what you like and what you don't like about the amp. Ignore what you've read about modding for now. Too many people read these mods and did the mods without really knowing what they want to achieve. Once you know what you 'wish' the amp could sound like then perhaps there's mod that can help. Remember there's no magic bullet.

Thanks for that. I find with all the amps that I have tried, there always seems to be something that is missing, but that something doesn't detract from what is there. My modded PRRI for example, has amazing tone, now, after the mods. The fact that it is PCB doesn't worry me. What is missing, is the ability to get some gain at a lower volume. The reason, well, there is no master volume or gain dials! So, what's the solution? Go buy another amp that has that ability, hence the Mesa LSS. My only real beef with LSS, is not in the the tone (quite the opposite - I would defiantley not have paid almost $2000 for an amp that had great gain, but lousy tone!), it's the weight of the bloody thing!! I do think the tone is great. At this point, I can't see myself doing that reeder mod. I'd play with the tubes first, or plug my PRRI speaker into the back of the Mesa to get a sence as to how it would sound with a Celestion G10 Gold (which is what is in the PRRI). Everything that I have read confirms what you say about spending a lot of time with it, and at this point I couldn't agree more. It's a far more complicated amp that the PRRI. I'm really liking it so far.

 

[boogieman60]

Yep...Don't worry about the setting of the knobs...keep listening for the sound you want. the treble knob does shift the tone of all the boogie amps..kind of like a treshold for all the other tone controls. if it's too bright bring it down. Then you can add some air by using the presence control, which effects the upper range. and make sure when you go for your tone, you know where the master volume is set at. even a small variation in it can mean a drastic change in tone. esp. the bottom end. I marked the allen screw on my V with a silver pen so I can see it clearly and use it as a guide. (The one at about 10:00) a good way to set tone is..palm mute the strings and strum the lower strings open and use your left hand to set the mid and lows. then strum the strings open no mute to set the treb and pres. That will get you close, in any room.

 

[Jared Purdy]

It took me a long time to get channel 2 to sound the way I wanted it to. My problem was that I was 1) afraid to turn the treble up (I don't like bright guitar tones), and 2) afraid to turn the midrange down (I don't like excessively scooped guitar tones).

The results were that overly dense midrange with a lack of clarity that a number of people complain about.

A couple of things I learned that helped me was that I remembered that on Mark amps (the Lonestars are basically an evolution of the Mark 1) the treble doesn't actually control the treble so much as it shifts the tonality of the amp. With early Marks it was common to run the treble knob up around 7 or 8 (~2:00 to 4:00 on the LS) and doing so clears up the murky midrange.

The second thing was someone telling me that on early Marks the midrange is 'flat' when the knob is set to ~9:00. Anything lower than 9:00 starts to put a scoop in the sound and anything over 9:00 acts like a mid boost... similar to driving the amp with a tubescreamer. This changed my perspective on how I set the mid knob, and the results were outstanding.

Thanks for that. do you have any idea 9if there have been any changes to the LSS since it has been issued? Mine is an 2010 issue.

The last thing is that the combo sounds way better with an 1x12 extension cab under it. I'm not really a fan of using a single speaker with any amp...

I've steadfastly refused to mod my amp.

How does the head with cab sound compared to the combo with cab?? I can imagine that the addition of another speaker makes a big difference, as I have read redarding the 212 combo. But the weight! I'll be sticking with the 112, and if need be, I can run my PRRI speaker into it as a second, though I haven't found the need to do that at this point. Most of the time, it's just me, my guitar, my wife and kid milling about, and the dog as my audience!

 

[screamingdaisy]

Thanks for that. do you have any idea 9if there have been any changes to the LSS since it has been issued? Mine is an 2010 issue.

The original LSS' had an issue with the amp being abnormally hard on rectifier tubes, but they fixed that issue years ago. It's the only mod that I'm aware of, although Mesa seems to periodically tweak their amps as they go along and they don't always advertise the changes.