VIDEO: Lone Star vs Stiletto vs Electra Dyne

[HaggertysMusic]

We did an A/B/C comparison of the Lone Star Classic, Stiletto Ace, and Electra Dyne. Played them clean, crunchy and high gain. Hopefully hearing how differently the amps are voiced will help some who are sitting on the fence between these models.

As always, constructive criticism welcome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS32gXasQCc

 

[Talus]

Great idea, and a nice demo. I've wanted to hear an ED compared to an LSC for quite a while now.

I do think you could have used a somewhat more neutral EQing though, especially for the Lonestar. The video didn't really give an accurate impression of just how dark/thick the amp sounds.

 

[JOEY B.]

As always, constructive criticism welcome!

How about EL-34's in all the amps and a close power level with all the amps. 50W Lonestar, 50W Stiletto Ace(of course) and 45W Electradyne. Diode rectifiers and no tweed or spongy on the Lonestar or Stiletto. All this just to make the power sections as similar as they can be. Or use a Stiletto Deuce, and set all the amps to their highest power level. Playing them all through the same speaker and cabinet design will also eliminate a variable or two. Lastly, get rid of the Floyd Rose tremelo for these tests, PLEASE. Great idea to help your customers get a glimpse of the tone differences of the combos in their stock form, though. 8)

 

[jsabo]

LOVE IT!!! ... although its agreeably lesser on nearly all fronts, you should include an express...

 

[YellowJacket]

Man, every time I hear a 'Dyne I think ******, that's MY sound =-(

Overall, I think I disliked the tone of the guitar and / or mic and EQ. It was very bright and thin. I've played a Lonestar Classic and an Electra Dyne live and they both sound considerably fuller in person. Great shootout though. All are good amps and have their own personalities.

 

[HaggertysMusic]

Wow, thanks for all of the constructive criticism! It really helps because we are very new to the world of video. I think we did a lot better on the one we shot last night.

I do think you could have used a somewhat more neutral EQing though, especially for the Lonestar. The video didn't really give an accurate impression of just how dark/thick the amp sounds.

Point well taken. The lonestar sounded quite fat in the room... I think where we went wrong was mic placement. We used two mics and ended up with some phasing issues, which we tried to correct in pro tools... but I think that is where we lost some of the fatness.

How about EL-34's in all the amps and a close power level with all the amps. 50W Lonestar, 50W Stiletto Ace(of course) and 45W Electradyne. Diode rectifiers and no tweed or spongy on the Lonestar or Stiletto. All this just to make the power sections as similar as they can be. Or use a Stiletto Deuce, and set all the amps to their highest power level. Playing them all through the same speaker and cabinet design will also eliminate a variable or two. Lastly, get rid of the Floyd Rose tremelo for these tests, PLEASE.

This is a really good idea. It would have evened the playing field considerably. I didn't even think about that.

We did use the same speaker cabinet and mic placement for each amp. The combos were sitting on top of a mic'ed 2x12 rectifier cabinet.

Although I appreciate your feedback, YOU'LL NEVER MAKE ME GIVE UP MY FLOYD ROSE! :lol:

Any ideas for future videos, please send them my way. We are filming every week.

 

[chipaudette]

I really liked the video format a lot. Great work and nicely done. I liked the way it just cut from amp to amp with no stopping in between. That was great.

To my ears, the Stiletto sounded best. But, I think that's because it also sounded loudest through my headphones (decent ones...Sennheiser HD280). Loudness has a huge influence on what sounds "better" during a head-to-head comparison. Humans are suckers for things that are louder. To make it fair, volumes have to be carefully adjusted, which is made even tougher here because of the different frequency balance created by each amp. It's really hard to do. I claim no personal expertise in getting a good balance...merely that I felt that I might have been swayed by the apparent loudness of the Stiletto.

I've never heard any of these three amps in person. I am, of course, familiar with the reputation of the glorious cleans on the Lonestar. The Lonestar was not inspiring in these videos at all. Maybe that's because the Lonestar doesn't sound as good as the others...maybe it was the settings chosen...maybe it was non-optimal speakers/mic'ing. I don't know. Whatever it was, it was not flattering to the Lonestar.

I disagree with the approach of playing all three amps through the same speakers and cabinet. I think that they should be presented in the manner in which people would buy them...Lonestar through its speaker, Stiletto through its speaker, and Electrodyne through its speaker. I'd be buying the whole combo...so it's the complete combo that I'd want to hear. Just my opinion.

Chip

 

[talltxguy]

Lone Star took the cleans & crunch. Stiletto took the high gain.

 

[plan-x]

I wouldn't handout 1st place, 2nd place etc. just yet. While that was an interesting shootout, I was not hearing the mojo of these amps translate over the vid. I demo'd the Stiletto vs Lonestar in person and there were dramatic differences between the two live, as I said, that don't translate thru the vid. So get on down to your local shop and do your own shootout.

 

[primal]

Loved the format but I don't think the eq and volume levels where comparable. There was a noticable drop in volume with the ED clips.

Having played all three amps in person and owning an ED, that video did not do it justice. The difference in the dirt channels when sitting there in the room playing a lonestar or ED is very apparent.

Here is a clip I did a while back with the ED combo. Bedroom volume. No boost. No effects. No external EQ. SM57 straight on the speaker.
http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?section=id&value=5026

Don't misunderstand, I think what you are trying to do is great and I really loved the format. I would say though that one improvement to the format would be to play the exact same peice with each.

 

[HaggertysMusic]

Loved the format but I don't think the eq and volume levels where comparable. There was a noticable drop in volume with the ED clips.

I thought I EQ'ed the amps so that each best fit the song, but I have to take full responsibility for the volume drop. That was an oversight on my part both when dialing the amps in, and when editing the audio. We have watched that very closely with the video for this week, as it's another comparison... so we're learning!

I would say though that one improvement to the format would be to play the exact same peice with each.

I'm not sure I totally understand what you mean... but are you refering to the fact that one amp got the chords to the song and another amp got the single notes? I think if we would have cycled through the amps more than once... like two or three times... each amp would have been heard playing chords and single notes. Do you think that is the right solution?

I disagree with the approach of playing all three amps through the same speakers and cabinet. I think that they should be presented in the manner in which people would buy them...Lonestar through its speaker, Stiletto through its speaker, and Electrodyne through its speaker. I'd be buying the whole combo...so it's the complete combo that I'd want to hear.

I debated about this, and I think there are pros and cons to each method. So far in this thread one person has said using the external cab is the way to go, and you think mic'ing each combo would be best... if more people could weigh in with an opinion as to which way they would prefer, it would help us not only in future video, but also if we decide to revisit this lonestar/stiletto/electra dyne comparison.

 

[Talus]

I debated about this, and I think there are pros and cons to each method. So far in this thread one person has said using the external cab is the way to go, and you think mic'ing each combo would be best... if more people could weigh in with an opinion as to which way they would prefer, it would help us not only in future video, but also if we decide to revisit this lonestar/stiletto/electra dyne comparison.

I don't think it would be that great an idea, because really if you're comparing combo amps the speakers play a large part of how that amp will sound, so switching to an external cab wouldn't give a proper impression of that amp.

That said, it would be cool if you did this type of format with a single amp and multiple speaker cabs, just so people can see how different cabs would sound with the same amp. As far as I know this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWK0sa7tlfI is the only comprehensive test of speakers, and in all honesty I don't think it does a great job of making any of them sound good.

 

[JOEY B.]

Hopefully hearing how differently the amps are voiced will help some who are sitting on the fence between these models.

The combo cabs are different for each of these amps. The Stiletto is a closed back, the Lonestar is a traditional open back, and the Electradyne is somewhere in between. The V30 and C90 Celestion do sound a bit different in the same cabinet. SO..... if you want to hear the difference in the amp voicing, and maybe you want to buy a head versus a combo, eliminate as many variables as possible. If you are looking to buy a combo and want to hear the total package, then mic the combo speaker 8)

 

[bhakan]

I don't think it would be that great an idea, because really if you're comparing combo amps the speakers play a large part of how that amp will sound, so switching to an external cab wouldn't give a proper impression of that amp.

That said, it would be cool if you did this type of format with a single amp and multiple speaker cabs, just so people can see how different cabs would sound with the same amp. As far as I know this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWK0sa7tlfI is the only comprehensive test of speakers, and in all honesty I don't think it does a great job of making any of them sound good.

A little off topic, but i think this guys speaker shootout with his Mark V sounds pretty good http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?section=user&value=vertigosquealie

As far as the original topic, I agree that you should use the combo speaker, because if someone was buying a combo, they would most likely be using the combo speaker, and that speaker is a part of the amps sound.

 

[primal]

BTW, awesome guitar.

I ordered a Suhr S4 in Bengalburst with stainless steel frets last month. I am freaking dying for that guitar to get in. I'm suppose to get it sometime in February.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I liked the comparison. I also liked that each was used with it's stock speaker/cab. I agree that the volume disparity should be tightened up.

What I didn't like was that amp switched mid clip. I'm mostly a rhythm guy, so I like to compare rhythm tones without all the noodley stuff getting in the way of the goods.

 

[fluff191]

Wow I can't believe how good that Dyne sounds. Holt sh!t!

 

[YellowJacket]

Wow I can't believe how good that Dyne sounds. Holt sh!t!

I know, every time I hear it my musical penis spontaneously jizzes all over the place!! Bad GAS pains are BAAAAD!!!

 

[Blaklynx]

Excellent work and i congratulate you on what you're trying to achieve.

The general format is really good. I'd watch the volume levels and mic placement.

I'd record with the speaker that came with the combo. This is what most people will do. Plus the amp was designed that way. You can always do a shoot out with one cab/multiple heads (or disconnect the combo speaker if using a combo) for those that want a more 'neutral' comparison, as you have done.

Mentioned in an earlier post, play the same riff/chord progression for each amps clean, crunch and lead. I think I better expalin this; when you're in clean, play the same riff/chords for all amps. When in crunch, you can play a different riff/chord progression, but play this same riff/chords for each amps crunch. Same for lead. This way, we can get a much better overview of the tones from each amp. I hope I made myself clear.

Also, can you show a photo or two of mic placement and what mic(s) you use? This will go a long way to help those mic their amps if they're happy with the tones you achieve, or at least it'll be a start point. Plus, can you mention any effects that may have been used? (preferably none, so we can hear the amp itself).

Well done.

 

[J.J]

Hey, wheres the clip ? You got me all excited and I can't watch it as Youtube syas it was removed.