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BobL

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Mar 25, 2008
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Some time ago I had posted that I had started my search for a replacement speaker for my original series Lonestar Classic. I had narrowed the search to a few manufacturers, then narrowed the search further to one manufacturer, Weber.

My Weber search took me to a whole new world, but it's a world I had visited many, many times in the past 45 years. If anyone may remember I had stated that ALNICO magnets, although tonefull and as old school as you might get, weren't always the best choice, especially with a 50/100 watt amp if you're looking for head room. I then went on to talk about speaker ratings, and being what they are and how speakers are rated by the manufacturer, that a 50 watt speaker should work fine when pushed to 100 watts. I also believe that this point was proved by another board member with a call to one or more manufacturers. In the end my quest took me in the exact opposite direction using higher powered ceramic speakers.

Those being my guidelines for guitar cabinets and speakers I decided, knew, had heard, owned, etc., exactly what I wanted for my genre, blues, R&B, soul, classic rock. I needed pristine clean, some grind, articulate distortion (no mud). So off I went on a buying spree that's taken over a month to complete, and found what I think to be an incredible combo of components for the Lonestar.

The AMP;
I have never really been 100% happy with the tone of the Lonestar, 95%, but never 100%. I have tried the mods and reverted back to the original configuration, tried different tubes, etc., but never found that clean sound that was the foundation for everything else heard.

I started by replacing the speaker. I tried an SRO, 6 or 7 Eminence, 6 or 7 Webers, 3 Jensens, and 2 JBL D120s.

In the end the speakers were compared side by side using multiple cabinets, listened to by 3 people, and recorded using Cubase 4 and Heil PR-40 microphones. The speaker ranking was as follows, best to worst;

Weber California, Ceramic
JBL D120F #1
JBL D120F #2
Weber Blue Dog, Ceramic
SRO
Weber 12F150, Ceramic
12" Jensen
Anything Eminence

The Weber California w/ aluminum dust cap had by far the smoothest response, but not as bright as a D120. There was no mid range hump and bass notes were clear and strong, the highs were articulate and seemed to be 3 dimensional. When pushed hard the bottom held up and there was no cone cry. I was able to run the amp at low volumes in the 100 watt mode withouit tone loss. When pushed hard the Weber gave up the goods like no other speaker except maybe the D120, but gave up the goods sooner.

All the JBLs and the SRO were the same for all intents and purposes, all were an equal to the Weber California, but all were too sensetive and thus too loud at lower amp settings.

The Blue Dog is a great speaker but lacks clean tones at higher amp settings. Articulate, but not as articulate as any of the speakers above it, and the bottom was not as stiff as either of the D120s or the California. I had recommended this speaker in the past and still do. It's a better speaker than most of the Celestions on the market today, and a far better speaker than what comes in the Lonestar.

The Eminence and Jensens were no match for any of the other speakers and all sounded like mud by comparison.

The Weber California is the speaker I chose. (Now what to do with all of the other speakers I have lying around.)

TUBES;
I changed the tubes in the amp to GT 6L6 GE re-issues rated at 7, and replaced all of the 12AX7s with GT ECC83s ($24 ea.). I did not like this combo at all at first and ended up replacing the reverb tube with a 12AX7 and the amp came to life. I now like the tone of the amp, regardless of speaker, far better than with 12AX7s all around.

Settings;
Whatever you feel is best with the effects loop at 1pm and the amp set at 100 watts, both channels.

At his point I had tone compareable to the same tone I've heard from about ANY amp I've ever heard or played through. Very touch sensative, clean tones far better than the best Fender and very balanced response. The second channel sounded better than it ever had, not dry or muffled in the least and very much like the first channel even without the mod, but with some gain applied smoother. The tone controls now responded better and had a wider usable range. The amp became very chimey, also regardless of speaker, and I was able to pull some treble out for a change.

I pumped a little of the Ross compressor into the signal and the amp took off. I could feel it in my hands. Super response and chords that were very distinct at any gain setting.

Until.... Until I stepped on the TS-808 re-issue. I didn't like what I heard at all, so I pulled out a modded TS-808 re-issue and didn't like that either. So at that point I pulled out my hidden treasure, a TS-808 original, and guesss what? Same thing. All the articulate tone was sucked away and I was left with a one trick pony. Great for that "woman" tone, but that's about all.

The effects changes;

My pedal boards are pretty simplistic, and I have two (2) to deal with, both almost the same, and I run in this order, a Peterson tuner, Maestro Boomerang or Keeley modded wah, Ross compressor, TS-808, AD-9 delay, Russian Big Muff, out to amp.

I don't, and won't, insert anything into the effects loop. Don't need to do it, don't like to do it, don't think I should have to put an EQ in the loop to get incredible tone. Now I know some of you use the loop, and that's fine, but to me simple has always been best.

I tested each effect individually looking for the tone loss and the only color I got was from the Boomerang, which can add a little top boost depending on placement. The AD-9, although not true bypass did NOT effect the tone more than to warm it up a little, and the Big Muff is what it is, a fuzz box which I use on two (2) songs, but which has true bypass. Nothing effected the tone like the TS-808 so my mind snapped and out it came. At this point I was getting some incredible Andy Timmons tone without the TS-808 and almost let it go at that. But I wanted HUGE tone so the search went on for a clean boost and a new distortion unit.

I tried maybe every stomp box in my collection, about 12, including everything from a Maestro Fuzz Tone to a Klon, then went out to Ebay and sniped an Xotic RC Boost. I got the RC two days later and put it in line just after the wah and Ross, then before everything else. I left the tone controls alone, 12 o'clock, gave it some gain, gave it some volume and plugged in the 1960 LP Historic. I was immidiately blown away with the depth of the notes. Everything was HUGE. Nothing was altered, and all my tone was there plus all of the floating harmonics the TS-808 took away had come back to stay.

The problem was this is not a distortion pedal. I could get the grind I wanted from either channel, dial it out with the guitars volume, etc., but by bringing up the volume and gain I destroyed the gain structure I had set up. So in the end I set my clean channel to just about 12 o'clock and set the RC to almost the same volume with just a little boost. This allows me to push the clean channel to where I get a good grind that can be easily dialed out using the guitar volume pot. Did I mention sustain that never ends? This pedal loves everything I have on the board, especially the Ross compressor.

Now the last problem. Where do I get the singing leads, James Gang crunch, Claptonesque, Allman Brothers, Santana (old style) sound that makes the last part of the puzzle.

After another two (2) days of searching listening and going back through my collection light dawned on marble mountain. I went back to Ebay and sniped a BB preamp. I placed the BB in front of the RC and now have all of the possible tone, grind, distorion, I could want with no loss of tone, no cone cry, no muddy bass notes and perfectly balanced response from all six strings.

Was this long drawn out and fairly expensive test worth it? You bet your ***. In the end I'm happy. I'll sell some of the TS-808s and the speakers on Ebay and get most off my money back, but even if I don't, no big deal, they go into the collection. However, what I think I may have done is save many of you the need to spend your hard earned cash. Are these components for everyone? Of course not, but many of you should be pretty happy with just one or two of these suggestions.

Have fun guy's, and never give up the quest for tone.
 
Well, daaaaayam. That's a mighty nice detailed rundown, BobL. You have our gratitude for all of the hard work you've put into this project.

I want to see if we can elevate posts like this: extensive and detailed approaches to tweaking this amp. It's so configurable that it's nice to have a reference; I know that between the mods I've done, all the new tubes and the new speaker, it's hard for me to remember what I started with. Again, thanks for putting it all down.

I've always liked Weber, and I'm truly happy with my 50w Blue Dog, thanks to you (I'd always had a feeling they were going to have something for us). My tech suggested that I get a 75 watter next time around, which should sound fuller at lower volumes -- generally I'm not playing in larger venues these days, so I can't get take advantage of really pushing the amp as hard as I'd like, so it behooves me now to look for ways to compensate. Even so, I really like the 50 watter, and I'll stick with it for a while.

Curious now about the ECC83s. I've spent too much money on tubes this year, so I'll wait until next round probably.

And it's always cool to hear what other good players have on their pedalboard. I have a couple of questions: you're running your AD-9 straight into your amp; do you mainly use it for a slap-back kind of effect? How does that work going ahead of Ch2, or do you generally avoid the combination? And with your Ross compressor, what sort of setting do you have dialed in that made the amp take off for you? Are you going for sustain, or just an even response, or what?

Good stuff, BobL.
 
Daaaaayamn is right! What the #$!! Wow! I don't doubt those calif's for a second. Friend of mine's got em. I should of thought of that. He reasoned it out just like you.
In reading that lengthy review, story, friggin novel. I laughed, I cried, I screamed to the sky! I have similiar components thru my tone quest. Yes to the ECC83's, yes to weber, although I use the blue and silver in an ext. It takes the load off with 4 speakers. Yes to quality pedals, Barbers for me.
If I decide to go it again(next economic boom)(don't hold your breath) I'll certainly go your route! Thanx again for the awesome review.
 
djw said:
Well, daaaaayam. That's a mighty nice detailed rundown, BobL. You have our gratitude for all of the hard work you've put into this project.

I want to see if we can elevate posts like this: extensive and detailed approaches to tweaking this amp. It's so configurable that it's nice to have a reference; I know that between the mods I've done, all the new tubes and the new speaker, it's hard for me to remember what I started with. Again, thanks for putting it all down.

I've always liked Weber, and I'm truly happy with my 50w Blue Dog, thanks to you (I'd always had a feeling they were going to have something for us). My tech suggested that I get a 75 watter next time around, which should sound fuller at lower volumes -- generally I'm not playing in larger venues these days, so I can't get take advantage of really pushing the amp as hard as I'd like, so it behooves me now to look for ways to compensate. Even so, I really like the 50 watter, and I'll stick with it for a while.

Curious now about the ECC83s. I've spent too much money on tubes this year, so I'll wait until next round probably.

And it's always cool to hear what other good players have on their pedalboard. I have a couple of questions: you're running your AD-9 straight into your amp; do you mainly use it for a slap-back kind of effect? How does that work going ahead of Ch2, or do you generally avoid the combination? And with your Ross compressor, what sort of setting do you have dialed in that made the amp take off for you? Are you going for sustain, or just an even response, or what?

Good stuff, BobL.

DJW,
I have no problems with the AD-9 and the second channel. I don't change my routing at all and have no tone loss either. You have to remember that I'm about as old school as you get. My first good amp was a 1964 Bandmaster that I bought NEW.

I try as much as is possible to keep the gain structure at 0db. In other words I'll adjust each pedal so that the output of the pedal does not increase or lower the volume of the amps output which leads to your other question, how do I set up the Ross compressor.

Setting the gain structure starts with the first pedal, in my case the Ross compressor. I set both the volume and gain at about 11 o'clock. This gives me some great sustain without getting into a region where the pedal might start to pump with that "chicken pickin" effect. It also smooths the attack a bit. After that I adjust the volume so that the volume when on is just a bit more than the volume when off. I don't alter my Ross compressors with true bypass, and the Ross has a similar effect as the Xotic pedals. It makes the notes seem more full, larger if you will.

From that point I leave the Ross on and adjust each pedal in a similar fashion. In the case of the Xotic RC I adjust it for a very slight increase in volume and almost no gain (9 o'clock). I then turn off the RC and then adjust the BB. Here's where I get a little bit more push and adjust it for a slight (2-3db) gain when on. The BB is also adjusted for slight gain, about 9 o'clock.

The AD-9 is adjusted for 0db gain and a slight slap back which really fills the room. This is another pedal that is not true bypass, but one that doesn't effect tone when it's off. I have two of these and they are both very old, but nothing beats the sound of an analog delay. Either one of them sounds just great.

In the end I leave the effects loop alone and set for 1 o'clock because I use the master volume because I don't want to have to adjust both volume knobs seperately, and the solo button which I leave on. WTF?

Here's the end result. I leave the solo on because I want some depth and turn it off for those songs where soft passages are needed. Here's the run down.

Solo - ON, slight gain over OFF position
Ross compressor - ON, 1-2db gain
BB Preamp - OFF, 3db gain when on
Xotic RC - almost no gain in signal - ON, slightest hint of dirt in clean channel when on
AD-9 - As needed, NO gain
Big Muff - As needed, 1-2db gain

How it's done;

If you look at the gain structure you might have noted I could acheive an almost 7db in gain with all of the pedals on. The real point is that I would never have a need for all of the pedals to be on at the same time, and the gain never really reaches more than 3db before it hits the first pre amp tube in the Lonestar. A 3db gain is equal to changing the amp from 50 to 100 watts, so in order to keep the Lonestar, or any amp, responsive and under control you must keep the gain structure down.

Keeping the gain structure managed properly will allow you to open up the amps input. This is even more important in todays world because the chance of opening up a 50 or 100 watt tube amp are pretty slim unless you're playing some pretty large clubs. But even then I fall back on the BE and FOH. It's his job to make sure my tone and sound get passed to the crowd exactly as I hear it, just much louder. That's why counting on the chance you'll hit those power tubes hard enough to make them bark won't get you far, and that is why all of todays good amps work the pre amp section with additional gain stages, and why your effects need to be BEFORE those gain stages.

One last point. I've said many times that I'm against using the effects loop. Never have and never will. I know that many people use the loop for an EQ or echo / delay. I suggest that if you're using the loop for delay that you pull the delay out and make it the last device in the pedal chain before the amp. An EQ, if active such as those on the Xotic pedals, can be a huge help. But please try to NOT put the EQ in the effects loop. What you've done is take a wonderful tube amp, paid for tube tone and articulation, and then forced transitors between the preamp and the power tubes. In most cases you sterilize the amps tone and ability to breath. Just my opinion. However, if you don't beleive me then please take a look at the Mesa video of Andy Timmons. Note that his solo volume is OFF. This indicates he is working the Lonestar as two (2) individual amps with NO effects loop. He doesn't use an EQ other than what's on the Xotic BB preamp he uses, and both of his delays are in front of the amp and are analog delays.

DJW, In closing I'm glad you found the Blue Dog ceramic to be what I said it was. What a great speaker for this amp. Mine will find a home in an extension cabinet very soon, and I agree with your amp tech about increasing the wattage to a 75 watt version.

Good luck to you all in the quest for tone. Hope this helps you get there,

BobL
 
Thanks again for the detailed response, BobL. I think I'd consider myself fairly old-school too, and in most all respects I concur with your basic philosophy. But it's nice to have the studied depth of your insight to refer to, since I'm still searching and you've got some years on me. :)

These days I don't put anything in the effects loop either (but it's engaged, Send @ 2:00). This is the result of a collection of factors -- trying to minimize; wanting to keep the signal path clear; not really using time-based effects these days anyway, and only using chorus and flange when I'm playing in a certain context. I used to use a lot more of this back in the day, but now everything I use fits nicely up front (talk about old-school: wah > trem > vibe > a pair of OD/Gain boosters > tuner is all now). However I still have the AD-9 I bought back in 1984 (my senior year) which I have happily used through most of the ages; I know what I have there, so that's why I asked. And after what you've said, I might try to bring it back in.

I'm still looking for a good boost solution, so I'll look at your reply as more food for thought. Right now I'm going Barber Tone Press w/level @ 3:00, blend and sustain @ 9:00 -- mostly just a boost; into a v3 OCD, dialed up with a heavy British accent for some variety (though I don't use this much most of the time). I just won an LTD, so I'm looking forward to fiddling with the low-gain possibilities there; something might have to drop from the board (probably the OCD). But I'm still trying to find that good balance between juicing the input a little, then a lot, and then boosting the volume for soloing. So I really like the thinking behind your reverse-Solo function idea; I think I still need a real volume increase for soloing though.

Again, thanks for the lowdown. I'll give a shout if I have any breakthroughs.
 
DJW,
It sounds like (no pun intended) your headed in the right direction and should reach tone nirvana shortly. :lol: I have an OCD that's been given it's fair chance to impress me, unfortunately I was let down. The OCD was another pedal that seemed to lack the tone and control I wanted. I think the equal to it in gain would be either the Xotic AC or BB preamp, although I think that a more equal would be the AC. I'm glad to see you caught my reverse logic concerning the solo function on the LSC. Or, ON equals normal, OFF equals soft passages or reduced volume, pedals equal boost and additional grind. Combine that with the 100 watt settings, Weber California (or Blue Dog), your favorite pedals, and you're ready to go.

Have fun,
BobL
 
hey BobL great post....you are obvioulsy ver serious about your tone. I am currently saving to get me a lonestar hopefully in the next few months. however, i have another question that maybe you could help me with.

i have a fender twin 65 reissue. it's loaded with the stock Jensens. to quite honest with you i hate them. they sound pretty good when you are running a completley clean signal. they sound decent with slight overdrive and they sound god awful beyond horrible when using actual distortion via a pedal.

i have by-passed the internal speakers and ran the amp into my mesa/boogie rectifier cabinet loaded with celestion vintage 30's. it sounds fantastic to my ears. however, i don't want to have the same thing when i buy replacement speakers for the twin. i want to get something different.

after reading your post about the weber spekaers I am intrigued....but i am wondering based on my concerns presented above do you feel that these speakers sound good when used with distortion? i cant stand a brittle glass like distortion.....i like it creamy and smooth even if it's high gain. i just have no experience with the weber's and thought you might be able to help.
 
masque said:
hey BobL great post....you are obvioulsy ver serious about your tone. I am currently saving to get me a lonestar hopefully in the next few months. however, i have another question that maybe you could help me with.

i have a fender twin 65 reissue. it's loaded with the stock Jensens. to quite honest with you i hate them. they sound pretty good when you are running a completley clean signal. they sound decent with slight overdrive and they sound god awful beyond horrible when using actual distortion via a pedal.

i have by-passed the internal speakers and ran the amp into my mesa/boogie rectifier cabinet loaded with celestion vintage 30's. it sounds fantastic to my ears. however, i don't want to have the same thing when i buy replacement speakers for the twin. i want to get something different.

after reading your post about the weber spekaers I am intrigued....but i am wondering based on my concerns presented above do you feel that these speakers sound good when used with distortion? i cant stand a brittle glass like distortion.....i like it creamy and smooth even if it's high gain. i just have no experience with the weber's and thought you might be able to help.

If you want creamy and smooth in that amp put a pair of 12" Weber California's in it. Make sure they have the aluminum dust cap. By the way. A Fender Twin Reverb with a pair of JBL D120Fs was of the amp to have back in the 60's. The other Fender amp was the Super Reverb, but also with JBL D110Fs. Very few speakers could come close to the tone of those JBLs, the very reason so many people want them today. I still hold on to a pair of them and currently have one in my other Lonestar. Spend the $200 and you won't regret it. Once you buy the Lonestar you can pull them out and put the old Jensen **** back in, then use the Webers in the Lonestar.
 
BobL said:
masque said:
hey BobL great post....you are obvioulsy ver serious about your tone. I am currently saving to get me a lonestar hopefully in the next few months. however, i have another question that maybe you could help me with.

i have a fender twin 65 reissue. it's loaded with the stock Jensens. to quite honest with you i hate them. they sound pretty good when you are running a completley clean signal. they sound decent with slight overdrive and they sound god awful beyond horrible when using actual distortion via a pedal.

i have by-passed the internal speakers and ran the amp into my mesa/boogie rectifier cabinet loaded with celestion vintage 30's. it sounds fantastic to my ears. however, i don't want to have the same thing when i buy replacement speakers for the twin. i want to get something different.

after reading your post about the weber spekaers I am intrigued....but i am wondering based on my concerns presented above do you feel that these speakers sound good when used with distortion? i cant stand a brittle glass like distortion.....i like it creamy and smooth even if it's high gain. i just have no experience with the weber's and thought you might be able to help.

If you want creamy and smooth in that amp put a pair of 12" Weber California's in it. Make sure they have the aluminum dust cap. By the way. A Fender Twin Reverb with a pair of JBL D120Fs was of the amp to have back in the 60's. The other Fender amp was the Super Reverb, but also with JBL D110Fs. Very few speakers could come close to the tone of those JBLs, the very reason so many people want them today. I still hold on to a pair of them and currently have one in my other Lonestar. Spend the $200 and you won't regret it. Once you buy the Lonestar you can pull them out and put the old Jensen sh!t back in, then use the Webers in the Lonestar.

thanks for the help! i really appreciate it.
 
Great post Bobl, thanks for the info.

My bass player uses the BB bass pre, so I was already hearing praise about Xotic. I picked up a BB the other day and it was a clear replacement for my Keeley Modded TS9. I liked it so much that I'm going to partner it with an RC booster later today.
 
BobL said:
Solo - ON, slight gain over OFF position
Ross compressor - ON, 1-2db gain
BB Preamp - OFF, 3db gain when on
Xotic RC - almost no gain in signal - ON, slightest hint of dirt in clean channel when on
AD-9 - As needed, NO gain
Big Muff - As needed, 1-2db gain

I haven't made it out to the studio to try it out myself yet, but what is the reasoning behind the BB pre before the RC? My first impulse would have been to do it the other way around. Then again, I may be totally naive, as I've ever used a booster pedal before...

Thanks
 
Hi BobL, I know it's been over a month, but I just read this thread and I found something very interesting. I don't like putting pedals in my effect loop. I never have. I own a LSC and a little Egnater Rebel. Since I don't like using the effects loop, I only use an amp's reverb for solos and such.

Here's the thing though... The Egnater, which I've had for only 2 months, doesn't have built in reverb. I needed some kind of reverb or delay for the solos. But I sometimes play with lots of distortion, which equals, lot of preamp gain. Yes, the Rebel is a 20 Watt amp, which means I can open the power section up and not have any problems. Unfortunately, not always can I play that loud. So for the first time, I stuck a Digitech Hardwire Delay, and a Hardwire Reverb in the loop. I think the setup works well, but I'm still cringing at the thought of it. Any suggestions? Thanks -Danny
 
Hey There,

Silly question, but what size are the screws that are used to mount the speakers in the lonestar? I wasn't sure if they are metric or American sizes???

Thanks,

Shawn Purcell
www.shawnpurcell.com
www.myspace.com/shawnpurcell
 

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