Lonestar v1 settings

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new to this forum, but not to Mesas. I have been using this amp for close to 3 years now. I have the first version Lonestar 212 (all stock). I use a Les Paul and a PRS with P90s primarily and play funk, blues and rock in a couple of bands.

Last year I took the plunge from 6L6 land into EL34s and love that switch. It seems to really open the amp up and fill in some gaps, especially on channel 2. I love the added mid range and the more solid low end. It also seems to have cleared up a problem I was having cutting through the band. For some reason this amp sounded great in my basement and then got lost in the mix at gigs. I mic (an SM58 close miced) the thing, etc. but it still had issues.

My question: Anyone else have this problem? More importantly, what settings are you using?

My sound is sort of cross between Duane Allman and a more modern Gary Moore.

Mark

Welcome to the board! Never had that problem with my LSC under any settings. But I have heard that the 2x12 has a different vibe to it than the 1x12, and I guess a good place to start with as to why might be the speakers themselves. Isn't the 2x12 loaded with something other than C90s?

djw said:

Isn't the 2x12 loaded with something other than C90s?

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Nope.

I would not depend on the mid, on the LSC for cutting the mix. Rather the treble and presence. I run both mine at 1:00-2:00. While the bass and mids around 10:00 or lower. I use the thick switch also.

The mids aren't really the key in this amp. As with Rectifiers, Mesa has that control centered around relatively low midrange frequencies, which will mostly bring more body and widen the low-end response. As mentioned, I find the Treble and Presence controls to be the key for making the amp more able to cut through the mix.. it may sound a bit more thin and shrill than you're used to when heard by itself, but will most probably sit perfectly in the mix with the rest of the band.

Interesting. I have not had a problem with this amp as far as cutting through the mix -- in fact, one of the things I noticed right away was how easy it was to punch through, regardless of settings. There's probably some contextual factors in play (drummer volume & style, etc), but my impression from the start was that this combo was engineered perfectly for playing in a live situation, and it just pops. I haven't had to compensate with highs or mids or anything.

That said, I generally go with Treble around 1-2:00, and Bass & Mids between 10-11:00.

EQ it like an old Fender, it has a blackface tone stack. Anyone I've ever seen with an old Super Reverb turned up loud has the treble up all the way and the bass off. That style of tone stack is good in that it is very intuitive, but the low end increases with the signal going into it, which can be a downside. This is why Channel 2 can be very bassy with the gain up high and the drive engaged.

djw said:

Interesting. I have not had a problem with this amp as far as cutting through the mix -- in fact, one of the things I noticed right away was how easy it was to punch through, regardless of settings. There's probably some contextual factors in play (drummer volume & style, etc), but my impression from the start was that this combo was engineered perfectly for playing in a live situation, and it just pops. I haven't had to compensate with highs or mids or anything.

That said, I generally go with Treble around 1-2:00, and Bass & Mids between 10-11:00.

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That tends to be what I do as well. I tend towards Les Pauls and LP style guitars. A bit more treble helps, especially to mix in the neck pickup. What kind of tubes/guitars are you using?

Mark

Right now I'm using JJ 6L6s, at 50 watts both channels and tube rectification.
My rectifier tube is the stock Mesa 5U3 (or whatever it is); I've also got a variety of preamp tubes in there -- the lineup came at the recommendation of Doug at Doug's Tubes:

V1 - Tung-Sol reissue
V2 - Mullard reissue
V3 - Penta Labs
V4 - Shuguang 9th gen
V5 - Sovtek LPS

I've mixed it up a bit with some others, but this is a nice budget setup and I've returned to it more than once.

I was heavy into the YellowJacket/EL84 + 6V6 combination for a while, but I reverted to 6L6s after I swapped my C90 for a Weber Blue Dog Ceramic (50w). I'm planning on going back to the lower power setting to see if I can hear it fresh, but the Weber seems to really like the extra oomph of the big tubes, and I have not had to push the amp too much to get it going. I pretty much never use the Tweed setting.

Interestingly... I was tempted to write this up last night, but I decided to toss my standard old settings and shake up the controls to see what else I could get... the LSC is so damned versatile that it just frickin' thumps at any setting. Sure enough, dropped the mids down to 8:30, pushed the bass up to 11:30, increased Ch1 gain to 3:00, backed off the Drive in Ch2 to 10:00 and moved the Ch2 Gain to about noon... left Treb at 2 and Presence at 12, and it's a whole new and beautiful thing. Deeper, crunchier, clearer somehow... unh! Ch2 is really Plexi-like this way, while Ch1 is crunchy but sweet and smooth. I like.

I've recently tried some different settings on my LSS, especially Ch. 2. I've found what several of the other folks found on this thread and that is to raise the Treble to about 2:00, and turn the Mids, Bass, and Pres. to about 11:00. With the Bass being up a little higher, it seems to tame any thinness the high Treble setting may cause. I really feel like I have the closest thing to a Fender and a Marshall in one amp now. I also love the BB Preamp!