Ditching Effects Loop

I read where someone suggested ditching the effects loop of the Lonestar. I usually just run a Line 6 DL4 delay in my effects loop. The suggestion was to run the delay before the input of the amp.

But if I do this and set the amp to bypass the effects loop, I lose the solo boost function. I love this function to boost guitar leads.

Why would Mesa design this amp to lose the boost solo feature when the loop is bypassed?

Someone also said that Andy Timmons is probably bypassing the loop as well because he keeps the solo button off. They stated that this means that he is probably using the Lonestar as 2 amps. What does that even mean?

I have an Ace and I LOVE the boost function.

I won't tell you that I can't hear a difference with the loop bypassed, but it is very, very subtle. I don't think it "hurts" the tone one bit to have it in. Perhaps compresses the signal slightly, but I don't mind at all. 8)

But of course, that's the Ace.....not sure about the LS. :idea:

I'm not willing to give up the boost, personally. The loop is basically just 2 more amplifier stages (another 12ax7 tube) and it's needed to actually supply the "boost". Perhaps just try it with the delay in front of the amp, so there's nothing in the loop and see if that sounds good to you.

Good luck!

If there is any effect on tone from having the loop in, it is very subtle and not a bad thing in my opinion. The tubes that drive the loop basically "buffer" the signal in order to deal with the fact that the signal must go out and then back in. Now, I'm not sure about this one, but I'm pretty sure the signal must be boosted by these tubes (or in this section of the circuit for that matter) in order for the solo feature to work. Again, I might be wrong.

A similar example or this, is a Fender Super-Sonic I used to have. The effects loop had a SEND LEVEL pot and a RETURN LEVEL pot. I could use these to boost the signal. The difference between this amp, and the Lonestar, is that the loop can be bypassed with a footswitch. This same feature would allow me to put a jumper cable from the SEND to the RETURN, with no effects in the loop. By raising the levels of the pots, I could boost the amp everytime I used the footswitch to turn the loop on.

I say... don't ditch the loop simply because someone told you to do so. If it works for your setup, good! For me, if I'm going to use the amp's distortion (chan 2), I'll put delay in the loop. If I'm just going to run the clean channel and distort with pedals, I'll run the delay through the front. Simple

I use delay in front of the amp but I do use a patch cable in the loop for the boost function and tonal variation. Backing the loop send level off cleans the amp up a bit and raising it gives a little more gain. With the delay in the loop the effects send level needs to be set just so. I prefer messing with the level. There was another thread about this awhile back. It's fun to play with. I've got a gig tonight and have no idea what settings I'll use. I'll mess with it during soundcheck and tweak it here and there during the show. This gig is at a Winery so I'll probably back off the send level (11 o'clock or so) to clean things up a bit. It's a 50's style blues group though and I usually run the loop a little boosted to make things a little more raw and swampy. My other group has a pretty hard hitting drummer and I usually run things a little cleaner with them for the added headroom. Don't worry about what this famous person uses or that one uses. The thing I like best about this particular amp is trying different things and finding my own sound not someone elses.

I'm not sure what was meant by the 2 amp comment unless he just uses the second channel for solos. A lot of people do that.

Good Luck - Jon

About Andy... It's not that he uses the Lonestars as 2 amps. He uses a Lonestar and a second amp, a Stilleto. Go to YouTube and search for Andy Timmons. Mesa posted about 6 vids with him. They're pretty good and very informative.

-D