What about the fabled 5th screw in the Lonestar?

I have a Big Blue Pig 2x12. I'm going to convert it into a separate head/cab setup. I just got my empty head cab in the mail today. I'm also considering doing the Reeder mod while I'm at it too.

The question is... in djw's summary of the Reeder mod, he says: "Assuming you know about the 5th screw in the Lonestar." I know it's the screw that goes up from the bottom for grounding. But, what do I have to what out for with this screw? As in... What special treatment does this screw need? Do I need to remove it first? Does it stay in place thoughout? :?:

Thanks for any advice? -Danny

Hey Danny, all you really need to know is that it's a good idea when you reassemble the amp to check to see if the screw is relatively secure against the top of the cab. Overtightening is bad because you can "drill" a hole through the foil and the wood in the cabinet by screwing it in as far as you can; but if it's too loose, you'll probably get noise and vibration. It should be secure but not screwed "all the way in" -- just until you meet resistance, basically.

There's a sticky thread in the Modern Era Amps forum (one level up) about this, I think.

Good luck with the head conversion! Show us some pics when you're done.

Thanks djw,

So basically, the screw must be grounding against the foil. I'll take a look at that thread you're mentioning.

Like I mentioned before in the YouTube email, I'll be looking for the 2x12 open-back Lonestar cab for it soon. If I find a blue one, the entire setup might remain blue. But, if I find a good deal on some other color, I'll be taking the entire thing apart again and recovering it a new color. Let's see.

-D

Hey kite, did you get the head shell from Mesa? Does it have the foil built in? What your doing is gonna save your back. :lol: Also, I would hold off on the Reeder mod#2(mid mod) on the 1st ch if you like the sound your currently getting on the clean ch. I ended up reversing it because it thinned it out a bit and I missed that Fat Pig thang. But ch 2, I love the mod,(Reeder#2) it helps deal with the muddiness. Good luck with your project.

Something important that no one else said - make sure to loosen that screw a good bit before removing.

plan-x said:

Hey kite, did you get the head shell from Mesa? Does it have the foil built in? What your doing is gonna save your back. :lol: Also, I would hold off on the Reeder mod#2(mid mod) on the 1st ch if you like the sound your currently getting on the clean ch. I ended up reversing it because it thinned it out a bit and I missed that Fat Pig thang. But ch 2, I love the mod,(Reeder#2) it helps deal with the muddiness. Good luck with your project.

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Hi plan-x,

I did hear about the Reeder #2 mod, but I really don't want to do anything to channel 1. Plus, I keep going back and forth about whether to do the Reeder #1 mod until last night.

I had my wife, who is a musician too, sit with me and compare the 2nd channel in the Lonestar with my Egnater Rebel 20 running dirty. She really didn't like the sound of the Lonestar compared to that of the Eggie. So, since I'm going to be in the process of taking the chassis out anyway, I might as well give the mod a shot. The only thing that has me a bit unsure is that while I like bluesy clean and overdrive, I also dig the "lower-high gain" stuff. Think... Green Day, Offspring, Pennywise, etc. etc. I know, that's more in the area of the Double and Triple Rectos. But.. I just can't give up the great clean sound of the Lonestar. I've had a few Fenders than don't sound that great!

About the cab: I bought it off eBay from a guy who is actually a member of this forum. He got a hold of one of the smaller original Lonestar heads and moved his amp into that. So, he's saving his back even more than I will! Since the cab I got is a real Mesa Lonestar head cab, it comes with the foil too.

I have the empty cab on top of the pig right now, waiting to be worked on. The head is not small I must say. But it'll weigh considerably less without the speakers and extra wood.

Plus, I'll need to do something for a matching 2x12 cab. I'm actually looking at the combo cabinet, and it wouldn't be very hard to modify it and convert it into a 2x12 cab.

MusicManJP6 said:

Something important that no one else said - make sure to loosen that screw a good bit before removing.

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Thanks! Yeah, I kinda figured out that one. But thanks for the reminder. -D

Oh, and by the way... I recorded the original dirty channel. I'm going to record it again with the same mic, placement and settings once I do the mod in order to compare.

-D

Guys! I just finished!

I'm smiling from ear to ear!

I'll fill in the blanks later... My wife's waiting for me to take her out....

More soon...

-D