To re-cover or not?

Hey guys,

I've been the proud owner of my Mesa Lonestar classic for around 2-3 years now and I see it as "an amp for life" that I'll never part with. Anyway, not long after owning it I picked up a 1x12 Lonestar extension cab on eBay for a lot cheaper than I expected, but it was cream and brown and didn't match the amp.

Naturally I arranged to have it re-covered to match, however the re-covering company (and myself too) were totally unable to source any "blue bronco" tolex. The search went on for about a month but to no avail, so in the end I had it re-covered in black with black grill cloth and silver piping.

It looks lush and I've been using them together for a while now, but it really bugs me that the two don't match when they're sat next to each other on stage... so as a result I'm now wondering whether or not I should get the amp itself re-covered to match the cab in black. This would of course also make it look like one of the newer Lonestar models too.

My only concern is, despite being 95% certain I'll never part with the amp, I can't help thinking what if in the future original Lonestar classics in blue bronco with silver grill cloth become highly sought after and valuable (the blue bronco tolex was near impossible to source after all) and the act of my re-covering it would significantly reduce the value? Like I say, I don't think I'll ever part with it, but even so I'd be kicking myself if I did anything to affect its desirability. After all, imagine if you got a pre-CBS strat refinished!

What do you guys think?

I think you have three choices to make.
1. Recover your amp to match the cab.
2. Wait for an original blue cab to pop up used here or ebay.
3. Do nothing and play the hell out of it.

Myself, I would post a "want to buy/trade" ad in the classifieds here, and keep an eye on ebay for a cab in the blue bronco. Then I wouldn't worry to much about it.

I have pretty much decided if I do anything it would be to get the amp re-covered to match the cab. I like the cab in black because it means I can use it with other amps and it sort of "fits", whereas having it in blue/silver like the amp would make it only fit with the Lonestar.

Do you think having it re-covered may affect its future value though? Do you foresee the Lonestar classic becoming a future equivalent of a 60's Plexi or AC30?

What's it cost to recover a combo? It might be cost effective to just buy a stock combo shell from Mesa.

£150 to get it re-covered (or $230).

I suppose buying a shell from Mesa would solve that problem because I could keep the blue and silver one for if I ever wanted to change back. Do they do that though? Sell the empty cabs?

They do. Call Mesa and they can give you a price.

Cool. I've shot them an e-mail. Thanks

A 2x12 Lonestar combo cabinet is $599 U.S.

Bronco Blue covering is here http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/S-G446