Didn't know that Mesa made compact 1x12" Lonestars

I knew that they made short heads, but that's the first short combo that I've ever seen.

Interesting....it appears to be one of the older models without the 10 watt Class A option?

Hey:

Interesting.

Just speculation on my part...but since the store with the 'compact combo' is in England...perhaps it is an 'export only' model specifically requested by some of Mesa's overseas retailers.

With the ridiculously high cost of shipping (even within the US) the compact model would certainly have been slightly cheaper than the full sized model to ship.

Charles

AFAIK, Mesa made these for a short time at the start of the Lonestar run. Also made a 4 x 10. I betcha this is an old (NOS?) amp.

I always thought it was a pity they stopped doing the short version.

Charles Reeder said:

Hey:

Interesting.

Just speculation on my part...but since the store with the 'compact combo' is in England...perhaps it is an 'export only' model specifically requested by some of Mesa's overseas retailers.

With the ridiculously high cost of shipping (even within the US) the compact model would certainly have been slightly cheaper than the full sized model to ship.

Charles

Click to expand...

Nah, that's absolutely not it. I've so far only seen "normal" Lonestars in stores here in Norway, and practically never encountered the short version. The chassis of the amp is still as short (just as wide as the Mark series, that applies for the Stilettos too), it's just the size of the cabinet that's wider. And really, two-three inches width difference can't be that of a difference, when the company ships amps like the Road King worldwide! By the way, Strings Direct also has a "normal" Lonestar combo in stock. :wink:

Not so crazy about the looks of the combo, I still very much like the idea of the short head (same one as John Petrucci is using). It's very compact, doesn't look bad, and it fits in a rack width sized flight case. Do they still make the short heads? Though it's practically the same as stuffing the Lonestar chassis into an Express series short head cabinet. Here's a pic:

Octavarius said:

The chassis of the amp is still as short (just as wide as the Mark series, that applies for the Stilettos too), it's just the size of the cabinet that's wider.

Click to expand...

It seems wierd that Mesa has so many amps based on that short Chassis but doesn't offer the short head option or even a rack kit for it.

Octavarius said:

Though it's practically the same as stuffing the Lonestar chassis into an Express series short head cabinet.

Click to expand...

before I found my LSC short head I was debating whether that would work or not. If so you could just custom order an Express 5:25 headshell for the Lonestars or Stilettos.

sbalderrama said:

Octavarius said:

The chassis of the amp is still as short (just as wide as the Mark series, that applies for the Stilettos too), it's just the size of the cabinet that's wider.

Click to expand...

It seems wierd that Mesa has so many amps based on that short Chassis but doesn't offer the short head option or even a rack kit for it.

Octavarius said:

Though it's practically the same as stuffing the Lonestar chassis into an Express series short head cabinet.

Click to expand...

before I found my LSC short head I was debating whether that would work or not. If so you could just custom order an Express 5:25 headshell for the Lonestars or Stilettos.

Click to expand...

It should work, if the screw holes are at the same spots. The cabinet pictured above is awfully similar to the Express cabinets, so I think that would work. Only difference is actually the grille. The Express cabs have this different one that's thicker and standing out from the panel a bit. Which I actually like more than those above. I even think you could use a rack kit for it.. the one for the Mark series. But it wouldn't look that good, since the Marks have an angled front panel, where the rack metal "grille" continues from, while the Lonestar panel would be more flush into the rack kit.

But I don't really see a problem with them doing something like that. It can't be more than 5 min extra assembly if you think about it. And making amps rackmountable makes them more versatile in terms of placement in guitar rigs. Making custom rack cases for mounting heads in them is usually a lot more expensive, not to mention a lot heavier because of the additional cabinets.

I have the lone star compact combo - apparently Boogie did a limited run of these and by chance I managed to get one. They have tighter bottom end then the regular combo and the overall articulation is a bit more defined (ie not as loose). I play jazz so this is why i went for this option - the larger combo will have a more pronounced bass frequency. These amps are hard to find so expect to pay more for them then the regular combo...

I have one! They are awesome!

Hi,

I would very much like to convert my Lonestar full size combo into a short head or short combo and I am interested to find out if the chassis can fit into an Express 5:25 cabinet, head or combo. I have the dimensions pdf provided by Mesa
http://www.mesaboogie.com/media/Files/weights-and-dimensions.pdf
It appears that the Lonestar chassis needs a cabinet just a half inch deeper than the Express cabinet. However, provided that the holes for the screws that hold the chassis in place are spaced correctly, the half inch problem in the back might be something that you could get away with. Perhaps even the reverb knobs in the back would not protrude the edge of the cabinet but even if they would it's not that important.

If there is an Express 5:25 owner here, please take some time to measure the spacing between the screws that hold the chassis in place and the actual cabinet (head or combo) dimensions. We measured my friend's Lonestar short head and it is:
470mm - 18,5 inch length
290mm - 11,4 inch depth
210mm - 8,25 inch tall

These are the cabinet exterior measurements, the height does not take into accound the rubber legs obviously.
There is no correspondence in depth or length in the pdf presented above. I don't understand why. You can see that the Express depth is 11 1/4 and the Lonestar is 11 3/4. Whereas the one we measured is almost 11 1/2...

I sent a message to Mesa and asked if this kind of initiative is worth taking into account, still no reply from them.
Hell, I might buy an Express afterall.
Cheers

I have the standard LSC combo. I just ordered a custom combo cabinet from trmguitarcabs.com with the size about as small as could be made to fit the chassis, reverb tank, etc... It will be a lot lighter and very compact compared to the big stock combo. It should make it a killer grab n go combo.

Looking forward to see some pics of the finished project.
In the mean time I'll look for an Express cabinet, I want to solve this riddle...

We don't recommend moving into a short head, as the reverb tank is susceptible to interference with the large transformers. YMMV Thanks!