Favorite "larger" combo amp?

[olectric]

Gotta question for ya'll:

I'm playing a Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. 210, and it's got some good tone to it, but it just sounds small to me (Hmm, maybe that's because it is?). Anyway, I'm trying to decide between some larger combo amps--like a Shiva, Metropolis, DC-30, AC-30, or a Black Cat. I'm interested mostly in 30+ watt 212s. So, what's your favorite, and why? What takes pedals the best? I know that a lot of my gigs won't let me crank my amp, so I'll need my OD pedals to sound good through it.

[guitarzan]

I'm hearing a lot of talk these days about the Mesa Lone Star. It is switchable between 50 and 100 watts and is able to get plenty of grind at bedroom levels. I've spent a few hours playing all my guitars through one at a local music store and have been blown away by its versatility. As a matter of fact, my Tone King Meteor that I think lays Golden Eggs is going up for sale in a couple of weeks. I thought the Lone Star was THAT good.

[olectric]

I thought the Lone Star was THAT good.

How quiet is it?

Any others, anyone?

[Sixx]

I have a 2 X 12 Tremoverb Combo that is large and I love it. It is a much more versatile amp than one might think. It's got everything from sparkling cleans to "Tommy" to Pantera in it. I have played around with different power tubes. I am currently running 5881s in it. After some experimentation, I think it sounds best with traditoional 6L6s or 34s.

Of the brands you mentioned I can not recommend the Bad Cat products enough. Smokin amps. I have played a HOt Cat and A Black Cat. Totally different animals but both were great.

[joe1962]

I went through the same thing with low watt combos. I had a Maz Jr and Germino Masonette and while both sounded good, neither one had the punch I was looking for. I didn't really want more volume so much as I just wanted a "bigger" sounding amp. I've moved on to a Maz Sr and a Germino Lead 55 and couldn't be happier. If you like the voicing of the Jr you should try a Sr.

[brian b]

The lone star will also go lower on watts with the tweed switch. I had one when they first came out, a very nice amp indeed. I really like the clean's. The dirty's were great also. The one draw back for me was the 80 plus pounds it weighed. With rods in the back moving it was out of the question. You might also look at the new LS Special havent seen one yet. But it is suppose to be as good at lower wattage. It is suppose to go down to 15 watts and up to 30. It also a single 1x12 and el84's.

[tom]

i have one of the small lonestar spec heads. i used it last weekend without any real tweaking time and it worked well on the 5 watt setting. i had it about half way up and it is still clean at that point. i used my regular pedals for gain. i'll be messing with it more this week to see what the other channel sounds like. the head is heavier than my subway, but not by much. i used it with the bogner cube.

[fractal]

Okay, I am going to HAVE TO check out this Lonestar amp again. I'm definitely NOT in the market for a new amp, but the last one I played was a real dog. I couldn't get a good sound out of the thing to save me. I WAS in a music store, but it was worse than most of the fenders I tried. I also was not playing my guitar, so that doesn't help either.

With all of the good press, I think there must have been something wrong with the one I tried - or the guitar I was using - or my ears that day. I really wanted to like it too.

-Garrett

[olectric]

I'll have to try those Lone Stars out sometime. I just got a great deal on a Metropolis 212, and I really like it. It's very full, present, and LOUD. What I have noticed is that this amp is quite a bit noisier than the Maz Jr. I really like the Schizo switch on it, too--positions 2 through 4 are great for different sounds with my Hollow Classic. I wonder how an Atom would sound through it...I'm waiting for Mass St. to receive theirs so I can try it out. :)

[John Price]

Another vote for the LoneStar!
You really need to be carefull with the gain stages on this amp if you push the drive and gain too far you get that woofy sound but leaving the drive 1:00 and gain @ 2:00 in the thick setting should give you some good results! even try the diodes rectifier mode! I always advise trying it through another cab if you have the chance! I have the head version an run it through an old 70's Marshall Cab with tan backs!!! This amp really sounds great through that cab.

[guitarzan]

okay, come on guys... who's willing to trade my Tone King Meteor for their Lone Star?????


uh... hello?...
*tap * tap*
is this thing on?....

guys?....

[dannopelli]

The Lone Star special is nice. The Dr z MAz 38 IMHO is more pedal friendly. I have a Sr and a JR. They just both have a different purpose. Have you tried the input 2 of a Maz SR? Might be waht you need too.

Actually I like a Fender "Evil" Twin Amp, or sometimes called the "Professinal Twin Amp" for a large, (85 friggin LBS!). Has all kinds of headroom, is pedal friendly, studio friendly. Low power 25 watt switch too. Deeper sounding than a 65 Twin too, if you can imagine that. Get the one without the tremlo, the older model. About $700 - $800 on Ebay. I have a few boutique amps, but this is my go to for the one amp covers it all.

There is one on Ebay right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38074&item=7308757344&rd=1

[joe1962]

Actually I like a Fender "Evil" Twin Amp, or sometimes called the "Professinal Twin Amp" for a large, (85 friggin LBS!).

I really like those amps too. Just be careful when buying them used. I've had two that I ended up selling because I had reliability problems with both of them. They sounded great when they were working though. In fact, my initial reaction when I heard a Lonestar the first time was, "wow, this is Mesa's version of the Evil Twin!"

[nickdahl]

I loved my Mesa Blue Angel combo. It was only a 1x12 but it had great cleans and an awesome reverb. It was really quiet too, and took pedals well. I wish I still had it.

Nick

[ShaunzNoiz]

Had a Lonestar. Maybe I got a bad one, but I couldn't bond with it. The weight of the 212 was horrible! I ran across a 212 Carr Imperial. Love it.

[Big Jim]

You may all jump on me for this but I really like my Line 6 Vetta II.

I has a lott of great tones at bedromm volumes.

Big Jim

[guitarzan]

I'm a recovering Line 6 addict. I'll second the love for the Vetta series. (I updated my Vetta with v.II software.) Great amp. I often wish I still had mine for all of the programmable effects. I loved how I could set a tempo (to the exact bpm's) and then set all of my modulation/filter/delay effects to be whole/half/quarter/eighth/sixteenth/dotted-beats/triplet-beats/etc. of the tempo marking. It was brilliant- especially when playing with tracks or samples and the tempo is the same throughout a song. The Vetta made me look a lot better than I am.