View Full Version : Tweaking my Lonestar
marzzz
10-13-2009, 01:29 AM
So I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of my amp, trying to get a driven tone I am happy with on channel 2 (I have the clean channel 1 settled in nicely), playing my HDTC, when a friggin' scorpion crawls right past me directly under my amp. NYC-born me lets out a scream and jumps 5 feet into the air- the thing was 6 inches from me, could have just as easily decided to crawl up my shorts- amazing I didn't totally trash my TAG on various walls, floors, ceilings, large objects, etc.; Oregon-ranch born wife calmly pulls out the UV maglight (those suckers glow bright green under UV) and confirms it is hiding under the amp...usually she likes to just trap them in a glass (while I cower a safe distance away) but this one calls for the vacuum cleaner- she doesn't usually like to use it because scorpions survive the trip quite nicely and crawl out, but fortunately the bag was about full and due to be changed anyway.
So, I am thinking I may want to check out an Electrodyne, I hear they have nice cleans but a more "british" overdrive. And perhaps move to England while I am at it....:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
sausage fingers
10-13-2009, 07:41 AM
If you have a lonestar classic (6L6) you could try the following setting as a starter and then tweak from there.Start on 50w setting.
GAIN 12-1 o,clock
with the drive switch engaged-Drive -3-4 o,clock.
Bass--off(yes off,just try it)
MId--off(Try it and later dial some in to fatten the tone)
presence - 12 o,clock
treble - -12 o,clock
Master ----1o ---12 o,clock
Juggle out put with channel master ,depending on which sou,nds better E.G(more out put adds bass to eq and more channel master adds mids).
The more gain you use,the less bass and mids you use,just start by getting the flubbyness out and then slowly add mid and small amount of bass.
Just try it and see,hope you got that crawley,we have red back spiders down here that like to live in boogies.
cheers sausage fingers from down under. :D
we're a catch and release house too.
marzzz
10-13-2009, 10:48 AM
Tom- you have scorpions in your neck of the woods?:eek:
Fortunately, there is only one type of venomous scorpion native to the USA, it just happens to live in Maricopa County, AZ. We catch and release rattlesnakes and tarantulas, neither of those bother me anywhere near as much as scorpions.
Sausage- thanks for the settings, I will give them a try. I generally keep the bass below 9:00, but things still tend to get too "wooly." I love the cleans on the LSC and it is a great amp, but still haven't gotten comfortable with channel two. I have heard a lot of positives regarding the Electra Dyne and want to check it out, I am more of a rock than blues player.
hardly any scorpions, but we do have rattle snakes, tarantulas, and black widows.
Thoth105
10-13-2009, 11:59 AM
I am originally from Florida, where scorpions are pretty common. I was visiting mom and dad on a vacation from college - laid down in my bed right on top of 3 baby scorpions. I got up, squealing like a late teen who had just laid down on top of scorpions, in time to see momma scorpion carrying the 3 babies' brothers on her back while scuttling across my floor.
I did not get stung, but I was nonetheless permanently injured.
yikes, more like permanently scarred!
dannopelli
10-13-2009, 01:51 PM
When I lived in TX and FL we were definitely NOT a catch an release house. More like a smash and flush house. I hate those things!
Devnor
10-13-2009, 02:47 PM
Another reason we wear boots in Texas....to squash bugs!
marzzz
10-13-2009, 05:48 PM
I look ridiculous in cowboy boots (think Billy Crystal in City Slickers, though I have more hair and swear I am not that ugly), but I never walk around the house barefoot, especially at night. Pretty much the one thing I dislike about living in AZ. We get a couple in the house/yr, but it is rare that one ever sneaks right up on me like that. Tarantulas are pretty cool, when they are wandering about it is just a male looking for a mate, and we re-direct them back to where they should be.
Babow2
10-13-2009, 07:07 PM
We just have cows and roosters in Petaluma. When they crawl in your sleeping bag or boots, it isn't pretty.
+1 on setting bass and mids to 0. I had a LSC 1x12 combo, and found that you needed to dump the bass and most of the mids once you got into the "thick" and "very thick" settings to get a rock tone. Coming from the Mark IV and Road King amps, however, I never could get a satisfactory rock tone from the LSC. There just wasn't enough gain. It just isn't a classic rock amp. There are plenty of threads on the LSC on the boogie board- http://forum.grailtone.com- You might go there and see what others are doing.
Brent
Around here, the "pests" aren't amenable to being vaccumed. Unfortunately, they don't take to being squashed either!! :D
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/mdrs1/Hunt%20Stuff/Bear/CDY_0116.jpg
That photo is about 100 yds from my front door.
dannopelli
10-14-2009, 08:02 PM
YEOOWW! Now that is hairy!
you win doc!
I try hard to be a good neighboor!! :)
That photo is a momma bear and her triplet cubs that took a liking to my neck of the woods this spring and summer.
marzzz
10-15-2009, 01:10 AM
Hopefully you took that pic with a telephoto lens?
Big Harry
10-15-2009, 05:24 AM
back to topic :)
I have Road King II Dual Rec combo , lot of tweaking there as well .
I'd tried Electrodyne at my local store and I was stunned .
It is amazing amp ,you can have all of the British , "American" clean , metal ,blues , jazz or whatever sounds you may like it but this is still a true Mesa amp with almost no tweaking at all , just simple plug and play .
Horizontal Mesa recto cab was used , giving me a HUGE , really huge tone .
So I went back home with recto cabinet for my RK II combo , and now I have amazing , versatile powerful sound waiting for my first TAG .
My simple recomendation is Electrodyne + 2x12 Vintage 30 horizontal recto cab , and you will don't need any other amp/cab anymore .
Cheers,
Zoran
Suriel Zayas
10-15-2009, 06:08 AM
and you will don't need any other amp/cab anymore .
oh no, not around here. :p :D :p
marzzz
10-15-2009, 08:47 AM
I'd tried Electrodyne at my local store and I was stunned.
My simple recomendation is Electrodyne + 2x12 Vintage 30 horizontal recto cab , and you will don't need any other amp/cab anymore.
Regarding the Electra Dyne, this was basically what everyone has been saying about this amp. It was lost in the hype of the introduction of the Mark V, but people now seem to be coming around to it big-time. I definitely want to check it out, but I am still learning the LoneStar and will work with channel 2 a bit more- right now I am basically using only channel 1 and a BB Preamp pedal. I do like the simplicity of the ED, one thing I have heard regarding the Mark V and all its knobs is that people spend more time tweaking than playing!
Babow2
10-15-2009, 06:11 PM
No doubt the ED is a great amp, and "plug n play" with narry a bad tone in it. But, it is a one channel amp, and for those who need multiple tones and sounds on the fly live, and prefer preamp tone to pedals, it isn't that useful as a performance amp.
I have played Mesas exclusively since 1982. Yes, the Marks, Recs, RoadKings, etc. have lots of knobs. Yes, you have to actually use those knobs to find the sounds you like. However, it isn't really that hard. It just takes a little "one on one" time with your amp. Why is that a bad thing? It always amazes me when guys who obsess over their tone, down to which pick and which battery they use, then complain that they have to actually adjust the knobs on their amp. I don't mean anyone on this site. Usually, it is younger "kids" who don't seem to have the patience.
I actually like having a lot of tweakable control over my tone. So, all those knobs don't scare me. Keep up the tweaking!
marzzz
10-16-2009, 09:20 AM
The impression I have of the ED is that it is a three channel amp with one set of simple tone controls, yet still versatile enough and with enough gain for a lot of basic rock styles. I have no problem with one-on-one with the LoneStar, and try to use my ears instead of worrying too much about where the controls are set, but I am not finding the higher gain tones I am looking for. Right now I am working with Sausage's suggestion of zeroing the bass and the mids, and am entering a whole new interesting tonal territory. I am definitely not the Eric Johnson inspired obsessive type, that would be like a guy who is 15 KG overweight being worried about a few extra grams of weight in the components of his road bicycle.
Earlier this year we found a giant desert hairy scorpion drowned in the pool (everyone in AZ has a pool- it's like having a dining room here), the thing was over six inches long. Looked like a lobster.....:eek:, luckily those big bad boys like to stay outdoors!
Babow2
10-16-2009, 11:44 AM
Like you, I never did find high gain tones in the Lonestar. Now, I live about 2 miles from the Mesa factory and roll in from time to time. They did help me get as much gain from the LSC as you could, but it is far from high gain. There is no setting that will get you into Stilleto, Recto, Mark III or IV ranges, nothing near the ED gain etc... It just isn't a high gain amp, at least not without pedals. So, I would say if you are looking for high gain, that isn't the amp.
So, feel free to put a stamp on it, and mail it up to me! :)
Brent
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.4 Beta 1 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.