Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special - Tone Demo

[RycheForOrder]

So many demos of great amps use preamps, reverbs, digital delays, etc... I judge an amp based on it's pure unadulterated sound. I've heard and played great and not so great Mesas. There are times when I've heard much cheaper versions of other tube amps sound just as good.

[stringman340]

@Shogun777 What pickups are you using? Those split tones are pretty convincing ;)

[sportsportsport]

This amp looks pretty small! Nice for a bedroom with huge volume though I presume?

[CalenCoffman]

@sportsportsport They can run at 5 watts, not too loud

[sportsportsport]

@CalenCoffman Do you have any experience of this amp compared to a Marshall combo, say, a DSl401 or a JVM combo? Thanks man. ;)

[CalenCoffman]

@sportsportsport No, I've just played them at Guitar Center.

[jeffthebean1]

*live* not love. ha

[jeffthebean1]

The only times I've been lucky enough to play these amps, it's straight in, Classic Vibe Telecaster.

It did everything I wanted...no pedals.

I hope to own one someday. That, my Orange Tiny Terror and one of those vintage 50 watt Orange heads all through a Orange 2x12 and 4x12...dream rig.

Could love without the 4x12, but it's nice to have the occasional vulgar display of wealth and power. bwhaha.

[motokev]

this amp does not need any pedals, especially a REVERB pedal !

[jockercyril]

could you tell me the settings please ? i just bought this amp last week with a bb preamp and i love your tone... (sorry for my english i'm french ^^')

[boredinpennville]

I love my lone-star. I do have to agree that my only complaint is the reverb. Thats fixed with a multi-pedal or reverb pedal of your choice though. Not a deal-breaker by any means. I've yet to read or hear about anybody who owns a lonestar who regrets their purchase. Its a fantastic tube amp that takes any pedal you can throw at it perfect. You wanna sort out the bad pedals from the good ones, run them through a lonestar. It will sortem.....

[MaximusDowns]

excellent video and playing. I played one of these today along with a Fender Deluxe Reverb 65, Fender Supersonic, and a marshal and an orange, and I was basically sold on this Mesa Boogie model. Excellent demo!

[homersimps1]

Nice! Perfect demo.

[SonicGamer1991]

Im Lovin this amp!

[amplitudedude77]

best Mesa sound right there!

[Raydungey]

Nice freaking amp, great tone..Too bad they cost so much........Oh by the way, nice playing.

[Aaronpodgorski]

Great vid, Great tone

[sportbigred]

Seems like an amazing sounding amp with lots of versatility. I can't comment on the stock reverb sound.

[smeagma]

I always like demo's with delay and reverb and a preamp box ,NOT, how do you know what the amp really sounds like, play it straight in like a MAN

[SteveHubbardGuitar]

@smeagma did you fail to read the text in the video?

[alexmartin51]

umm, can someone reccomend to me a decent valve amp which isnt obnoxiously big that has decent EQ and a good natural breakout distortion/overdrive? (also, effects loop wouldnn't be bad)

[domdabombabc]

Vox ac15?

[ZachDRUMMOND]

Boss RV-5? Seriously? Why?

[Virons2]

@ZachDRUMMOND why not ? its a good pedal.

If it goes into the effects loop and not infront of the amp it dosent color the sound .

[ZachDRUMMOND]

I do not agree. I think it's by far the WORST verb out there. Absolutely hate, hate, hate it! I like my Mesa express stock reverb alright, and I assume the lonestar special has a similar unit. Why even use a digital effect?

[Virons2]

@ZachDRUMMOND personal taste ?

[ZachDRUMMOND]

Maybe so, but there are still much better reverbs out there.

[benthemiester]

Despite what Mesa say's about dyna watt, there not practice amps. There drive your neighbor crazy amps. They just don't sound good until you turn those mother fuckers up, and then they blow your balls off. That's why I like em. You can feel the air move and your balls tingle when you stand in front of them.

[NickoLps]

All tube amps are driving crazy the neighbors.

Afterall 15 watt from 50 watt there is not a BIG BIG difference in volume...

50 with 100 its just a hair louder,more headroom though.

Yeah excactly if you dont crank those tubes you dont feel the sweet satisfying pain :)

Cheers

[benthemiester]

In order to get twice the loudness, the formula is 10 to 1.

Another words, if you want to double the loudness of a 50 watt amp you need a 500 watt amp and so on. A 20.000 watt system is only twice as loud as a 2000 watt system. Your right about there not being that great a difference once you get to a certain threshold. After you go passed 5 or 6 on your amp it doesn't really get that much louder. Neighbors, yes I understand.

[NickoLps]

nice theory there,never thought it like that but its that kind of hell that you talk about..

But its sweet when you unleash all that power:P

[benthemiester]

Thanks, you can thank Bell Labs in the late twenties and early thirties, for taking the time and effort to study exactly what sound was.

[RonVermillion]

I just dont thing the camera mike sound system over my computer system does it justice. A Mesa amp live gives you cold shivers.

Ron

[Shogun777]

totally agree, bro

[yahoochiewatchie]

not worth the money...sounds like everything else thats a quarter of the price

[Shogun777]

this is a bad demo, I encourage you to check out my other videos.. the number of sales on this amp, and the lonestar classic, suggest the quality of its tone!

[diazcamille]

@yahoochiewatchie Dude, you gotta play it in person. The beauty of Mesa is in person. It'll give you goosebumps live, which no Fender can.

[fipfapfallywap]

@yahoochiewatchie

Pfff. Im willing to bet you have never played one. your opinion is weak.

[gytarok]

very ordinary tone

[Jackpiazza]

fucking good sound man!!

[robotfamilygchicken]

only problem i have with this amp is that its 1x12 speaker..it directs the sound straight ahead and if u stand to the side of it you can't hear the tone, or the actual volume properly

[SteveHubbardGuitar]

this doesn't really matter if you have it running through a p.a... (most common application)

[JIMMYJIBLETS]

It also comes as a head though, so you can stick it on top of what ever speaker combination you want

[rwbrdms1]

pottymouth

[JesusWorship7]

This amp comes 2 x 12 ? and how much is it'n.

[gottfriedbrux]

It only comes in a 1x12 and is $1799. You could always go with the Lonestar Classic 2x12. I have Lonestar classics which sound great but I must say that this Lonestar sounds better for those vintage sounds. LOVE IT!!! ;-)

[SteveHubbardGuitar]

im not sure if they still make it, but it used to come in a 212 as well as multiple sized heads

[huanton2many]

what the fuck r u using the boss reverb for next to the beatiful analog sound of the lonestar reverb.

you nuts?

[Shogun777]

the lonestar reverb is terrible IMO. its either have pretty much none in the mix of your sound, or have ridiculous cave verb that takes seconds to die.. i prefer fender reverb over boogie

Check out my other demos of this amp for much better tone..

[BluesThor]

@Shogun777

then you are not using the reverb right.. the boss reverb is also terrible, the digitech hardwire reverb is better..

[andrew12113]

@Shogun777 The lonestar reverb is soooo great.... I don't know why you're saying that...

[dhowellbassist]

@Shogun777 I've just been starting to research this amp for a possible purchase, but you're the first person to ever say the reverb is terrible.

[Italy2011]

Could you post your amp settings for this video?

[wolechair]

throw a bit of reverb on there by friend

[Shogun777]

i've got some room verb on throughout the video

[miguelbaptista]

reverb is overated

:)

[domdabombabc]

How dare you!

[miguelbaptista]

eheheh

[damenard123]

Is this 1x12 or 2x12 ?? And how much cost this amp ?

[timmonsisbest]

so is this video at the 5 watt setting?

[Shogun777]

yup.. like i said before, this is a very poor representation of the amp.. i'm in the studio tonight.. i'll have some recordings of this amp that will be ready in the fall

[BijhanS]

beautiful....you remind me of andy timmons...those were some killer blues licks! where do you learn things like that...im trying to increase my lick repretoire..loll

[timmonsisbest]

so do you have a preference between the musicman and suhr?

[Shogun777]

both are killer, but the suhr are a custom-shop quality guitar. they are on a different level, and you get what you pay for, heh.. recommend both though!

[ollemannen5]

Suhr without a question :)

[mike1jimmypage]

very pricy but worth it!!!

Nice playing, you definitley have earned that amp

[Chadfish]

Awesome amp! I have one too. Your audio is distorting a bit. Could be youtube. I have found you need to limit the top level to -.5db so youtube can handle the signal. Even more is better. Anyway, this amp is a frickin' tone machine - so many options. Definately loud enough for giging. If you need more volume you're probably a tool who plays too loud no matter what you use. A PA will do the heavy lifting if you're in a hall or someplace large. It's about tone, not volume.

[Shogun777]

+10 on the above points!

[wamster101]

the amp sounds real sweet

and you are correct Shogun

I have a 1956 Tweed Fender Princeton, 5Watt Class A amp, that is the sound with a pure Class A amp you get that vintage harmonic overtone, (1 octave above the original note). I use a Boss 59 FBM1 pedal (1959 Fender Bassman) just to push the tubes a little bit and to have a presence control. I also have a 1982 or 83 Mesa SOB in a Teak hardwood cabinet which is just killer.

Thanks for sharing, your amp sounds great. I enjoyed it immensely

[Shogun777]

thanks for the kind words.. I am making an updated demo of this with a strat, and much better tones IMO.

:)

[rambranmuffin]

Great playing! Is that the 1x12 combo version of the Lonestar? What made you decide to get the 112? Reason I'm asking is i'm not sure if I should get the 1x12, 2x12 or the head of this amp. Thanks

[Shogun777]

Yup, this is the 112. It was in stock, I figured I'd only need 1 speaker, because you mic it for live anyways.. This amp is extremely loud though! I use it on the 5 watt mode, on each channel, and I still barely have to turn it up. I'd go for the 112 combo, or the head. The 212 would be a bit annoying to lug, and if I got the head, i'd probably get a 212 cab. I had the 112 ex cab to go with this, but had no real use for it! this demo sucks, i get a way better tone now, should make a new one!

[timmonsisbest]

30/15/5 watts is not much to push a 12" speaker with, let alone 2x12" speakers. The whole point of a combo amp usually that it's easier to carry around, but if you get the head you can mix and match speaker cabinets. But generally you are going to find speaker(s) that match the amp best to you, so you could just change the speaker. Either way, I think the 1x12 combo is the best way to go with the Special.

[Shogun777]

i agree, but 5 watts is honestly more than enough.. and if you are really about playing loud, wouldn't you prefer to have your power section distorting, i.e. using the 5 watt mode w/ the tube rectifier

[timmonsisbest]

no i would prefer 30 watts for sure...more headroom and the power tube distortion is not really that much louder at 30 watts.

[RossCooperMusic]

Awesome tone and playing! Love the sound of that Boogie.

Could you tell me a little bit about your settings on the BB and on the amp?

[SublordUtilax123]

i want this soo much! how much does one of these cost?

[Shogun777]

allllllllotttt. i paid 2075 canadian + tax and they have went up by 2 or 300$

[SublordUtilax123]

damn. i have to save like fuck

[Shogun777]

hahahahahaha

[silvercool2k]

haha thanks that was a long time I can play something now... I'll be auditioning soon for berklee in boston :)

[silvercool2k]

sure you can check something here h t t p: / / berkleemusic . com/ martinez

[silvercool2k]

oops its a go. berkleemusic . com/ martinez

[eKuL1995]

good luck!

[pilotSSW]

Im actually applying there in a couple of weeks from now as well, just bought the lonestar Classic and love it !

[silvercool2k]

dude you fucking rock... get out there and play in a G3 or something

[Shogun777]

thanks man, i checked out your vids and really dig your band. cool stuff!

[MrBluesmanJunior]

Fantastic playing! I'm amazed. Great tone, as well. My favourite amp!

[theguitfiddle]

Some excellent playing and tone man, congrats on the amp, it sounds killer

[riisii]

Perfect! I need this amp!

[Aurelius27x]

nice runs ... very shawn lane-esque ... clean.

[GuillermoSmyser]

This is some wonderful tone and awesome playing!

[sologtrstewie]

great tone what settings are you using?

chris

[Shogun777]

i've changed the set up a tad since making this.. heres what i roughly have right now for ch2:

bass: 12:00

mid: 2:00

treble: 2:45

presence: 8-8:30 (very low)

drive: full

gain: 12:00-2:00 (depending on the guitar)

[StupidEarthlings]

sounds choice.

[lineazul]

Great tone!!!

Good amp!