HamerHokie Posted February 27, 2005 Posted February 27, 2005 Continuing my review thread from The Other Board:Used the Lonestar at a club gig. Used an Artist Korina P-90 the whole evening. On the floor, I used a Fulltone Fat Boost and a H&K Rotosphere for vibrato. Didn't use the effects loop. Amp was not mic-ed, stage mix only. No soundman for tweaking the house mix or my tone, either.Both channels got a fair workout. Channel One was set for a bit of grit, used mostly for rhythm but also for the occasional lead with and without the Fat Boost. Channel One had a great punch-through quality, excellent voicing. Hit the Solo button and the tone cuts through the stage mix like a fist, even better with the Fat Boost engaged.Channel Two was a bit more problematic. With the Drive circuit engaged for better overdrive, the punch-through was limited/dulled. Adding the Fat Boost improved it somewhat. But I think using this channel requires mic-ing and a sound man to bring it to the front during a solo, even when using the Solo switch for more volume.Overall, adding the Fat Boost yielded six usable settings, making the rig extremely useful all evening. After putting the H&K unit through it's paces, I think I will have to try it in the effects loop because it wasn't great up front in the chain. The leslie effect was too prominent, and the tone wasn't as happening as the base tone of the amp.
Hamerica Posted March 1, 2005 Posted March 1, 2005 Hamer Hokie,Was this the Lone Star or the Lone Star Special?Thanks,Hamerica
HamerHokie Posted March 1, 2005 Author Posted March 1, 2005 Hamer Hokie,Was this the Lone Star or the Lone Star Special?Thanks,Hamerica Lone Star, with stock 6L6s, both channels set to 100 watts Tweed power.
ArnieZ Posted March 1, 2005 Posted March 1, 2005 When I played the Lonestar I felt the EQ on the lead channel wasn't very flexible. That killed it for me, I loved the cleans.ArnieZ
HamerHokie Posted March 1, 2005 Author Posted March 1, 2005 When I played the Lonestar I felt the EQ on the lead channel wasn't very flexible. That killed it for me, I loved the cleans.ArnieZ I'm reading the owners manual (imagine that) and I now think the key to the second channel is to either eliminate the drive circuit or tone it down and let the gain control do the heavy lifting. The drive circuit seems to overwhelm everything else.
Nuclear Wessel Posted March 1, 2005 Posted March 1, 2005 Lone Star, with stock 6L6s, both channels set to 100 watts Tweed power. Amps with 6L6's have never worked for me. I always had problems with them not cutting through the mix. Just turning up to compensate just led to other band members getting the idea that I just like to play too loud, which may be true, but that wasn't the intent of turning myself up. EL34 or EL84 tubes seem to impart a certain voicing to the midrange that makes the guitar cut through the mix, while still blending well with the other instruments. The best solution of course is a multiple amp rig with a 6L6 equipped amp for your Fender Twin type clean tones, and an EL34 equipped amp for crunch and lead.
HamerHokie Posted March 2, 2005 Author Posted March 2, 2005 Lone Star, with stock 6L6s, both channels set to 100 watts Tweed power. Amps with 6L6's have never worked for me. I always had problems with them not cutting through the mix. Just turning up to compensate just led to other band members getting the idea that I just like to play too loud, which may be true, but that wasn't the intent of turning myself up. EL34 or EL84 tubes seem to impart a certain voicing to the midrange that makes the guitar cut through the mix, while still blending well with the other instruments. The best solution of course is a multiple amp rig with a 6L6 equipped amp for your Fender Twin type clean tones, and an EL34 equipped amp for crunch and lead. My experience is just the opposite. EL34-amps through Celestions have always had a mid scoop for me. And the best cut through I have ever heard was with a relatively new Twin Reverb.
HamerHokie Posted March 7, 2005 Author Posted March 7, 2005 OOOOOkay, here's another installment. This time I used my humbucker equipped Artist Korina Custom. Boy, this amp doesn't like this guitar much. It might be a function of the pickups, so I'll swap them out to see what works better.I want to try it out with a humbucker guitar with mahogany body and maple top before I make a final judgement.
Mobster Posted March 7, 2005 Posted March 7, 2005 I want to try it out with a humbucker guitar with mahogany body and maple top before I make a final judgement. Different strokes, I guess...but my Watson (with the Mahogany body, maple cap, and the humbucker in the bridge) screams through a Lonestar. Maybe you will like that combo as well.
HamerHokie Posted March 7, 2005 Author Posted March 7, 2005 I want to try it out with a humbucker guitar with mahogany body and maple top before I make a final judgement. Different strokes, I guess...but my Watson (with the Mahogany body, maple cap, and the humbucker in the bridge) screams through a Lonestar. Maybe you will like that combo as well. Right now my Studio Custom is set up for slide so I will have to do a lot of work before I run this particular test.I think it might just be the pickups in the Korina Custom that aren't doing well. Or maybe the amp just likes P-90s on a Korina guitar.
dzeitlin Posted March 8, 2005 Posted March 8, 2005 I had a Lone Star, and wasn't crazy about the drive channel. I got rid of it and got a Lone Star Special, and it is a totally different amp. First off the clean channel has that beautiful class a tone, and the drive channel is a lot more flexable.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.