NAD...Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special...Bubinga With Wicker Grille!

[joff]

I have just bought this 2nd hand 2009 Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special...it is made of solid Bubinga wood with a Wicker grille...it looks amazing and it is damb heavy!

It is in superb condition...i don't think that the last owner used it because the power and footswitch cables look unused.

Anyway...it sounds absolutely wonderful...it has 2 Channels with the choice of 'CLASS A' 5W,15W and 30W...it has tons of bottom end...i love it...my wife was not too happy at-all to see it arrive...it is quite a fat 1x12 combo...and luckily i have a very good friend who restores antique furniture for a living should i ever scratch it!

[Fender92]

These amps are just beautiful to look at ! I've heard a couple of 'm, they are great allround amps!

[siore]

Sweet!! I just love that look to mesa amps.

[Birdy]

Sweetness

Your best friend is the owners manual. Learn that shit
because these don't eq like most amps. When you get it
down you'll have a real keeper

[Deftone]

Now that is sweet. Congrats.

[LongBeach]

Sweet

I have an 08 4X10, tan, but that wood looks 100X better!

And as noted, the manual is your friend, I read mine 6-8 times
IMO: they are an absolute pain in the ass to dial into "your sound" but
sure are a lot of fun, and, sound fantastic

[gtimach1]

Very sharp!

[Red2112]

Beautiful!!! Enjoy and congrats!

[BigAl]

Beauty! Congrats.

[rjudo]

Wow, that is a beauty, enjoy.

[MagPel]

Man, that is a sweet looking amp. Timeless elegance. Congrats!

[toneguy86]

Originally Posted by Birdy

Sweetness

Your best friend is the owners manual. Learn that shit
because these don't eq like most amps. When you get it
down you'll have a real keeper

Yup. Controls don't work like most amps here. The other good resource is this forum: The Boogie Board • Index page
I've said this in other threads, but here are the things that tend to work based on a combination of my experimentation along with info from the manual and tips I got from guys on the Mesa forum.

Set gain to taste first as where gain is set affects what happens with other controls. For channel two I set my gain with the drive off and then added it once I had things eq'd right.

I suggest starting with this eq setting for both channels: Treble 1-2:00, mids 9:00 (yup that low...this is what the manual refers to as the sweet spot for most guitars), bass (noon...but lower if your gain is high. My rule of thumb...if your gain is past noon, the angle your bass control has should match gain control angle....pointing towards the gain).

Use your treble control like a voicing control and once you find a sound you like, leave it alone and use your presense control as if it was your treble control (I know strange right? It does work though). My treble control has ended up on channel 1 at about 2:00-2:30. This has allowed me to bring the bass up a bit (proportionately) and the gain down a bit (but not much...I like the gain up fairly high since I ride my guitar controls).

Channel 2 is often described as muddy on both the LSS special and the LSC. I have found that keeping the mid control low (9:00-10:00) and my voicing switch in the middle position solves that problem. There are times and stages where I go up to "thicker"...but it is rare. It's a matter of finding the "sweet spot" though on your mid control and it is lower then most people realize if they are used to other amps.

Some of this changes if you switch to different speakers. I still have the stock speakers, so these are the settings that work here. I wonder if your wood cab might have an effect too, but this is a start.

These amps really require some work to find "the tone". There are some mods for channel 2 that lots of people prefer. One is a simple swap of the gain and tone pots (Reeder mod #1). I haven't done this. Another mod allows you to turn the mid control down more so the mids are completely off (Reeder mod #2). These are mid heavy amps.

Happy to help as you go. I do use a LSC original version though, but have played a ton of LSSs. Have fun!

[nutsauce]

That is an amazing looking amp!! I have the same amp without the cool wood and grill. I love the LSS but now I want to sell mine and get one like yours!! Enjoy man

[joff]

Thanks for all the kind words guys...i really am delighted with this beautiful beast!

I am reading through the manual...and i sure have some experimenting to do...but it is all great fun!

Thanks for that info toneguy86...i will give it a go.

I was going to take the caster wheels off...but now i think that they are very handy and so i will leave them on.

[nutsauce]

The wheels slip on and off very easily...enjoy!!

[toneguy86]

Originally Posted by joff

Thanks for all the kind words guys...i really am delighted with this beautiful beast!

I am reading through the manual...and i sure have some experimenting to do...but it is all great fun!

Thanks for that info toneguy86...i will give it a go.

I was going to take the caster wheels off...but now i think that they are very handy and so i will leave them on.

There are pretty heavy amps, but I took the casters off mine when I got a tiltback stand. My solution was to go to Loews and buy this cool collapsable cart and two big bungee cords. The thing holds 150lbs. and only cost me $25. I just strap my 90lb. LSC on that thing, toss my gig bag on top, pick up my guitar case and head to the gig. It's slick as hell.

[joff]

Hi guys,

i just thought that i would give you a quick update...i'm lovin' this LSS...i am getting to grips with the EQ...as you said, you got to roll back on the Bass and Mid controls with these babies...it sounds terrific...but i have lots more tone searching to do...and it certainly has lots of tone!

My VOS Beano sounds totally fab through it...as do my CS '62 Strat and CS '51 Nocaster...and so does my CS 1969 Thinline Relic which is a PITA because i am having to sell that one!

Life is good!

joff

[nicolasrivera]

Man, that LSS is killer!!! have have one too in tan!

Hey do this little trick, put a small cable in the FX loop looping it and turn the FX loop level all the way up, it gives you and extra gain setting!!! and you can use the master and solo with out any FX!, if that is your thing of course.

This amp love a booster pedal too, so if you need that extra gain in the input it sounds delicious!.

Cheers!!

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by nicolasrivera

Man, that LSS is killer!!! have have one too in tan!

Hey do this little trick, put a small cable in the FX loop looping it and turn the FX loop level all the way up, it gives you and extra gain setting!!! and you can use the master and solo with out any FX!, if that is your thing of course.

This amp love a booster pedal too, so if you need that extra gain in the input it sounds delicious!.

Cheers!!

my buddy just scored your amp last week on C.L.
$700.00

i played it today.
ya baby

i want it

i'll get it too

[Rhust]

freaking gorgeous! jealousy abounds!