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Hatsubai « Amazing cleans »
Published on 04/03/11 at 14:25The Mesa/Boogie Lonestar Special is the revision of the original Lonestar. It a Class A EL84 two channel amplifier that's meant to deliver those more vintage tones. It has multiple mini toggle switches for voicing changes, a power selection switch to choose between various wattages, reverb, an effects loop and tons of other features.
UTILIZATION
Mesa/Boogie did a great job at fitting a plethora of features inside this amp without having it feel too complicated. The toggle switches feel great and have a solid detent when you select them. The effects loop works nicely, and the solo boost is a nice touch, too. Mesa/Boogie manuals are some of the best out there, and they'll help you really understand this amp better, show you where the sweet spots are, give you example settings and show you how to take care of your newly purchased amplifier.
SOUNDS
The sound is probably the one everyone is wondering about. Given that this is an EL84 based amp, it has this real unique quality sound to it that's almost VOX-esque. However, don't be fooled. This amp can get some insane girth and low end. The cleans on this are absolutely amazing, and the gain tones give that awesome wooly vintage sounding gain that delivers tone for days. I find the feel on this amp to be a bit better than the original Lonestar, probably due to the EL84s. John Petrucci helped make this amp a bit more famous when he used it for his clean tones exclusively during his Train of Thought touring era.
OVERALL OPINION
Those looking for an amplifier that retains a vintage tone with one of the best cleans on the market should really look no further than this amp. The gain is great for that old school vintage tone, the clean has this amazing bounce and is very jingly, the build construction is great and it's just an overall wonderful amplifier.
UTILIZATION
Mesa/Boogie did a great job at fitting a plethora of features inside this amp without having it feel too complicated. The toggle switches feel great and have a solid detent when you select them. The effects loop works nicely, and the solo boost is a nice touch, too. Mesa/Boogie manuals are some of the best out there, and they'll help you really understand this amp better, show you where the sweet spots are, give you example settings and show you how to take care of your newly purchased amplifier.
SOUNDS
The sound is probably the one everyone is wondering about. Given that this is an EL84 based amp, it has this real unique quality sound to it that's almost VOX-esque. However, don't be fooled. This amp can get some insane girth and low end. The cleans on this are absolutely amazing, and the gain tones give that awesome wooly vintage sounding gain that delivers tone for days. I find the feel on this amp to be a bit better than the original Lonestar, probably due to the EL84s. John Petrucci helped make this amp a bit more famous when he used it for his clean tones exclusively during his Train of Thought touring era.
OVERALL OPINION
Those looking for an amplifier that retains a vintage tone with one of the best cleans on the market should really look no further than this amp. The gain is great for that old school vintage tone, the clean has this amazing bounce and is very jingly, the build construction is great and it's just an overall wonderful amplifier.