Mesa Lonestar

[FELINEGUITARS]

Looking at the specs I've noticed there's a very large difference between the Lonestar and the Lonestar Special.
The LS has 6L6 valves, whereas the LS-S runs off EL84s... and obviously the EL84s sounds better :D IMO

The LS special is a really nice amp and te El84s do have a sweet compressed tone.
But the better than 6L6s is a purely subjective matter (hence you put IMO)

I absolutely love 6L6s(or 5881s) for some things - my rack power amp, the Fender Prosonic and also the little 10W Cornell all have them (and the Mesa DC5 that I am babysitting does too)
The tone is bold and open and a little bit hard edged.

My Marshall JCM 800 has El34 and whilst they are bold they dont have such a hard edge or open top end as the 6L6s, but they compress in a really familiar way and it is such a classic rock tone

They have a very different tonal response to EL84s which I have in my Wolftone and Atomic amps but maybe share a little more in common than they do with the 6L6s (to my ears) as both EL valves seem to have a bit more compression and warmth whilst the 6L6s have the clarity and a more  strident tone - bolder in some ways

[Dakine]

I thought it was very nice. I just don't agree with mesa's pricing strategy in the UK. If I could get one for US prices, I'd be interested.

Indeed!

As a brit living in US I concur 101%

Firstly, I reckon the Rivera Quiana is better (but then I love Riveras)
Also, here at least Mesa's are kinda,well,ummm, common eek! Pretty much EVERY Guitar Centre (US answer to say Currys almost lol) has full range'ish.
They still will ALWAYS sound like a Mesa (love or hate it).
The pricing cr@p STINKS!
The pound is soooooooo strong against the dollar EVERYTHING seems cheaper here right now.

I have used one and it IS a v.cool amp but for UK prices, Just Say NO! :)

[dave_mc]

cheers, nick.

I haven't tried the quiana, but I'm sure it's very nice (the pubster i tried was nice). they're kinda rare-ish here. :(

EDIT: i also agree with your suggestion that mesa are "common" over there- bit like marshall or laney here... good choice of word. here mesas are priced as boutique, and unfortunately a lot of people here fall for it and think they're boutique...

[il˙ti]

The LS special is a really nice amp and te El84s do have a sweet compressed tone.
But the better than 6L6s is a purely subjective matter (hence you put IMO)

I absolutely love 6L6s(or 5881s) for some things - my rack power amp, the Fender Prosonic and also the little 10W Cornell all have them (and the Mesa DC5 that I am babysitting does too)
The tone is bold and open and a little bit hard edged.

My Marshall JCM 800 has El34 and whilst they are bold they dont have such a hard edge or open top end as the 6L6s, but they compress in a really familiar way and it is such a classic rock tone

They have a very different tonal response to EL84s which I have in my Wolftone and Atomic amps but maybe share a little more in common than they do with the 6L6s (to my ears) as both EL valves seem to have a bit more compression and warmth whilst the 6L6s have the clarity and a more  strident tone - bolder in some ways

Thanks Jon, I think that helped quite a bit.