twohandband Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Thanks for the tips! I'm gigging with the POD which is sounding good but I had to work pretty hard to get the models to play nice with my guitars. I ended up with an odd choice; I'm using the SLO100 model for absolutely everything except squeaky clean and of course the gain is barely even on; my hottest patch has it at around 2.5. I'm looking forward to having more good amp options to play with starting tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenjim Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 In case of interest, here is a link to a Mesa Lonestar Owner’s Manual: http://www.mesaboogie.com/media/User%20Manuals/Lonestar.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Thanks, @prudenjim, the manual is quite useful — this is a really versatile amp with non-obvious controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigGT Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Has anyone tried those suggested settings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Gosh, reading that made me want the real thing ;) Except not to carry around or pay for or maintain its tubes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenjim Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Yes, actually. The Guitar Geek walked through snapshots of each suggested sound in the manual. He explains the path in one of the comments posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 One of the most useful and important switches on Lonestar's Channel 2 is the DRIVE switch, which can be set to Clean or Drive (separate from the cleaner Ch1), so you can remove the overdrive circuitry on Channel 2, useful for crunch rhythm settings. Why is there no Clean/Drive switch in the Ch2 Lonestar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 One of the most useful and important switches on Lonestar's Channel 2 is the DRIVE switch, which can be set to Clean or Drive (separate from the cleaner Ch1), so you can remove the overdrive circuitry on Channel 2, useful for crunch rhythm settings. Why is there no Clean/Drive switch in the Ch2 Lonestar? Sam answers that question here: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/line6-helix.1586637/page-2391#post-25723525 The drive and gain knobs are named Drive 1 and Drive 2 respectively and will have the added gain stage always on. We had thought about adding the behavior of setting the channel to clean, but when Ch2 is set to clean and in normal mode, it is essentially the same as Ch1. I tried to incorporate the switch into the knob as you described, but found that people would just miss or forget about the feature since it wouldn't be shown on the knob. I tried to add a switch on the model just like on the amp, but then found that people could get confused adjusting a knob that essentially did nothing, which we definitely wanted to avoid. I know it's a lot of explanation for a single switch that did not make it into the model that the real amp has, but I wanted people to know that we really think about doing the amps as much justice as possible, but we also want to keep every part of every model as "Helix-esqe" in every element of the experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks, @phil_m ... totally make sense. Lots of thought goes into these designs from a user perspective. Below are my personal notes based on the manual. Of course, there are no rules, so play. Start with Drive2 at 7-8, then play with Drive1 between 1-8. Better response & smoother saturation with Drive2 slightly higher than Drive1. Try Drive2 near middle settings or lower. As you increase Drive2, reduce Bass. Treble is most important of tone settings and effects all the others. Start at 4-6.5. Use Presence at lower settings for lead sounds. Use TS Shape on Normal to pass through tone settings. Thick smears highs and mids; Thicker more so, with most sustain. Use TS Shape on Normal for rhythm and cleaner leads, thick and thicker for more balls. Set Master between 2-7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dickbanks Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Just wanted to state it. There seems to be much love for the Freedman, but the lonestar should have its own thread. Great addition to have a medium gain USA flavored amp. I feel like this one is going to replace my standard worship patches for driven sounds (used to be a pushed matchless channel 2 with Klon for drive). Tnx for adding it I own the Mesa Boogie Mark IV, and the Helix Cali IV Clean and Rhythm channels are spot-on. I DON'T own a Lonestar, but if it's as good as the Lonestar patch on Helix, it must be quite an amp! The Boogie amps, clean or dirty, just have this quality of "climbing right up your fingers" and really getting inside your pickups to draw out sounds. Somehow the Line 6 people captured this nicely with these Mesa Boogie amp patches. I have to say as a guitarist I'm grateful, and as an Electrical Engineer, I'm envious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 I own the Mesa Boogie Mark IV, and the Helix Cali IV Clean and Rhythm channels are spot-on. I DON'T own a Lonestar, but if it's as good as the Lonestar patch on Helix, it must be quite an amp! The Boogie amps, clean or dirty, just have this quality of "climbing right up your fingers" and really getting inside your pickups to draw out sounds. Somehow the Line 6 people captured this nicely with these Mesa Boogie amp patches. I have to say as a guitarist I'm grateful, and as an Electrical Engineer, I'm envious... I played through a Lonestar and then a Lonestar Special with one of my old bands for a couple of years and I can attest they are great sounding amps and also a great model on the Helix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodd66 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 What I noticed compared to Litigator was more focus in the mid frequencies creating a warmer, thicker tone that really works well with single coil pickups. You have to bring the gain and bass down and presence up for double coil pickups or its maybe a bit too thick. Also having the extra gain stage along with the 50W power amp provide a lot of options for preamp vs. power amp distortion. Its an extremely flexible amp. I'm hoping one of you guys might be able to help me...I just downloaded the V2.50 and love the Placater etc BUT now my Joystick won't open up the models when I press it so I literally have to scroll through everything starting from the OD/Dis list! Has anyone else come across this problem? I've downloaded the new version twice just in case but it's still doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 I'm hoping one of you guys might be able to help me...I just downloaded the V2.50 and love the Placater etc BUT now my Joystick won't open up the models when I press it so I literally have to scroll through everything starting from the OD/Dis list! Has anyone else come across this problem? I've downloaded the new version twice just in case but it's still doing it. Short of something being stuck beneath the joystick preventing it from being depressed properly this sounds like it could be a hardware problem with the joystick control. You may want to open up a ticket with Line6 for this. Does this happen on other blocks such as effects or only on the amp models? Do other operations such as selecting a setlist with the 'Preset' button and then rotating and depressing the joystick to select the preset still work? If not that might point even more strongly to a possible hardware issue. Btw, quite possibly totally unrelated in your case but worth mentioning for others trying to avoid a problem with the joystick. If you pack the Helix in a case of some sort make sure the padding does not press down too hard on the joystick or you can end up damaging it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodd66 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Short of something being stuck beneath the joystick preventing it from being depressed this sounds like it could be a hardware problem with the joystick control. You may want to open up a ticket with Line6 for this. Do other operations such as selecting a setlist with the 'Preset' button and then rotating and depressing the joystick to select the preset still work? If not that might point even more strongly to a possible hardware issue. Btw, quite possibly totally unrelated in your case but worth mentioning for others trying to avoid a problem with the joystick. If you pack the Helix in a case of some sort make sure the padding does not press down too hard on the joystick or you can end up damaging it. Nah the joystick doesn't work when selecting a setlist either. A total pain in the arse as I have 2 gigs this weekend :O( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Nah the joystick doesn't work when selecting a setlist either. A total pain in the arse as I have 2 gigs this weekend :o( Bummer! I would open a ticket with Line6 immediately and then make sure i had some presets ready to go for this weekend. You can use HX Edit in the meantime to modify presets. After this weekend you can try to get them the Helix as soon as possible. They usually have very rapid turnaround times and may be able to accommodate you if you let them know when you need to have it back by for the next gig if they receive it in time to do the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodd66 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Bummer! I would open a ticket with Line6 immediately and then make sure i had some presets ready to go for this weekend. You can use HX Edit in the meantime to modify presets. After this weekend you can try to get them the Helix as soon as possible. They usually have very rapid turnaround times and may be able to accommodate you if you let them know when you need to have it back by for the next gig if they receive it in time to do the work. Thanks mate. I've called the store that I bought it from (I live in New Zealand) and they are "loaning" me one for the weekend to get me through. Funny, I also have a Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini that has come back from repair so I'll be picking that up at the same time! I swear I baby my gear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks mate. I've called the store that I bought it from (I live in New Zealand) and they are "loaning" me one for the weekend to get me through. Funny, I also have a Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini that has come back from repair so I'll be picking that up at the same time! I swear I baby my gear! Ah, you live in NZ, complicates things a bit. Given how many Helices have been sold I have seen relatively few complaints about the joystick going bad, sorry you had to be one of them. The joystick seems to be faring better overall than I originally expected. It has always been my practice to use HX Edit where possible to extend the lifespan of all the controls on the Helix. Some users will always remain strictly hands(or feet) on though. I still think the joystick is the most vulnerable part on the Helix and personally I hope they come up with something more flush to the chassis in the next version. They did use high quality parts however overall on the Helix. It is a beast! Just my two-cents worth. I have no doubt others will disagree. Btw, if this failure started exactly after you updated the Helix I would personally back everything up, make one more attempt to uninstall all Helix software on your computer, download a fresh copy of HX Edit 2.51 again, and then reinstall and run the Updater and update the firmware to 2.50 one more time. If this started only after the upgrade that is awfully coincidental although not necessarily cause and effect. If that does not work and you have all the time in the world an interesting experiment might also be to back it down to a previous firmware version where the joystick still worked and see if it starts working again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsdenj Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Thanks, @phil_m ... totally make sense. Lots of thought goes into these designs from a user perspective. Below are my personal notes based on the manual. Of course, there are no rules, so play. Start with Drive2 at 7-8, then play with Drive1 between 1-8. Better response & smoother saturation with Drive2 slightly higher than Drive1. Try Drive2 near middle settings or lower. As you increase Drive2, reduce Bass. Treble is most important of tone settings and effects all the others. Start at 4-6.5. Use Presence at lower settings for lead sounds. Use TS Shape on Normal to pass through tone settings. Thick smears highs and mids; Thicker more so, with most sustain. Use TS Shape on Normal for rhythm and cleaner leads, thick and thicker for more balls. Set Master between 2-7. Another thing to note, according to the Lonestar schematic, Cali Texas ch2 Drive 2 should have a bypass cap. That means that keeping Drive 2 lower will give more high end sparkle. I try to use Drive 2 to establish the brightness I want, and then Drive 1 to control the distortion level. I put both of these on my Drive footswitch to change them, shifting both up for the higher drive tone. This brings be brightness down as the distortion goes up. On a real Lonestar, keeping Drive 1 down is important because it can add a lot of hiss into the Drive 2 gain stage. But that shouldn't be the case for Helix since its in the digital domain. Gain shouldn't add as much noise in the models (unless of course they model that too - I hope not!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Ah, good to know! I'll add this to my Lonestar notes. What a versatile model this is turning out to be. Now, I'm curious about this IR set: https://www.cabir.eu/en/focus-ir-series/28-mb-lostarshadow.html even though the stock 1x12 cab in the Amp+Cab block sounds just dandy. [update: whoops ... its a 2x12 in the stock Amp+Cab] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigGT Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Ah, good to know! I'll add this to my Lonestar notes. What a versatile model this is turning out to be. Now, I'm curious about this IR set: https://www.cabir.eu/en/focus-ir-series/28-mb-lostarshadow.html even though the stock 1x12 cab in the Amp+Cab block sounds just dandy. I don't know about that one but I bought a Lonestar 2x12 IR from 3 Sigma and it sounds great. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Don't know what that one specifically, but I like CabIR stuff in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glideman Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Still plenty of bars close by here in the Charleston, SC area to play. "Tri-County" area has a lot. All are within 45 minutes or a lot less time. Play at my church, too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwshuck71 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I gigged a Lone Star Classic for 2 years and it’s one of my all time fave tube amps. The new LSC amp model really nails the feel and vibe of the tube amp and sounds fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdanan0121 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I like the Lonestar as well. Its a nice amp for low-to-medium gain work. I use it with the 3Sigma Audio IRs Lonestar 2x12 ACE files. I usually mix the A (tube) and B (solid state) files with a parallel path in the Helix with one IR on either path. I end up mixing A & B a lot for stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigGT Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I've just built a couple of presets containing the recommended settings from the Lonestar manual, would anyone be interested in them? Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestOpinion Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I've just built a couple of presets containing the recommended settings from the Lonestar manual, would anyone be interested in them? Craig Definitely think those would be a candidate for loading up to CustomTone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 You betcha ... load 'em up, dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hideout Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 My thing with the $$$... we don't want people getting the idea that what we do is not worth anything. Far too many people do!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigGT Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Definitely think those would be a candidate for loading up to CustomTone. You betcha ... load 'em up, dude! Ok, I'll polish them up a bit then get them uploaded. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigGT Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 OK here ya go https://uk.line6.com/customtone/tone/3696895/ https://uk.line6.com/customtone/tone/3696896/ Suggested settings from the Lonestar Manual for Channel 1 and 2 of the Mesa Boogie Amp, contains 8 snapshots. I suggest using 4 Snap/ 4 Stomp modes. These are set up with a switch between Cab/IRs, I use 3Sigma Lonestar IR's but you could delete either to gain more DSP to pedals before the amp. Because we don't yet have a Ch1 model I have just kept drive one low. I've also used Sag to emulate tube/diode rectifiers. This preset has my 'Schofield Delay' which I created after watching him on a That Pedal Show video and sounds great on the cleans, this is best turned on and off with the stomp switch. I use a return on my Tubemeister so I've not applied any High/Low cuts Credit also to Jason Sadites and Guitar Geek for dual cab ideas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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