Great video! I got my MB Lonestar Special back in 2007ish and about 2 weeks before the warranty expired, the amp died (smoked, no sound, and then wouldn't turn on). I wish I could remember all the things the repair guys replaced, but I do remember it was a lot. I faintly recall them mentioning replacing the whole board, but that might be faulty memory on my part. Anyways, it's a bummer knowing these amps have so many repair issues, but the clean tones are the best I've ever had the priviledge of hearing. The ability to get a dirty drive on a 5 watt setting is what sold me on the amp originally. I had wanted a tube amp for years but couldn't turn them up loud due to shared walls, which is usually necessary for the tone I was chasing. Thanks for the awesome video. I really just wanted to see the inside of this incredible amp! Now, if only there was a way to plug in headphones (safely) for afterhours use, it would be a perfect amp. I considered a Revv D20+cab, but can't quite justify selling the LS Special, especially since they aren't made anymore.
I’ve owned and toured with the early Lonestar. Call me “weird,” but I cannot understand why someone would want an amp using 4 6L6/EL-34s for a 10 watt operation. I’ve had one rectifier blow a fuse…Mesa sent me a new rectifier tube. I have not used the tube rectifier since, and that was 2008. I prefer the sound & feel of the diode. I try and keep track of my power tube usage. A habit I started in the 60s. In those days one could get RCAs at Radio Shack… Remember those days? What brand of tubes will be using. I believe they biased the tubes cold. I’s been a good sounding amp for me. The DRIVE channel is EQ’d a bit strange. Enjoy your channel - you remind me of the techs I had when I was a kid.
Lyle, fyi during todays That Pedal Show's Monday live VCQ&A show Mick and Dan asked viewers for suggestions for 2023 a joint live feed with other channels starting with Psionic Audio was mentioned and The Lads liked the idea.
@@PsionicAudio well, they thought your name was "Pete" which may or may not be an improvement on "Kyle" 😉 I've been plugging you where/when relevant in the comments there for over a year. Posted a link or two to your vids on Fender reissues, hotrod deluxe and WGS speakers with suggestion they check them out and talk to a UK tech. They're good Lads, been subbed almost 6 years. bought merch and exchange quite a few emails over the years. I'd be surprised if they haven't followed up and checked the links I posted. Like you, they qualify as "good people" especially Micks wife Katherine I still owe her pictures (he just got big enough for it) of the grandson in the TPS "one-sie" she sent with a t-shirt order.
The Lonestar is the Mesa I’ve been interested in for a while. It’s not overly complicated but it DOES have some unique things going on that make it a good candidate to build at home if you’re into that sort of thing.
Very cool. I know nothing about electronics so this is like a lecture on Astrophysics given in Latin..but interesting on the level of "Oohh..shiney!! Look at the tube thingies!!!" :) Best Regards and Best Wishes for 2023!
I wish I had known you a year ago. I had a bunch of 5U4 in stock. I would have sent them to you. the 5U4 was used in a lot of older rf amplifiers. I gave away a pace desolder station. Sorry too late.
Fuse holder nut appeared to move when you put the correct fuse in. I'd opt to upgrade the screen grid resistors if new power tubes end up being ordered. Would also consider preamp tubes if needed. But that's just me. Hopefully all else is OK. Tubes ain't exactly cheap nowadays.
welcome to my private hell....ive been working on live gigs with 2 lonestar 2x12 combos and one 8:88 bass amp, all 3 amps had blown fuses, bad tubes and noise issues while they were brand new. if you plan to gig with a mesa amp, it can be easy as long as you always make sure to bring a backup amp,some spare fuses, tubes ,a forklift and a tech
Lyle - I'm reasonably sure in the 10 watt mode the Lonestars only allow tube rectification, hence no sound when the tube rec is removed - most likely the issue you are seeing here...... I know you aren't the world's number one Mesa fan (that'd be brad :D ), but these ones sound great!
Not according to the schematic. The 10W mode switching is not tied to the rectification switching, unless the schematic is inaccurate (which is not impossible).
@@PsionicAudioI'm an owner of a Lonestar Special - I found out when it blew the rectifier tube - still worked on the 15 watt and 30 watt settings but the 5 watt was dead - that setting permanently tied to the tube rectifier. Hopefully that'll save you a wee bit of trouble shooting time :D Gotta love Mesa ....... well, maybe not so much ....... still love the sound of the Lonestar Special.
That’s crazy. I was studying the schematic of this amp(just curious about it) and this video popped up! It was just released! The algorithm is influencing the video creators,now!! 😊
@@andrewthomason3857 , I watched Lyle's vid about the tweed Fender Harvard yesterday, and today a news piece about Harvard University popped up in my feed. I also responded to a comment on the Franlab channel yesterday where we were joking about how to make clickbaity video titles; somebody said to *squeeze* in a certain phrase that would make more people click on the video, and today in my feed I found a video of John Hiatt playing with Nick Lowe and members of Squeeze! I've been a Hyatt fan for decades and I thought I'd seen pretty much every video worth seeing of him on TH-cam but there's 4 or 5 individial Hiatt/Squeeze songs posted by the same guy 10 years ago and I've never seen any of them before. Apparently the guy disabled all associated adverising so there won't be any pop-ups or ads shown before or during when the band is playing, and perhaps that's why the algorithm doesn't specifically recommend them to me based just on having John Hiatt's name in them.
@@williambock1821 , yesterday I made a "plumber's crack" joke on a TH-cam livestream chat. Today there's a crack running straight down through my personalized coffee cup with a picture of my dog and me. It must be a conspiracy! 🤔😳
So, I'm not really an amp-tech in the way that you are (I've mostly worked on and fixed a lot of production-line equipment relating to audio) but I have been fixing a lot of amps over recent years. The one question I have about Mesa's: WTF is that screw sticking through the chassis not connected to anything??? I'm at 3:30 right now & it's plain as day in front of those blue caps. Why is it there??!
In theory to press up against the cabinet and keep the chassis from vibrating. In reality it mostly just annoys when removing the chassis from the cab.
I once owned a Mesa Boogie head back in the 80s. I think it was a Mark III. I really never bonded with that amp because I thought the EQ was way too bright sounding. That amp was eventually stolen, and I never had an inclination to buy another Mesa. I have heard from some people that the quality of newer Mesa Boogies suck. Good or bad, Mesa Boogie is just not the right brand for me.
If you’ve only owned one Mesa, seems you can’t really say they aren’t the right amp for you without trying a few. They’ve increased the variety of amps since the Mark ll - lll days and you might find something…but many of them are far from being service friendly
Hi. Thanks that was interesting. I am curious to know when you change the power tubes what you will do if the bias is not correct? I guess either find tubes which are suited to it's pre determined fixed bias, or would you change the fixed bias setting? Regards.
Mesas are like (modern) German luxury cars… really interesting to use and play around with (provided you’re a knob twiddler), but unnecessarily complex and not something I’d want to own.
To be fair though, the order of the tubes isn't intuitive. If you didn't know that a pair went on each end, with another in the middle, you'd probably just alternate them. Granted, if you indeed DIDN'T know better, it's probably a good idea to check first, but of all of these types of mistakes, this is probably the most understandable.
@@cpfs936 Clearly states in the manual where the tubes need to go. Although most people don't read em I'd guess. Probably should have it labelled on the amp perhaps
@@bugeyedmudafuka2 Labeling the amp is a GREAT idea! I'm guilty, too! I didn't initially know that the tubes weren't in alternating pairs. (That was years ago with a Twin, though.)
@@cpfs936 You are confused. There is no "order of the tubes". The tubes are supposed to be ALL THE SAME COLOR CODE. That way they are all matched the same. If your amp originally came with 4 blue color-code tubes, then that is what you need to stick with, and you have to buy them FROM MESA. You aren't supposed to mix the color-codes. When you replace them, you have to replace them with the same color-code.
Is that a pair of 220 mfd filter caps on the main filter node? Even if they're in series , which it appears they might be, 110 mfd is a lot of capacitance for a 5U4 rectifier, making the tube more likely to arc.
@@PsionicAudio , sorry! (Not!😁). I can't help it, I'm wired to notice the things that seem incongruous. Mesa is known for using overly large capacitors and other components that don't really fit the board without being shoehorned into place, but those caps looked awfully big even before I looked closely enough to read the mfd value.
@@PsionicAudio ps, that wide-open beartrap clamp makes me wonder if somebody tried to use a rectifier tube with an oversize base, like a mil-spec Chatham Electronics 5R4GY "potato masher", in an attempt finding a more rugged rectifier. Ever see one of those? (They used to be common on the NOS/ surplus market and at hamfests). HUGE brown base, extra-large/thick glass bottle, and a flat top. Theoretically more rugged, but perhaps not so in a Mesa circuit, or with that much capacitance load on it.
I'd vote on *bent*. Maybe there are grizzlies in Memphis? Or perhaps somebody tried a Chatham Electronics military-spec 5R4GY "potato masher" rectifier in there. HUGE brown base, fat bottle with a flat top, hence the nickname. Might make sense that somebody tried one if they had been having trouble with rectifier tubes failing.....
@@1Dougloid My personal experience as a tech since 1988 is seeing more bad Sovtek/Electro Harmonix and Chinese tubes than bad JJ’s. I’ve also watched some amp companies stop using Chinese & Sovtek as well
@@cirenosnor5768 I believe that there's a lot of quality spread in between production lots of tubes. I'm not critical of JJ power tubes at all. Just their rectifier tubes.
Power tubes used by Mesa are usually Chinese. Rectifiers also Chinese or Sovtek/Electro Harmonix. Not exactly the most reliable tubes. Yet Mesa insists on using them 😑
Great video! I got my MB Lonestar Special back in 2007ish and about 2 weeks before the warranty expired, the amp died (smoked, no sound, and then wouldn't turn on). I wish I could remember all the things the repair guys replaced, but I do remember it was a lot. I faintly recall them mentioning replacing the whole board, but that might be faulty memory on my part. Anyways, it's a bummer knowing these amps have so many repair issues, but the clean tones are the best I've ever had the priviledge of hearing. The ability to get a dirty drive on a 5 watt setting is what sold me on the amp originally. I had wanted a tube amp for years but couldn't turn them up loud due to shared walls, which is usually necessary for the tone I was chasing.
Thanks for the awesome video. I really just wanted to see the inside of this incredible amp! Now, if only there was a way to plug in headphones (safely) for afterhours use, it would be a perfect amp. I considered a Revv D20+cab, but can't quite justify selling the LS Special, especially since they aren't made anymore.
Exact same boat but I sold my LSS and regret it. I'm also shy to re-acquire because of all of the 5Y3's I torched.
You diagnosed the issue so quickly and easily, my mine was blown.
I’ve owned and toured with the early Lonestar. Call me “weird,” but I cannot understand why someone would want an amp using 4 6L6/EL-34s for a 10 watt operation.
I’ve had one rectifier blow a fuse…Mesa sent me a new rectifier tube. I have not used the tube rectifier since, and that was 2008. I prefer the sound & feel of the diode. I try and keep track of my power tube usage. A habit I started in the 60s. In those days one could get RCAs at Radio Shack… Remember those days? What brand of tubes will be using. I believe they biased the tubes cold. I’s been a good sounding amp for me. The DRIVE channel is EQ’d a bit strange.
Enjoy your channel - you remind me of the techs I had when I was a kid.
Lyle, fyi during todays That Pedal Show's Monday live VCQ&A show Mick and Dan asked viewers for suggestions for 2023 a joint live feed with other channels starting with Psionic Audio was mentioned and The Lads liked the idea.
Wow, I had no idea they know who I am. I’ll check it out, thanks.
Ah, well, I got less time than choosing the proper rug. ;)
@@PsionicAudio well, they thought your name was "Pete" which may or may not be an improvement on "Kyle" 😉
I've been plugging you where/when relevant in the comments there for over a year. Posted a link or two to your vids on Fender reissues, hotrod deluxe and WGS speakers with suggestion they check them out and talk to a UK tech.
They're good Lads, been subbed almost 6 years. bought merch and exchange quite a few emails over the years. I'd be surprised if they haven't followed up and checked the links I posted. Like you, they qualify as "good people" especially Micks wife Katherine I still owe her pictures (he just got big enough for it) of the grandson in the TPS "one-sie" she sent with a t-shirt order.
Last thing I expected to hear on a Mesa repair video: "Relatively easy repair..." 🤯
No kidding. LoL!
The Lonestar is the Mesa I’ve been interested in for a while. It’s not overly complicated but it DOES have some unique things going on that make it a good candidate to build at home if you’re into that sort of thing.
Avoid all Mesas.
I was gonna say the same thing haha!
@@PsionicAudio Why I use modelers :) BR
Very cool. I know nothing about electronics so this is like a lecture on Astrophysics given in Latin..but interesting on the level of "Oohh..shiney!! Look at the tube thingies!!!" :) Best Regards and Best Wishes for 2023!
the power tube pairs in a mesa are the outers and inners.
I wish I had known you a year ago. I had a bunch of 5U4 in stock. I would have sent them to you. the 5U4 was used in a lot of older rf amplifiers. I gave away a pace desolder station. Sorry too late.
Interesting about that 10W mode. I'd think that would be loss of B+ or something rather than a tube. It will be interesting to see what you find.
Fuse holder nut appeared to move when you put the correct fuse in. I'd opt to upgrade the screen grid resistors if new power tubes end up being ordered. Would also consider preamp tubes if needed. But that's just me. Hopefully all else is OK. Tubes ain't exactly cheap nowadays.
welcome to my private hell....ive been working on live gigs with 2 lonestar 2x12 combos and one 8:88 bass amp, all 3 amps had blown fuses, bad tubes and noise issues while they were brand new.
if you plan to gig with a mesa amp, it can be easy as long as you always make sure to bring a backup amp,some spare fuses, tubes ,a forklift and a tech
Lyle - I'm reasonably sure in the 10 watt mode the Lonestars only allow tube rectification, hence no sound when the tube rec is removed - most likely the issue you are seeing here...... I know you aren't the world's number one Mesa fan (that'd be brad :D ), but these ones sound great!
Not according to the schematic. The 10W mode switching is not tied to the rectification switching, unless the schematic is inaccurate (which is not impossible).
Sonofabitch - you’re right. Just tested it.
This is NOT in the goddamn schematic. Fucking Mesa…
@@PsionicAudioI'm an owner of a Lonestar Special - I found out when it blew the rectifier tube - still worked on the 15 watt and 30 watt settings but the 5 watt was dead - that setting permanently tied to the tube rectifier. Hopefully that'll save you a wee bit of trouble shooting time :D
Gotta love Mesa ....... well, maybe not so much ....... still love the sound of the Lonestar Special.
@@PsionicAudioLook like Lonstar gave you the razz……
That’s crazy. I was studying the schematic of this amp(just curious about it) and this video popped up! It was just released! The algorithm is influencing the video creators,now!! 😊
You are being tracked by your browser and the algorithms.
It knows what you’re having for lunch tomorrow . . . before you even think about it!
@@andrewthomason3857 , I watched Lyle's vid about the tweed Fender Harvard yesterday, and today a news piece about Harvard University popped up in my feed. I also responded to a comment on the Franlab channel yesterday where we were joking about how to make clickbaity video titles; somebody said to *squeeze* in a certain phrase that would make more people click on the video, and today in my feed I found a video of John Hiatt playing with Nick Lowe and members of Squeeze! I've been a Hyatt fan for decades and I thought I'd seen pretty much every video worth seeing of him on TH-cam but there's 4 or 5 individial Hiatt/Squeeze songs posted by the same guy 10 years ago and I've never seen any of them before. Apparently the guy disabled all associated adverising so there won't be any pop-ups or ads shown before or during when the band is playing, and perhaps that's why the algorithm doesn't specifically recommend them to me based just on having John Hiatt's name in them.
@@goodun2974 You don’t get it! Lyle released the video WHILE I was studying the Lonestar schematic. This PROVES the moon landing was fake!!
@@williambock1821 , yesterday I made a "plumber's crack" joke on a TH-cam livestream chat. Today there's a crack running straight down through my personalized coffee cup with a picture of my dog and me. It must be a conspiracy! 🤔😳
MesaBoogie amps are underrated imo
So, I'm not really an amp-tech in the way that you are (I've mostly worked on and fixed a lot of production-line equipment relating to audio) but I have been fixing a lot of amps over recent years. The one question I have about Mesa's: WTF is that screw sticking through the chassis not connected to anything??? I'm at 3:30 right now & it's plain as day in front of those blue caps. Why is it there??!
In theory to press up against the cabinet and keep the chassis from vibrating.
In reality it mostly just annoys when removing the chassis from the cab.
@@PsionicAudio damn. Such a simple purpose. Thanks, dude!
Would love to see a video about where this amp has a few design issues that could be improved.
Like so many Mesa amps, the best improvement is to replace it with something more reliable with a less insane "design".
Cheers,
Alan Tomlinson
The 10W setting uses the Tube Rectifier by default, so if you put it on 10W with no rectifier tube, you'll get no sound.... 😁
I think, not sure, that it uses tube rectification in the 10 watt mode and solid state in the 100 watt mode regardless of the switch setting.
See previous comments and my replies.
I once owned a Mesa Boogie head back in the 80s. I think it was a Mark III. I really never bonded with that amp because I thought the EQ was way too bright sounding. That amp was eventually stolen, and I never had an inclination to buy another Mesa. I have heard from some people that the quality of newer Mesa Boogies suck. Good or bad, Mesa Boogie is just not the right brand for me.
If you’ve only owned one Mesa, seems you can’t really say they aren’t the right amp for you without trying a few. They’ve increased the variety of amps since the Mark ll - lll days and you might find something…but many of them are far from being service friendly
Hi. Thanks that was interesting. I am curious to know when you change the power tubes what you will do if the bias is not correct? I guess either find tubes which are suited to it's pre determined fixed bias, or would you change the fixed bias setting? Regards.
Mesas run the bias so cold any matched set well be “fine.”
Mesas are like (modern) German luxury cars… really interesting to use and play around with (provided you’re a knob twiddler), but unnecessarily complex and not something I’d want to own.
Yup. Unnecessarily complex
You got to what I was getting ready to type right at 1:10
MESA tried to make it easy with the fixed bias and the color codes on the power tubes. But nope, people still put in mis-matched tubes.
To be fair though, the order of the tubes isn't intuitive. If you didn't know that a pair went on each end, with another in the middle, you'd probably just alternate them. Granted, if you indeed DIDN'T know better, it's probably a good idea to check first, but of all of these types of mistakes, this is probably the most understandable.
@@cpfs936 Clearly states in the manual where the tubes need to go. Although most people don't read em I'd guess. Probably should have it labelled on the amp perhaps
"It's impossible to make anything foolproof because fools can actually be quite ingenious. Who knew?".🤔😁
@@bugeyedmudafuka2 Labeling the amp is a GREAT idea! I'm guilty, too! I didn't initially know that the tubes weren't in alternating pairs. (That was years ago with a Twin, though.)
@@cpfs936 You are confused. There is no "order of the tubes". The tubes are supposed to be ALL THE SAME COLOR CODE. That way they are all matched the same. If your amp originally came with 4 blue color-code tubes, then that is what you need to stick with, and you have to buy them FROM MESA. You aren't supposed to mix the color-codes. When you replace them, you have to replace them with the same color-code.
Had the same happen to my original Lonestar, the rectifier tube blew the fuse.
Greetings from Tacoma Washington. Can you share how to contact you about having work done to our amps. How can we schedule that with you.
Ty for sharing. Lyle, would old,faulty power tube sockets cause fuses to blow along with screen grids in Mesa's?
Yes, especially if they’ve developed conductive paths between pins.
Is that a pair of 220 mfd filter caps on the main filter node? Even if they're in series , which it appears they might be, 110 mfd is a lot of capacitance for a 5U4 rectifier, making the tube more likely to arc.
Way to spoil the next video man. ;)
Yeah, Mesa used up all their engineering on the logo.
@@PsionicAudio , sorry! (Not!😁). I can't help it, I'm wired to notice the things that seem incongruous. Mesa is known for using overly large capacitors and other components that don't really fit the board without being shoehorned into place, but those caps looked awfully big even before I looked closely enough to read the mfd value.
@@PsionicAudio ps, that wide-open beartrap clamp makes me wonder if somebody tried to use a rectifier tube with an oversize base, like a mil-spec Chatham Electronics 5R4GY "potato masher", in an attempt finding a more rugged rectifier. Ever see one of those? (They used to be common on the NOS/ surplus market and at hamfests). HUGE brown base, extra-large/thick glass bottle, and a flat top. Theoretically more rugged, but perhaps not so in a Mesa circuit, or with that much capacitance load on it.
Fan set to off. I ran my amp with fan off for too long and something started to smoke.
Lucky fuses.
Big surprise, another Mesa
a bit off-topic, but have you worked on fender rumbles?
@Psionic Audio please, are Cornell Dubilier as good as F&T electrolytic capacitors ?
Looks like beartraps are either completely oversized or completely bent out of the way
I'd vote on *bent*. Maybe there are grizzlies in Memphis? Or perhaps somebody tried a Chatham Electronics military-spec 5R4GY "potato masher" rectifier in there. HUGE brown base, fat bottle with a flat top, hence the nickname. Might make sense that somebody tried one if they had been having trouble with rectifier tubes failing.....
I'm not very happy with JJ rectifier tubes.
Their 5U4 “rattles” upon power up but all others for me have been fine. What problems have you had and how often?
@@cirenosnor5768 The glass seems awful light duty, and they fail more often than any others.
@@1Dougloid My personal experience as a tech since 1988 is seeing more bad Sovtek/Electro Harmonix and Chinese tubes than bad JJ’s. I’ve also watched some amp companies stop using Chinese & Sovtek as well
@@cirenosnor5768 I believe that there's a lot of quality spread in between production lots of tubes. I'm not critical of JJ power tubes at all. Just their rectifier tubes.
@@1Dougloid Understood and like to hear what other people’s experiences have been
Oh, Lyle spricht deutsch?
No, just little phrases from having German families a few generations back.
Mesa Broke Me Amps. For what people pay for these things, I'd expect much higher quality.
Power tubes used by Mesa are usually Chinese. Rectifiers also Chinese or Sovtek/Electro Harmonix. Not exactly the most reliable tubes. Yet Mesa insists on using them 😑
Mesa amps- designed by a child with a tray and a packet of m&ms.