J
jayd41
Member
With summer upon us I have decided I need a combo that I can grab and haul onto the front porch, out in the garage, back by the fire pit with an extension cord, or over to a friend's house.
I am looking for light(er) combos as a result, and being that I am trying to expand my horizons as a player, I would like something that can do multiple sounds well. Something 1x12 would be ideal, a 2x12 is not what I would consider very portable.
I have traditionally been a hard rock/metal player but I'm enjoying the broken up cleans and blues tones lately.
I don't need a lot of watts as I have 100 watt heads for the band, but If the amp is flexible enough and has at least 20 watts, it may end up at least at some rehearsals.
My short list has been a Mesa Express 5:25+ (or 5:50+), a Mesa Maverick, or a Genz Benz Black Pearl. Well today I played a Lonestar Classic head at a shop and now things are complicated.
I was shocked at how good the drive tones on the Lonestar. I always wrote it off because people only ever talk about that amp's cleans, but the drive was genuinely good, and I was able to find several great tones in short order.
So now the question is, who has played an Express+ and a Lonestar (classic or special) and how would you compare them?
I can't play an Express+ without driving 2+ hours each way and as silly as it sounds, my schedule and family life just doesn't allow for that.
So any insights you may have will be helpful... even if they are for amps I haven't yet considered! Thanks!
I am looking for light(er) combos as a result, and being that I am trying to expand my horizons as a player, I would like something that can do multiple sounds well. Something 1x12 would be ideal, a 2x12 is not what I would consider very portable.
I have traditionally been a hard rock/metal player but I'm enjoying the broken up cleans and blues tones lately.
I don't need a lot of watts as I have 100 watt heads for the band, but If the amp is flexible enough and has at least 20 watts, it may end up at least at some rehearsals.
My short list has been a Mesa Express 5:25+ (or 5:50+), a Mesa Maverick, or a Genz Benz Black Pearl. Well today I played a Lonestar Classic head at a shop and now things are complicated.
I was shocked at how good the drive tones on the Lonestar. I always wrote it off because people only ever talk about that amp's cleans, but the drive was genuinely good, and I was able to find several great tones in short order.
So now the question is, who has played an Express+ and a Lonestar (classic or special) and how would you compare them?
I can't play an Express+ without driving 2+ hours each way and as silly as it sounds, my schedule and family life just doesn't allow for that.
So any insights you may have will be helpful... even if they are for amps I haven't yet considered! Thanks!
