Lucidology
Well-known member
Here's an excerpt from an interview where
Andy Timmon's talks about his love for the Lonestar Classic:
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"Tone Monster "
MPc: You have a great tone on Resolution. Tell us about your guitar sounds on this record.
AT: ... I’ve been friends with Steve Mueller at Mesa/Boogie for years. My favorite amp of theirs for years was the Maverick. It was the closest thing that would let me get my sound. I love the Rectifier and those types of amps but they really weren't what I was going for. They came out with the Lone Star a few years ago and that’s when I really went, “Okay, now that’s something that’s me.”
MPc: Any tips on how you set your Mesa/Boogie amps to capture the vintage sound of your record?
AT: Absolutely. The tone I get from the Lone Star really had nothing to do with trying to replicate the tone of a Mashall . I just plugged into the amp and it sounded great to start with. On the lead setting, I have the drive kicked in on the lead channel up about three quarters. With that amp, there’s so much low end, you have to dial back the bass to only about two or three.
MPc: That’s funny. We recently interviewed Dream Theater’s John Petrucci and he commented that in his Mesa/Boogie amps, he has to dial down the bass in his Road Kings! (note: since this interview Petrucci has switched to uisng Lonestars)
AT: Also, I love an amp where I can put treble in instead of taking it out. With Marshall amps and Laney amps, the treble’s always just off. It’s so bright you're just like, “Turn it off.” With the Lone Star, I've probably got it dialed in about twelve O’ clock.
I always have the effect loop kicked in, whether there’s anything connected to it or not because it does add an extra stage of gain, and the return knob on the back of the amp needs to be a little past twelve o'clock, maybe around one. It really changes the tone. I've never been happier with an amp than I have been with the Lone Star, and two different instances exemplify this:
I've never gotten as many compliments about my sound as I get with that amp. There were a few Eric Johnson instances where we opened for him at the last Dallas Guitar Show, maybe about a year ago, and though we've met a few times, and he may have heard one of my records, I don't think he had ever really heard me play. Generally, when we've opened for him, there’s usually thirty to forty-five minutes between acts, so he might not even be there [when we're on]. But this time, I looked over to the side of the stage half-way through the set and there’s Eric over there giving me the “thumbs up” and going “yeah” and… my hands froze! (laughing) He’s really the last guy I wanted to see standing at the side of the stage because he’s “Mr. Ears” over there and I'm thinking, “Oh man, he’s going to hear every little imperfection.” But I got off the stage and the first thing he said to me was, “Man, that was awesome tone.”
The next time he came through Dallas, he played two nights, and the second night, he invited me to come out and sit in, which was a huge honor, because I know he doesn't really do that very often when he’s doing his own show. So I brought my Lone Star, and from the first note I played – you know it’s coming through Eric’s monitor – it was one of the best tones I got in my life. It sounded amazing, and we had a really musical jam. We played Alien Love Child tunes and “Spanish Castle Magic” together and, afterwards, he was like, “Man, your tone was better than mine,” and I was like, “I don't think so” (laughing), but I knew that I was on the right track with the amp that I was playing. When you get a thumbs-up like that from one of your heroes, it makes you feel pretty good
Andy Timmon's talks about his love for the Lonestar Classic:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tone Monster "
MPc: You have a great tone on Resolution. Tell us about your guitar sounds on this record.
AT: ... I’ve been friends with Steve Mueller at Mesa/Boogie for years. My favorite amp of theirs for years was the Maverick. It was the closest thing that would let me get my sound. I love the Rectifier and those types of amps but they really weren't what I was going for. They came out with the Lone Star a few years ago and that’s when I really went, “Okay, now that’s something that’s me.”
MPc: Any tips on how you set your Mesa/Boogie amps to capture the vintage sound of your record?
AT: Absolutely. The tone I get from the Lone Star really had nothing to do with trying to replicate the tone of a Mashall . I just plugged into the amp and it sounded great to start with. On the lead setting, I have the drive kicked in on the lead channel up about three quarters. With that amp, there’s so much low end, you have to dial back the bass to only about two or three.
MPc: That’s funny. We recently interviewed Dream Theater’s John Petrucci and he commented that in his Mesa/Boogie amps, he has to dial down the bass in his Road Kings! (note: since this interview Petrucci has switched to uisng Lonestars)
AT: Also, I love an amp where I can put treble in instead of taking it out. With Marshall amps and Laney amps, the treble’s always just off. It’s so bright you're just like, “Turn it off.” With the Lone Star, I've probably got it dialed in about twelve O’ clock.
I always have the effect loop kicked in, whether there’s anything connected to it or not because it does add an extra stage of gain, and the return knob on the back of the amp needs to be a little past twelve o'clock, maybe around one. It really changes the tone. I've never been happier with an amp than I have been with the Lone Star, and two different instances exemplify this:
I've never gotten as many compliments about my sound as I get with that amp. There were a few Eric Johnson instances where we opened for him at the last Dallas Guitar Show, maybe about a year ago, and though we've met a few times, and he may have heard one of my records, I don't think he had ever really heard me play. Generally, when we've opened for him, there’s usually thirty to forty-five minutes between acts, so he might not even be there [when we're on]. But this time, I looked over to the side of the stage half-way through the set and there’s Eric over there giving me the “thumbs up” and going “yeah” and… my hands froze! (laughing) He’s really the last guy I wanted to see standing at the side of the stage because he’s “Mr. Ears” over there and I'm thinking, “Oh man, he’s going to hear every little imperfection.” But I got off the stage and the first thing he said to me was, “Man, that was awesome tone.”
The next time he came through Dallas, he played two nights, and the second night, he invited me to come out and sit in, which was a huge honor, because I know he doesn't really do that very often when he’s doing his own show. So I brought my Lone Star, and from the first note I played – you know it’s coming through Eric’s monitor – it was one of the best tones I got in my life. It sounded amazing, and we had a really musical jam. We played Alien Love Child tunes and “Spanish Castle Magic” together and, afterwards, he was like, “Man, your tone was better than mine,” and I was like, “I don't think so” (laughing), but I knew that I was on the right track with the amp that I was playing. When you get a thumbs-up like that from one of your heroes, it makes you feel pretty good
