#1
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Just bought a 70's Lab Series L5 amp off Craigslist for cheap cheap cheap
I snagged an Lab Series L5 2x12 combo off Craigslist for next to nothing (apparently their resale value is zilch). These solid state amps sound GREAT. Brought it home last night and can't wait to take it out on a gig.
LAB SERIES L5 AMPS |
#2
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Nice snag! Boy does that look clean. Besides Ty Tabor of King's X I don't know who else used one....
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#3
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BB King and Allan Holdsworth both used them... |
#4
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Lots of luck with it. |
#5
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Elliot Easton of The Cars also used one for a while.
__________________
Mark Acoustic: Goodall Concert Jumbo Ovation 12 string Electric: 79 Gibson Les Paul Std Duesenberg Starplayer TV Gretsch White Falcon Godin Flat Five X Warmoth Strat Lakland 55-02 Rig: Axe-FX II MFC-101 Yamaha AG Stomp JH Audio Pro-16s QSC HPR112i |
#6
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I was first in line when this amp was introduced. One of the early "modeling" amps to be available. I remember it was very expensive. I gigged with it for a few years before going back to my Twin. After that, I bought one of the first Seymour Duncan Convertibles. It had pre-amp modules you could change out to simulate different amps. I actually still have the Convertible.
Anyway, I saw your post and remembered that I still had the original cheat sheet for the L5. "Four distinct tonalities" I added a couple more at the top. This was drawn up by the amp guy at the store I bought the amp from. Still, its a pretty good starting point. Here you go: Mark
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Guitars; Esteban -"Tribute to Paula Abdul L.E." Arturo Fuente- Cigar Box"Hand Made" First Act-"Diamond Bling" Main Street- "Flaming Acoustic" Silvertone-"Paul Stanley Dark Star" Daisy Rock- "Purple Daze" |
#7
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The guy I bought it from know Ray Flacke who told him that on his L5 he dialed everything to 1:00. |
#8
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Congrats! I must admit I've never heard of a LabSeries. Sometimes buying the 60s/70s amps can be fantastic. What kind of gain does it deliver?
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#9
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I made one into a rack mount for Ty Tabor of Kings X way back 20 years ago or more. Amazing pumped through an 800 watt amp and a bunch of speakers
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#10
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Ray Fleck played one of these when he was playing for Skaggs. These are seriously cool amps.
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#11
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I had one several years back. I too found it through craigslist for $200. It had some issues which I quickly and easily repaired. I sold it to a fellow from PA, and regretted it ever since
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#12
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Finally got to plug this guy in and really take it for a ride.
The amp by itself has really good distortion - which surprises me as it's solid state. The clean tone is very very good - especially with humbuckers. It also plays well with pedals. I tried out the following with it: Fultone Fulldrive II Fultone OCD Fultone Distortion Pro AnalogMan King Of Tone ZenDrive Old Cro Overdrive pedal (custom made by a friend) What surprised me is the one that sounded the best was the Fultone Distortion Pro. It was getting some pretty glorious classic rock tone. I would say it comes REALLY close to getting the tone Rocky Athas gets in THIS VIDEO (if nothing else, you owe it to yourself to hear Rocky if you're not aware of who he is). I also found out Elliott Easton of The Cars used a Lab Series amp on The Cars first album (which included the songs GOOD TIMES ROLL, MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL, JUST WHAT I NEEDED, YOU'RE ALL I'VE GOT TONIGHT, and BYE BYE LOVE). Also Ray Flacke (Ricky Skagg's Highway 40 Blues) used an L5 amp. The guy I bought mine from knows Ray and said Ray told him to set all the dials (except volume) to 1:00 to get his tone. So as a PSA I'm telling ya, keep an eye out for these amps. They go for $200 - $300 and are a great buy IMO. Last edited by 815C; 09-29-2012 at 06:20 AM. |
#13
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Absolutely agree. These had unusual and ahead of their time features, thanks to the Moog sythesizer engineering connection. The later Dan Pearce amplifiers bear more than a passing resemblance to these gems as well.
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