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Lexicon Signature 284 low-power tube guitar amp

Lexicon Signature 284. $1000. All tube guitar recording amplifier. High gain preamp. Low-watt Class A power amp. 2 12AX7's. 2 EL84's.

Compare this other amp by the same designer: Lace Electro-Furniture JDS Model-A with McIntyre/Actodyne Bluesmaker MKII SPL-3 Stereo 3 watt x 2, 2x12 combo with load and speaker simulator, $3000.

The Lexicon Signature 284 is a guitar amp with:

press release -- "NAMM International Music Market, Los Angeles, CA, January 29, 1998 - Lexicon's Custom Shop line features a new amplifier providing the great tone of a "fully-cranked" amp at reasonable volume levels. Designed for Lexicon by tube amplifier guru, John McIntyre, the Signature 284 is the ultimate guitar recording amp, combining the gorgeous tone of vintage amps with state-of-the-art all-tube design.

The Signature 284's unique design combines a high-gain preamp with a low wattage, stereo Class "A" power amplifier. The preamp section uses three 12AX7 tubes and incorporates a switchable high-gain stage and beautifully voiced tone controls. To put the finishing touch on the Signature 284's tone, a stereo power amp uses two EL84 tubes in a Class "A" configuration. A tube- driven stereo effects loop lets the guitarist place stereo effects in-line between the preamp and power amp. The results are sonic effects that can't be obtained at the console.

Simultaneous outputs let the amp drive any combination of stereo speaker, balanced recording and slave amp outputs. The speaker outputs can handle 8 or 4 ohm cabinets. Built-in speaker simulation lets the guitarist select "smooth" or "bright" independently for each recording output. A passive load is also provided for each speaker output. For silent recording, the passive load is automatically connected when the speaker is disconnected. Because the slave outputs tap the signal after the power amp, they carry all of the Signature 284's characteristic tone, and can be connected to any power amp and guitar cabinets for greater performance volume when needed."

The following links lead to a little more information, but it doesn't say how many watts each channel of the power amp stage has.

another news release

Signature 284 - Product Info

LEXICON Signature 284

>Anyone heard the Signature 284 or read any reviews? My never ending quest for good tone at apartment levels has led me here, but I'm scared at the "amp in a box" solutions I've heard. My Champ sounds great but it is still way too loud to record with in my apartment!

Bobby Owsinski wrote:

>I've played with it quite a bit. It really does work great at low levels and it's a superb recording device using the direct outputs. Lexicon does demos using the direct outs into a pair of powered Genelecs and it even sounds great under those conditions.

>It's not going to sound exactly like a good, actual, cranked tube amp, but it won't be that far away. In fact, in a session with Eddie Kramer (Hendrix engineer) recently, it was hard to tell the difference between a miked 50W plexi and a 284. The plexi worked better for some things while the 284 worked better for others.

>I consulted with Lexicon on this. This is meant to be a professional recording device and it does that job really, really well. It also works very well as a small low, wattage guitar amp with speakers.

>This amp was put into production as a result of dealer demand. One of the Lexicon sales guys used the John McIntyre version to demo some other Lexicon products (effects). Every store he went to the response was, "The effects are nice, but what is that amp that you're using?" After enough people asked about it, lexicon asked McIntyre to change the voicing a bit, added balanced direct outs, and it's now a product.

Dummy-load rig or 3-stage amp rig with added EQs

eq pedal

284's left preamp

eq pedal in fx loop

284's left tube power amp

284's left dummy load

eq pedal

284's right FX Return jack

284's right tube power amp (not distorting)

guitar speaker

Power-attenuator rig with added EQs

eq pedal

284's left preamp

eq pedal in left fx loop

284's left tube power amp

power attenuator

guitar speaker

and optionally do the same on right channel, using your second Hot Plate and your other two EQ pedals.  Jam with friend or with recorded clean/dry guitar, re-amped with any settings.

In the newsgroups, David Coffin wrote:

The Signature 284 All-tube Class A Stereo Guitar Amplifier, optimized for recording and direct use, with about 6 watts of power [a mere 3 watts for the left channel, and 3 for the right] and compensated recording outs that come after the power section and include passive loading--2-space rack mount, single channel with a boost switch and four tone knobs. This thing was designed by John McIntyre, who used to write for Guitar Player and is based on a similar piece he designed that the Lace-Sensor folks were offering last year. It too has an effects loop (tube driven stereo) and slave outs. I heard it played both thru cabinets and direct thru monitors and it was very sweet...the demonstrator could really do the SRV thing and it sounded almost exactly the same when he switched from cab to monitors. Should be about $999.

[I don't know if the following is relevant to power-tube saturation at low volumes - Michael]
A revamped version of the MPX -1, called the MPX G2, which will reportedly do everything the MPX-1 will, but has a new analog section for distortion/preamp stuff and classic stomp box emulations (they list Uni-Vibe, Cry Baby, Dyna Comp, Vox...), an effects loop so you can position your own preamp (or whatever) after some effects and before others, front-panel EQ knobs and headphone jack, intelligent pitch shifting, and 20 sec. of full bandwidth delay (stereo I think). Will be about $200 more than the MPX and is coming 2nd quarter 98---their R1 Remote Foot switch will be updated to handle it, and will include a readout for the tuner that's in the G2. Oh, it doesn't seem to have the digital I/O--too bad!

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