Lexicon Signature 284

About as full featured as a recording amp as you can get.
Not intended to be loud, no points off for that. Maybe a point off
for no spring reverb, but it does have a stereo effects loop for demoing Lexicon stereo digital effects, so this was actually intentional.
Hard to fault that.

Sweet.

My 284 wasn't working new. I opened in up and it had many internal connections unconnected, connected the internal molex connectors and viola, worked great. I read many instances of quality control issues here, so I imagine there was a dispute of some kind between Lexicon and MacIntyre over the amp. Maybe this led to it's being discontinued, or maybe this was because it was being discontinued. I dunno. Odd for a high end amp. But other than how it was intially, it's solid.

N/A

It's wonderful.
Look, I am a working audio guy, house, kids, all that doing audio. And I just wanted to respond to the notion that the 284's XLR outs sound bad, but the 1/4" outs sound better. One poster making this complaint was patching the XLR outs into a Tascam 4 track. This is a mismatch of levels in one way or another, a mismatched impedence if patched into a microphone in, or a level mismatch if it's patched into a line in. Almost all Tascam 4 tracks are -10 level devices, and the 284's XLR outs are +4. Too hot of course! And impedence mismatches, even on an high end console like an SSL, are generally BIGTIME tone killers, and the pad you have to engage kills tone as well. This is why the 1/4" outs sounded better, they have a lower signal level and are a better level and impdence match.

And I am sure Lexicon told that one poster, DO NOT PATCH INTO MICROPHONE INPUTS! Just because the mic input is an XLR, and the 284's outputs are XLR's, does NOT mean that's a good way to interface the devices! Like I said, it kills tone (the audio operator's fault, not the amp's), and if phantom power is turned on on the mic pre, you will send 48 volts into the outputs of your 284 and blow the output stage of the amp up! You want to patch into a line input. On a -10 device like a Tascam 4 track, use the 1/4" out, on a pro console if it doesn't have XLR line inputs use an XLR to 1/4"TRS adaptor.

Many modern devices have protective caps on the output stages to protect them from this kind of disaster, but they also kill tone. One guy who used to write for Mix used to boast about removing all the protective caps on his gear for the improvement in sound. I would say that falls into the "don't try this at home category." But the 284 is great sounding and you CAN blow it up. Better not to, I think.

Cheers.

Well covered below, but it is a single channel class A amp with dual stereo output capability. It has XLR (with speaker sim built in)and 1/4" outs to go to a mixing board or slave amp. The outs are really hot, so you need to use the trim control on your mixer or amp to get a faithful reproduction of the sound. Best to use a line in rather than a mic input. Speaker outs are switchable between 4 or 8 ohm. Internal resistors allow use as a preamp without attatching speakers. Effects loops for ea. channel which sound amazing. Front panel features gain (pull for more modern gain), bass, mid, treb and presence as well as independant volume controls for ea. amp. The preamp is great sounding and versatile, the volume controls allow the ability to dial in power amp distortion without ear splitting volume. I love the presence knob.

3 12ax7 and 2 el84 (hence the name, 284...)

I've used it with an A-B box as a preamp into one of the channels of my bass mate, the other channel clean. It works pretty well as a preamp, but the outputs are really hot and affected by the volume knob, so power tube distortion is out of the question in this application)

The first and most obvious comparison is to Matchless. Due to the el84 tubes and gain structure, you can get any kind of "classic" voxy class A sound you can think of. Crank the gain (and volume) and you start entering marshall territory, but it always retains a nice chimyness and clarity to the sound. There's a ton of bass on tap, but you can always dial out any muddiness with the rest of the great sounding eq. Pull the gain knob and you're in Soldano land. Very "modern" sounding. It's not meant to emulate anything else (but it can), it's got its own sound happening.

That being said, there are single channel amp guys and channel switching amp guys. If you are the type that likes to footswitch b/w sounds, you might get frustrated for live use. If you are the type who likes a couple of tasty overdrive pedals in fron of an amp that's got a few shades of drive in the sound, and like to use your volume knob to get a clean sound with edge, you'll love this thing. Very very responsive and addictive. Plug in and you'll accidently play for hours. Put it this way, with two od pedals in front and one basic sound set on the amp, using a LP with 3 pickup settings, you get 12 basic sounds without any knob fiddling or changes in guitar controls. Add guitar volume and tone changes and you're set! It loves strats too.

That being said, for live use you'll want a power amp, or to mic it or to try going straight to the mixing board and using your speakers as stage monitors. You can do any combination of the above, so live use is really not limited here. I'm getting a power amp, just because i like to play loud.

I wish it had more volume when playing clean, that's about it...

Made in Canada (Calgary) by tube guru John McIntyre. 10 years old and going strong. Tubes seem to last a long time. I took out the 10 year old sovteks and replaced them with JJ's and it sounded loads better. I put the sovteks in a Traynor Bass Mate (YBA-2B from 1978)and they sound like new tubes in there! Fixed bias (or so I'm led to believe) so no hassle swapping tubes.

The manual is online, but there's no support, not even schematics. If anyone has a schematic available, email me please. John McIntyre seems to have no net presence, and Lace-Actodyne (who were contracted to build this for Lexicon)has morphed into a whole different company. Note this is based on McIntyre's "Bluesmaker" amps which became Lace "furniture" amps. Tres expensive and rare.

I was thinking about parting with it to get an 18watt Marshall, I've decided against it having put it thru its paces again for the last two days.
I have a couple of old Traynors and have had amps as diverse as Laney AOR lead 100, Legend Rock 'n' Roll 50, Traynor YCV 40 and a bunch more. This is the only one I still have that can get me into modern gain territory. It is great for country chicken picken and hard rock, as well as modern blues. Metal would be a cinch too. Stereo effects allow all kinds of great time delay effects (instant Floyd). But it is a little anemic (volume wise)in the clean department (we'll see how it does thru a power amp soon)

Covered below.

It is really a stereo, two channel amp, but the second channel (distortion) is accessed by pulling the volume control. Both modes sound great, but it is not practical to use as a two channel amp for live purposes. When you can take time and tweak it, it sounds wonderful!

Having a true stereo power section is fabulous, the power output is more than enough for live work, i.e. playing alongside drums. This is pretty remarkable considering it is only rated at 3 watts per side!

The effects loop works perfectly and it is an incredible match for the MPX-G2 and SB210 cabinet I have with it.

I have used it with a range of guitars and found all combinations very nice. I tend to think it is closer to a Marshall heritage than a Fender, but it cleans up very nicely and overall sounds fantastic. I actually love the sound, but find for live that I need more versatility instantly available. If I could have this amp in a programmable version it would be perfect!

Perfect so far

Excellent by phone and by email

have been playing forver, this is one of the best amps out there. Every sound is great and it covers the whole territory of great classic amps. I am giving it a "10" because it sounds so good and because of the built in stereo power amp. The only thing that would improve it is the ability to switch between settings instantaneously, but i can't take away points because it isn't designed to do that!

?ESerial No.A0598-1018 5/25/1998?`5/30/1998
?EThe amp is versatile enough for me. My style is Blues Rock.
?E1 channel
?ERecording out -->?@XLR balance cable --> Sony power amp --> 1
EV speaker
?EI use this amp in my test room. The power is enough. A straight sound.
?EMono use. 3 x 12AX7, 2 x EL84, 1629?@tubes feature.

?EHeritage H-140 10th anniversary with 2 hum-bucker pickups.
?EI am enjoying their deep tone. I want to hear the amp story from designer John Mclntyre :).
?ETo arrange electric surroundings firmly, and to function full, the setting is done.

?EI think this meeting to be a very welcome.
?EI am satisfied in the current state.

?EThe shop has special knowledge at my country(Japan).
?EI have asked directions. They answered very kindly.

?EAbout 35 years.
?EIt is necessary to have converted the voltage because no Japanese specification.
?EThe amplifier that can be enjoyed.

Thank you.

It is the most featured low power class a tube amp ot there. Dual channel, effects loop, slave out, direct out with speaker emulation. The only thing that could have made it better is independant preamp feeds so you could run one side dirty and the other clean, etc. That's the only reason it got a 9 here.

everyone who hears it just lets out a jaw dropped "Wow!". Vox tones, Champ tones, Marshall, Matchless, it's all there. It's the best kept secret in guitar. I have no idea why Lexicon quit making these, cause they are the shit. The amazing thing is how clean it is for a single ended class a amp. Just a very faint hiss at the highest gain settings. The best recording amp I've ever heard. Would easily be enough live with a mic'd 2x12 or 4x12.

Not even a hiccup.

I have no idea. The manuals on thier site. But I've had no need to talk to them.

I've been playing for 20+ years, mainly played Strats or copies, some various humbucker types (Explorer, Ibanez, etc) Amps: Fender, Ampeg, Tophat, (Ok I'll admit it.. I tried the POD, and thought it was pretty good for the money/features) This thing is no POD. It's the real McCoy.

2 x 3W stereo recording amp for studio or home use. True class A single ended unit. Each EL84 is used for one side with a dedicated (huge) output transformers. Uses two 12AX7 preamp tubes and one 12AX7 phase splitter tube.
No effects but it is possible to feed effects in-between preamp and power amp sections (nice).
Has dummy loads for both sides (safe to run with no speakers attached). Can be used directly for recording.
Perfect features for what it was designed to be.
Stock Sovtek power tubes suck and should be replaced for good results. The preamp EI tubes are just fine to me (These are actually excellent tubes if you buy them from a reliable source. They are made on machines purchased from Telefunken. Most guys don't know this and they think that the EI tubes are just look-alike Telefunkens).

The most versatile amp that I've ever tried. Needs of course a good set of speakers. I use two Celestion Vintage 30s. Ideally, the amp's small output and Class A operation are perfect for Celestion Alnico Blue speakers...$$$$

Very dependable.

N/A

I'm very happy with the amp. I own loads of vintage tube amps (G.A.S.) but this is the oneI use 95% of the time.
They don't make them anymore and I don't think I'm going to part with mine.

the lexicon features are easy to uderstand,and easy to setup.The only thing is how to use the effect loop split.I'm using a line6pro pod and I use left(mono)effect loop to be able to use both left&right volume.Only thing that SUCKS!!it kills bass,tre,gain controls.So I only use it for volume.

I have four different guitars a jackson,a 1978 ibanezfling V,bc rich,and a dean select Z.Each armed w/killer picks for highgain and sustain.The lexicon makes each guitar sound great.line6 also plays a big part.When I preform I combine it w/another ampstack.My set up first is lexicon loop w/line6 pro&cab then the salve out I send to a randall w/cab to guitar input.this allows me to set one on highs the other on lows.So when play loud it stays clean,and active vary impressing.thick sound goodass tube sound.

so far so good i'm love it no problems.

kickass could be many ways just got to expariment.you can also screw around w/tubes to better sound.(must be careful.

Made in 1998. Came with two(2) SOVTEK EL84 and three(3) Ei 12AX7 tubes.
This amp has everything needed to play on the stage, direct to the console or to another guitar amp.
It has a speaker emulation when going to the XLR outputs, very weak.
It has a built-in load when no speakers are connected, this is good.
It is a single channel preamp with two power outputs, each output can have a different volume level. Volume is used to change the tone from clean to great distortion.
No effects but a tube driven effect loop.
The preamp gain knob can be pulled to increase the gain.
All knobs really work from 0 to 10. 0 is reaslly 0, set the bass to 0 and it's gone.

I tested the amp with the guitar plugged straight in to a VHT 4X12 cabinet.
My normal setup has a couple of pedals going to the amp going to a Palmer ADIG-ST speaker emulation going to a chorus than delay than reverb units then going to a non saturating power amp. Mixed up in the chain are noise gates and compressors.

The sound was muddy when the preamp was pushed. Bass lost its punch. Highs were mixed up with the mids. Tubes, tubes, tubes, tubes, tubes!!!

Two new tube setups:
1 - 3 12AX7/ECC83 R.F.T. with 2 EL84 S.T.R. HARMA. (Marshall sound)
2 - 3 12AX7WA GE with 2 EL84 CV2975 MULLARD. (Fender sound)

With the new tubes, this amp sound awesome. Sonic detail, clarity and distortion are magnificent, and all that a low volume so you can play in your room without the police showing up every 15 minutes. Finger picking and sweep arpeggios come out clear and distinct. Harmonics shine through.

Must be played through a cabinet simulator or real speakers. Otherwise doesn't sound too good, like every other amp out there.

Never had a problem. Change of tube, which is normal.

Never needed.

I have been playing for 30 years (how time flies whe you're having fun). I love the amp with the new tube setups. It has great sonic flexibility and can be used in any type of venues.
I would definitively buy another used one if it was lost or stolen. The only thing that can go wrong is the tubes and that's easy to fix.

Has the features that you would expect. Could use an easier method
of accessing the drive channel.

Great tone and real neighbor freindly. Since there are a lot more guys
playing at home than in front of 5,000 people, I guess the price point
is what's kept this thing from taking off. Versatile enough to sound
great with a variety of guitars and effects. Mike the cab for recording and stay away from the XLR's - don't ask me what they
were thinking. Long story short, cool Fendery vibe.

So far so good.

Hope I don't need it. Previous calls to Lexicon put me in touch with
guys who knew less about the products than myself - go figure!

If lost or stolen I won't take a fit 'cause I own two of them.
I guess that's an indication that I really like this product so if
the idea of genuine TONE at managable volume levels appeals to you,
I would urge you to check this out. I wouldn't exactly call it a
"fantastic value" but it really has no direct competition that
I know of.

2 stage amp, 12ax7 preamp tubes and el34 powers
Stereo
Balanced line out
Class A power
rubber feet or rack mount
line in on front and back

missing:
boost foot switcheability
midi control

This thing has a sound reminiscent of an old Fender Cranked. I remember having a Fender Champ that sounded a bit like this , when it was blasting, of course the Champ was a bit louder.

I use this amp with a Fender (1982) 1962 Re-issue Strat unmodified. To hear me play some lead, with this thing recorded 16 bit, 44.1 khZ
check out this link:

http://www.artistcollaboration.com/users//pearldiver/tenfeet-3rdead.mp3

I ran the head straight into my Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro. The fact that this amp has muddy Bass doesnt bother me at all, the old Fenders had that and it suits a Fender Strat, with its string rattle on the 6th straight that is so common. Of course with my Ibanez, and its naked noiseless 6th string, the bottom end doesnt sound all that great, but thats because Ibanez's bottome end doesnt sound all that great to begin with. The article abovee that said this unit was unsuitable for direct recording, and that the bottom end was unusable; I'd like to ask him what kind of guitar and mixer he was using. I dialed the Bass back to about4, set the mids to about 2,treble on 7-8, and the presence at about 4. I set my neck pickup on the strat to about volume leve 7-8.

I am impressed~~~~! I can't wait to combine this direct sound with a mic'd sound patch in my mixer. The mp3 has a slight bit of mono delay, 9/100, in the effect loop. I found that the effect loop was so clean and brilliant, suddenly my Yamaha EMP 100 effects unit started to show its age.

The distortion breakup on this unit is sweet, and it surrisingly loud for a 3 watt amp. I was disturbing the neighbours, Im sure, and i havent cranked it up yet. Made me laff it was so loud for 3 watts.
this puppy combined with a Mesa 50/50 tube power amp would totally kick. This amp and an SG would be crazy for the sabbath or zeppelin sound.

The distortion is not as brutal as mesa boogie, its more like a Hiwatt Fender kinda thing.

Clean it is so nice, wow... now theres your direct clean sound.
The line noise is next to nothing, so discreet that I was able to
set to zero between riffs on a lead recording and not have it sound blatant , like punch ins, something I've never been able to do with a tube amp. (in the mp3 example i have set zero between riffs)

just got it

don't know yet, hear its bad though

I have been playing about 15 yrs on and off. i have had Fender amps, and i do love Strats. My guitar is a '62 re-issue Strat and this piece of gear is a great match, indeed. I'll find this more versatile than a Fender tube amp, especially in that it is stereo and VERY VERY crankable in nearly every setting.

All-tube, low-watt, rack-mountable guitar amp.
Has a tube-driven effects loop, and balanced as well as unbalanced
XLR and 1/4" line outputs.
This is only a single-channel amp, and it would be nice if it had
2-channels with a foot-switchable channel-select, but it's not
a big deal to me.
The line outputs both XLR and 1/4" are +4dBU, and are pretty hot.
It would be nice to be able to run the balanced XLRs direct to
a board for live gigging, but they are too hot for that. A
-10, -20, -30 dB pad switch would be very useful here.

To start out with, I normally use a 100-watt Fender Twin Reverb to
gig with. I love the sound, but it is just too loud for most
venues. For the sound guy to get a good mix, we really should
mix the Twin, run it through the console, and let him control the
overall level. But the Twin is so loud on its own, that there's
too much stage volume from it to really control. You can turn it
down, but then it sounds like crap.

Enter, the Lexicon 284. My hope was to use this to get that
same great tube sound, at low volume, so we could run it into the
mix, and not have it overpower the stage sound.

I've only had it about a month, but I can tell you that as far
as tone, this thing really delivers the goods. However... don't
expect it to sound like a good tube amp if you don't plug it
into some good guitar speakers. (Duh!) I have tried playing
it through 12" Carvin wedge monitors. It's loud enough,
but was too trebly, and fuzzes up too much.

I plugged it into the 2x12" inside my Fender Twin, and it sounds
like a million bucks. If you keep the preamp gain below 4,
set the power amp gain to about 7, and work the tone controls a
little, you can make this thing sparkle with a nice clean
Fendery tone.

I play a Rickenbacker, so I was really looking mostly for
clean sounds, and bright treble, and this thing delivers. I've
seen some reviews in here claiming that the bass was wobbly,
but I don't agree. If you turn the bass up to 10, and
set the other dials as the manual suggests for a "Classic 1960's Vox",
you'll be amazed. Just try the Beatles Day Tripper riff through
this thing with those settings, and you'll say, "yup... just
like the record".

The tone controls are outstanding. Unlike many combo amps, these
tone controls really DO something. They make dramatic changes
in the sounds you can get from the amp, so experiment with them.

My biggest complaint with this amp is the quality of the XLR
output sound. It is post-power amp tubes, so I was hoping
that it would be close to what I hear in guitar speakers, especially
since they are also supposed to have cabinet emulation built in.
But for my money, the XLR outs sound terrible. I plugged them
into a Tascam 4-track, and listened with headphones, and
the sound fuzzes up all over the place, no matter how I set
the gain knobs. It doesn't sound anything like the speaker
sound.

The 1/4" unbalanced outputs are much much better.

Be warned, that Lexicon told me that mixers with Phantom power
turned on could damage this amp. So you can't just
run the XLR to a live board like I wanted to. (Given the
sound of it, I wouldn't want to).

Also,

I definitely has enough volume on its own to get over a band.
That of course, depends on how loud your band plays. If you
are a really loud metal band, you will need an extra power amp
on this thing. But then, if you're a metal player, you don't
want this amp. This amp does a great job of giving you
classic Fender and Vox tube sound at low volume. It also
does a nice job on sighly-overdriven creamy-smooth sounds like
Santana. But when you kick in the severe overdrive on it
to play 80s metal, it's only "fair". I little to loose and mushy
(that was always true of my Twin as well).

I opened the cover, and the amp is well-built period. All the
tubes are mounted sideways and have spring retainers on them, which
is important if you are going to rack this thing and gig with
it the way I plan to.

The wiring is neat, the controls, case, knobs, etc are all
solid. No flimsy components to be found.

I have emailed Lexicon several times about the XLR line outs,
and how to use them. They answer quickly, but frankly, they
don't know squat. They still have not told me how to use the
XLR outputs in a live situation, except to warn me that
"phantom power MAY damage the 284". What do you mean, MAY?
How? Does it or not? Also, their user book clearly shows the
amp being hooked up this way for live gigging.

Having read the other reviews, where they uncover that Lexicon
didn't really make this amp, and have dropped distribution of it,
I'm not surprised at this.

I got the amp for a steal at $400, but that's probably because
they aren't distributing it anymore. By the way, when I bought
this from American Musical Supply for that price, they did NOT
tell me about Lexicon not carrying it anymore, but maybe
the sales person didn't know.

I've been playing guitar for 21 years. I've had a good Fender
Twin Reverb tube amp to play through for the last 8. I would definitely
buy the Lexicon again at this price. At the original pricing
of $1000, it is way overpriced, because you still have to add on
reverb, tremolo, speakers and a power amp to get back to the same
performance level of a good combo tube amp. The main reason, and
the only reason, I would buy this amp would be to provide good
moderate-volume tube tone for gigging. As a recording amp,
forget it, even though that's what it's supposedly designed for.
You will have to put speakers on it, and mic them, to get good
recordings out of it, and if you're going to do that, you may
as well just get any good tube amp.

This is a wonderfull sounding amp and there is nothing else like it on the market. It really does put out good tone at low volume. Please see my comments on Lexicon support.

Very feature rich. Two rack space stereo EL84 (fan cooled!)tube driven amp with detachable AC and all the connectivity options you'll ever need: stereo effects loop, slave outs, direct outs with 2x12 or 2x10 cabinet emulation, XLR outs, and 4 or 8 ohm outs. The effects loops are tube driven. Preamp section consists of a 3band eq and preamp gain with push-pull for extra gain. There are also two power amp volume controls that allow you to individually control the amount of power tube saturation of each side. Thus you have the option of preamp distortion, poweramp distortion or both. It's a Class A amp.

I've played the Signature 284 through two strats, a humbucker equiped LoneStar and a 1960 Custom Shop Closet Classic, and a Carvin DC127 with superdistortion pickups and active electronics. I'm using various floor effects and for a while I used the Lexicon MPXG2 guitar processor. I usually use a Mesa 2x12 with Vintage30's with this amp.

The clean sound of this amp is awesome. I get a lot of low end and rolled off highs from the Boogie cabinet but if I put one side of the amp through the speaker input of a Fender Princeton Reverb cabinet (w/ a Weber C10Q) the 284 sounds just like my Fender amps. So, if your lusting after the Fender clean tone just know that I can't distinguish this amp from a Fender on tape. I thought the hi gain texture was a little different, a bit more modern sounding, tighter with more crunch. I experimented with the preamp tubes (changed to Mullards which I keep in most of my Fender amps) and I then found that the 284 warmed up quite a bit and the overdrive became much smoother, again just like a Fender. However, this amp is much more versitile than a Fender with plenty of hi gain when using the push/pull knob and the bottem end stays nice and tight due to the solid state rectifier. The power section, preamp gain, tone stacks, and effects loop are all tube driven so like true audiophile equipment you can get all kinds of tonal differences by changing the tubes. The only problem with the sound of this amp is that when the extra gain stage is engaged by pulling the gain knob out, the bottom end loosens when the gain is dialed past 12 o'clock. This amp uses Sovtek El84 power tubes and a flabby bottom is a characteristic of these tubes. I wanted to write the review after experimenting more with different power tubes but my experience with Lexicon support encouraged me to go ahead and spit this out to help/warn/inform any of you out there. The flabby bottem when using tons of distortion isn't such a problem when I have hot pickups in the guitiar. That is, I can get a lot of preamp saturation without going to far, but if I'm playing a strat and I want a lot of distortion, I fall back on a pedal. This amp is virtually noiseless except when the pull gain stage is used and is cranked! Again, I found the level of this hiss to be a function of the type/quality of 12AX7 I am using. Overall it's quiter than most amps, hell it's only 6 watts per side.

This brings me to what I like the best about this amp: the cranked tube tone at low volume. I don't guess there is too much of a mystery on how it's done: it's class A which sounds better at lower power, it has great direct control of the amount of tube saturation with out greatly effecting the overall volume, and it's only 6 watts per side. I can hear the guitar tone swell and blossom with rich, blah, blah, blah.. That is too say I can make it sound like a cranked Marshall in a outside venue. Excellant tube tone! If I want tighter distortion I can simply roll the volumes back to 2 and crank the preamp gain. With the preamp and tube amp levels in the middle this things sounds like a Marshall JCM800 (just like it says in the suggested settings) but I can always dial in the before mentioned Fender tones. These are just comparisons using my ears, this is an amp with it's own voice not an amp emulator. Speaking of which, if you use a POD, you'll love how it sounds through the recieve of the effects loop (GT5 also). You can take advantage of the stereo capabilities to run two guitars at once through different sides or mix wet and dry signals (all via the effects loop).

I removed the cover and I was a little concerned about some aspects of the contruction. If you ever drop this things it may be over. It's a tube amp in a rack unit so you need to be a little carefull. Most of the wiring is excellant and as far as I can tell high quality components were used. For instance, the tube sockets are porcelain which you usually only see on boutique amps! The wiring is very neat and all the tube sockets and pots are seaperated off the PCB. Almost a point to point/PCB hybrid like MesaBoogie uses without so many cheap ribbon cables. The PCB contrunction is very well laid out and labled thus making this amp easy to figure out and yes, even modify! Oh and the tubes are mounted sidewise and held in place with fasteners. There is a fan to cool things and it is noisless. I was suprised to find NOS tubes in the preamp section. Again the power tubes are Sovtek EL84's, nonmilitary issue. These tubes sound better than the milspecs but these are the tubes that Vox amps eat up in a matter of hours. I used this amp a good bit over the last few months and have had no problems. The power rating for this amp is so low that they will probably last a good while. NOS EL84's would last forever and undoubtably make this amp sound even better. If you can't justify the extra exspense of NOS I would suggest Electroharmonix EL84's.

This amp is readily modifiable so I called Lexicon for a schematic. Also, I noticed that one of the 12AX7 slots was occupied by a 12AT7 and there is sometimes a good reason for making this substitution depending on the circuit characteristics. Otherwise, this substitution can harm the amps tone! The customer support representative at Lexicon refused to send me a schematic. I asked if he would simply tell me which Fender circuit the amp was based on and he flatly stated that that information is not for public consumption. If you know anything about the history of tube amplification from RCA's original schematic sold with their power tubes which evolved into Fender which eventually yeilded both Marshall and Mesaboogie, you know how ridiculous this is. Also, many techs would be hard pressed to service and replace parts in an amp without the schematic. I placed a seaperate call to inquire about the tube substitution and spoke with a different representative. He said the amp was "supposed" to have the 12AT7. Then he admitted that he did not know the difference between a 12AX7 and a 12AT7. I made sure I was actually speaking with a support guy for the Lexicon 284 (yeah right). I was again refused a schematic even though noone at Lexicon could answer the simplest of questions. Especially one that could be answered with the blueprint in front of you. I politely pressed the ridiculousness of the situation and I was told to call the Lace people at Lace Music with my querry. Who is Lace Music? They are the folks that actually made the amp for Lexicon. I talked with someone on the phone there who was very helpfull. It turns out the amp is based on a Fender circuit but he couldn't remember which one. The 12AT7 was used in because of the shortage of good 12AX7's but also depends on the tone of the EQ voicing sought after. A 12AT7 makes the EQ section less responsive but warms up overall tone. I got my freakin' schematic! I was told that he had sent 100 over to Lexicon to give out to the public and didn't understand why they refuse to do so. Lexicon doesn't even own the rights to the amp, they just distribute it. Further, Lexicon has stopped distributing the 284 thus dropping the ball on Lace Music and sticking them with parts for over 300 amps yet to be made. Lace is looking for a new distributor and I was told that talk is under way with at least one huge name in the amp world (I bet you can guess who!).

Just thought you might find this information usfull because we are consumers and so we have the chance to vote every day. This is my second negative dealing with Lexicon, and I have read about others here on HC. I'm pretty sure Lexicon is an alternate spelling for moron. Between this and my experince with the MPXG2, I'm sure that reverb is the only thing they do well.

Overall, I am very pleased with the sound quality and contruction quality of this amp. I am dissapointed that more of them are not out there but Lexicon does't advertise it. Whatever, I got mine! If this amp is picked up by another distributor things could really take off. The EL84's sound Fendery clean but have an edgier overdriven tone. The connectivity makes it very versitile and good for most any studio application. I get a lot of different sounds by switching cabinets and speakers with this head. The only problem is the bottom end gets a bit flabby when pushing the amp really hard.

it's not perfect but it's pretty close. at times i wish it were a two channel amp, so i could switch back and forth between its amazing tones without pausing to dial it in. one channel, pull the gain knob for sickening lead tones.
amazingly enough it's only 3 watts a side, total of 6 watts. you wouldn't think it's very loud .. but 6 watts is enough to play over a drummer; i don't plan to gig without a slaved power amp so i can be heard in the back of the room. it's a recording amp, of course, it's not a live amp by any means .. but if you're looking for that Class A soaked tube tone at any volume level, this is the one.

using it with a Warr guitar, Bartolini active pickups. sounds wonderful, all tones you could think of - just have to stop and dial it in (which might be annoying if you want to go from gilmour to pantera at the end of a measure).
perfectly clean, both recording and playing through cabinets (the SLIGHT hiss i can hear through my cabinets is probably my speakers, not this thing).

the clean tone stays clean only with a bit of tweaking. you dig in to your strings, it really responds with warmth and fuzzy; you can't keep it clean and get the most volume out of it because of the way it's built. crank the masters and the power tubes soak the signal.

i bought it used, one of the master knobs is kinda dented but everything works better than expected. looking forward to gigs with it. has a cooling fan built in to the back panel; top seems easy to remove but i haven't done it.

lexicon is very professional but it still takes a few days to get an email response. mailed brochures took about 10 days to get to me but they footed the $3 postage.

i'm enjoying it. planning to get a solid-state power amp for slave outputs (the 284 is plenty of back panel goodies) to increase the live volume yet hopefully maintain the consistent tube sound.
i don't plan on losing it, i guess if i did i'd have to find something similar .. it's easily the coolest in its class though.

The feature list of this thing is absolutely great: stereo low power class A amps, recording outs, line outs, powered outs, tube effects loop. I use a very similar setup, using a low powered tube head in conjunction with a rack (I use a prototype THD head), and this had exactly the features I was looking for in a rack unit.

Before I talk about tones, I should mention that I play pedal steel (a Franklin with Bill Laurence 705 pickups). I use tube guitar amps to play blues and rock and roll, and have had great luck with a variety of amps: THD, Fender, Marshall, etc. But it is possible that this amp just wasn't compatible with my instrument, which has an extremely high output pickup.
That said, while this thing looked like it should sound great, I simply couldn't get a decent tone out of it. The clean sounds were lackluster and thin, but muddy. The distorted sounds were totally flabby and muddy (they sounded like a bad fuzztone). I used the manual to try to get something decent, and spent over 2 hours, but I didn't find a single useable tone. I mainly tried to get a good sound using the power amps (using a known set of reference speakers), but the recording and line outs were equally poor.

This looks very solidly made.

A very attractive, feature rich, well made product that simply didn't have the sounds. Maybe the unit I tried was defective. I guess I just will need to try to persuade Andy Marshall at THD build me something similar (but which sounds good).

All tube, Class A rack-mountable, stereo guitar amp and direct recording source. I use the amp in a project studio and jamming with friends.

I use the Signature 284 with and old and new Strats. My 60's Strat is stock. The newer one I built and included various high-output Seymour Duncan single coils. The amp is very quiet, solid, and well-made. It facilitates a wide range of sounds from clean to heavily distorted. The amp seems to like certain settings with certain guitars. For instance, my older Strat doesn't sound as good as my newer one when the amp is set for distortion. So, I set the amp for cleaner settings with that guitar, and the chords just ring out. However, my Seymour Duncan strat positively explodes when you put the amp into overdrive. It's as heavy a distortion as I think anybody would want, and I'm not running really hot pickups, so I'm sure the distortion could be even more intense with certain guitars. The nice thing is that when it is run that way, the volume level is not window rattling, but still loud enough for small-to-medium club purposes. The tone controls are useful, but in my opinion are not as significant a feature as Lexicon makes them out to be. I especially like the direct recording out feature, where you can plug directly into a board. Also, the effects loop works very well with the Lexicon MPX-1 effects processor I plug into it.

Haven't had it too long, but it's been trouble free. It seems sufficiently well-built to be reliable in all types of use.

I've dealt with Lexicon regarding my MPX-1, and they were very helpful. The warranty is 1 year.

I also own a 60's Marshall 50 and various other old tube amps. I would definitely buy the Signature 284 again. I guess the only thing I wish it had were switchable channels, running it mono rather than stereo. I really like the fact that it's rack-mountable and can be run directly into a mixing board, even when it's set for overdrive. I like my Marshall, but this gives me more flexibility. With the Marshall I have to crank it way up to get distortion.