Articulate Distortion on Stiletto Ace I

[Warrens]

What's up guys? Sorry if I double post on this one, I tried to find something already but to no avail.

Alright, I just bought myself a Mesa Stiletto Ace version 1 1x12 combo with a 2X12 horizontal rectifier cabinet. It sounds amazing. It cuts through the mix so very well, and carries an amazing bottom end and balances so well due to the cab. I'm looking for some tone shaping help on this one. I'm in a progressive thrash/death metal band, and when I was looking for a new amp, my options were either this setup or a Peavey 6505 with a 2x12 cab. Being a sucker for British tone, I went with the Ace. When I cranked up the fluid drive on channel 2, I got some really nice bottom sound and really heavy gain. It sounds great, I'm just looking to tweak it for a more articulate, less muddy distortion. I was thinking a gain boost pedal would help. Any thoughts? Also, when I crank the volume up, (like all tube amps, this thing shines when she's loud) I get quite a lot of feedback and humming. I knew that this would be present, but not the level that I got. I was thinking a noise suppressor would do the trick. Any thoughts or experiences with this? All help and discussion is greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys.

 

[rocksalt7]

Congrats on snagging an Ace rig!!! I hope you dig yours as much as I do mine!! :mrgreen:

You should try an EQ pedal in the loop...it helps with tone shaping SOOO much! Even though I don't run it most of the time, it's a really cool way to experiment and fine tune your sound. I DO run a delay with mine all the time...that fattens things up a bit as well. I use a Carbon Copy and am pretty happy with it.

Feedback...yeah, theres that :? ...I get more w/ my 355, obviously, and hardly any w/ my LP. Just depends on how i'm feelin that day. A noise suppressor probably is a cool thing for you. Good luck with your new set-up....and don't be afraid to share with the neighbors!!! :lol:

 

[Riff Blister]

As far as feedback goes, if you like using fluid drive, you've crossed over the river Styx :twisted: so you should try to back off on the gain. Even the presence and treble could be dialed back too. That will help the hellfire and brimstone from boiling over. Adding an out board gain pedal might make things worse or at the very least compress your sound so much that you will loose the ability to cut through the mix as you like.

Good luck!

 

[LetsBoogie]

What's up guys? Sorry if I double post on this one, I tried to find something already but to no avail.

Alright, I just bought myself a Mesa Stiletto Ace version 1 1x12 combo with a 2X12 horizontal rectifier cabinet. It sounds amazing. It cuts through the mix so very well, and carries an amazing bottom end and balances so well due to the cab. I'm looking for some tone shaping help on this one. I'm in a progressive thrash/death metal band, and when I was looking for a new amp, my options were either this setup or a Peavey 6505 with a 2x12 cab. Being a sucker for British tone, I went with the Ace. When I cranked up the fluid drive on channel 2, I got some really nice bottom sound and really heavy gain. It sounds great, I'm just looking to tweak it for a more articulate, less muddy distortion. I was thinking a gain boost pedal would help. Any thoughts? Also, when I crank the volume up, (like all tube amps, this thing shines when she's loud) I get quite a lot of feedback and humming. I knew that this would be present, but not the level that I got. I was thinking a noise suppressor would do the trick. Any thoughts or experiences with this? All help and discussion is greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys.

A Boss SD-1 will help tighten up your distortion as well as giving you more gain, and an ISP Decimator G-String used with the 4 cable method can take care of the noise. Your welcome :wink: