BBE Sonic Maximizer with Stiletto

[Guitarz_18]

I hooked up my bbe sonic maximizer into the effects loop of
the stiletto today. It helped a great deal with the low end, and
kind of gave it some life or sparkle as well. I still get ear fatigue
with this amp and it didn't get rid of that biting high end that is
making my ears ring, even at low volumes.

Has anybody else tried this?

I'm still desperatly trying different things so that I can say I
like this amp, but it just ain't happening. I read a review
on harmony central that pretty much wrapped up how I feel
about the amp, especially the part about ear fatigue while
playing it. I'm thinking about having it modded and having
all the eq revoiced. Anybody do that?

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I've read that bringing the treble and presence down really helps the amp....have you tried it? How do you have it EQed?

 

[CudBucket]

G18, your feelings on the Stiletto remind me of mine and the Carvin V3. I tried and tried and tried and couldn't get a single sound I liked with that amp. Could be the Stiletto is just not for you.

 

[Guitarz_18]

G18, your feelings on the Stiletto remind me of mine and the Carvin V3. I tried and tried and tried and couldn't get a single sound I liked with that amp. Could be the Stiletto is just not for you.

Well, thats thing, it IS for me. I've been a Marshall user for years
and just today even I A/Bd the Stiletto against my Marshalls, and
the Stiletto is real close to them, but its just missing something, that
I can't describe other than openess. The Stiletto is a very focused
amp, it doesn't spread out like the Marshalls, yet the tone is very
similiar. I'm convinced that its the voicing of the bass and mid freqs.
Just like the litarature says, the bass is an octave higher and the mids
are an octave lower than on other amps. I think this is exactly where
they went wrong. If I can have them re-voiced to "normal" than I think
it would be a killer amp.

I've had this amp for almost a year, yet the only things I could find from
other users was the harmony central posts. I'm glad I found this forum
and can at least talk to other actual owners of the amp.

I've run this amp in every conceivable eq settings and through at least
10 different cabs. I've run it with a graphic (that helps a lot) and now
I'm experimenting with the BBE. Its nice to post my impressions and
get feedback from other owners.

For what I paid for this amp and for what others are paying new, I must
keep this amp and make it work, I refuse to take a 50% or more loss
on this thing. :wink:

 

[Platypus]

I got a stiletto deuce during the GC sale since I have 30 days to play with it basically.

I wanted to A/B them with my dual rec and sadly the DR with EL34L's just pounds all over this thing. I only found two 'tones' that my DR couldn't emulate and they just weren't enough to justify the amp to me. I am most likely going to return it and keep looking.

That being said I did have good results with the stiletto when driving it with an OD pedal with a lower tone setting, it seemed to hush the really focused hitting treble this amp cranks out and make it a little bit more equal with midrange/bass.

Also as I'm sure you already have tried,, the treble and gain seem to be best around noon while the bass can be cranked way more than I'd ever do with my recto. In the tite gain mode of channel two especially. I can get lots of great sounds pretty easily on the first channel in crunch mode.

 

[db]

I've had the Stiletto now for a month or so. I had the same complaint about the amp when I first got it--too much treble. I found that, in addition to turning down the treble and presence, turning down the mids helps. I like the amp now, but was dissappointed at first.

Sample setting for channel 2, playing at medium-low volume, practicing unaccompanied: tube rectifier, spongy, volume at 9 o'clock, presence at 9:30, bass at 12, Mid at 10, treble at 10, gain at 3 or 4 o'clock.

I play through the traditional 4X12 with an ASAT deluxe, a somewhat bright-sounding guitar (mahogany body with maple neck and Duncan JB) which likely compounded the problem of headache-inducing high end. I use a fuzz face clone as my solo boost, which works nicely.

My only experience with the BBE Sonic Maximizer was as a plug-in for mastering. I found I didn't like it because it caused ear fatigue, making everything seem too bright.

 

[db]

whoops, forgot to mention tite gain voicing.

Also, I noticed you've had the amp for a year now, Guitarz (didn't catch that in your second post), so my settings suggestion probably is old news.

 

[Silverwulf]

Well, thats thing, it IS for me. I've been a Marshall user for years and just today even I A/Bd the Stiletto against my Marshalls, andthe Stiletto is real close to them, but its just missing something, that I can't describe other than openess. The Stiletto is a very focused amp, it doesn't spread out like the Marshalls, yet the tone is very
similiar. I'm convinced that its the voicing of the bass and mid freqs.
Just like the litarature says, the bass is an octave higher and the mids
are an octave lower than on other amps. I think this is exactly where
they went wrong. If I can have them re-voiced to "normal" than I think
it would be a killer amp.

You're reading too far into this voicing of the mids and bass. The bass is voiced an octave higher and the mids an octave lower than how they're set on the Recto, not all other amps. In reality, those are probably exceptionally close to where the controls on a Marshall are set now. So, they're already "normal." They're just different than the Recto.

The tone is a very compressed tone. It's just the nature of Boogie amps. They're exceptionally focused and tight, where as amps like the JCM 800 are a little more open and raw. If you don't like the high end and you're getting listening fatigue, then it has nothing to do with the amp. It has to do with how you have it set. Don't set the knobs where you think they "should" be. Listen with your ears and not your eyes. If it's too piercing and giving you listening fatigue, then simply turn down the treble and presence, probably no more than 10 - 11 o'clock at the highest in most cases.

Oh, and get rid of that BBE...:wink:

 

[dual rec]

Try turning your presence way down. I agree with sulverwulf on this one, because I had the same prob. when I first got my DR. I tried the normal settings because Of what I saw. After not getting the results I wanted I stopped trying to set mine like everyone else and set it up and found good tone. Give it more time.

 

[Guitarz_18]

well, that's funny, because I just glanced at where I have the treble
and presence set, 10 o'clock on presence and 10:30 on treble.

But, the info about how the bass and mids are voiced is very
valuable to me. Are they really in relation to a Recto? I have a Recto
but to me its a different animal. I'm not really comparing those two,
the whole point was to have a Marshall sound with the Boogie voice,
the Stiletto only half delivers on this.

I'm going to take the amp to a trusted amp tech who will mod
it for me, the first thing I'm wanting is more low end, more like
a Marshall, I may even leave the mids alone, because on my Marshalls
which I just glanced at, the mids are set to zero anyways.

Can anyone think of anything else I should have the guy
check out and mod?

 

[Bobbypols]

voodoo amps does them.

 

[SgtThump]

...the whole point was to have a Marshall sound with the Boogie voice, the Stiletto only half delivers on this...

That's exactly how I describe the tone. It's a mix between a Marshall and a Boogie. I think it does exactly that, but I know we all hear things differently. It certainly doesn't sound exactly like a Marshall, but not like a Recto either. Pretty much in the middle in my book.

Chris