manwithnoname
Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2006
- Messages
- 23
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Hello everyone!
I’ve been lurking the forums for quite some time, but now I finally decided to speak up and ask a question or two from the experts! Any advice/comments will be extremely helpful. You guys are like the shrinks/therapists of the amp world!
Here’s my situation:
I have decided to get a Mesa amp no matter what, but I am not quite sure what to go for. I have had many different amps in the past, but the only Mesa I had was the Rect-o-Verb combo. I liked it, but I found it to be a lot of trouble to get great sounds out of. One day the sounds would be amazing, then the next day I would start tweaking like crazy, finding a muddy sound that I couldn’t really use. I had a Marshall Valvestate 120 Watt amp that I loved before the Mesa, but it too was missing something, not sure what.
Where I am today:
I was in the market for a good but not super-expensive head for my Randall 2x12 cab, so I went to a local shop that carried all brands from the cheap stuff to the boutique. I played a few Marshall tube amps and others- which sounded OK, but nothing special. Sitting next to them all was the Stiletto (Series 1). I plugged in a cheap Epiphone SG and the cleans sounded pretty nice, with a chimey 3-D sound to them. Then I switched channels and I was blown away by the palm-muting and power-chord sounds I was getting from the second channel. I immediately said, “Now I remember why I loved my old Mesa!” and from that moment on decided Mesa was the only way to go, but that I needed to look up the amps a little more. That is when I found out there was a Series 2, and an Ace as well. So now I am deciding between:
Stiletto Deuce
Dual Rectifier
Roadster
I played a Lonestar and an Ace combo, and found both to be great for cleans (especially the LS and LSC)but I quickly realized that the Lonestar would not be right for my kind of distortion. The distortion on the Ace was just not cutting it for the heavy stuff, but it did some nice crunchy tones- Now this totally may have been how it was setup, as I didn’t monkey around with the dials very much. I just could not get an over-the-top “CHUG” that I was hoping for with my palm-mutes and power-chords, and part of me was wondering if that might be that I prefer 6L6 over EL-34’s. So, since then I have been leaning toward the old-standard of a Dual Rectifier, and partially considered going back to the Single Rectifier. But then at the same time I see that the Roadster head is not THAT much more than a DR, and it has an extra channel and goodies like Reverb. Here are my thoughts and concerns:
Stiletto Deuce: Pros: Series 1 sounded great, and I believe has a real hard-edged distortion channel good for palm-muting and power chords. Cons: I am the only guitarist in my band, and typically like to have a heavy bass presence with my guitar work to establish the rhythm- when I read most reviews, the Stilettos are referred to as being great alongside a DR. This makes me think the Deuce may sound thin or too mid-rangey in a band situation. I know it sounds stupid, but I have a small worry (although extremely unfounded) that the Stiletto’s are just a flash in the pan (catchy names on things are usually a turn off for me), and that sooner or later I will find myself thinking I don’t have REAL mesa tone.
Dual Rectifier: Pros: I love Dave Grohl’s guitar sound on the first two Foo Fighters albums, and I believe that what he mostly plays is DR’s for his distortion. DR’s seem like a no-brainer for hard rock since everyone uses them. I also assume I can get the same cleans and distortion (but heavier) as I had on my Rect-O-Verb. Plus I can take out two power tubes to lower the wattage and can replace the tubes with El-34’s if I want to try a different sound. Cons: The cleans seem kinda flat, and not as 3-D as what I experienced on the Deuce. The amp seems like a one trick Thoroughbred.
Roadster: Pros: Four Channels, Reverb, Great Cleans and a DR voicing on the 3&4 channels. Cons: Everything good I have heard about this amp is from published ads, not real feedback. I have heard people say that the cleans are “close” to the Lonestar and that the dirty channels are “like” a DR. Plus it seems there are some technical issues with Roadsters?
About me and my play-style:
Here’s where I lose all credibility (as if I had any thus far hahaha):
I am not a technical guitar player in any way. I’m not a fan of playing solos and I’ve never played anything that would suggest me making a wanker face while holding a note. I play big dumb rock, and that is about it. It’s mostly chunky rhythm and simple chords along the lines of Everclear or probably any modern band. So I’m looking for something with a nice big hard rock sound and a wee bit of metal (though not shred). I play in a garage band, and I don’t gig, although if there were people that could stand the sound I make, I would like to play out. I’m not a Tube snob, but I definitely hear a huge difference in the way a tube amp sounds over a solid state. For cleans, I prefer Tubes, but depending on how heavy I want to play, I can go back and forth between tubes and SS for distortion.
I plan on visiting a local store over the next few nights with all makes of Mesa amps in stock (Guitar Showcase in San Jose) so in the end it will probably come down to what I hear there in the store- but I am hoping that with some educated feedback here I can get a better understanding of what I should expect out of these amps, and help sway my decision.
Thanks so much for your time!
-Steve
I’ve been lurking the forums for quite some time, but now I finally decided to speak up and ask a question or two from the experts! Any advice/comments will be extremely helpful. You guys are like the shrinks/therapists of the amp world!
Here’s my situation:
I have decided to get a Mesa amp no matter what, but I am not quite sure what to go for. I have had many different amps in the past, but the only Mesa I had was the Rect-o-Verb combo. I liked it, but I found it to be a lot of trouble to get great sounds out of. One day the sounds would be amazing, then the next day I would start tweaking like crazy, finding a muddy sound that I couldn’t really use. I had a Marshall Valvestate 120 Watt amp that I loved before the Mesa, but it too was missing something, not sure what.
Where I am today:
I was in the market for a good but not super-expensive head for my Randall 2x12 cab, so I went to a local shop that carried all brands from the cheap stuff to the boutique. I played a few Marshall tube amps and others- which sounded OK, but nothing special. Sitting next to them all was the Stiletto (Series 1). I plugged in a cheap Epiphone SG and the cleans sounded pretty nice, with a chimey 3-D sound to them. Then I switched channels and I was blown away by the palm-muting and power-chord sounds I was getting from the second channel. I immediately said, “Now I remember why I loved my old Mesa!” and from that moment on decided Mesa was the only way to go, but that I needed to look up the amps a little more. That is when I found out there was a Series 2, and an Ace as well. So now I am deciding between:
Stiletto Deuce
Dual Rectifier
Roadster
I played a Lonestar and an Ace combo, and found both to be great for cleans (especially the LS and LSC)but I quickly realized that the Lonestar would not be right for my kind of distortion. The distortion on the Ace was just not cutting it for the heavy stuff, but it did some nice crunchy tones- Now this totally may have been how it was setup, as I didn’t monkey around with the dials very much. I just could not get an over-the-top “CHUG” that I was hoping for with my palm-mutes and power-chords, and part of me was wondering if that might be that I prefer 6L6 over EL-34’s. So, since then I have been leaning toward the old-standard of a Dual Rectifier, and partially considered going back to the Single Rectifier. But then at the same time I see that the Roadster head is not THAT much more than a DR, and it has an extra channel and goodies like Reverb. Here are my thoughts and concerns:
Stiletto Deuce: Pros: Series 1 sounded great, and I believe has a real hard-edged distortion channel good for palm-muting and power chords. Cons: I am the only guitarist in my band, and typically like to have a heavy bass presence with my guitar work to establish the rhythm- when I read most reviews, the Stilettos are referred to as being great alongside a DR. This makes me think the Deuce may sound thin or too mid-rangey in a band situation. I know it sounds stupid, but I have a small worry (although extremely unfounded) that the Stiletto’s are just a flash in the pan (catchy names on things are usually a turn off for me), and that sooner or later I will find myself thinking I don’t have REAL mesa tone.
Dual Rectifier: Pros: I love Dave Grohl’s guitar sound on the first two Foo Fighters albums, and I believe that what he mostly plays is DR’s for his distortion. DR’s seem like a no-brainer for hard rock since everyone uses them. I also assume I can get the same cleans and distortion (but heavier) as I had on my Rect-O-Verb. Plus I can take out two power tubes to lower the wattage and can replace the tubes with El-34’s if I want to try a different sound. Cons: The cleans seem kinda flat, and not as 3-D as what I experienced on the Deuce. The amp seems like a one trick Thoroughbred.
Roadster: Pros: Four Channels, Reverb, Great Cleans and a DR voicing on the 3&4 channels. Cons: Everything good I have heard about this amp is from published ads, not real feedback. I have heard people say that the cleans are “close” to the Lonestar and that the dirty channels are “like” a DR. Plus it seems there are some technical issues with Roadsters?
About me and my play-style:
Here’s where I lose all credibility (as if I had any thus far hahaha):
I am not a technical guitar player in any way. I’m not a fan of playing solos and I’ve never played anything that would suggest me making a wanker face while holding a note. I play big dumb rock, and that is about it. It’s mostly chunky rhythm and simple chords along the lines of Everclear or probably any modern band. So I’m looking for something with a nice big hard rock sound and a wee bit of metal (though not shred). I play in a garage band, and I don’t gig, although if there were people that could stand the sound I make, I would like to play out. I’m not a Tube snob, but I definitely hear a huge difference in the way a tube amp sounds over a solid state. For cleans, I prefer Tubes, but depending on how heavy I want to play, I can go back and forth between tubes and SS for distortion.
I plan on visiting a local store over the next few nights with all makes of Mesa amps in stock (Guitar Showcase in San Jose) so in the end it will probably come down to what I hear there in the store- but I am hoping that with some educated feedback here I can get a better understanding of what I should expect out of these amps, and help sway my decision.
Thanks so much for your time!
-Steve
