Help with my Stiletto Ace

[Dr GearHead]

I am finding my Stiletto Ace 1x12 a bit harsh and was wondering if any of you guys have found the same thing or if it’s just me.

I am specifically talking about the higher gain sounds, the band I’m in plays a couple of metallica numbers but as I am playing lead I don’t necessarily need the gain up as high as the rhythm guitar, looking more for a smoother lead tone.
I can’t seem to set the gain above the 11 o’clock position without it sounding a bit harsh and buzzy (on both the fluid and tite gain settings). I have started with all of the eq’s in the 12 o’clock position and tried to adjust from there, it’s set up roughly (as best as I can remember)

Treble – 10 o’clock
Mid - 11 o’clock
Bass - 2 o’clock
Presence – 9 o’clock


I have tried it with a couple of different guitars and it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Maybe some different tubes would smooth things out ?

I should point out the amp is brand new

Cheers

 

[srf399]

1.) Turn the presence all the way down at 7.
2.) Try a re-tube from Doug's Tubes.

His suggestion to me to smooth out any harshness was this:

Preamp Tubes

V1 - Tung-Sol 12AX7 reissue
V2 - high gain JJ ECC83S
V3 - Penta Labs 12AX7
V4 - Shuguang 12AX7C9
V5 - Sovtek 12AX7LPS

Power tubes = RUBY EL34BSTR's

3.) Webber Beam Blockers

4.) Change to a different speaker... Others have tried the Celestion G12-65's and said they got rid of any harshness.

The Deuce II is a less bright version and some have just switched to that to get rid of it also. You can still get the Ace brightness with the deuce if you want to by plugging the 8 ohm cabinet into the 4 ohm output on the amp.

The first 4 should help fix that for you though.

 

[srf399]

Also a good graphic EQ in the loop might be able to pull the frequency that is offending down a bit.

 

[Dr GearHead]

thanks for the replys.

I can get hold of the STR 450's so I may give those a try, or maybe some KT66's ?

I was thinking I could get an openbacked 1x12 extension cab, load the v30 into that and change the internal speaker.

I am going to order the beam blockers tonight, does it make a big difference if I go for 4 or 5" ?

I am also toying with the idea of getting a damage control solid metal pedal and running it through the clean channel for all the real high gain stuff.

Thanks again

 

[Platypus]

Hmmm, can you describe what you mean by buzz? I have nothing of the sort on my Ace. It IS bright though..

How broken in is your V30? The V30 sounds incredibly harsh/peaky when not broken in I have found.

 

[jab]

I've had the Ace for about 3 mos. and found the "store" versions with the stock tubes in them to be a bit harsh and bright. I have 450 tubes in mine and don't really have that problem anymore so I highly recommend it. In Tite gain I have treble/presence/gain around 10:00, mid about 11:00 and bass 3:00 for my taste. With humbuckers, 10-11:00 is a lot of gain. Before you go buying speakers, eq's, preamp tubes, I'd do main 450 tube swap first. I asked the same question of a couple of tube gurus so their responses might be helpful to you:

Dr. Tube from Holland says:

In short: arrange for a bias mod!!!! That way the power tubes can be biased properly and this'll give you much fuller and fatter sound!!!! Factory stock
the power tubes are biased dead cold in MB amps, making 'm sound harsh,
shrill and thin. Totally crap! I myself prefer JJ E34L power tubes. I stay a
long way away form Sovtek, EHX etc power tubes. They're not up to it...
You'll be amazed at the difference once your amp has been biassed properly! JJ ECC83S preamp tubes wil rid you of some more harshness. If you have money to burn, have your amp upgraded with Mercury Magnetics iron. Absolutely a vast improvement in tone.

From Guitaramplifierblueprinting.com

The MB 450 is actually an NOS Siemens tube ... spectacular tube, will last 3x longer than any new production tube as well as sounding better.

Their STR-450 is normally something of a secret unless somebody finds it on their website. Most of the Mesa dealers don't even know they have those for sale at about 1/2 of what NOS dealers get for them.

If you can pick a color code from them get blue or white. You don't want red or yellow as they are too cold.

 

[Dr GearHead]

Hmmm, can you describe what you mean by buzz? I have nothing of the sort on my Ace. It IS bright though..

How broken in is your V30? The V30 sounds incredibly harsh/peaky when not broken in I have found.

We're probably talking about the same thing. The speaker is new but I had a similar thing with my old Ace combo (Mesa recently replaced it due to faulty channel switching).

I am quite keen to try out the G12-65. I am debating if I should buy the STR 450's because they are £85 ($170) per pair (although I probably should have some spare tubes in my gig bag)

 

[srf399]

I put a duet of STR 450 (Grey's) in my 50 watt sockets and I thought the amp sounded better with the STR 447's. I probably didn't have it turned up loud enough. I think the pre amp tubes do more for the tune in the Stiletto.

Also breaking in the speaker will help.

 

[cliff hetfield]

my guitarist has the ace combo, but uses a 2x12 lopo cab with hellatone 60Ls. and he usually doesnt use the combo speaker. his sound isnt harsh, but its punchy and cutting.

 

[srf399]

The deuce is really smooth and full sounding IMO and not harsh at all. The tranny in the Ace makes it brighter and when I use the 4 ohm output on the deuce in 50 watts it's bright and personally I don't care for that sound. I think the speaker swap on an Ace would make all the difference in the world. I'd take it into a decent retailer and plug it into some cabinets without the combo speaker connected until I found what I like.

 

[Racerboy44]

This was exactly what I heard when I tried the Deuce and Ace back to back through the same cab. The Ace sounded harsh and bright compared to the Deuce. They were both heads going into a recto cab. I will be getting the Deuce when I get the money together. Good luck with your Ace. Beam blockers would probably help a lot.

 

[otter5555]

my ace was so bright that you couldnt stand to plug a single coil guitar into it. humbucker guitars were only a little better.

it sounded like a $10.00 peavy transistor amp that a pawn shop had thrown into the trash.

tried different speakers, no real help.

i was about to ebay it when someone here suggested dougs tubes.

the difference was like night and day.

took all the harshness out of the amp.

otter

 

[Dr GearHead]

thanks for all the help guys,

I need to decide if I really want to spend another wedge of cash on this amp or not.

I think I will try the speaker route 1st, the re-tube will be a lot more expensive

How hard are beam blockers to fit ?

cheers

 

[jamme61]

I had the same problem, once i started gigging with my stiletto Ace I had the same harsh clipping sounds comming through. i have already tried different speakers and tubes (save your money). I loved my stiletto and don't know why the longer I played it, the more I heard this nasty harsh clipping sound comming through. I'm pissed about it and after dumping a lot of time and money on my stiletto I have moved on and sold the amp. I'm back to my marshall (Plexi) for marshall sounds. Return it now if you can, I couldn't and right now is a bad time to have to sell a high price amp.Just trying to save you the time and cash, good luck.

 

[Platypus]

I guess the Ace is very polarizing.. I wouldn't change a thing about the stock configuration aside from maybe playing with some new tubes.

You either love it or hate it I guess

 

[srf399]

Remember this is only my opinion.... and is subjective...

It seems to me from reading different interviews that Andy Timmons had a lot of influence on how the stage II's sound. If you listen to his latest CD "Resolution" those are vintage Marshall & Lonestar Classic amps. Mesa basically made adjustments so that the Stage II's would get that sound live. His sound clips, jangles, and bites and that is what the Stiletto II's are designed to do. They clip. When you listen to some of the stuff on Resolution it hurts when you crank it up. Those are Vintage Marshall amps that are clipping on those recordings not new Marshall amps. Now having said that... The Ace imo is extremely bright but you can soften it by doing the things suggested above....

The clipping though is inherent with these amps and vintage Marshall's. I bought the Deuce II specifically because it does all this in a softer way than the Ace. I passed on the Marshall JVM because it doesn't have the same clip and as others have said...isn't as organic a sound as the Stiletto II's. It's new Marshall... and I prefer Old Marshall. My old 100 Watt Super Lead was punchy and clipped. If it's brightness you want to remove... tubes, speakers, and beam blockers will warm it up but you won't get rid of that beautiful Andy Timmons/Jimi Hendrix/Eric Johnson style clip built right into the Stiletto II's... it's there for good (thank you Mr. Smith)

In my opinion you should trade it in for a Marshall JVM.

That sound is likely what you'd prefer and you're better off just eating the difference now. That's why different brands exist... so you don't have to modify one to get the other.

Remember... it's just my opinion.

 

[cliff hetfield]

dude, replace the speaker with one or more avatar hellatone 60L.

that will make a huge difference, guaranteed.

 

[dmotisko]

My suggestion would be to break the speakers in first. I would say it took my Stiletto 2x12 cab about a good month and a half to start sounding right. Use your clean channel turn up the bass and get on the volume, get the cone moving. Also have you tried using your tone controls on your guitar? Roll off the treble a little, thats what they are there for. What value pots are in your guitars? 250k pots will tame treble as 500k or 1 meg values pots will reveal more. I have a Deuce Stage II and find that I like my treble set around 8:00 and presence at about 9:30. I play a 07 LP and a 07 Am Deluxe Strat and a 74 Tele Deluxe through it and love the tone of them all. Do not worry about what the controls look like on the amp set the tone to your ear. I can guarantee that the treble will be set lower than what you have it set at.

 

[mightywarlock]

I had an ACE. I tried changing tubes. eventually i called Mesa and asked about the Deuce II and Trident, and how the sound differed. they told me the Deuce would be less bright and have more bass, which was exactly what i felt i needed. I found a great deal on a Brand New Deuce II ($900) with 4x12 recto cab ($300), sold the Recto cab (for $500), and the Ace on ebay, and the Deuce is my main amp now.
before i sold the Ace i A/B'd the Ace and Deuce II. the Ace which always hurt my ears (and gave me serious ringing in my ears) actually has a better, cleaner, louder tone than the Deuce, but they are extremely similar. The Deuce didnt hurt my ears. And is more bass heavy, so for heavier stuff it sounds good. I am in 2 bands (a punk/hard rock band, and a death metal band) and between channel 2's Tite and Fluid gains, I get the sounds i need.
In fact, i was just trying out my Marshall EL34-100/100 and JMP-1 rack the other day and wanted to dial in a really heavy sound, and see if i could match the Stiletto to the Marshall. There really is something about the way a Marshall sounds, with the Marshall GROWL, but the Stiletto was able to cop the sounds very similar, but was clearer, and i can see the Marshall getting muddy in the mix, whereas the Stiletto cuts right on through, albiet a little thinner.

 

[Platypus]

Are you guys that are saying the Ace is too bright using it in a band setting? I can see if you're jamming alone that it might be a bit bright but I would never use the word harsh, at least to my ears.

In a proper band mix, it cuts through just about anything.

I think it also depends heavily on the guitar you use. With my telecaster it's very sharp but with a nice big les paul it's heaven.. nice and thick chunky tone with a nice top end sizzle.

I didn't hear much of a difference between the Deuce and the Ace other than the fact that the Deuce had more bass. I found that it lost some of that awesome high end sizzle. I didn't care for the extra bass personally but I am a big fan of bright amps. I ran treble boosters on all the british amps I had to date before buying the Ace so your mileage may vary.