Been playing a Stiletto for a while now, and I hear so much about the god-like plexi tone. But when you play a 100W version for example with the volume past 9:00 it's simply too loud for the band. I believe it when people say you have to crank them for the great tone, but it's not practical. So for a classic-hard rock situation, how do you use these and how do they sound?
Seems most people recommend a Hot Plate but that stresses the amp. So, if you put a high quality pedal in front of a Plexi (like an Xotic AC or BB), is the resulting tone something so much better than if you just bought a high quality amp with a preamp section (think Stiletto or the like). Or is the Plexi type of "tone frame" (for lack of a better word) just something so much bigger and bolder that a pedal and Plexi can be far superior to an amp that does it all to start with.
I know these are all big time opinions I'm asking for, but that's what I want. I know I need to go out and hear it for myself, make my own judgement, blah blah blah. I'll do that but I'd like your opinions too and experience with these more single volume knob type of amps.
Seems most people recommend a Hot Plate but that stresses the amp. So, if you put a high quality pedal in front of a Plexi (like an Xotic AC or BB), is the resulting tone something so much better than if you just bought a high quality amp with a preamp section (think Stiletto or the like). Or is the Plexi type of "tone frame" (for lack of a better word) just something so much bigger and bolder that a pedal and Plexi can be far superior to an amp that does it all to start with.
I know these are all big time opinions I'm asking for, but that's what I want. I know I need to go out and hear it for myself, make my own judgement, blah blah blah. I'll do that but I'd like your opinions too and experience with these more single volume knob type of amps.