I Love My Stiletto Deuce (personal testimonial)

[Artiefufkin10]

A few weeks ago I picked up a used, albeit mint-condition, Stiletto Deuce II from a board member and I could not be happier.

My purpose in this post is not to gloat or waste your time, but merely describe what I love about the amp to help others who are searching for the right amp make their decision. I know when I was on my own personal tone quest, the "TV testimonials" I read on this board were very helpful, especially when they went beyond "This amp is awesome!".

Appearance: Maybe the least important feature of the amp, but noteworthy anyway. I always thought the Black Crock front looked ugly in pictures, but it is quite stunning in person. The reflective, chrome metal panel is also incredibly suave.

Build: This amp is built like a tank. It weighs a fair amount, but everything feels solid. None of the switches, pots or jacks feel even the slightest bit shotty or poorly connected. I can see this thing lasting many years, and I plan to do everything I can to keep it that way.

Features: As a previous Roadster owner, I was initially worried about being satisfied with an amp that only had 2 foot-switchable channels and no reverb. This ended up hardly being an issue...sure all tube reverb would be sweet, but quality FX will help you get the reverb you need. As far as the channels go...leaving CH1 in crunch gets the job done...roll back the volume on your guitar and you'll get close to its very pretty clean modes. Hell, even when I roll back the guitar volume in Tite-Gain, I can get a decent clean sound.

Sound Quality: Already started touching on this, but I can't find a mode out of the available 5 that I don't like on this amp. Where as on the roadster, the only high gain modes that interested me were "Vintage"...I feel like there's a sound to be enjoyed in every mode on the Stiletto. For recording purposes, the Fat and Tite clean modes would serve well..and the Crunch mode is a live-guitarist's best friend for getting those in between tones. People will argue with me on this, but I feel that the Fluid Drive can hold its own against a Mark IV lead channel...thats just me though. Be warned, this amp is very bright with moderate use of the Presence and Treble controls. I also don't like the way the stock Mesa tubes respond sometimes, but I need to keep playing to figure out how I want it to respond before I re-tube.

Summary: As being a sort of Obsessive-Compulsive tone addict, it was important for me to get an amp that I could just plug into and have it sound good...no tweaking in between songs. Being able to control the sound more with your guitar's volume/tone was important too because I never liked pedal distortion much and I've been down the Line 6 route of having a different "sound" on each channel...never satisfied me. Call me a minimalist, but all I need is a guitar and a cable for the Deuce. Rock on.

 

[savageshredder]

congrats on the stiletto dude
how's about a video or a soundclip?

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Thanks....

and on that sound clip...ah...if only I had some time. I'll see what i can do.

 

[mightywarlock]

I agree.

I own a lot of gear. Power Amps, Preamps, Processors, Effects, Blah Blah.

great for recording.

but when i play with the band,

it is guitar, Stiletto II, cable, Cab.

i use mainly Ch.2 tite Gain and there's nothing else to it.

also, here is a small tip to try, when looking for a good sound...as i have found every guitar and pickup combination sounds completely different in Stiletto's, more than any other amp...you need to re-EQ for each guitar.
the way i do it, is set the master volume, then the gain, and work your way left(treble, mid, bass, presence). i find it very easy to dial in for each gig this way.

 

[srf399]

+1 on all your points Artiefufkin10

I also tend to hang out in Tite Gain... I absolutely love that mode!

I also love to crank the gain in Tite Clean...

I back off of the guitar volume in Tite Gain for my crunch... Get a nice ballsy early Van Halen brown sound with the tube rectifiers and 50 watt... then dime the guitar volume for solos. Nice hazy top end.

It does that Eric Johnson "Cliffs of Dover" sound straight into the amp with reverb & delay in the loop.

 

[Layne]

I agree to the above! What a great amplifier!

 

[srf399]

As far as the Fluid Drive mode being similar to the MKIV lead channel... I totally agree with you. The MkIV I had was maybe a little thicker sounding but not as quite as smooth or touch sensitive.

What I love about te amp is it's quality & versatility
It's got a lot more than Marshall type sounds in it

Fat Clean is like a Marshall Plexi and a Vintage Deluxe reverb got together and had a love child LOL

Tite Clean is Voxish

Crunch & Tite Gain are EL34 Marshallish but with a small pinch of vintage Fender added

Fluid Drive is Mark Series High Gain

 

[Artiefufkin10]

@warlock...thanks for the tips...my main guitar is an Ibanez JS1000 so I've got it set for that, but I may occasionally use a les paul for Drop D stuff..

@srf, glad we are in agreement. I can't overstate, enough, how easy it is to get a great sound out of this amp.

 

[srf399]

although there were some great sounds in the MKIV you could find some awful ones as well.

The only area with the Stiletto that I find bad is if you aren't careful with the treble and presence. Other than that it is plug & play

 

[Artiefufkin10]

although there were some great sounds in the MKIV you could find some awful ones as well.

The only area with the Stiletto that I find bad is if you aren't careful with the treble and presence. Other than that it is plug & play

+1

The MarkIV has some incredible sounds, but the only time I enjoyed playing through one was when I played a dude's who already had good settings in place. When the rare opportunity to play one in a store presented itself, I would get frustrated because I didn't know enough about the amp to get it to sound right. Maybe one day I'll get a Mark IV, but for the guy who just wants to plug in and go..the Stiletto is optimal.

Also agree that the Stiletto is super sensitive to treble/presence. You don't need to go past 12:00 on these knobs (even that is a bit much I think). I'd say its a equivalent to a recto..in that you really don't need to crank the bass on a recto because it inherently has a lot.

 

[insideout]

+1 on all this. The Deuce totally rocks.

I've had an interesting experience recently. I always felt that the Ace and now the Deuce were exceptionally bright. I had my presence and treble way down to compensate for this. However, recently I've been playing along with some music like RUSH, VH etc and found that I actually over-compensated. It's easy to get gun-shy with the high end on this thing. Overall, it's an amazing beast. I play a lot of lead, so I live in fluid drive. I agree that there isn't a bad channel or setting on the amp.

 

[djw]

Thanks for the review. I really wish there was an easy way for me to take a Stiletto for a spin -- none of the stores around me ever seem to have one, and I can't really justify a road trip to try something that I'm not actually in the market for at the moment.

Then again, if I could try one I might find myself suddenly in the market for one....

 

[Riff Blister]

Congratulations! Welcome to the club of blade wielding Stiletto owners!!!
I’ve had mine since Aug. ’06. When I first got it, I, like many others it seams, was not very pleased with the brightness. Although, I guess I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. Hey, it’s called a Stiletto not a sledge hammer.
About a year later I went to the Recto 2x12 cab instead of the Stiletto cab. I then had Doug’s Tubes set me up with his combination of tubes. That did it for me. Now I am very happy with it. I play in a two guitar band. My buddy plays thru Bogner Shiva and Orange 2x12 cab. Together we throw out a solid wall of sound. Too much fun!

 

[Barry]

The Deuce is absolutely the business . Lots of people talk about how trebly they are but I think these amps are designed around the context of how they fit in a band . On its own it may seem that way but with a full band around it then becomes the demon that it really is . Think about all those classic recordings done with old great marshalls . I bet on their own they sound pretty thin and fiddly .

 

[fbomb]

@ RIFF BLISTER does DOUG have a special set he recommends for the Stiletto? ,i have the deuce with the original tubes

 

[Riff Blister]

Here is what Doug hooked me up with after I told him I would like to warm the sound up a little.
The first three spots will impact the tone and the last two to a lesser degree.
In V1, use a Tung-Sol 12AX7 reissue.
In V2 a Sovetek 12AX7LPS.
In V3 a Penta Lab 12AX7.
In V4, a 9th gen. Shuguang unlabeled.
In V5 another Sovetek 12AX7LPS.

For the power section, I have a matched quad of Winged “C” EL34S.

It took me closer to where I wanted to be.

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Here is what Doug hooked me up with after I told him I would like to warm the sound up a little.
The first three spots will impact the tone and the last two to a lesser degree.
In V1, use a Tung-Sol 12AX7 reissue.
In V2 a Sovetek 12AX7LPS.
In V3 a Penta Lab 12AX7.
In V4, a 9th gen. Shuguang unlabeled.
In V5 another Sovetek 12AX7LPS.

For the power section, I have a matched quad of Winged “C” EL34S.

It took me closer to where I wanted to be.

Would you change anything about this configuration Riff? As I'd like to note this as something worth trying in the future.

 

[srf399]

Doug's 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

I noticed that the V2 recommendation was different than that above.

Also the Ruby's

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Doug's 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

I noticed that the V2 recommendation was different than that above.

Also the Ruby's

How do you like that configuration srf?

 

[srf399]

I haven't ordered them yet