love my stiletto...too bad they are misunderstood...

[My Pet Monster]

The appreciation of any amp owes a lot to personal taste and the individual's ears but I, like the original, poster am astonished how little love these amps receive. Once you've got to grips with how the controls affect your sound, it's easy to dial in a whole range of tones and it sounds great with a variety of guitars.
The amp has plenty of low end but not too much so that it gets lost amid the drums and bass.
I run mine with a Sunday Driver booster which really suits the amp and makes everything a little hotter.

 

[Elbowselbows]

I've had my stage II for a couple of years after getting for a great deal. Anytime I see someone gigging with one I've got to talk shop on there Stiletto. Of the people around town that have them , the reviews are good, and the sounds are better.

 

[jglover51]

A few years ago, I owned a Stiletto ACE 1x12 and couldn't flip it fast enough. It was bright, ice-picky and just overall not pleasing to my ears.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. I was offered a trade for a Stiletto ACE 2x12 for my Vox AC30CC. I was reluctant at first, but I accepted. Man, I'm totally happy that I did!! I don't know if it's the difference between the 1x12 and 2x12, but I love the sounds that I'm getting. It matches well with my Les Paul, Strat and Tele, which is the first amp I've owned to do that. Very versatile amp.

Below is a link to a demo I made last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZsmpMnf_Pg

As you can tell on the video, I set the Treble, Mids, and Presence kinda low on the Red channel. I use these settings on all my guitars. I think it gives me the best sound with all of them and I don't have to constantly adjust for each one. If anything, I just change the modes (Fat, Tite, Crunch, etc.)

Also, regarding "extreme EQ settings", this isn't the only amp I've had to do that with. I owned a Marshal DSL50 that I actually had to turn the treble and presence down lower than on the ACE!

 

[plexi_man]

I think the key to these amps is to NOT use too much gain.

I barely get past 12 o'clock on mine.

Too much gain, makes them sound thin, although one can compensate this by reducing treble and presence.

Ch1 and Ch2 are 2 very different beasts as well.

- For overdriven and almost clean sounds I use the crunch voicing on Ch1, which gets you a very nice full vintage tone. Lots of bottom end and mids. Not a trace of harshness.

- For more high gain stuff, I'd go for Ch2 tite gain (bass at about 3-4 o'clock, pressence 8-9 o'clock, treble 8-9 o'clock, mids 2 o'clock)

Gain shouldn't be more than 2 o'clock on any channel IMO.

here's a small 'demo' recorded with a crappy camera. It doesn't really sound as full and ballsy as it does in person, but it gives you an idea....

Ch1-crunch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lIGicPkAPag#t=6s (bridge pickup on an LP first then neck)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4kwDl9KjP70#t=62s (neck pickup)

 

[Freaky]

Watched a u-toob video with Pettrucci and found the recipe for this monster: channel volumes and the master volume gotta be at 2:00 at least. adjust gain to suit. use knob on back to throttle volume for whatever is appropriate.

check this out, with Andy Timmons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihSGJ4tS228

 

[blaren]

Another old Marshall guy here. Posted an old cab for sale or trade on kijiji and was offered a Stiletto Ace head (tan) straight across.
Always GASsed for a Mesa. Been wanting a DSL for a while too. Own nothing but nmv 4-holers and clones of them..and some old Fenders and Traynors etc.
WOW!!

Put it this way. I listed my '73 50W JMP on Sunday.
And, I don't remember ever owning a vintage Marshall where I turned the treble or presence up past 2. They say the thing to do is to dime everything. Not only do I not do that, I've never even tried it. AND I usually clip the bright cap on every Marshall I've ever owned.

Parts to install adjustable bias in the Stiletto should be here next week and then I can put some decent bottles into this thing and believe it or not, it's gonna be even BETTER!

I was thinking earlier...should I really be selling my '73? It's one of my favorites. Ahhhh...I can always build or buy a clone one day if I need to. If something was to happen to my new Stiletto though ...good LUCK finding a replacement Stiletto Ace head. I'm sure it would happen eventually but probably not for cheap. They're out there but I wouldn't want to HAVE to find one right this or any given moment.
Yup...I'm loving me sum Stiletto Ace.