Marhsall JCM Slash vs. Stiletto

[Bobbypols]

Well i bought a jcm slash which is esseintally a silver jubilee. In comparing it to my stieltto here are the similariteis. The sound can be extremly close. However the difference are too great to ignore. The jcm has much more thumping bass, the top end does not give ear fatigue yet it very bright...just as bright if you want it too, the controls are far more sweepable and is more wide ranged as oppose to stiletto where certain regions are more sensitive then others, notes just FLY off the fretboard where the stiletto has to be worked harder, faster and much tighter response, more articulation in notes while the stiletto is a bit more fuzzy and somewhat mushes or compress a bit more on chords.

The distortion sounds very similar...you can hear the diode clipping on both...kinda like putting a pedal in front of the amp.

This would leave me to believe that once a new power transformer is put into the stiletto, and the treble is become more musical while increasing bass, the stiletto 2 will be a monster!

However, the truth is that besides the ear fatique i dont think non musicians listeners can tell the difference.

With that said, ive sold my stiletto and now own a Slash sig. head. I got a feeling that the stiletto 2's will be awesome...but only time will tell. :twisted:

 

[jackieTHEjokeman]

Can you post some of your Stiletto settings that sounded like your JCM Slash please? Thanks.

 

[Boogiebabies]

The 2555 is a totally different animal. The Stiletto was to be Mesa's hot rodded Marshall, but I do think they missed the mark.
The Jubilee/2555/Slash head is a very magical amp. It just has a fullness and grind that that I have not found in any other Marshall. Diode clipping or not, it is a very musical overdrive. I had two and kept one as it sounded better than any other Jubilee I have ever heard. The gain and bottom end were phenominal. I still do not find it to be a real high gain shred amp and IMHO it does not take certain overdrive pedals well. It can get over the top with a decent booster like the YJM 308. I tried a dozen pedals including a 1997 Klon. It did not like it at all.


The Mesa was just too flabby and shrill.

 

[dylan7620]

well since the series II is the one based off the JCM line shouldn't it be more comparable then?

 

[musicbox]

at the end of the day, the jcm slash/reissue will generally go for a fair bit more on ebay then the 850 i paid for my stilleto. until i wake up from this dilusionment, i'll stand by my brittle, sustainless(wtf?), castoff. i've always been one for the ugly duckling.

 

[jackieTHEjokeman]

Bobby, how much did you pay for yours? Used, right?

 

[Bobbypols]

The best setting off the top of my head...is tite gain, with the bass up, treble around 10 00, mid around 12, diode, gain around 1-2, presence around 11. But the trick is to have a decent booster to tighten and increase grind. It becomes very close, and reminds me of the pearl jam song Alive which remind me of the silver jubilee. A few things your not gonna get rid off is the piercing high gain and the jub/slash has just a monterous bowl loosening low end. Try to use a flat booster with stiletto as while tube screamers sound good it adds a bit of mid hump. But the treble may just be a pot problem...where a tech can change that easly... Another thing, is that the gain tends to be more raw on the jub/slash. So what do you suggest boogibabies that i can use to fry the preamp that doesnt sound like crap...ive used ts9 and it wasnt that good...

 

[Silverwulf]

Had a Jubilee, and a 6100 30th Anniversary that could mimic the Jubilee well (and do many things it couldn't). I can say that I like my Stiletto better than both of those amps. I've never known the amp to give any listener fatigue when set properly, and I have to back off the bass to about 10:30 or so on the dial to keep it from having too much.

 

[Bobbypols]

Had a Jubilee, and a 6100 30th Anniversary that could mimic the Jubilee well (and do many things it couldn't). I can say that I like my Stiletto better than both of those amps. I've never known the amp to give any listener fatigue when set properly, and I have to back off the bass to about 10:30 or so on the dial to keep it from having too much.

Althougth im not calling you a liar and I DO beleive you...i think that maybe you have the right combination of equipment and/or playing style. I find that with old school pick ups, mush is in the forcast, but with high out put picks ups, i hear nice a nice defined growl.

I think the biggest problem is the output transformer...and i cant stand how chords mush out...

 

[Bobbypols]

Payed 1300 for it, i wish i could of got it for a few bucks less...i say if i got it for 1150 id be more smiles...but i was ampless and there failry rare..and its in super condition. LOL some dude tried to sell his on ebay for 1900 buy it now last week... So essinetly the stiletto payed for it.

 

[Boogiebabies]

A TS-9 will do, just use it as a booster and just use the level. I modded mine to TS 808 specs and a 1981 JRC 4558 OP amp. No too shabby.
I am dying to try the Zakk Wylde OD pedal. I have heard that it is really voiced for a Marshall.

 

[Silverwulf]

Althougth im not calling you a liar and I DO beleive you...i think that maybe you have the right combination of equipment and/or playing style. I find that with old school pick ups, mush is in the forcast, but with high out put picks ups, i hear nice a nice defined growl.

I think the biggest problem is the output transformer...and i cant stand how chords mush out...

The player and gear surrounding him definitely make a difference. I use EMG 81's in my bridge, and I have an exceptionally hard attack when I play. We'll be jamming, and my buddy will pick up my guitar playing through my exact set-up and sound completely different. People under estimate how much tone comes from the player.

I promise you...there's not the slightest hint of mud. One of the tighter amps I've played through in a while. In fact, I'm about to start producing a band this weekend. We're gonna do some guitar tracks and bass this weekend. I plan on firing up my Stiletto for some of their stuff. So, if we use it, I'll post some clips next week for you guys. Of course, it won't be me playing (I'm just producing/engineering), and their guitarist doesn't use EMG's. But, maybe you'll get an idea of the tone.