Mesa Stiletto or Marshall Vintage Modern?

[cperc]

Hey Guys,
I have a gear question for you. I am looking at the Mesa Stiletto Duece and the Marshall Vintage Modern. My local guitar shop has both used for good prices. I have a '67 Fender Bandmaster so I have cleans covered and am looking for a more classic to some what heavy rock amp. Between these two which would you choose? Any pros and cons to these amps or should I save and get something better than either of these? I like the tone Andy Timmons is able to get out of the Stiletto but also Slash with the Vintage Modern. I have played the Vintage Modern but not been able to the Stiletto. Thanks for the replies, I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

-Chris

 

[Spewnz]

Stilletto.. its amazing if you have cleans covered then you can use crunch in channel one. its a great amp i played one on a Whim and i may just ditch my roadster for one....or two... ITS JUST GREAT.

 

[wannabweiland]

Stiletto, for sure. Massive amounts of tonal possibilities in it. IMO, the VM is far inferior compared to the Stiletto.

 

[Riff Blister]

I had been at home playing through my Stiletto for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon when I decided I would take a drive to a near by music store to mess around with some other gear.
They had a Vintage Modern in an isolation room so I was anxious to go in, crank it up and give it a test drive. I too had been interested in that amp. After playing with it for a a while I left the store convinced that I had the right choice for amps back at home. I love that classic Marshall tone but I believe the Stiletto just has so much more to offer in the quality of tone and versatility. Then, when you compare the physical build quality of the two, the Mesa really is a step up. That's not just my subjective point of view that's a fact.
It is always best if you can try them both out and make your own decision.
Good luck

 

[Dirtbox]

I'd go Stiletto over the VM. No clean on the VM either.

 

[stephen sawall]

Just get both if you like both .... :idea:

 

[TTSTWO]

This is ironic. The last amp I tested before selecting the Stiletto was a VM, used at GC for under a grand. I was not able to "crank" the Marshall to get the full effect. But I think I made the right choice for Quality and the amount of tonal possibilities that the Stiletto offers. From the demos I've heard, I still think a VM for under 1000 is a good deal.

8)

 

[cperc]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I went in to try the Stiletto and saw that the Marshall had been sold. So I plug into the Mesa and the amp won't turn on, check all the connections switches everything looks good but still nothing. Check the fuse in the back of the amp and it's blown, they have a Triple Rectifier for sale next to it so I steal it's fuse to try the amp out. The Stiletto powers up this time but makes a loud pop and I have no sound out of it. I switched through all the channels and modes and was able to get nothing so I power it back down. I switched the rectifiers to silicon, turn the amp back on and pop the fuse blew and you could smell something burning. The salesman didn't know anything so I'm left wondering. Offer them a super low price for the broken amp and take it to my tech to be fixed or avoid it and save for another couple months and buy something brand new. Any ideas what was wrong with the amp or advise on what I should do? Thanks again for your help guys.

-Chris

 

[stephen sawall]

I would not buy a broken amp that is easy to find like the Stiletto.
Where are you at ?

 

[flieger67]

cperc - my recommendation would be the Stiletto (when you find a good specimen). I like the British-flavored tones and think that there's a world of flexibility for you with the Stiletto. If you invest in a decent A/B box, you could use your Fender for the truly clean tones and set the Stiletto's first channel to crunch and set the second channel to higher-gain setting of your choice. That way, you'd have a basic, 3-sound setup.

Good luck on finding a Stiletto or perhaps getting that first one fixed by the seller.

 

[Scooterjohn]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I went in to try the Stiletto and saw that the Marshall had been sold. So I plug into the Mesa and the amp won't turn on, check all the connections switches everything looks good but still nothing. Check the fuse in the back of the amp and it's blown, they have a Triple Rectifier for sale next to it so I steal it's fuse to try the amp out. The Stiletto powers up this time but makes a loud pop and I have no sound out of it. I switched through all the channels and modes and was able to get nothing so I power it back down. I switched the rectifiers to silicon, turn the amp back on and pop the fuse blew and you could smell something burning. The salesman didn't know anything so I'm left wondering. Offer them a super low price for the broken amp and take it to my tech to be fixed or avoid it and save for another couple months and buy something brand new. Any ideas what was wrong with the amp or advise on what I should do? Thanks again for your help guys.

-Chris

Are you sure the speaker/s were plugged in? Tube amps hate not having a load attached.

 

[Chester]

Keep looking for a good Stiletto - it's worth it

I had both, and sold the VM which was lame by comparison to the Stiletto

Good luck

 

[droptrd]

The VM is a great amp. I plan on owning one some day. But Id still go for a stiletto

 

[splatter]

I don't own either but I do know that Andy Timmons uses his
stiletto for cleans and his lonestar for the dirty stuff.
So if you are looking for the od tone of AT then you might want
a lonestar not a stiletto

 

[kevman13]

I like the VM - it's a great amp. The Stiletto just offers far more in terms of tones and versaltility. I used to own the VM 100w head. When I played the Stiletto with the band for the first time EVERYONE in the band said it sounded amazing. They said "keep it" so I did! Just MHO :wink:

 

[jetdriver]

The Marshall VM is a decent amp. But the Stiletto is a big step up. Rock solid build quality, many more options, great usable cleans, two channels and multiple USABLE modes, solo boost, etc etc etc. Don't rule out customer service. Mesa customer service is outstanding in my experience.

I love Slash's tone too, and I can tell you you can TOTALLY cop that sound with the Deuce. It's like the best of Marshall built into one bulletproof box. Andy Timmons said it himself that he can 100% recreate his favorite Marshall tones with it. As for Slash, I've dialed that raw tone in too.

Just take a peek at the boatload of accolades the amp won from all the major guitar publications.

FWIW, I got my super mint Stiletto Deuce II off craigslist for $1000 shipped. So, be patient, the deals ARE out there.