My new amp (Stiletto Ace combo) is on it's way!!

[insideout]

Hey Guys,

Yep, MM has it right about 4CM. It gives you complete control of everything. Compressor/OD etc before preamp --> S/R (which is your Mesa preamp in the GT loop) ---> chorus/flange/delay/verb etc into the amp return. The setup I've settled on is this... Pure clean I use a GT10 preamp (the Twin and BG rhythm models sound fantastic clean through the poweramp of the Deuce). I use channel 1 of the Deuce on crunch with gain @noon for a nice very slightly broken up blues tone and can then throw a GT10 OD in front of it to push it to a more broken up blues tone. Channel 2 I use fluid drive with gain @ 1:00 for rhythm, and again throw a GT10 OD in front for lead - this sends it into a beautiful sustained singing lead tone. The beauty of the 4CM is that each of these tones can have different delay, reverb, chorus (insert whatever effect you like here) settings and with amp channel changing ability, all of your tones are 1-footswitch access. Sweet 8) .

I don't and won't claim that it's exactly like using analog stomps, but I've done the riverdance routine before (aint a pretty sight believe me) and having complete sounds programmed to a single button is totally worth it to me.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I couldn't have said it better, insideout! You nailed all the advantages of using a GT-8 with a Mesa. Like I said, I was a 'nay-sayer' until I tried it for myself. I promptly sold my whole pedalboard the following day!

So, after a lunch break with the amp I am VERY happy! I was able to get the familiar Recto type tones as well as some cool Marshall type tones! All with much more articulation than I'm used to for sure. It's really hard to find a 'bad' sound in this amp. It's more of a matter of what suits my needs more and what 'tickles my fancy' the most. So far i've got CH2 set on Fluid Drive/Bold/Diode with the gain at 1:00, treble at 11:00, mids at 1:00, bass at 3:00 (can't deny i've been a recto player for a while), presence at 9:00, master at 11:00. Very cool tone so far! I can boost it into heavy territory with an OD in the GT-8 for a pretty sweet, thick distortion as well. I'm still tweaking CH1, but I'm for sure about Fat Clean with bass full on.

Also, since the amp is pretty darn heavy I threw the casters on before even turning the amp on. I have a feeling this is hurting my bass response. How do you fellas run your combos/cabs? Casters or no caster? My GT-8 fits underneath the combo with the casters on it so I can tuck it away neatly. That's pretty cool...

My only complaints are that the fan is noisy - like the bearing is going out or something. And CH2 has a lot of static noise. I'm guessing i'll need to retube it since I think it was a floor model for the past two years. I've got two Mesa 12ax7s i'll throw in V1 and V2 and see if it helps out with the noise. I'll prob replace the fan, but i'm wondering if it REALLY needs a fan. I guess they designed it with a fan for a reason...

 

[insideout]

Yeah, when I had the Ace combo those were my two complaints. The fan is noisy and it weighs as much as a light duty truck :shock: . I talked to Chris at Mesa in tech service and he said not to remove/disable the fan - bad idea. Gratz on the new amp. The Ace is a tone monster for sure 8)

 

[Platypus]

Yeah the fan is needed though I never noticed it being all that noisy on mine. Congrats on the amp again!

As far as casters, try putting it on the floor instead and just putting them on when you want mobility. The bass response really suffers with the casters in my experience.

 

[jab]

MJSlaughter: what's your approx. bass/mid/treb/pres and gain set at on Ch 1 crunch? Maybe I'll try that and back off my guitar volume if I need to clean it up. I never really need "pristine" clean. Then I can use my OD to goose both Ch 1 and 2 when needed.

I'm currently using Ch 1 Fat Clean with a touch of OD for my crunch, and Ch 2 is a bit gainier with Tite Gain around the 9:00 gain setting. For solo's I hit the OD on Ch 2.

 

[Moot]

I was a Fender snob before I got the Ace - now I only plug my Tele in the Fenders. I saved up for a year and a half to buy a PRS Singlecut, and it sounded glorious in the Fenders. But then I saved up again and could afford another amp. I figured that since it was a PRS I should try a Mesa with it. I bought the Ace without ever having tried it (I read a lot about it though, and even got a copy of the schematics) and I'm now a total Mesa convert. I knew a lot of Mesa's amps were far too "heavy" for me, so the Stiletto's were perfect. I had *just* saved up to buy a Deuce when the Ace came out, so I went with the smaller amp (I've NEVER been in a possition where I could turn an amp to full volume anyway).

The cleans really got me at first - "fat clean" is jazzer's delight, I can't even remember how often I've used "tite clean" for recording guitar in a busy mix, The "crunch" channels cover every bit of classic rock from 1957 to 1984, and I just sit and drool the whole time when I'm playing the Ace on "tite gain" or "fluid drive."

I use the afore-mentioned 4-cable method with the GT-Pro mostly for reverb and delay (both of which I prefer after the pre-amp). For crazy stuff I just use the GT-Pro, but when tone truly matters there's no substitute for the Ace! Even after a dozen or so Fender amps that I've owned, and 8 amps I built myself (thanks Allenamps.com!) the Mesa Stiletto Ace is the best amp I've ever played, let alone owned. I've had multi-effects that were nowhere near as versatile!

Right now I've installed Celestion Heritage 70 anniversary speakers and, at least for my old ears, it's perfect. I also use it up on casters, because I prefer a much tighter bass. Plus I have a Weber Beam-Blocker over the right speaker for stunning dispersion.

Sorry - once I start praising the Stiletto I can't stop! There's just so much to praise!

So, MM, enjoy! You'll have months of fun with yours!