Agileguy_101
Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2016
- Messages
- 12
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Hey all. First time poster, long time Boogie enthusiast.
Early last year, I picked up a Stiletto Ace 1x12 combo. I had wanted one ever since they came out, but I didn't have that kind of money at the time. But since these days, I can afford a nice thing here and there, I decided to pick one up.
I ended up posting it for sale about 6 months later. I loved the drive channel, but the clean channel just didn't have enough headroom for me. Plus, that amp was RIDICULOUSLY heavy... at least I thought so at the time.
So I posted it for sale on Craigslist. I wasn't even looking for another amp - I just wanted some cash at the time. But after a little bit, someone made me an offer that I just had to check out... a Mark IIB Coliseum. I'd only heard of these before - I half thought they were just a myth.
It turns out that they're far from mythical. They're all too real, and all to goddamn loud. But the minute I plugged into one, I knew I had to have it. Despite only being able to turn it up to about .5 on the master, it sounded unlike any other amp I'd played.
Ever since then, it's been my favorite amp. I even found a matching halfback 4x12 to go with it:
Now I just need to find a pair of EVM12Ls for the bottom, as even with the two C90s in the top, this amp is so loud that it causes the 50W Vintage Black Shadows in the bottom to break up too much for my tastes.
The reason I'm calling this a NAD is because I just got it back from Mesa HQ for service. I figured since it's more than 30 years old, it deserved a tune up. I had them go through and replace all the old caps, as well as swapping out the power tubes - just because. I also had them mod it so that the clean channel has more headroom - a fantastic little mod, as I can now get both a really clean and really distorted tone out of it, or a really clean and mildly distorted tone, as well as anything in between. Finally, I had them add a reverb tank. My head had all the reverb circuitry as well as a cutout in the shell for reverb, but it was just missing the tank. Now it's not as good as the reverb from my 70's Fender tank, but nothing is that good. This is still quite nice though. The only downside is that it made the heaviest head I've ever used even heavier.
While I was up in Petaluma, I took what I thought was a pretty cool picture.
Early last year, I picked up a Stiletto Ace 1x12 combo. I had wanted one ever since they came out, but I didn't have that kind of money at the time. But since these days, I can afford a nice thing here and there, I decided to pick one up.
I ended up posting it for sale about 6 months later. I loved the drive channel, but the clean channel just didn't have enough headroom for me. Plus, that amp was RIDICULOUSLY heavy... at least I thought so at the time.
So I posted it for sale on Craigslist. I wasn't even looking for another amp - I just wanted some cash at the time. But after a little bit, someone made me an offer that I just had to check out... a Mark IIB Coliseum. I'd only heard of these before - I half thought they were just a myth.
It turns out that they're far from mythical. They're all too real, and all to goddamn loud. But the minute I plugged into one, I knew I had to have it. Despite only being able to turn it up to about .5 on the master, it sounded unlike any other amp I'd played.
Ever since then, it's been my favorite amp. I even found a matching halfback 4x12 to go with it:
Now I just need to find a pair of EVM12Ls for the bottom, as even with the two C90s in the top, this amp is so loud that it causes the 50W Vintage Black Shadows in the bottom to break up too much for my tastes.
The reason I'm calling this a NAD is because I just got it back from Mesa HQ for service. I figured since it's more than 30 years old, it deserved a tune up. I had them go through and replace all the old caps, as well as swapping out the power tubes - just because. I also had them mod it so that the clean channel has more headroom - a fantastic little mod, as I can now get both a really clean and really distorted tone out of it, or a really clean and mildly distorted tone, as well as anything in between. Finally, I had them add a reverb tank. My head had all the reverb circuitry as well as a cutout in the shell for reverb, but it was just missing the tank. Now it's not as good as the reverb from my 70's Fender tank, but nothing is that good. This is still quite nice though. The only downside is that it made the heaviest head I've ever used even heavier.
While I was up in Petaluma, I took what I thought was a pretty cool picture.
