New owner of a Stiletto Deuce stage I. Couple questions.

[V-Type]

First off I had owned a Mark III,DC3,DC5,Single Recto,etc in the past and Love Randall Smiths work immensely.
With the Stiletto I get Marshall/British voicings but with Boogies authoritative power and high end build quality.

First question: can any brand footswitch be used or just Mesa as one wasnt included in the deal?

2nd question: are the 2 footswitch inputs on the back compatible with any/generic brand foot switch?

3d question: why arent these more popular? Seems like the Lovechild between a 2203/2204 and a Rectifier imo.

Thanks.

 

[V-Type]

Wow this forum is dead.
Found out any 2 button with the right cable will do.
Thanks.
:?:

 

[screamingdaisy]

The forum is decent if you're looking for Mark or Recto info. The Stiletto portion has always been slow and is even slower now they're discontinued.

To answer question 3, I think the reason the Stiletto never caught on is because it's not "Mesa" enough for your typical Mesa fan, yet is too "Mesa" for your typical Marshall fan.

That, and there's a lot of competition in the "Modded Marshall" market.

 

[V-Type]

Yep I can see how its to" in between" for hardcores in both camps.
Nothing like my old Mark III or DC5 or my DSL or SLX.
After a retube(Mesa) and the Arrival of 2xEv12Ls I should go from happy owner to ecstatic.

 

[Vigo1999]

Yep I can see how its to" in between" for hardcores in both camps.
Nothing like my old Mark III or DC5 or my DSL or SLX.
After a retube(Mesa) and the Arrival of 2xEv12Ls I should go from happy owner to ecstatic.

This is the main reason that i didnt sold my stiletto . . . after i hook it to a EV loaded thiele i found THE sound that i was searching for a lil while (hummmm 20 years??? . . .(and yes, I also have a wonderfull III blue stripe fully loaded, but it's on the corner waiting and waiting . . .).

 

[TStone2]

I am a proud owner of a Stiletto Trident, Stage 1. The late tube amp I owned before this one was a HiWatt Custom 100 (wish I had that thing back). Sorry for the late post, I don't get in here much.

 

[mtjames2010]

I've got a Stage 1 deuce and love it's sound with all my guitars. I punch it with either a Tube Screamer or a MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive, depending on the band and guitar, and it really comes alive. Cleans are awesome as well. I'm running it through a custom 8ohm twin 12" (v30) cabinet that I built to the same inside dimensions as the Roadster Combo except the cabinet is made of pine, painted and clear coated with several coats of polycrylic.

I don't, however, use the fluid drive much at all and I've found that the bass and midrange on the tone stack offer very little adjustability in comparison to Dual Recs, Marks, Nomads, the DC 30, or my '73 Marshall Superlead. With regard to Fluid Drive, it seems to muddy up rather than ramp up. I'm not sure, but I think there were revisions to the tone stack and possibly the fluid drive in the Stage II. Since I haven't done any work to the amp, I really haven't researched later models.

Stacked against my '72 Marshall Superlead 100, the Stiletto just ain't a Marshall, but in a good way. Especially mine, because I've done a One Wire Mod with a blend control to the original Marshall circuit. That being said, it is more comparable with British sounding amps and when you turn the Loop switch to OUT it gets even better. If you are an effects loop user, a Zoom G3 and TC Electronics Nova Delay (in that order) really compliment the amp well.

Two years ago a producer in North Jersey listened our own studio recordings of the amp with FX loop out, mxr Zakk OD, and twin cab and thought it was a custom rig while listening to work we later continued with him. Most of the amps he has in front of are either Fenders, Dual Recs, Vox, or Marshall so I was suprised, but it was a clearly set us apart guitar wise. It's got a harmonically rich feedback onstage when you get the pickups right on top of the speakers as well.

Recently, I almost parted with the amp as part of a trade for a Mark V and was sick the whole time. As it turns out, the deal fell through and the amp came back home with me. I don't think I'll be looking to trade it again any time soon.

Good luck with the amp!