questions for ACE-head owners in a band

[Artiefufkin10]

I was at my local GC in Plymouth Meeting, PA yesterday and I jacked into a Stiletto ACE combo.....
Man that thing really smokes! The tones were so instantly gratifying without too much tweaking at all!

I'm thinking of selling my roadster (2X12) for an ACE head and a 2X12 recto cab. A few questions for ACE head owners:

1) Do you feel that 50W is enough power for jamming in a band? (I'd get the Stiletto Deuce, but I think its pretty ugly looking).

2) What kind of cab do you have your ACE head? Do you think the 2X12 recto cab will be a good match with this amp? It seems to be a versatile cab that goes well with rectos, marks.

3) Do you find that the 2 channels suffices well for your needs?

Thanks.

 

[Barry]

I prefer the Deuce, more headroom . As far as how it looks you can always order it with the same vinyl/grille as an Ace .

 

[eshithead]

Dude, I knocked down a light fixture the first time I cranked up my ace in practice, it is more than loud enough and I have a LOUD drummer.

I used a stiletto cab as well. Good mids.

 

[Silverwulf]

I used the ACE at band practice and live with a Mesa 4X12 cab. We play exceptionally loud at practice as well as live, and I never had any issues cutting through the mix, being loud enough, and never had any headroom issues on clean (and my band has some clean parts that require a squeaky clean sound).

50W is more than plenty in any band situation. If you want 100W or 150W, it's not a problem...but it's certainly not needed.

2 channels is more than enough, also. I ran a Maxon OD-808 as a clean boost in front and used a heavy pick attack with it for mid gain sounds. Turned it off for my cleans, left it on (gain set to "0") for the clean boost on metal rhythms, and then just engaged the solo boost on the ACE for leads. You'll be good to go.

 

[mightywarlock]

I had wondered the same thing about volume, as i have never owned anything less than 90 or 100 or 150 watt amps...but after the way my ears are ringing since i have bought this Ace, I doubt I will be having any problems with volume.

 

[Artiefufkin10]

awesome guys, thanks for the responses.

I definitely need a head because the roadster 2X12 is killing me to move it around. Now it just comes down to whether or not I want the versatility of the roadster over the explosive little ACE.

 

[wicked1]

The Ace is defiantly loud enough if thats the right word it seems to cut through the mix better than my 100 watt Dual Recto. Check out Basson cabs
I use the 2x12 with Eminence Legends and it's about as loud and sounds better than my Marshall 4x12. I use a Fultone Full-Drive II so 2 channels is not a problem for me I can can cover alot of ground

 

[Rocky]

I have run my 2X12 ace combo into my recto 2X12 cab at band practice..I disconnected the Ace's speakers to try it out.

Loud is right.

if Jeff Beck and Michael Schenker can use 50 watts so can you.

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Hey Rocky, a lot of people have complained that the ACE combos are too bright, does plugging into the 2X12 recto cab alleviate some of this brightness for more bottom end?

Also, in my band were mainly doing zeppelin, beatles, blues, etc. which the stiletto can cover fine. For my personal interests, I would like it to be able to handle some hard rock - metal-ish rhythms, any issues getting those sounds?

 

[count_chocolat]

Greetings,

I use my Ace with with either an Avatar 2 x12 (loaded with 1 V30 & 1 G12h30) or the 3/4 back 2 x 12 Mesa with Custom 90s. I can't get passed 10:30 on the master volume in any situation. I can't imagine needing more power!!!
We play all sorts of stuff from Dance to Hard Rock and there is no issues...

I also have a Rectoverb Head and I can get my Ace to sound exactly like the Recto with an EQ in the loop (minus the typical recto fuzzyness)

Go to my site on the video portion to get a demo of different sounds in different songs. The audio is not that good, but you will get the idea...

The Ace is not about volume, it's all about cutting through.

www.elegantmess.ca

 

[Artiefufkin10]

@Count

Nice videos...you have a good sound and I really dig your keyboardist too, he fills out your band nicely.

On your sounds:
You definitely get the Santana and Journey sounds down well and I bet your PRS helps with that. Are you boosting the ACE at all?

The G&R and Floyd solos sounded really good too...again, any boost or which modes were you using on the amp?

This ACE is really tempting me now.

 

[count_chocolat]

Artiefufkin10,

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the videos, I just wished they were not so dark. That was our first attempt at a video!

The sound is all Ace, no boost, nothing in front, except when I kick in the wah.

I use both channels always in the same way for the whole show. I don't even use a clean channel.

Channel 1 crunch mode

Channel 2 Fluid Drive mode

That's it!!!

The clean sounds you hear are channe1 with my guitar volume around probably 6 or 7 depending on which pickup, if I need some grind or bite I just bring the volume up on the guitar.

The Santana, journey, GNR and Floyd are all 100% the same settings on the amp...Channel 2 fluid drive mode. The only difference in sound is which pickup on the guitar, the volume on the guitar and obviously the way I attack the song.

IMO the Ace is an outstanding amp, very expressive. We sometimes do a couple of evanesance tunes, I kick in the EQ which is in the loop and grab a down tuned guitar and voila...I've got a Recto without the fizz, tight, with bowel moving low end...

 

[inkwachemis]

hey,

I have an Ace head and I run it into a 4x12 cab with Greenbacks

first off, the 50W is plenty. I play heavy rock and it keeps up with my heavy hitting loud drummer with no problems whatsoever.

I like the Greenbacks cause it think it helps smooth out the highs a bit that are inherent in this amp. It was a big improvement over the 2x12 cab i had with a v30 and a g12h30

2 channels are plenty for my needs. its a very versatile amp and with a step of the footswitch, flip of a switch on the amp, or a turn of the volume knob on your guitar, you have access to many many great tones.

clean tones are very nice. can get sparkling if u EQ it right. OD tones are all there from good nice mid gain tones, to heavy rock tones, to metal with the right guitar and EQ once again. its all in there and with TONE most importantly. my favorite amp :evil:

 

[Artiefufkin10]

Thanks for the feedback.

This amp is very sweet and I'm really in a bind figuring out whether or not its worth selling my roadster for. Unfortunately I can't have both right now so that's not an option..

Roadster:
-Super versatile
-superior cleans
-good distortion
-heavy

ACE:
-good cleans
-great distortion
-less versatile
-easier to manage

Deciding between different types of good tone is a good problem to have...like do you want the hot blonde or brunette?

 

[count_chocolat]

If you are not sure, then don't sell it. If your main concern is weather it works will or not in a band situation, in the mix, no one will know the difference except you.
FWIW, the best tone I ever got was running my Ace and Rectoverb together. But that's just to complicated for what I do!!!

Good Luck

 

[Rocky]

Hey Rocky, a lot of people have complained that the ACE combos are too bright, does plugging into the 2X12 recto cab alleviate some of this brightness for more bottom end?

Also, in my band were mainly doing zeppelin, beatles, blues, etc. which the stiletto can cover fine. For my personal interests, I would like it to be able to handle some hard rock - metal-ish rhythms, any issues getting those sounds?

none at all