Resonance mod for Stiletto Ace?

[Pat6969]

Been enjoying my Ace immensely! After reading the manual and learning how the tone stack works I have it sounding 90% how I like. One thing I would like is a bit more tight thump that only a post tone stack resonance can supply. Right now I have a Mesa 5 band in the loop and I’m boosting 80Hz by 5-6db and it sounds great but I’d really like that option on the amp itself. Sounds like it’s an easy mod on a Marshall, anybody try it on a Stiletto? Thanks.

 

[destined2nate]

I just recently dug out my Stiletto Deuce Stage 2 and put in the resonance circuit a of a soldano slo. i installed the pot in place of the slave level pot on the back of the amp. it really wakes the amp up.

 

[rarebitusa]

I just recently dug out my Stiletto Deuce Stage 2 and put in the resonance circuit a of a soldano slo. i installed the pot in place of the slave level pot on the back of the amp. it really wakes the amp up.

Yea I finally got around to this mod... wow is all I can say, a bit speechless. It provides it with a low end that I never thought possible. More to say about this later.

 

[Eevil]

Please don’t 🤣 I don’t want Stiletto GAS again…

 

[rarebitusa]

Sorry Eevil I can't help myself. Had to check it again this morning to make sure I wasn't dreaming. First a big shout out to destined2nate who provided implementation details on the mod, which is fairly straightforward to do.

Full disclosure... always have dug the Ace, it scratches the British / Marshall / el34 itch that the LSS, V:90 or my IIC+ really can't. So yea I'm a bit biased and a fanboy to some degree. Picked it up a few years ago for a no brainer deal and had explored its limits, tweaked it in to a very enjoyable rig using a GEQ in the loop with a 2x12 v30/Scumback M75. It wasn't perfect, it needs volume, Ch 1 Crunch was very shrill, Fluid Drive was unfocused, Presence was unusable with Ch 2, the tone stack was pretty much "set and forget". Tite Clean & Tite Gain was good enough to make it a keeper.

Well this is a game changer. The bottom end of the amp is up front now... no surprise it is referred to as Depth for a reason. Most impact on higher gain. Presence is now effective and the "Shrill is gone" on Ch 2 Crunch. The loop GEQ and the tone stack are much more responsive. Fluid Drive is very cool for single lead work. This unlocks the amp, yea really wakes it up.

The native gain structure is not as aggressive as this vid outlines, but the Depth in the bottom end is very similar.

Modded Trident

Here's a technical overview of the design approach

SLO Feedback Description

For those interested in the hands on hacking details. Had moved the chassis to a makeshift stand as a headshell is in progress, plus the Ace 1x12 Combo is actually a stellar speaker cab by itself. Found it necessary to lift the board in order to desolder C38, so that required a bit more of an involved disassembly. Didn't have a 1 Meg pot handy or a 4.7nf but was able to cobble together enough to duplicate the circuit functionality. The cleaner way would be to sacrifice the Slave Out pot.

Wrapping up... yea it's just one players opinion and the Stiletto can be an acquired taste, I totally get that. But if you were one who had / has one and really digs it you should consider this mod.

 

[domct203]

Thanks for this info.

Is the resonance circuit placed where C38 was?



Dom

 

[rarebitusa]

Thanks for this info.

Is the resonance circuit placed where C38 was?



Dom

Yes... C38 get pulled but reused with the pot and another cap. Just ran the leads to the assembly from the C38 thruholes.

 

[Eevil]

Thanks for the urge to buy the Stiletto again 🤣 would it be like fourth time or so…

 

[destined2nate]

Sorry Eevil I can't help myself. Had to check it again this morning to make sure I wasn't dreaming. First a big shout out to destined2nate who provided implementation details on the mod, which is fairly straightforward to do.

Full disclosure... always have dug the Ace, it scratches the British / Marshall / el34 itch that the LSS, V:90 or my IIC+ really can't. So yea I'm a bit biased and a fanboy to some degree. Picked it up a few years ago for a no brainer deal and had explored its limits, tweaked it in to a very enjoyable rig using a GEQ in the loop with a 2x12 v30/Scumback M75. It wasn't perfect, it needs volume, Ch 1 Crunch was very shrill, Fluid Drive was unfocused, Presence was unusable with Ch 2, the tone stack was pretty much "set and forget". Tite Clean & Tite Gain was good enough to make it a keeper.

Well this is a game changer. The bottom end of the amp is up front now... no surprise it is referred to as Depth for a reason. Most impact on higher gain. Presence is now effective and the "Shrill is gone" on Ch 2 Crunch. The loop GEQ and the tone stack are much more responsive. Fluid Drive is very cool for single lead work. This unlocks the amp, yea really wakes it up.

The native gain structure is not as aggressive as this vid outlines, but the Depth in the bottom end is very similar.

Modded Trident

Here's a technical overview of the design approach

SLO Feedback Description

For those interested in the hands on hacking details. Had moved the chassis to a makeshift stand as a headshell is in progress, plus the Ace 1x12 Combo is actually a stellar speaker cab by itself. Found it necessary to lift the board in order to desolder C38, so that required a bit more of an involved disassembly. Didn't have a 1 Meg pot handy or a 4.7nf but was able to cobble together enough to duplicate the circuit functionality. The cleaner way would be to sacrifice the Slave Out pot.

Wrapping up... yea it's just one players opinion and the Stiletto can be an acquired taste, I totally get that. But if you were one who had / has one and really digs it you should consider this mod.

Glad you liked the mod! My Stage 2 Deuce has been my go to amp since i modded it, Spongy Mode, tube rectifiers, crunch mode for both channels(or tite gain if i'm feeling frisky) underated amp in stock form, absolutely killer with the depth mod!

 

[rarebitusa]

Glad you liked the mod! My Stage 2 Deuce has been my go to amp since i modded it, Spongy Mode, tube rectifiers, crunch mode for both channels(or tite gain if i'm feeling frisky) underated amp in stock form, absolutely killer with the depth mod!

Nate, Man no kidding it's the real deal... and a fairly straightforward implementation. Crunch was a tad too bright and grainy for me until the mod, now it's very cool. Still prefer Tite Clean and Tite Gain but all the voicings are just kicking it. Spongy... oh yea for sure. Running diode on the T-Clean for clarity but tube on the T-Gain. Totally dig how the Presence and the the Depth adjustments interact. Totally unlocks this beast.

 

[JustPassingThrough]

So I've been trying to decipher the writings and photos in this thread to make it clearer to understand what's going on here, and hopefully this can serve as a lesson for future people who have the same questions.

Schematically, does this mod entail this?:

Tailor the 4n7 to suit. The 100n is C38, I drew the cap/pot after C38 to block any DC.

 

[rarebitusa]

Looks good, just depends where one wants to locate C38 schematically with IN being from the output transformer side. For clarity, this is how mine was implemented.

 

[JustPassingThrough]

Looks good, just depends where one wants to locate C38 schematically with IN being from the output transformer side. For clarity, this is how mine was implemented.

Does the order make a difference?