Well I finally went to sit down for an hour with the 1x12 Ace Combo with a Les Paul and all I can say is that I was so **** impressed I almost half thought about selling some of my gear off on the spot to own it.
The 1x12 sounds HUUUUUUUGE... I thought it was a 2x12 (same body shape) when I plugged into it and I couldn't believe it when I read that this one only had one in it.. just floored by how huge it sounds. The vendor told me Mesa said the 1x12 sounds like it has more bass though it could be clever marketing.. (if anyone's played both PLEASE chime in here..)
The first thing I noticed about this versus the Stiletto Deuce Series I that I owned was that the EQ settings are far less sensitive and it was almost stupid how easy it was to dial in a perfect tone on either channel. The Deuce was VERY touchy and minute changes effected the tone so much (like my Rectifier).. but this thing was just way less sensitive and more responsive than I could have ever imagined. They also go rid of the 'icepick' sound when you put treble/presence about 12 noon.
The fat/tite clean was so good that I honestly thought I was playing a Fender amplifier.. especially for EL34's this really was a mind**** to me (sorry for the crudeness but that's literally the only thing that explains it). I had to step back and look to make sure I was still plugged into it! The crunch on channel 1 was pretty much the same albiet it a little more aggressive than the Series I.. a few twists of the gain knob and I was right back at home in plexi land.
The second channel was dramatically different, to the point where I consider it to be a different amplifier. The crunch is obviously the same as channel 1, the tite gain was much more infact 'tight' than before and had gobs more sustain/harmonic lushness to it than before. It really sounds lame to quote the Mesa advertising for the amp but it really DOES have the 3D tone to it.. almost like an old Vox. I was so floored by that mode alone that I spent most of my time there. Think Black Crowes to a tee. Holding a single note gave way to rich harmonic sustain giving way to harmonics in about 4 seconds.
The biggest surprise was the fluid drive mode.. on the Series one I found it to be flubby and unarticulate but now it's anything but. It's literally a turn on and just rock without even touching the knobs type setting.. just delicious.
All in all, I NEED to purchase this amplifier... and I'm torn on what to do because I really want to support the shop I played it at, but I don't know that I want to wait 4-6 months for the options I wanted (stock, emerald/bronco, 2x12).
I was contemplating getting the 2x12 and using my 2x12 recto cab as an extension if I needed more air being pushed...
I compared it to my Orange.. and it pains me to say that the cleans are better on the Stiletto. The Orange still has that "orange" sound to it in the distortion side and it's so tiny that I can't bear to part with it but the Mesa REALLLLLY gave it a run for its money.
Stop me from putting this on a CC :shock: :shock:
The 1x12 sounds HUUUUUUUGE... I thought it was a 2x12 (same body shape) when I plugged into it and I couldn't believe it when I read that this one only had one in it.. just floored by how huge it sounds. The vendor told me Mesa said the 1x12 sounds like it has more bass though it could be clever marketing.. (if anyone's played both PLEASE chime in here..)
The first thing I noticed about this versus the Stiletto Deuce Series I that I owned was that the EQ settings are far less sensitive and it was almost stupid how easy it was to dial in a perfect tone on either channel. The Deuce was VERY touchy and minute changes effected the tone so much (like my Rectifier).. but this thing was just way less sensitive and more responsive than I could have ever imagined. They also go rid of the 'icepick' sound when you put treble/presence about 12 noon.
The fat/tite clean was so good that I honestly thought I was playing a Fender amplifier.. especially for EL34's this really was a mind**** to me (sorry for the crudeness but that's literally the only thing that explains it). I had to step back and look to make sure I was still plugged into it! The crunch on channel 1 was pretty much the same albiet it a little more aggressive than the Series I.. a few twists of the gain knob and I was right back at home in plexi land.
The second channel was dramatically different, to the point where I consider it to be a different amplifier. The crunch is obviously the same as channel 1, the tite gain was much more infact 'tight' than before and had gobs more sustain/harmonic lushness to it than before. It really sounds lame to quote the Mesa advertising for the amp but it really DOES have the 3D tone to it.. almost like an old Vox. I was so floored by that mode alone that I spent most of my time there. Think Black Crowes to a tee. Holding a single note gave way to rich harmonic sustain giving way to harmonics in about 4 seconds.
The biggest surprise was the fluid drive mode.. on the Series one I found it to be flubby and unarticulate but now it's anything but. It's literally a turn on and just rock without even touching the knobs type setting.. just delicious.
All in all, I NEED to purchase this amplifier... and I'm torn on what to do because I really want to support the shop I played it at, but I don't know that I want to wait 4-6 months for the options I wanted (stock, emerald/bronco, 2x12).
I was contemplating getting the 2x12 and using my 2x12 recto cab as an extension if I needed more air being pushed...
I compared it to my Orange.. and it pains me to say that the cleans are better on the Stiletto. The Orange still has that "orange" sound to it in the distortion side and it's so tiny that I can't bear to part with it but the Mesa REALLLLLY gave it a run for its money.
Stop me from putting this on a CC :shock: :shock:
