Stiletto Ace fx issue

[Bozie]

I like my Stiletto, but getting any of my fx to work, well thats another issue.
The problem is the fx loop, or what I am putting in it. I have an Alesis midiverb 4, that seems to thin out the amps tone, and the reverb is not all that nice. I also have a Peavey rack reverb, and that distorts no matter level I send it. Finnaly I have a GT8, and thats ok, but again it does change the tone a lot, using either the 3CM or 4CM methods.

The only working solution is to take my old Bandit and use it as a slave with all the time based effect going out to it, but that means two amps in the car, two mics and more power supplies onstage... you get my drift.

So... any good reverb/delay/chorus units about that dont erode the amps original tone?

 

[MrMason]

I'd say it's more because the amp has a parallel effects loop. Almost everyone prefers to mod those kinds of loops to series.

 

[fbomb]

id say your Ace has the same FX LOOP as my Deuce which is a Series,and actually better than a Parallel.i use a TC Gmajor with mine and have no tone coloration. did u follow the manual on setting the FX LOOP? if not than do so.if you still dont like the results,then maybe its your FX GEAR.in case you dont know, you just cant plug in outboard gear into the amp without setting levels.just follow the manual and hopefully you be good to go.if you dont have the manual you can get it at Mesas website.good luck

 

[Octavarius]

Yeah, the distortion comes from level mismatch. Follow each device's manual to get the best results. The coloration could also be the result of wrong mix settings in the respective device(s) or the mix-knob in your amps effects loop (if it's a parallell loop).

 

[Bozie]

Yeah, the distortion comes from level mismatch. Follow each device's manual to get the best results. The coloration could also be the result of wrong mix settings in the respective device(s) or the mix-knob in your amps effects loop (if it's a parallell loop).

id say your Ace has the same FX LOOP as my Deuce which is a Series,and actually better than a Parallel.i use a TC Gmajor with mine and have no tone coloration. did u follow the manual on setting the FX LOOP? if not than do so.if you still dont like the results,then maybe its your FX GEAR.in case you dont know, you just cant plug in outboard gear into the amp without setting levels.just follow the manual and hopefully you be good to go.if you dont have the manual you can get it at Mesas website.good luck

Hey guys, thanks for the replies

Yep, series fx loop. And yes to the proper level setting according to the manual. Another yes to knowing about and correctly setting up outboard fx. I have used them before with solid state amps, and as a FOH sound engineer.

The Peavey is the only ellement that suffers from distortion issues, and I suspect that this may be a result of its design. Its fairly old, & wants to clip on almost any input, so there may be a bigger problem lurking in there somewhere.

The other two are just changing the tonal quality of the Stiletto, accentuating some frequencies or reducing others, which is just not on! I may have tolerated that with a Bandit, perhaps welcomed it, but after spending all that money to get the tone, I want the tone!

I figured that someone must have found a good transparent fx unit, so thanks for that, TC products are a bit scarce down here, but I will try to get my hands on one.

 

[secretsoundz]

It took me awhile to figure out my effects loop also. I highly suggest following the manual instructions. Also make sure to use high quality effects and cables. Anything else will compromise the tone of your amp.

 

[Gibbyage]

It took me awhile to figure out my effects loop also. I highly suggest following the manual instructions. Also make sure to use high quality effects and cables. Anything else will compromise the tone of your amp.

What setting on the back knob did you find to be solid?

 

[Octavarius]

Tried changing the preamp tubes? I'm not sure the loop has a dedicated tube, though.

Anyway, try something high end. Like the Eventide Eclipse or something. No to say you should buy it necessarily, but try it in the loop just to rule out the amp. On a side note, it's a really great unit with tons of features! Probably one of the most versatile effects unit for guitar you'll ever find. Bit expensive, though, but certainly even better quality than TC.

 

[creekhed]

What happens when you run them out front?

 

[Bozie]

Tried changing the preamp tubes? I'm not sure the loop has a dedicated tube, though.

Anyway, try something high end. Like the Eventide Eclipse or something. No to say you should buy it necessarily, but try it in the loop just to rule out the amp. On a side note, it's a really great unit with tons of features! Probably one of the most versatile effects unit for guitar you'll ever find. Bit expensive, though, but certainly even better quality than TC.

Hey Octavarius, I havent tried the tube swap yet, but the Stiletto does have a dedicated tube for the loop. I honestly think the loop is working just fine, I am sure the issues are to be found in the tube>digital>tube conversion, a signal path is only as good as the lowest quality component.
I am not knocking the GT8, but like everything its made to a budget, and it does not allow the signal to pass through without changing its charachter.
I will also look out for a Eventide to trial, I expect a quality solution is going to cost me a bit... :shock:

What happens when you run them out front?

Hey creekhead, running your time based fx (delay, reverb, chorus, flange etc) in front of the preamp can produce muddy and unpleasent tones, you want to add time based effects to your overdrive, not the other way around, if that makes any sense.

Once a person makes a statement like that, someone else can pull up at least one good example of it working somewhere, but generaly you put your delays etc after your overdrive, which is where the fx loop is located.

 

[Octavarius]

Tried changing the preamp tubes? I'm not sure the loop has a dedicated tube, though.

Anyway, try something high end. Like the Eventide Eclipse or something. No to say you should buy it necessarily, but try it in the loop just to rule out the amp. On a side note, it's a really great unit with tons of features! Probably one of the most versatile effects unit for guitar you'll ever find. Bit expensive, though, but certainly even better quality than TC.

Hey Octavarius, I havent tried the tube swap yet, but the Stiletto does have a dedicated tube for the loop. I honestly think the loop is working just fine, I am sure the issues are to be found in the tube>digital>tube conversion, a signal path is only as good as the lowest quality component.
I am not knocking the GT8, but like everything its made to a budget, and it does not allow the signal to pass through without changing its charachter.
I will also look out for a Eventide to trial, I expect a quality solution is going to cost me a bit... :shock:

What happens when you run them out front?

Hey creekhead, running your time based fx (delay, reverb, chorus, flange etc) in front of the preamp can produce muddy and unpleasent tones, you want to add time based effects to your overdrive, not the other way around, if that makes any sense.

Once a person makes a statement like that, someone else can pull up at least one good example of it working somewhere, but generaly you put your delays etc after your overdrive, which is where the fx loop is located.

That's true. In that case, like I previously said, I'd recommend to test out a quality effects processor in the loop. Even one of the new Eventide stomp boxes would be great for testing this. Other effects I'd recommend are: TC Electronic G-Force, TC Electronic Nova Pedal Series, and pretty much any high end processor of either of those companies. Don't know of much else you could check out.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

I have a Stiletto Ace and use the Rocktron Xpression. Clean, great sound and seems pretty transparent to me.