Stiletto Ace with 4x12 cab w/ Greenbacks review

[inkwachemis]

Okay,

Well, I"m happy to say that for the very first time, I'm fully happy with my rig and the tone I'm getting. I'd say I'm about 95% there of what I'm trying to get in my head.

The splawn 4x12 cab is excellent. First off, the construction is very very nice. they spend their time with making them right all the way down to the speaker grill cloth being realy nice and taut and lined up correctly. Man, I dunno, if its a combination of the cab + Greenbacks, but it's tonal heaven. This cab projects so well, and its so clear, crunchy, and warm and smooth at the same time. Anyone, and I say ANYONE that says greenbacks lacks bass probably doesnt play with a bass player in a band setting. This cab sits so well in the mix with drums and bass. There are NO wierd nasally mids or ice-pick treble like i was getting with my 2x12 cab with a v30 and g12h30. Everything is so much thicker and articulate.

Played through a Mesa Stiletto Ace head in the crunch mode, I was instantly able to get those classic rock tones that we all hear on countless classic albums so much easier with this cab. With greenbacks, this amp was so much more 'brit' sounding in this mode. I dont need to say anymore about that. Switching to a tite gain mode, it was instant heavy rock /metal. This is where I spend most of my time in. Its perfect. Thick, crunchy, heavy, clear, warm, and smooth. Cleans are a really surprise for me. Warm and smooth all around in the 'fat clean' mode. Much much fuller and warmer with a touch of glassiness. I havent tried it in the 'fluid drive' mode yet. I was having too much fun.

Breaking these speakers in was really cool. I could almost hear the moment that these speakers opened up in tone and the coils really got moving. Can't wait to put many many more hours on these speakers.

All in all, this cab was the greatest addition I did to improve my tone. It's so musical sounding.

Honestly, I really think that Greenbacks are better suited for the Ace. The Ace is already a pretty bright head, so these Greenbacks really help tame that brightness. I found myself able to turn up the treble and pres a bit and even upped the gain knob to almost 60% to get more saturation in a pleasing completely non-fizzy way. everything was perfect.

Only downside. I probably should've requested to get metal corners on the cab. I'm gonna really dent this cab up.

 

[parsky1]

Interesting... well at least you finally found what you like.

 

[Surfcaster]

Cool. I'd love to hear some clips.

I have a 2x12 cab and three different speakers...a V30, a G12H30 and a Greenback. Currently I have the V30 and G12H30 in it, but it also works nicely with the Greenback in place of the V30...and the G12H30 really adds that bottom end. I'd like to try an Ace with some different speaker combintations in that 2x12 sometime.

 

[FPFL]

That looks shweet! Congrats.

I'm curious to hear more about this set up, especially on the fluid channel with the gain at 40-50% of the way up. Thats where I live these days. I've got most of the tone knobs at about 4. I too don't want a lot of bass - I've got a bass player - but I do want a bit of non-flabby thud every now and again. I play in drop d tuning as often as not.

The thought of the GBacks smoothing out the highs some sounds very appealing and as long as its not too strong in the mids or too loose in the low end I could b e tempted.

-P

 

[humunculus]

Hi there,

This is my first post on the board. Just to ask you if you tried other cabs. My Ace head goes to a pair of 2X12 Roadster cabs and I think it sounds sweet.

Best Regards, JFC

 

[inkwachemis]

That looks shweet! Congrats.

I'm curious to hear more about this set up, especially on the fluid channel with the gain at 40-50% of the way up. Thats where I live these days. I've got most of the tone knobs at about 4. I too don't want a lot of bass - I've got a bass player - but I do want a bit of non-flabby thud every now and again. I play in drop d tuning as often as not.

The thought of the GBacks smoothing out the highs some sounds very appealing and as long as its not too strong in the mids or too loose in the low end I could b e tempted.

-P

I'll try it in the fluid mode at my bands next jam and let u know what i find. the cab setup is very tight sounding IMO and when I dropped to D, there was plenty of solid non-flabby thumpage. It was great. Greenbacks do not have a wierd mid-spike at all like you find with v30s. thats one of the main reasons why I choose this speaker. I think greenbacks with any Marshallish amp is the perfect combo.

oh, and if u looking to smooth out the highs, I'd def first start with a tube change if you havent already. the stock mesas are brittle sounding.

 

[inkwachemis]

Hi there,

This is my first post on the board. Just to ask you if you tried other cabs. My Ace head goes to a pair of 2X12 Roadster cabs and I think it sounds sweet.

Best Regards, JFC

yea, my other cab is an Avatar 2x12 cab with a v30 and g12h30. IMO, there is no comparision. the splawn 4x12 w/greenbacks makes my tones sound so much better.

 

[FPFL]

I'll try it in the fluid mode at my bands next jam and let u know what i find.

oh, and if u looking to smooth out the highs, I'd def first start with a tube change if you havent already. the stock mesas are brittle sounding.

Inky,

Thanks for the info. I've got to get my Ace on top of something with greenbacks and see if I've been missing out. As a hard rock / metal guy greenbacks reputation scared me off as being flabby in the lows - but perhaps the 4x12 cab size is the key to balancing that out with the lower resonance point.

I remember there were some tube swap posts back in the early days of the Ace. Which tubes did you prefer in your testing? I'm still on stock tubes. I've got some high gain JJs and a couple EHs in an amp I'm not using much but haven't swapped them into the Ace yet. I don't need more gain as much as I'd like to smooth the sound out just a little.

I did put beam blockers on the top 2 speakers in my VHT 4x12 and I must say they work as advertised. They didn't radically change my sound but the dispersion is better around the room. My drummer was actually the happiest about that ironically and he sits outside of the beam point for the cab.

-P

 

[FPFL]

Ink,

Hey, you said you turned the treble and pres up... Looking at your knob settings they are at 9:30 or so! Is that the UP from before setting?

If so, what was it before?

-P

 

[inkwachemis]

I'll try it in the fluid mode at my bands next jam and let u know what i find.

oh, and if u looking to smooth out the highs, I'd def first start with a tube change if you havent already. the stock mesas are brittle sounding.

Inky,

Thanks for the info. I've got to get my Ace on top of something with greenbacks and see if I've been missing out. As a hard rock / metal guy greenbacks reputation scared me off as being flabby in the lows - but perhaps the 4x12 cab size is the key to balancing that out with the lower resonance point.

I remember there were some tube swap posts back in the early days of the Ace. Which tubes did you prefer in your testing? I'm still on stock tubes. I've got some high gain JJs and a couple EHs in an amp I'm not using much but haven't swapped them into the Ace yet. I don't need more gain as much as I'd like to smooth the sound out just a little.

I did put beam blockers on the top 2 speakers in my VHT 4x12 and I must say they work as advertised. They didn't radically change my sound but the dispersion is better around the room. My drummer was actually the happiest about that ironically and he sits outside of the beam point for the cab.

-P

hey, yea, I've read about the possible flabby lows in greenbacks. I dont hear it. However, I imagine that if you tune really really low like in drop C and play through say, a Recto cranked, you will encounter some bass issues. however, I play heavy heavy rock in standard E and sometimes drop D, and the bass is perfect. very thumping. I was chuggin it in D yesterday with the band and it sounds great. I'm sure the Splawn straight cab contributes to this solid bass as well. With the Ace at 50W and 4x12 greenbacks make the cab a total 100W, it's a perfect matchup.

if you are looking to smooth out the sound and warm it up a bit, without a doubt start with a tube swap. That was a big difference for me, and the cheapest as well. I went with tungsol reissues in V1 and V2 and regular jjecc83 in the rest of the slots. I got winged =c= SEDs EL-34s. this is a great tube setup and it warms and thickens up the sound and smooths that high end brittleness out. Getting the cab just completly put my tone over the top now.

what speakers u running in your VHT cab?

 

[inkwachemis]

Ink,

Hey, you said you turned the treble and pres up... Looking at your knob settings they are at 9:30 or so! Is that the UP from before setting?

If so, what was it before?

-P

haha, good eye man. good eye. I play mainly through a LP special clone with P90 pickups. They are a bit brighter than humbuckers, so naturally i have to cut back a bit on the treb and pres to accomdate. P90s totally rock. They are my favorite pickups. before the new cab, I was running the pres and treb at about 8:30-9:00.

with humbuckers, I upp the treb and pres to about 11:00.

mids and bass stay at around 12:30, gain @ 12:30 too.

 

[FPFL]

Inky,

Thanks for all the info. I've used my Ace long enough to have all the knobs and switches memorized without thinking about it so your treble settings jumped out at me...

I am due for a tube order anyway. I'll be gigging again soon and I'd like to take a backup set with me, I don't bring two amps unless you count a Crate power block. I've read a lot of good about the winged 34s especially. Hmm.

The VHT Deliverance cab has custom Eminence P50 speakers. They are, I'm told, not a stock Em. speaker relabelled but if you like them you can order them direct from VHT unloaded.

I've not done a shootout with my cab and other 4x12s. All my other cabs are 2x12s and its apples to oranges there. I will say I am also not a big V30 fan and was never attracted to Stiletto Mesa cabs either. V30s sound fun at first. With the Ace I bought it after auditioning it on a Mesa cab and was thinking, "this will sound even better on my VHT cab!" - and it does.

As much as some people insist on keeping a head with a matched cab, thats rarely been me. I want my sound, not a sound. So I don't assume logos must match.

I also fiddle with pups all the time too. The Duncan '78 is really a wonderful pickup if you like chewy high end and pick attack sensitive snarl with warm lows and strong but not over powering mids. I mention it b/c with your setup that pup will absolutely SING! I've got one in my CT4 now and its never coming out.

-P

 

[MONGO]

You guys dont sound like you tried the 90's with the ace ? I have played for 30 years mostly pro and the ace with 90's is almost the best 34 tone I ever heard. I like greenbacks but they will be mushy with gain and a neck pickup but low gain works well. Also the p90's seem to warm it up more than my greenback marhsall cab and also it has a thicker tone but still some how since I didnt change the tubes gives it all it needs


I like the V30'S on tape but they are a bit harsh when playing through a cab at loud volumes. The Ace and the lonestar classic are two of the best amps ever made period.

 

[inkwachemis]

You guys dont sound like you tried the 90's with the ace ? I have played for 30 years mostly pro and the ace with 90's is almost the best 34 tone I ever heard. I like greenbacks but they will be mushy with gain and a neck pickup but low gain works well. Also the p90's seem to warm it up more than my greenback marhsall cab and also it has a thicker tone but still some how since I didnt change the tubes gives it all it needs


I like the V30'S on tape but they are a bit harsh when playing through a cab at loud volumes. The Ace and the lonestar classic are two of the best amps ever made period.

wait, I'm a bit confused. there is a type of speaker called a "p90"??

from what I know, there are guitar pickups called "p90s", never heard of a speaker called that. correct me if i'm wrong

 

[MONGO]

I meant C 90 sorry there!