Stiletto Owners....Chime in!

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

So, I got to sit down with a Stiletto Deuce Stage II, and I have to say, I was completely blown away. Outstanding tone, and actually the exact tone I've been looking for between my recto, Mark IV, and other amp ventures.

Another thing I liked...simple....I turned it on, and instantly had good tones going!

Let's hear what you have to say about it! Pros? Cons?

What speakers do you like to run with it? I'm thinking about going back to 4 V30s with it...opinions?

Thanks much!

 

[Silverwulf]

Owned a Stiletto Series I (later Hollywood Modded) and a Stiletto ACE head unit before. Really nice amps, the amp Marshall wishes it would have made about 10 years ago. I loved how it sounded with V30's. I think the two pair up really well.

 

[otter5555]

i own an ace combo and a deuce series 1 head un modded.

i found the ace to be harsh and wayyy too bright for my tastes.

retubed it with dougstubes and was satisfied.

however,

i much prefer the deuce series 1 and when i want a stiletto tone
always use the deuce.

i use an avatar 4x12 w/ v30's and it sounds great.

otter

 

[Anonymous]

tja, what to add to this. was playing marshall plexi, 2201, 2204 heads and combos for 25 years.

the stiletto is a well engineered amp and it also needs a quality guitar to catch up with. i use the series vintage 30's in the ace which are a perfect match in my view. break 'em in first.

for the 5.1 sound still one is missing

:twisted:

stay tuned!

 

[Duece2]

After replacing the crappy stock tubes in it, I finally get the sound I want. I have a 2x12 Avatar cab. w/ the hellatone 30s and really like it. But I do want to upgrade to a recto cab. in the future. I really like the solo feature on the foot pedal great boost for soloing. It is funny that I see alot of people who have said they try these in a store and say their cold sounding and what it really comes down to with any amp with stock tubes is ditch the shitty stock ones and get some better quality tubes.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

After replacing the crappy stock tubes in it, I finally get the sound I want. I have a 2x12 Avatar cab. w/ the hellatone 30s and really like it. But I do want to upgrade to a recto cab. in the future. I really like the solo feature on the foot pedal great boost for soloing. It is funny that I see alot of people who have said they try these in a store and say their cold sounding and what it really comes down to with any amp with stock tubes is ditch the sh!t stock ones and get some better quality tubes.

Hey Duece2,

Which Avatar 2x12 cab do you own? I've been considering one for my Stiletto but have never heard one before. Why would you change to the recto cab?

 

[jab]

I run my Ace with V30 Roadster cabs, 450 tubes, Doug's preamp tube set, eq in the loop boosting the bass a tad, Barber Tone Press and a sonic stomp and I'll be surprised if I ever find a better sounding rig.

 

[Duece2]

After replacing the crappy stock tubes in it, I finally get the sound I want. I have a 2x12 Avatar cab. w/ the hellatone 30s and really like it. But I do want to upgrade to a recto cab. in the future. I really like the solo feature on the foot pedal great boost for soloing. It is funny that I see alot of people who have said they try these in a store and say their cold sounding and what it really comes down to with any amp with stock tubes is ditch the sh!t stock ones and get some better quality tubes.

Hey Duece2,

Which Avatar 2x12 cab do you own? I've been considering one for my Stiletto but have never heard one before. Why would you change to the recto cab?

I have the closed back traditional 2x12 I bought it off ebay and it was actually a stereo cab so I just rewired after talking to a guy at avatar. Anyway the cab is built like a tank but I want little more low end I might just try different speakers in it. The recto cab I'm just interested in it from what others have said but they seem kinda steep in price I don't really know if they are that much better then a Avatar.

 

[srf399]

Deuce Stage II with 450's and Dougs preamp set. Delay and reverb in the loop. I'm using the traditional cab with V30's. in the 50 watt setting with the cabinet plugged into the 8 ohm output you get a warmer sound than the Ace. If I want a brighter sound I plug into the 4 ohm output. I'm thinking the recto cab would be better for this amp... they can be tight but the traditional 2x12 could use a touch more bottom end. Going to try an EQ in the loop first. I love the amp though and would only get rid of it if I could get a Bogner Ecstasy Classic.

 

[Riff Blister]

I have owned a Stiletto Deuce II since August of 2006. Plenty of time to get to know it. I really studied and shopped around trying to find an amp that would suit my taste and my budget. This thing had everything I wanted in terms of features. It took me a little time to dial it in but not bad at all. I blame that on the features that attracted me to the amp. Although in my mind the Stiletto is a straightforward amp, it still has many places it can take you sonically. I just had to decide which ones I wanted to settle on.

Here is my take on the amp.

Fat Clean is my favorite clean mode, nice and lush sounding at any volume.
Tight Clean also sounds great and gets better and bigger sounding as you turn it up. No surprise there.

The Crunch mode at first seemed somewhat brittle and notes seamed to die off so quickly that I did not think I was a good enough guitar player to use it.
As speakers broke in and I kept tweaking and playing, I fell in love. This is home for me now. I play in a classic rock cover band so I can say that I truly found what I was looking for in an amp.

Tight Gain is just awesome. It is my favorite for flat out rocking. At first, I thought it sounded somewhat fizzy, which I hate. That was at home however. The first gig I played where I could crank it up I was so pleased. The high-end fizz dissipated and the bottom-end started my bellbottoms flapping.

Liquid Gain is not one I use mainly because of the music I play.
Again, fizzy at low volumes, fire-breathing dragon when you crank it up to how it is supposed to be played.

I own the Stiletto 2x12 cabinet, which sounds, nice and tight.
I then moved on to the Recto 2x12, which I prefer.
I have since purchased another Recto 2x12 that I now stack Andy Timmons style.
After about a year, I did the Doug’s Tubes pre amp tube recommendation and along with the break in period for the speakers, I have one kick *** sounding set up.

That is my rig.
That is my opinion and you are entitled to it!

 

[srf399]

+ on the Tite Gain

When you turn it up it has this really nice hazy voicing.... Dime for solos and back off the guitar volume for crunch... it's amazing

 

[Barry]

I can use the 4X12 or 2X12 and its absolutely awesome with either . Another thing, I didnt have any need to go to Dougs tubes or any other tubes for an upgrade . All the R&D on the Stiletto was done with 447s . Something to consider . Mine sounds awesome with the stock tubes . Just use a mahogany based humbucker guitar . It fits the Stiletto like a glove .

 

[jab]

Riffblister: as long as we're on the topic of Stiletto's sounding good, what are your settings on the crunch channel (gain/eq)? For classic rock, I keep going to Tite Gain with gain at 9:00 as it seems fuller than crunch.

 

[paytojt]

The Stiletto is my 2nd favorite Mesa amp, behind the Roadster. Try it with some KT 77 power tubes if you want some more bass. Otherwise, the stock EL 34's should be fine. Definitely change preamp tubes, because it is a very tube sensitive amp. Vintage 30 speakers seem to be the best for it. I would have kept my Ace, I just couldn't get the bass I wanted, hence the Roadster! Wish it had reverb, though...

 

[Riff Blister]

Hi jab,
I agree totally with you and a lot of the Stiletto owners. Tight Gain is king. It really does have a fuller sound going for it. What I’ve been striving for though, by using the Crunch mode is this. If you listen to a lot of those old rock albums from the late 60s to early 70s you will notice that those cats did not have the gain that we can get now days. This is the tone that I grew up with and it still sends me through the roof when I hear it. It’s the old Les Paul through a Marshall sound. That’s how I landed where I did with the Stiletto.
Anyway, I’ve been way too keyboard happy on this thread so here is what I like, right or wrong.

I use 100 watts, Bold and silicon rectifiers.

Master- 10:30, Presence- 8:00, Base- 2:00, Mid- 10:30, Treble- 9:00 to 11:00 depending on the room, Gain- 2:00.
These are all AM not PM settings.
OK I’m joking now.

Then as Frank Zappa said “A couple of quarts of beer so the intonation won’t offend your ears”

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I definitely have to get me one of these. I think I'm going to custom order, since I think the croc skin looks a bit ridiculous.

 

[vertigo_]

great choice on the stiletto...the other guitarist in my band has a ace head and it sounds sweet. He uses an EV thiele cab with it. Roadster and Ace together makes some badass guitar tone!

 

[Jak0lantern01]

Not to hijack, but you just mentioned your other guitarist is playing a Stiletto through an EV Thiele cab. How is the sound? Add a bit more bottom end? I'm looking to do the same setup and was curious.

 

[avi8r2005]

I just picked up a Deuce stage II yesterday in Fort Collins, CO. I was shopping around for one now for over a month, and came across a local shop that had tons of Mesa products on hand, and also a one day sale on them. I picked it up for 1499, bargain price for a brand new amp. I tried the ace, a tremoverb and this Deuce that day and found this one to be totally a killer sound. I currently have a singel rec, but that is going to be up for grabs shortly if anyone is interested. The Deuce appealed to me, as I could easily dial in a sound that I liked right off the bat, without all the tweaking that the recto's need. Unfortunately I still have to wait a few days to get it back home and plug it in and really see what it's capable of, especially with a G-major and a Sparkle Drive going through it.

 

[vertigo_]

Not to hijack, but you just mentioned your other guitarist is playing a Stiletto through an EV Thiele cab. How is the sound? Add a bit more bottom end? I'm looking to do the same setup and was curious.

Well we try to keep the low end from the roadster...and nice bright mid rangy sound from the ace.