Stiletto Questions - Please help...

[jman7272]

So I just pulled the trigger on a Stiletto Ace head and it will be here Thursday of this week... I just got intrigued by the mystique of the beast and HAD to try one...

Couple of questions for those that have gone before me...

1. Is this THE Marshall killer amp from Mesa?

2. Does it get the Appetite for Destruction tone to a "T" ?

3. What's up with no built in reverb?

4. Do you HAVE to crank it to get good tone or can you use the master output adequtely?

5. Any other comments or opinions?

My only reference point for EL34 tube amps are other artists. I have always been a 6L6 player and all of my amps (see sig) are 6L6 based. This is new territory for me and was brought on by a friends recent acquisition of a Voodoo Modded Marshall.

Thanks folks!

 

[Anonymous]

hey jman (german?)

enjoy your new stiletto, its a nice gear.

- marshall is still alive and i did not hear of any jcm had died standing close to a stiletto

- the appetite for destruction sound is easy to be realised with the stiletto, afaik slash used a lp on this album, but a delay device is needed

- there is no reverb, true. but you can easily slave one in. the insert section is well build with a level control

- cranking is one thing which makes this beast unique, all other standard sounds are available before that.

yank it!

 

[secretsoundz]

1.Yes!

2. Yes!

3. Exactly...what's up with no reverb on an amp with so many different features?

4. You don't have to crank it for it to sound good, but it sure sounds better when cranked.

5. This amp has the best clean and gain sounds I've ever heard.

 

[Charlie]

1. Is this THE Marshall killer amp from Mesa?

Imho this is the amp that Marshall should be making. I was a Marshall guy my whole life... then I got a Stiletto. =)

2. Does it get the Appetite for Destruction tone to a "T" ?

I think it does.

3. What's up with no built in reverb?

I hear ya. It would have been nice! I bought a Holy Grail and it works pretty good with this amp. I've found I only need it for the cleans. Most of the time I just straight plug into the amp with no fx these days...

4. Do you HAVE to crank it to get good tone or can you use the master output adequtely?

You don't need to crank it but it'll put a smile on your face when you do.

You might want to look into a THD hot plate.

5. Any other comments or opinions?

With certain guitars/pickups the amp can be extremely bright. My strat (with single coils) is pretty unusable through this amp. My Les Paul sounds fu#@ing awesome though. Prepare to sink a little bit of money into preamp tubes. People on this forum have had success with the GT 12ax7c as well as some others... I forget which ones but a forum search will get you the info.

 

[jman7272]

Thanks for all of the input guys. I am really excited to try this amp. I wish there was a local store that had one to test run, but there is nothing within a good lot of distance and I live in a pretty populated area with 4 GC's within 1/2 hour in each direction.

 

[Rocky]

1. Is this THE Marshall killer amp from Mesa?

>>>>dont know if it is the killer but it does the Marshall thing really well

2. Does it get the Appetite for Destruction tone to a "T" ?

>>>>It does the Marshall t hing well but it wont make you sound like Slash.

3. What's up with no built in reverb?

>>>>They decided not to give it reverb.

4. Do you HAVE to crank it to get good tone or can you use the master output adequtely?

>>>>Depends on what you call good tone.

5. Any other comments or opinions?

>>>>I like grapes

 

[Platypus]

On the reverb.. once you get the Ace cooking you will find that you don't really need reverb. I think it colors the tone too much and typically run it very low or off on any amp that I have.

 

[jab]

Since you're already "all in" on the Stiletto, thought I'd pass along some random thoughts that may be of use:

- usable at lower volumes, but higher volumes sound even better. 50W is very loud. Tons of gain headroom in these things.
- I found the stock tubes too bright. Upgraded to Mesa's NOS 450s and it made a big difference. They just raised the price on those though so I don't think I'd look for a different tube next time around. Am thinking about buying the preamp tube set from Doug's ($60) which seems to come highly recommended to add fullness and depth.
- I put a very slight slapback delay on my sound to thicken and compensate for no reverb. Sounds good to me.
- Since it's only 2 channels, I have been using Fat Clean on Ch 1, and an Xotic AC+ to give it a little crunch. Then I use Tite Gain on Ch 2 for a more distorted sound, and the other side of my AC+ to add gain to that channel for solo's. Makes it not just a 2 channel beast and all sounds good to me. I experimented quite a bit before deciding on the AC+.
- It seems the overall tone has come a long way since I first tried a combo in Guitar Center. Maybe it's the tube change, breaking in speakers, learning to EQ, etc. but it's an amp to work with and if you haven't had a Mesa before, I highly recommend digesting the manual. Well written and informative.

Let us know what you find out too - always in the relentless pursuit of tone.

 

[BMarchant]

1. Is this THE Marshall killer amp from Mesa?

Imho this is the amp that Marshall should be making. I was a Marshall guy my whole life... then I got a Stiletto.

I got to second what Charlie says.. I played Marshalls, BedRocks, Rivera modified Marshalls. The Stiletto Deuce Stage (I) is the best Marshall type sound I've ever had.

Bmarchant

 

[gwayne]

1. Is this THE Marshall killer amp from Mesa?

Imho this is the amp that Marshall should be making. I was a Marshall guy my whole life... then I got a Stiletto.

I got to second what Charlie says.. I played Marshalls, BedRocks, Rivera modified Marshalls. The Stiletto Deuce Stage (I) is the best Marshall type sound I've ever had.

Bmarchant

Same here and add Soldano and Bogner. I can get scary close to Slash's Appetite tone but even closer to The Cult's Sonic Temple tone. I have always been a fan of Billy's tone, but never got too close. The Stiletto nails it among many others. It seems like Randall designed this amp to be all about CRUNCH, and **** did he ever deliver!! You'll love it.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Marshall is Marshall and Mesa is Mesa. I own both and like them both. Each has their own distinct characteristics and depending on my mood I will get equal enjoyment from either. Tone is very subjective so I don't really think you can say that one "kills" the other. Both are tops in their field.

 

[jman7272]

Wow. I just checked the tracking number and it is in Nashua NH at the UPS hub!!! I cannot wait to wake up in the AM and refresh the site to see the status change to "Out for delivery..."

I am not sure how I am going to get on with no reverb as ever amp I have owned has had at least a decent reverb in it...

Were the Marhalls that Randal was trying to cop on without reverb or something? I just don't get it.

 

[jonmm66]

So did it show up? Do you like it?