scruffydoo
Well-known member
Can any stiletto players give me some info/opinions on the tonal differences between stage I and II deuces.
cheers
cheers
stiletto stage I or II opinions
- Thread starter scruffydoo
- Start date
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BMarchant
Well-known member
Scruffydoo,
There are quite a few threads on this. Pros and Cons to both sides.For what its worth, I like the Stage one, but I am in the minority here. The Stage I amp sounds more like a 1970s master volume Marshall (think AC/DC or Velvet Revolver). Stage II has some recto tone to it. A lot of Mesa guys didnt like the Stage I because it doesn't sound like a Mesa. The stage one is the reason I switched from Marshall and Bedrock to Mesa.
The complaints about the stage one were, ice pick in your ears high end, and the fluid drive on channel two was unusable. Also, some guys wanted more gain. I cant figure out why, but thats what they wanted. Remember, the stage one received amp of the year as it was, so it cant be that bad, right?
If you get a stage one, you have to do a few things to improve the stock amp. Replace all pre amp tubes with either the GT 12AX7-M (mullard) tubes or the GT 12AX7-C (chinese). Both types of tubes are more balanced in tone, with less highs. The stock Russian pre amp tubes in the amp has high end that will rip your head off. Next, Replace the Power tubes with GT E34LS tubes in the #7 range. Not the JJ E34LS tubes. They are different tubes and sound totally different. Groove tube has the big heat sink plate on them, JJs do not. These tubes will give you tight bottom end and make the fluid drive sound the way it should have. Boogie tells you to pick Groove tubes in the 4-6 range, which is fine if you want a cold biased amp. Your not buying it new so you dont have to worry about voiding your warranty. Just so you know, I've been running my 3 boogie amps with #7s in them for over a year and a half, with no issue. The #7s bring the bias into the correct range and gets rid of the fizzy gain, and mushy bottom.
I'm sure you can get some opinions from others on the stage II. A few guys have both. Some of them like the Stage I over the Stage II, others like the II better then the stage I. If I find another Stage I in mint shape, I'll be grabbing it, if that tells you anything.
Thats my opinion, take it for what its worth........not much!
Bmarchant
There are quite a few threads on this. Pros and Cons to both sides.For what its worth, I like the Stage one, but I am in the minority here. The Stage I amp sounds more like a 1970s master volume Marshall (think AC/DC or Velvet Revolver). Stage II has some recto tone to it. A lot of Mesa guys didnt like the Stage I because it doesn't sound like a Mesa. The stage one is the reason I switched from Marshall and Bedrock to Mesa.
The complaints about the stage one were, ice pick in your ears high end, and the fluid drive on channel two was unusable. Also, some guys wanted more gain. I cant figure out why, but thats what they wanted. Remember, the stage one received amp of the year as it was, so it cant be that bad, right?
If you get a stage one, you have to do a few things to improve the stock amp. Replace all pre amp tubes with either the GT 12AX7-M (mullard) tubes or the GT 12AX7-C (chinese). Both types of tubes are more balanced in tone, with less highs. The stock Russian pre amp tubes in the amp has high end that will rip your head off. Next, Replace the Power tubes with GT E34LS tubes in the #7 range. Not the JJ E34LS tubes. They are different tubes and sound totally different. Groove tube has the big heat sink plate on them, JJs do not. These tubes will give you tight bottom end and make the fluid drive sound the way it should have. Boogie tells you to pick Groove tubes in the 4-6 range, which is fine if you want a cold biased amp. Your not buying it new so you dont have to worry about voiding your warranty. Just so you know, I've been running my 3 boogie amps with #7s in them for over a year and a half, with no issue. The #7s bring the bias into the correct range and gets rid of the fizzy gain, and mushy bottom.
I'm sure you can get some opinions from others on the stage II. A few guys have both. Some of them like the Stage I over the Stage II, others like the II better then the stage I. If I find another Stage I in mint shape, I'll be grabbing it, if that tells you anything.
Thats my opinion, take it for what its worth........not much!
Bmarchant
scruffydoo
Well-known member
Thanks a lot for that, very informative, I did a search but couldn't find much on this. Trouble is there's no stage I's around to try, got my eye on one but would have to buy it blind and there soooo expensive over here.
Keep ya posted
Keep ya posted
xnatex
Well-known member
i had a Dual Recto a while back. and it never sounded right to me. so i sold it and bought a Marshal DSL100. i loved that amp. and i swore that i would never get rid of it. to bad im such a gear *****. i heard may people talking that the Stage I had more of a Marshally tone to it. so i gave it a shot. soon after trying it i found a guy that traded me straight up his stiletto for my DSL.
now i am running my Stilleto stage I through my Marshall cabs and i love the sound. to me it sounds like mixing a Marshall and Mesa into one amp. and i freaking love it. i also like the option to switch it from 50 to 100 watts on both channels. so i can use the 50watt for my drive and 100watts for my clean and have plenty of headroom.
as far as tubes. i put some JJ E34Ls in the power section. and my preamp has a mix of EH, JJ, and Mesa tubes. it sounds pretty good but i really want to try some Tung Sols in there.
oh yeah........i also am putting an MXR ZW-44 in the chain to push the lead channel more. it sounds pretty goos but im looking for a MXR Microamp to replace it.
now i am running my Stilleto stage I through my Marshall cabs and i love the sound. to me it sounds like mixing a Marshall and Mesa into one amp. and i freaking love it. i also like the option to switch it from 50 to 100 watts on both channels. so i can use the 50watt for my drive and 100watts for my clean and have plenty of headroom.
as far as tubes. i put some JJ E34Ls in the power section. and my preamp has a mix of EH, JJ, and Mesa tubes. it sounds pretty good but i really want to try some Tung Sols in there.
oh yeah........i also am putting an MXR ZW-44 in the chain to push the lead channel more. it sounds pretty goos but im looking for a MXR Microamp to replace it.
+1 on the Chinese Groove Tubes 12ax7. I put one in mine (V1) and it made a huge improvement.
There are plenty of reviews for the Stage I Stiletto and they are all rave reviews. It's a great amp.
A lot of guys seem to prefer the Stage II though for some reason. I've never heard one so I can't comment.
From the description of the changes they made it seems like they were trying to please metal players with the Stage II... so if you are into metal you *may* end up preferring the Stage II.
Good luck.
There are plenty of reviews for the Stage I Stiletto and they are all rave reviews. It's a great amp.
A lot of guys seem to prefer the Stage II though for some reason. I've never heard one so I can't comment.
From the description of the changes they made it seems like they were trying to please metal players with the Stage II... so if you are into metal you *may* end up preferring the Stage II.
Good luck.
