Stiletto vs. MKIV: AGAIN

[Jak0lantern01]

Just curious with all the Stiletto and Mark IV owners out there, why did you pick one over the other if you were considering both like I am right now. Was it the gain? What was it about the tone? I know the Stilettos are very Mashall-esque, but I still don't have a real idea about the sound of the Marks, they seem to be their own beast.

 

[Platypus]

The Mark is a much more versatile amplifier. It has better cleans than the Stiletto (though the Stage II cleans are great), more gain on tap, more channels and more features as well.

You can run 2 EL34s/2 6L6's or 4 6L6's or even 2 6V6's in Class A mode. It has SimulClass which is worth the ticket price alone in my book.

It does Fender cleans, a decent crunch and a monsterous face melting gain all in the same box.

The Stiletto is the Marshall that Marshall should have made years ago.. it will cover the full range of any classic rock tone you have in your head with ease.

The fluid drive mode of the Stiletto and the Lead mode of the Mark IV are very similar as far as 'feel' but the mark has more gain on tap.

If you're a knob fiddler, go for the Mark IV.
If you like a set it / forget it amp, grab the Stiletto

 

[Purple_Castle]

Hey Platypus I`m torn apart between these two amps. Tell me which one is more effect friendly in terms of delay on lead channel etc.? My biggest concern probably is also the tweaking thing on mark IV...

 

[Platypus]

Hey Platypus I`m torn apart between these two amps. Tell me which one is more effect friendly in terms of delay on lead channel etc.? My biggest concern probably is also the tweaking thing on mark IV...

Delay works great for both, I use two different (one analog, one digital) on both the Stiletto and the Mark with no issues. Both amps take effects extremely well.

Tweaking on the Mark IV is the name of the game, if you get frustrated easily I would recommend against it. It's certainly not impossible but it will take you a few hours of playing around before you understand how the controls interact together.

 

[Purple_Castle]

You know I want great tone, I know that Mark IV is offering more options and it will probably be a more versatile beast. I want beautifull lead tone I haven`t found tube amp that satisfaide me in this area. I need tight beast with great response to my articulation, warm sound, rich harmonics and it should be quite tight definitly tighter than rectifier.

Sincerly

Jasiek

 

[Platypus]

That description is Mark IV all the way. I suggest you go on Mesa's site and read the owner's manual cover to cover. Then read it again. The controls are very very very counterintuitive (for example, you should never raise the bass control over 3 but on any other amp that sounds absurd).

Then go play one with your guitar and spend some time with it. The tone is in there, you just have to know how to coax it out

 

[Jak0lantern01]

**** these boards for enlightening me! If it weren't for these boards, I would have been completely ignorant and never would have looked past my recto!

 

[Platypus]

We're enablers

 

[18&Life]

MARK IV is the king of all amps :twisted:

 

[Platypus]

Condy does 10 string guitar solos through her mark IV

 

[Jak0lantern01]

Uh-oh, I sense dissent........

 

[Platypus]

lol, I think her teeth are the sliders for the EQ

 

[Purple_Castle]

Hi can someone highlighte me on differences between Mark IV short and medium head, I see that medium head has got two buttons that short head don`t have? What are they for and are there any sonical differences?

Sincerly

 

[Platypus]

Hi can someone highlighte me on differences between Mark IV short and medium head, I see that medium head has got two buttons that short head don`t have? What are they for and are there any sonical differences?

Sincerly

They are the same, the small head just has these swithches on the back of the head. There is no sonic difference between the two amps whatsoever.

 

[Russ]

Let's not forget that you can rack a short chassis amp and you can't do that with the medium chassis.

 

[stash49]

Hmm...No, few if any top pros use the MKIV, or the Stiletto that I know of. I wish people some of you people would make some live recordings of your bands-sounding like something in the basement or studio is one thing but the shows-that for me is the only way to tell what my gear is really about, and only by recording the show can hear what I really sound like live.

 

[Jak0lantern01]

I find it unlikely that a Mark is going to sound bad live. I think Petrucci proves that. But I'll let you know, I'm going to see DT in August.

 

[Purple_Castle]

I'm going to test stiletto ace tomarrow and hopefully mark IV couple days later. What settings should I dial on stiletto to see some awsome lead tones? I don't want to sit in the shop to long searching for a tone, cause all of these people and kids walking around drive me nuts

 

[lockbody]

As far as the Stiletto goes, put everything except the output at 12:00 and go from there. Seriously. I've yet to pull a bad sound out of mine.

 

[abe]

Here are my gain channel settings for my Ace:

Tite Gain
Bold

Gain: 2:30 - 3:00
Treble: 11:00
Mid: 10:30
Bass: 2:30
Presence: 10:00-11:00

I keep the overall output knob at around 11:00 and use the master to control the volume