Stilettos and Electra Dynes and Mark Vs - Oh My!

[ifailedshapes]

I have an Express 5:25 1x10" combo. It's a cool little amp (very impressive for it's small size), but I want to get something a little more "grown up". I am torn (and consequently know a LOT about) these three amps:

1) Stiletto Ace - I am addicted to this amp. I love the dirty channel, and the Fat Clean setting of channel 1 is simply amazing. If I heard it (the clean channel) blindfolded I wouldn't guess it was an EL-34 amp.

2) Electra Dyne - This is the amp I have spent the least amount of time with in person. So many people love this amp that there must be something to it. Every demo I have watched is very impressive. I have a couple years experience with a Mark IV though, so I am quite leery of shared tone controls. I know it uses stacked pots to help compensate for this, but I don't want to feel like I have to compromise one channel for the sake of another.

3) Mark V - I had a few complaints about the Mark IV. The Mark V addressed literally every single complaint I had. I think that says enough for this one.

I like the Lone Star clean sound, and these three amps can get me close enough to that sound. I want to have an amp that will let me have foot-switchable:
1) three-dimensional cleans
2) verge of breakup blues
3) solid rock chugga chugga (not metal)
4) searing leads

Now that I type that out, I think I'm starting to lean back towards the Mark V with an OD pedal, i.e. BB Preamp or OCD.

Anyone care to chime in on this one? :mrgreen:

 

[ifailedshapes]

I just realized that the 3 amps I am trying to choose between are the same 3 amps pictured in the "Guitar Amplifiers" section on Mesa's product page. Yeesh...

 

[dodger916]

In my experience the ED is a darker amp than the Stiletto, but I found the Stiletto to be quite bright.

 

[droptrd]

The V is hands down the most versatile.

The stilettos are not too bright at all when dialed properly and they can be tricky. In a band situation they are stunning

 

[Laskyman]

The ED is the simplest layout of the amps you mention, and in my opinion, the best sounding. I have owned a Roadster as well as a Stage II Deuce, and heavily considered a Mark V. If you like the Fat Clean on the Stiletto (and it is a killer clean), the ED cleans will change your life. To ME, and I know sound is highly subjective, the ED Cleans and Blue channel are to most dynamic channels of any amp I have ever played. The Blue (low) gain mode in the ED is what so many builders try to achieve in a OD pedal. The High gain also is tight bottomed, highly focused, and a complete blast to play.
The MARK tone is in a lot of guys DNA- I understand why- its a great amp, and super versatile- but a 112 Mark V combo next to a 112 Ed combo will sound weak and thin. The ED is the loudest amp I have ever played as well. It barely has a bedroom volume. But again, when you open it up a bit, you will understand why there is a strong ED following. I just celebrated our first year together, and the honeymoon is still going strong. I hope to buy her a Wampler triple Wreck for Xmas, just so all of my musical bases will be covered- if you havent spent much time with one, you owe it to yourself to before you upgrade- it is a phenomenal piece of kit...

1) three-dimensional cleans
2) verge of breakup blues
3) solid rock chugga chugga (not metal)
4) searing leads

If the above is your criteria- check out the ED. Just do it.

 

[kenkelso]

A 1X12 Lonestar Classic was my 6th Mesa in my search for thick cleans and a mild bluesy breakup. While the cleans were great at lower volumes, when the band got revved up the bottom fell out of the LSC. I loved the amp but it never was 100%, every weekend I knew I couldn't play as hard as I wanted...it couldn't handle it. I plugged a Tele into a 1x12 ED at GC a month ago and immediately knew that I'd stumbled upon the richest tone I'd ever heard. Took 2 days to find a used one I could trade for (2x12) and couldn't be happier. For 2 years I searched for this sound and in an instant that "close but not quite" feeling has disappeared.
I tried 3 times to demo Stiletto's and all 3 blew fuses....that told scared me and may mean nothing but I gave up on them before I got started.
I owned and gigged with a Mark IV, great amp but the small enclosure housing the 250 watt EV couldn't hang as good as the Lonestar.

The ED is simple like a Blue Angel, easy to dial, makes you want to bend strings instead of twist knobs. Don't let the lack of knobs and switches decieve you into thinking this amp has a limited tonal offering. Little is much.
Find one on sale, you'll need to keep a couple bucks in you pocket for fuel for the forklift I hope you own. 2x12 combo weighs 87 lbs.
:shock:

 

[ifailedshapes]

Ok, so your guys' opinions didn't directly sway my opinion, but they did make me take a long, hard look at the Electra Dyne. I still want to play a 'Dyne and a Mark V side by side, but I'm pretty dang sure I will be the owner of an Electra Dyne sometime in earlyish 2011. I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to get as dirty as I would like, and even if it could, that the clean channel would suffer. If the videos on YouTube are a genuine representation of what the amp can do, it's an excellent fit for me. Now I just have to decide whether I want 1) black or British tan, and 2) long or short head.

 

[YellowJacket]

Ok, so your guys' opinions didn't directly sway my opinion, but they did make me take a long, hard look at the Electra Dyne. I still want to play a 'Dyne and a Mark V side by side, but I'm pretty dang sure I will be the owner of an Electra Dyne sometime in earlyish 2011. I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to get as dirty as I would like, and even if it could, that the clean channel would suffer. If the videos on YouTube are a genuine representation of what the amp can do, it's an excellent fit for me. Now I just have to decide whether I want 1) black or British tan, and 2) long or short head.

I think a properly calibrated set of pickups in an instrument go a LONG way towards minimizing whatever loss is incurred from the shared EQ channel. Also, I have read (not tested) that you get much more gain as you turn the amp up. The lower gain saturation is only a problem at bedroom levels, when the power section isn't working as much. I also read that the gain trim switch set to clean gives you much more gain on the low and high gain channels while retaining clean headroom on the clean channel. It is a stinking AWESOME amp. I wish they had come out with it when I was in the market for an amp because I bet I would have bought that instead of my dual!