Stilletto I vs. II Revisited
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Rocky said:
+1 on speaker break-in.. I personally really like the stock setup which is rare for me on an amp.. but it really needs some break-in to get that really nice sparkle to it.
What did you end up changing tube wise and why? I was not partial to the Mesa EL34's I used in my rectifier but they sound really good in this amp.
Not sure why people think Rectifier amps are mushy or muddy.....or scooped. I think the midrange on a Rectifier is insane. The mids can almost be too much but it really helps them sound huge in a mix.
I was seriously considering a Stiletto till a good friend played them extensively in his search for another amp, only to find them too harsh and brittle.
I was seriously considering a Stiletto till a good friend played them extensively in his search for another amp, only to find them too harsh and brittle.
Barry
Well-known member
Ive owned both . I personally get better results from the crunch in stage II . Stage I was alot more saggy in the crunch mode to me . I still feel stage I is a great amp. Stage II is an all around quicker, tighter amp but its all subjective . Trust your ears . I agree with Plat, no resemblance to the recto line , no way no how !
I've found that mesa's preamp tubes tend to be harsh and brittle. I've had the same problem in several amps and changing out the preamp tubes helped solve the problem.
My F-50 was WAY too bright and changing out the preamp and power tubes solved the problem.
The Stage I Stiletto is a great amp you just need the right speaker/tubes etc..
It also depends on what kind of sound you want - if you want something that is tighter sounding then go for a Stage II.
My F-50 was WAY too bright and changing out the preamp and power tubes solved the problem.
The Stage I Stiletto is a great amp you just need the right speaker/tubes etc..
It also depends on what kind of sound you want - if you want something that is tighter sounding then go for a Stage II.
Stilettos in general, but especially stage 1's are going to sound very bright if you get your gain from the preamp. When I had mine, I would run it either in tite clean, or crunch 1 with a low gain clean sound, then crank the beast and overdrive the poweramp. When you do it that way, they are very warm, and EXTREMELY touch sensitive. I had 4 sounds at my fingertips with one channel. I would turn down the volume on my neck pickup, and flip to that for clean/crunch. normal playing would have a very fendery clean tone (think 60's plexi clean) and if I dug it I would get a beautiful singing blues tone (think stevie ray vaughn, with a little more bite to it). flip to the bridge for my gain tone. lighten up on the pick attack or hit the volume pedal, and it would drop into crunch/just on the verge of breakup territory
Platypus said:
i replaced the mesa preamp tubes with a JAN/Phillips 12AX7 in V1, an RCA 12AX7 in V2 and V3 and then left the Mesa ones in V4 and V5.
I replaced the stock Mesa EL34s with the STR450 NOS tubes, love them.
Ileft in the stock rectifier tube.
inkwachemis
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Charlie said:
+3143215215252435
yep, dont like the stock tubes that Mesa had loaded in my Ace
sgtbaker
Well-known member
My Stage I can nail classic rock and blues tones. When I had my cab set up with 25w Greenbacks it was probably one of the best bluesy classic rock tones you can get out of a modern day amp and even with V30's I can still get excellent blues tones. I have never really heard Ministry so I don't know about that, but my Stage I can get really heavy. I don't know why nobody likes the Fluid Drive on the Stage I because that's what I use for heavy tones and it sounds awesome. :wink:
I originally got my stage I stiletto to replace my 81 2204. and actually it did an excellent job. truth be told, the stiletto can nail just about any marshall tone between the original plexi's and the silver jubilee as long as you're willing to turn the beast up. I ended up keeping the JCM and trading the stiletto, but only because I was trading for my mark III, and the guy wouldn't take the JCM he wanted the stiletto.
the stiletto I will definetly get you floyd, zep, GnR, ACDC, and the doors. I'll get you ministry too with a boost in front. the stiletto I doesnt have a crap load of gain on its own. It has enough for probably everything up through van halen, but if you want more you'll need a boost.
