Taming feedback on Stiletto...

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

Just got my Deuce, and I love it to death.

Problem is, that at gigging volume, the amp feedbacks quite a bit.

I want to get an ISP noise reduction pedal of some sort....but I'm having a hard time deciding which.

1. Will the regular decimator used in front of the amp tame the feedback?

2. Has anyone tried the new ISP G-string with a Mesa amp? The pedal would let me have something in the loop aswell, but I've heard that with certain amps, it introduced a very bad ground loop. I don't want to take the chance on it without knowing it will work.

The Rackmounted versions are out of the question, as my rack is already full....

Thanks guys!

 

[155]

yo I got a mint isp decimator that will cure your problem quick like! got the rack dont need it. pm me

 

[Silverwulf]

I've used a BOSS NS-2 in front of 3 Stilettos in the past. You wouldn't even know the amp was on standing in front of it with the volume cranked.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

So a noise gate just outfront will be enough?

What is the general consensus on the ISP Decimator?

Thanks much!

 

[Platypus]

Something about that doesn't seem right.. what sort of feedback are you talking about? I've cranked the piss out of my Stiletto plenty of times and never got any feedback above an audible humming.

 

[se3k4life101]

If you're using high gain anything and not getting feedback, then you're extremely lucky. Sometimes it just works out that way. But most of us wind up needing some kind of noisegate.

Don't get the NS-2. Boss pedals are notorious for sucking tone. All the ones I've played through just filtered out all the warmth and made everything sound cold and sterile even when they were off. From what I've heard, the NS-2 does do a better job at getting rid of feedback from using alot of gain than the ISP decimator does though. The decimator is better overall just because it doesn't affect your tone. It does take a few minutes of messing around to find a spot where the threshold will cut any hum and keep feedback from starting (but won't do anything to stop it once it does start) without also cutting out your quieter playing. When I use it with a JCM800, I can't really roll back on the volume for cleans because that makes the signal go under the threshold I need to prevent feedback. Otherwise, it's the most useful pedal I own. You can put it in front of the amp, which is what I've been doing. From what I hear it might be a better idea to use it in the loop though. I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Barry]

I agree , if you arent getting some feedback with all that gain you are lucky . Check out Petrucci's interview on the Mesa site . His rig does the same thing . There is a fine line on your output control you can tread . Ive learned to control mine without adding another pedal in the chain .

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

So the feedback is normal at that sort of volume and gain level?

Thanks!

 

[mightywarlock]

With the Stiletto or Rectifier, I use the Boss as well for my high gain stuff and when playing live (when using my gretsch hollow body).
i have it set up strong however, to cut instantly. however, without it, I get a lot of squeeling and howling when cranking the amp too loud and being too close, so I just deal with the Boss pedal, knowing that it is affecting my tone.
All those years with the Digitech GSP2101 and it's noisegate got me spoiled.

 

[Anonymous]

ha? (international recognised expression for a question)

you mean "feedback", that the guitarstrings interact with the amp?
or just simple noise (hizz) when the amp is cranked while not played?

my ace's give feedback like hell, so thick and smooth that you can nearly take a strat for a paula when playing old santana licks.

the hizz of the poweramp is quite loud, but not much more than all the vox ac30 i have heard.

i suggest you go for a retube and swap to some new mesa ones first, one or the other tube can be the cause for that.

 

[lockbody]

If it's squealing feedback, maybe one of the pre-amp tubes went microphonic in shipping. I tried some JAN Philips in it once that sounded great at lower volumes, but as soon as I turned it up a bit it was squeal city.

 

[Rocky]

Feedback isnt an issue on my Stiletto. I dont crank the gain (it is usually at about 11:00 on the Fluid Drive diode) but the amp still has more gain than anyone SHOULD need.

 

[srf399]

My Stiletto get terrific feedback... referring to guitar/amp intentional feedback. I get no squeal whatsoever. I'd look at preamp tubes and better potted pickups if it's the later.

Also... make sure that ALL of your guitars are properly STAR shielded with copper.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I have my gain at 11:00 o'clock on fluid drive aswell, but I'm running EMGs in my PRS guitars.

I'll do some preamp tube swapping...I'm thinking that may be the culprit. Power tubes sound good to me.

 

[Rocky]

I am using Duncan, Suhr and Tom Anderson passives. I think you have a t ube in the amp that is giving you issues.

 

[srf399]

It's a personal thing but in my opinion... get some good passive pickups and let the amp do the work. In my opinion you're missing out on a lot of tone using the EMG's with a Stiletto. Again just my opinion. Get a set of Bare Knuckles.

 

[Rocky]

That isnt going to address his feedback issue. His EMG pickups are less likely to feed back than any passive design.

Also, ANY lower output pickup will let the amp do the work....active or passive.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

I like my EMGs....a lot actually. And they're DEFINITELY not the culprit.

Musical tube time :lol:

 

[Silverwulf]

That isnt going to address his feedback issue. His EMG pickups are less likely to feed back than any passive design.

Exactly. People who think EMG's sound the same in every guitar are either tone deaf or buy into the internet ranters with the whole "passives are teh betterz"... :lol: We have 4 EMG 81 loaded Les Pauls at our practice spot, and all 4 of them sound different.

 

[Rocky]

I am sure Ibanez would prefer we tak about potential feedback issues than rehash the EMG issue for the 10 000 000th time.

I think it is a bad preamp tube.

On your Stiletto V2 is the first gain stage for the Fluid drive. On mine I use the fat clean and Fluid drive.....both of which use V2 for the first stage. I LOVE the sound of my old NOS Phillips 12AX7A in the Stiletto. I HIGHLY recommend trying to fine one that tests well and giving it a shot.