update on my slow channel switching stiletto ace

[otter5555]

i got my ace back from boogie. of course they said nothing was wrong with it.
of course there is. when i got it back no one could switch channels and stay anywhere near the beat even on a slow song.

however,


i have played it for 2-3 hrs per night since then and believe it or not the channel switching is getting faster. i do not know why.


its still not nearly as fast as my rectifier but it is almost usable now.

i am hoping that it will continue to get faster switching as i continue to play it every night.

maybe the actual switch (buttons) had a flaw in them and are "wearing in" ?

here's a question for you all,


we all know the ace is really bright, so bright that even with my humbucker equipped guitars i run my highs and mids on zero, my bass on max and my presence at 10-12 o clock on both channels to get the sounds i like.

my ace is so bright that even with the above settings i cannot use any of my single coil strats. they all sound shrill.

my prs ce 24, gibson sg, ibanez rg 550 and fat strat all sound fantastic through this amp with the above settings.

have any of you guys had any luck "taming the high end" of your stiletto ace?


thanks for your help

otter

 

[Platypus]

Are you using the tube rectifier and/or spongy power?

I use both of those and run my treble at 1 oclock and presence at 11 o clock and have no problem with my tele, LP, PRS, etc.

I guess I like bright amps though.. mine is anything but shrill?

 

[dmotisko]

I was wondering how long you've had your ACE? I have a Stiletto Deuce Stage II that I bought a little over a month ago and I feel that my cab is just about broke in. I myself have my treble rolled of to about 7:30 on the amp mids at about 9:00 and Bass about 9:30 presence at 9:30 channel 2. I have a 74 Tele Deluxe hot rodded out with Dimarzio's, a Tone Zone in the Bridge and a Air Norton in the neck. They sound awesome. I roll back on the tone on bridge pickup about a quarter turn and it falls right into place. When I modded the guitar I wired it with 1meg pots and SPRAGUE .022mfd ORANGE DROP CAPS. I have a wide sweep of tone with these pots and caps and I could dial the tone in nicely.

I feel that breaking in the speakers on my Stiletto 2X12 cab was cure for the excessive high end. She is sounding good now.

Dave~

Stiletto Deuce Stage II
Stiletto 2X12

 

[cvansickle]

What kind of cabinet are you playing through? I use an Ace head with a 412, and brightness is definitely NOT an issue!

 

[AdmiralB]

Does it lag on one channel when you switch, or does the sound totally drop out (mute)?

 

[otter5555]

i have had the ace for about 2 months and do play 2-3 hrs nightly. it is not only shrill, but also very brittle with any of my single coil strats.

i like bright amps also, but this one light years beyond bright with anything other than the settings i mentioned.

i may go ahead and change out the tubes. it sure cant hurt.


even having to dial down the highs/mids this is the most tonefull amp i have ever heard.



otter

 

[otter5555]

i am playing through the 1-12 speaker that came with it. have plugged into my recto 4x12 and it is still bright.

and yes, the sound stops when switching. boogie says this is normal. it is not normal on my recto or my marshalls.


otter

 

[AdmiralB]

I haven't seen a schematic, but I bet it uses the LDR-pulsed mute circuit for switching. If that's the case, the LDR is probably a 'low-end of spec' unit. My Heartbreaker did this when channel-switching; I simply replaced the LDR and the 'pause' went away.

 

[inkwachemis]

i have had the ace for about 2 months and do play 2-3 hrs nightly. it is not only shrill, but also very brittle with any of my single coil strats.

i like bright amps also, but this one light years beyond bright with anything other than the settings i mentioned.

i may go ahead and change out the tubes. it sure cant hurt.


even having to dial down the highs/mids this is the most tonefull amp i have ever heard.



otter

mids on ZERO??? no good

try different tubes for sure. There are lots of differnt non-Mesa branded tubes that will help tame the harshness. Dougstube.com is a great online vendor and he can direct u in the right direction. very helpful and informative.

 

[otter5555]

i followed the advice of one of the very helpful members of this board and contacted doug's tubes about the horrible brightness / brittleness of my particular ace when playing a strat with single coils.

they reccomended:

I think a set of RUBY EL34BSTR's will take care of that, with the following in the preamp:
V1 - Tung-Sol reissue 12AX7
V2 - High gain JJ ECC83S
V3 - Penta Labs 12AX7
V4 - Shuguang 12AX7C9
V5 - Sovtek 12AX7LPS

i installed the tubes about 3 hrs ago and just now stopped playing. the amp already sounded great with humbuckers but sounded horrible with any of my single coil strats.


i was having to run with my highs/mids on zero even with humbuckers.

now i can get my perfect single coil strat sounds with highs/mids near 12 oclock.

the tubes completely changed my ace.

i say thankyou to doug's tubes and to the members of this board.

now back to playing


otter

 

[inkwachemis]

i followed the advice of one of the very helpful members of this board and contacted doug's tubes about the horrible brightness / brittleness of my particular ace when playing a strat with single coils.

they reccomended:

I think a set of RUBY EL34BSTR's will take care of that, with the following in the preamp:
V1 - Tung-Sol reissue 12AX7
V2 - High gain JJ ECC83S
V3 - Penta Labs 12AX7
V4 - Shuguang 12AX7C9
V5 - Sovtek 12AX7LPS

i installed the tubes about 3 hrs ago and just now stopped playing. the amp already sounded great with humbuckers but sounded horrible with any of my single coil strats.


i was having to run with my highs/mids on zero even with humbuckers.

now i can get my perfect single coil strat sounds with highs/mids near 12 oclock.

the tubes completely changed my ace.

i say thankyou to doug's tubes and to the members of this board.

now back to playing


otter

dude, man, awesome! I'm really glad that you found a tube configuration that works for you. Amazing what a good set of tubes can do yea?

in addition, I think you running the mids up also contributed in improving your sound very dramatically. especially in a band setting where you'll get buried without any mids.

doug from dougstubes is a class act. I dont buy tubes from anywhere else.

btw, are you really running that mix of preamp tubes you listed above along with Ruby el34s?

 

[otter5555]

"btw, are you really running that mix of preamp tubes you listed above along with Ruby el34s?"



yes i am. that's what doug reccomended and it cured my problem.


otter