Which do I keep? Mark IV or Stiletto?

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

So the Roadster is here to stay...no doubt about that. I'd like your help narrowing down which to keep between a Mark IV and a Stiletto.

Which do you think would compliment the Roadster better? The idea is to eventually make a two amp rig with them.

I currently run my Roadster w/ EL-34s, so if I keep the Mark, it would stay that way.

I do also like the Roadster w/ 6L6s, so if I got the Stiletto, I could revert the Roadster to those.

What do you think? Which one will blend better with the Rectifier? Which is the better amp in your opinion.

Maybe a stupid question, but I like both quite a bit

Two things to note...we're talking mostly aggressive metal tone here....check the band out here.

www.myspace.com/theendlessendeavor

Final thing is that we're also talking stereo rig.

 

[Sebby123]

I would say keep the Mark IV so you can have an agressive rythm tone with the roadster and the liquid smooth lead tone with the Mark IV, Best of both worlds, If it were me id go stiletto & mark iv.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Keep the Mark. And I thought about that a lot.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Thanks for the input so far. Let's hear what else you got to say!

Eric

 

[primal]

I would say keep the Mark IV, but it's my favorite amp ever so I would tell you to keep the Mark IV regardless of what the other amp was.

One thing to note however.

I was on the phone with Mesa last week ordering some speakers and stuff, and it was Marcus I was talking to. So we got on talking about some of the different amps and we started talking about the Stiletto. He told me that when they designed the Stiletto, they were really looking for an amp that would compliment the Recto and sit in the mix great with a Recto as it ocupies a different range then the Recto. So if your goal is to have a stereo rig, you might want to try them mixed before you decide.

What's funny is when I play my Mark IV and Road King together in Stereo, I hate the way they sound together. But when I lay down a couple trax, one with the RK and one with the Mark IV and mix them, they sound killer. Not sure about the logic behind that but that is the way it sounds to my ears.

 

[Laskyman]

Personally I think a Stiletto will better provide a differing yet distinct voice toward a recto.
But what do I know?....

 

[Silverwulf]

If you're looking for an amp to compliment the Recto sound and blend with it nice in a mix, fill out the sonic spectrum, etc...I'd go Stiletto all the way.

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Keep the opinions coming gentlemen...this is really a hard one for me.

Eric

 

[TimeSignature]

Keep the Mark IV, especially if you are playing metal.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

A hard one indeed. I would go with the Stiletto, only cause I have doubts about me sounding with a Mark series tone. But then again, that's just me...

 

[MesaGod666]

Mark IV...KEEP IT!
Sell the Stiletto to me.

 

[Geiri]

I have to vote for the mark.

The stiletto is brilliant in every way but, the roadster has all the top end you'll ever need and if there is one thing that compliments a recto then it would be tightness.

Just my opinion.

On the other hand tho, devon townsend of syl is using a recto w/ el 34's with a stiletto and he sounds pretty evil. Hmmm maby you should keep 'em both. Buy a huge rack for the head, get signed to a major label and just hire a guy to carry your **** for you.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Silverwulf]

Hmmm maby you should keep 'em both...

This would be the ideal solution... 8)

 

[John Price]

I would say keep the Stiletto. To me the Roadster sounds better in the 6L6 mode so you would have all those tones covered and the Stiletto is made for the el34's something that I believe either amp can't cover as good as the stiletto.....But you really need to be happy with that sound in the first place.......I just went through a similar experience but not as hard of a decision. I was looking for the el34's tone but I own 2 lonestar heads and decided to try el34's in one of them but it really didn't cut it for me! So I decided to try a stiletto again and Bam!! There it was! So now I'm selling one of my LS heads for the stiletto........

Good Luck!
JP

 

[fluff191]

No contest. Keep the Mark IV. More versatile and harder to find. And better sounding.

 

[chipaudette]

Are you the only guitarist in you band? If not, don't play two different amps at the same time. You'll end up hogging all the sonic space thereby leaving the other guitarist really annoyed with you. The more different the two amps, the less space you're leaving for the other guy. That's bad for getting a good sound from the band (IMO) and that's bad for band karma. Don't do it.

Now, if you like your second amp better than you like your second guitarist...I think that it's clear which one you get rid of :wink:

Chip

 

[kmanick]

supposedly a Stiletto deuce and th Recto sound great together in a live band situation.
the guys in division are now using that combo.
I persoanlly love my mark IV and have been kicking around the idea of picking up a Tremoverb and running those in stereo, as IMO a mark IV with a recto chug blended in would sound great..
I wish they'd come up with an amp that used the mark IV preamp and the Recto vintage poweramp in a head.
I think they'd have a winner there.

 

[MetalMatt]

I say keep the Mark. Although, Mesa did say the Deuce was designed to pair very well with a Recto. My Recto + Mark set up always puts a smile on my face

 

[ToneAddictJon]

My Roadster and Stiletto compliment each other very well and I have heard nothing but praise with their combined and seperate tones. I did the Mark IV - DR combo a while back and liked it, but not nearly as much as I like the Roadster - Stiletto Combo

 

[Jak0lantern01]

The only reason I'd keep the Mark IV at this point is that it's practically a collector's item since they're out of production. Overall, though, I'm a huge fan (and owner) of the Stiletto. You can't keep both? I never sell equipment, just keep adding.....