Why do you think the Stilettos get a bad rap?

[scottieL]

Every time I plug into one of these at a store it sounds bright and brittle... 90% likely than I just dont know how to dial it in properly. Probably goes for most others as well.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I recently scored a Deuce II head. With the brightness, go easy on the presence (you may want more if the room seems to make your amp sound a tad dull, or need to cut through the mix more). Also, the balance between the master and output levels is pretty crucial as well. Get it right, and it would seem like more a natural brightness thing than just plain harsh...

 

[flieger67]

I think the "bad rep" can be attributed to one of the following:

1) It's brighter than most other Boogie models, so that throws some people.

2) Some people try one in a store and just crank everything up and never read the manual. Also, they probably don't experiment with the rectifier and bold/spongy options.

3) Some people have NEVER tried one and simply read "it's too bright" somewhere and simply let that be the basis for their opinion. I remember a recent thread at the Seymour Duncan forum where one "Einstein" said the Stiletto is too bright and then admitted in the same post that he'd never played one and had only read about the amp. :?

4) The stock speaker in the combo can be very bright, especially when new.

5) Some people just don't like treble or mids in their tone. To each his own.

For a high-gain amp and a Mesa, I really do like this amp and haven't ever regretted buying an ACE.

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

I've fiddled around with it a bit more, and it sounds great. Got a tone similar to LoG, then more of a smoother Hiwatt tone, to a Vox on steroids, then to brighter crunch Marshall like tones. I like it...