Help me decide: JSX, Stiletto or Vetta

[Twisteramps]

Theres no T in his name tho Pete...(I always get compared as my name is the same as that guy in Boston)

thanks.

[horns666]

The Vetta is more well rounded than the other choices. The drawback is it has a high learning curve.

For versatility in a tube amp, I say JSX.

Bingo!..that's exactly where I stand..very good and welcome!

[Firebird V]

Pete. Your icon is awesome.

[skorb]

The Vetta is more well rounded than the other choices. The drawback is it has a high learning curve.

not really. that learning curve thing is overblown. do you become better at fine-tuning the Vetta over time? yes. just the same as any amp or new equipment.

but I was getting great usable tones of all kinds out of it from day one using only basic common sense and a few questions here and there, and all it did was get better with time and familiarity.

whatever, people should buy what they are comfortable with I guess.

[horns666]

"people should buy what they are comfortable with I guess."

Yes, they should..

[jgcable]

I agree with most everything everybody is saying. There are alot of smart amp dudes around here.
There is certainly a difference between playing a modeling amp and a tube amp. No question. Try them both out.
I will say this being a huge supporter of the Vetta.
The louder you turn the Vetta up.. the more real it sounds. At live band levels its VERY difficult to tell the difference between the modeler and the real thing.

[quiksilver]

All of this advice is greatly appreciated, guys. I found a store about an hour away with a Stiletto Deuce head and a Stiletto Ace combo, and I think there may be a store in that town with a JSX. (No one has a Vetta to try, unfortunately). Soo, I am planning to grab one of my guitars and take a little drive on Saturday! I'll let you know what transpires.

[lynchfan6]

How close does the modeler come to the "real" Soldano sound? (I happened to just pick Soldano cuz that's what I play) Just curious, as I've never spent time with this Vetta you guys are referring to. Does it model the Soldano sound? IF so, it would be fun to bring one home and put it next to my SLO and see what this modeling is all about. I've really no exposure to it, and I've heard this technology is great for home recording at low levels. I jammed with a guy once who was using a Line 6 combo who seemed to favor the Mesa modeling voice, and although I have no experience with Mesa amps, I thought his sound was decent next to the Marshall TSL head I had at the time.

[quiksilver]

Nice clips!

Damn Bill, those clips were KILLER. Especially "I'm the One." That's the tone I've been chasing.

[jgcable]

How close does the modeler come to the "real" Soldano sound? (I happened to just pick Soldano cuz that's what I play) Just curious, as I've never spent time with this Vetta you guys are referring to. Does it model the Soldano sound? IF so, it would be fun to bring one home and put it next to my SLO and see what this modeling is all about. I've really no exposure to it, and I've heard this technology is great for home recording at low levels. I jammed with a guy once who was using a Line 6 combo who seemed to favor the Mesa modeling voice, and although I have no experience with Mesa amps, I thought his sound was decent next to the Marshall TSL head I had at the time.

Soldano was the hardest amp for the Vetta to nail until they came out with version 2.5 which includes the Soldano X88R and it KILLS. Its an amazing amp model. Personally, I think the SLO model sucks big.

[horns666]

Damn Bill, those clips were KILLER. Especially "I'm the One." That's the tone I've been chasing.

That was live in a basement studio, as a promo for gigs..THAT tone is a JMP-1/Peavey 120/120 w/6L6s..My Marshall 9200 w/6L6s sounds better than that!

If you want that tone in a "grab and go" tube head, I suggest a ol' 2210 Marshall which are getting harder to find a nice one at a reasonable price.

I played the JSX, I can't praise it enough..That's Pete's (twisteramps) amp of choice and I can see why. Peavey finally made a amp that kicks the 5150's ass in every way..it took them 17 years..but they did it!

Check one out for yourself at GC or Peavey dealer ..I heard you can score a nice used one for aprrox $700-$800 bucks on the Bay!!!

I haven't been that impressed with a amp in a very long time...hint, don't be afraid to use the gain knob on the "ultra" channel..it's ALL %100 usable...unlike a 5150.

[quiksilver]

Thanks, man. I took my 7VWH on a music store tour today but didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped. I did try a Stiletto Ace combo but couldn't make it sound great (my fault, no doubt, but nonetheless). The JSX was out of stock, so I couldn't try that. Of course, no one had a Vetta. I am now adding a 2210 to my list of wanted amps. The search continues . . .

[jgcable]

Don't buy any other amp until you try a Vetta.

[Twisteramps]

Don't buy any other amp until you try a Vetta.

That's stretching it a little, isn't it? I loved my Vetta, but I don't think it's all things to all guitarists. I love my JSX now, but I don't think it's the amp for everyone.

Pete

[mantis]

How close does the modeler come to the "real" Soldano sound? (I happened to just pick Soldano cuz that's what I play) Just curious, as I've never spent time with this Vetta you guys are referring to. Does it model the Soldano sound? IF so, it would be fun to bring one home and put it next to my SLO and see what this modeling is all about. I've really no exposure to it, and I've heard this technology is great for home recording at low levels. I jammed with a guy once who was using a Line 6 combo who seemed to favor the Mesa modeling voice, and although I have no experience with Mesa amps, I thought his sound was decent next to the Marshall TSL head I had at the time.

I haven't played the Vetta but I have played the Spiders, Xt live , Tone core pedals and the Flextone amps. I have not heard any Fender Twin models that sound anything like a Fender. I'm not a fan. I also owned a Korg Processor and currently a Boss GT 8 which has alot of different amps and none of them sound like the real thing to me.My Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX was pretty good, it sounded really good on alot of things but if you compare it direclty to the real thing, it's missing the "breath of fresh air" like said on here already. If you grew up on tubes, you know exaclty what I'm talking about. Guys who play transistor amps probably will love the line 6 and Vox amps.Honestly I did almost love my Vox but then it blew up after 1 month of owning it. It did wierd things along the way and I didn't get another one.
On a cooler note, It's cool to have that much flexibilty. Todays market with Ipod and generally speaking, it seems most people except lower sound quality for quanity. I'm not about it, I like Quality. I'd rather have one channel that sound incredible then 50 thats not so incredible. I don't think any of the amp models are going to sound exaclty like the real thing.
Another good point is money. I don't know many people who can afford to own all those different amps. I can't. So these types of amps offer alot.

The bottom line is this, if it works for yeah then yeah you do it, if your not feeling it then it's not for you. Vox adding in the 12ax7 in the mix did help give it a tube like feel. I was suprised.

Dan