Stiletto

[jgcable]

i'd like to hear the series 1 with a mesa traditional cab with cel 90's
so far i like it best with a marshall cab. it still sounds good with the standard recto cab. just to "modern" sounding for my taste.

To my ears.. I like my Stiletto through the stock Mesa Black Shadow 90w speakers. It sounds the most like a high gain Marshall through my Marshall cab with V30's though.

[cookiemonster2]

I have to agree with you. In my search for an amp I had written off the Stiletto early on because I had read so many bad reviews of it. Anyways I had an opportunity to try one towards the end of my amp search and was really impressed. I ended up ordering a Mark IV but the Stiletto definitely gave me second thoughts. Hmmm maybe next year...

I've also tried the JSX a few times and it sounds awesome but I think the Stiletto is tighter and even better sounding. Another internet review myth is that the Mark IV can't produce a good crunch sound - nonsense. After fiddling around with R2 for a few minutes I had the salesman and another customer come over to look because they couldn't believe that sound was coming out of a Mesa.

[gitfiddler]

i've heard great things about the ace. There's a youtube video with andy timmons playing through one (i believe it's the ace). It sounds great

[siggy14]

I am dieing to try the second version of the stiletto, the first was ok, but a little to flubby and not enough gain on tap. So I wait for the second one.

I played the JSX through a 6505 cab yesterday at GC, sounds great, but i dont know, just gives me the same vibe i got from the triple X, very solid statish sounding. I think I would need to bring it home and play it through other cabs and give it a good work over.

[jgcable]

I had a 4 hour band rehearsal using the Stiletto today.
This is the first time I have used a tube amp at band rehearsal in about 8 months since I got the Vetta.

What does the band say... they like the Vetta better. It sounds more real to them. Go figure.
What do I think.... I thing the Vetta sounds better for our band but the Stiletto was more fun to play through because I had more control over my tone using my guitar volume and pickup selection.

Now.. lets discuss why I think the Vetta sounds better.
I think its actually quite simple.
Speaker and cabinet choice are not very critical when you are using a Vetta. As long as you have good speakers and a good cabinet you can pretty much be all set because of the cabinet modeling.
The Stiletto on the other hand sounds completely different through different types of speakers and cabinets. Obviously.. the 5150 cabs that I use at rehearsal are better suited for the Vetta or my 5150II. They sounded a little dark with the Stiletto.
But.. the Stiletto sounded better than the Vetta when I turned it up really loud.. and I am talking EXTREMELY LOUD. Way louder than I would ever be able to have it at EVER. I am talking like 5 on the channel volume and 5 on the master. That is seriously loud.
It was at an unuseable and unpractical volume level. It really started opening up at extreme volume.
My bandmate uses a DSL100 and a Marshall 1960a cab. The Stiletto was tighter than the DSL and more focused but it was a little too overpowering. It didn't sit that well in the mix. It seemed to stomp on the Marshall and not in a good way. It would be great mixed with a Rectifier in a live band setting but I think its not a good choice for a 2 guitar band if the other player is using a Marshall DSL or TSL or a Marshall type tone.
I was using the Fluid Drive mode on the Stiletto. Personally.. I like the Tight Gain mode a little better but it isn't a tone I can use in our band.
The clean channel on the Stiletto is outstanding for a high gain amp. Unfortunately.. it doesn't stand a chance against the clean tones on the Vetta.
One more thing.. the Vetta is MUCH louder than the Stiletto. Its not even close. The only amp I have ever heard that was louder than the Vetta is a Triple Rectifier with nothing in the loop.

My Soldano SLO100 clone will be arriving shortly and I can't wait to try it at band rehearsal. I will post a full review of the Soldano vs the Stiletto vs the Vetta. Stay tuned.