Hey:
I used my Stiletto this past weekend gigging. I wanted to report on the use of Yellow-Jackets and 6V6s in a live band context.
As any Stiletto owner knows by now...with the stock EL-34s this is one heck of a loud amp! I brought my EL-34s, 6V6s and Yellow-Jackets (with EL-84s) along. As it turned out; I could not possibly have gotten the EL-34s up loud enough to really 'sizzle' at this location (even though it is fairly large)...so I used Yellow-Jackets and 6V6s both nights.
At home I found the YJs a bit too 'mushy' when used in the outer sockets, so initially I gigged with the 6V6s in the outer sockets. That setup sounding spectacular. Although I would have preferred to have been using the EL-34s...I must say that 6V6s (and YJs) sound better 'pushed' than EL-34s sound when they're NOT pushed...so the 6V6s and YJs were a resounding success.
On Saturday night I started off with the YJs in the outer sockets and the 6V6s in the inner sockets. (reversed from the night before).
I don't know if it's the difference between the acoustics at my house and the gig...or a line voltage issue...but...the YJs which I found too 'mushy' at home were NOT too 'mushy' at the gig...even on the 50-watt setting! Just goes to show...you can't ever really make a lasting judgement on sound qualities sitting around the house and playing!
I left the YJs in the outer sockets the entire evening...sometimes playing in 50-watt mode...at other times toggling into 100-watt mode. The sound was great in either setting.
Some of that I do attribute to the use of a 5751 preamp tube in the V1 socket, which helped to keep the YJs a little cleaner.
Just thought I'd let you know...that if you really want to play your Stiletto at smaller venues without sacrificing your tone by turning down...or getting yelled at for being too loud...the use of 6V6s and YJs do offer a viable alternative.
Charles