Stiletto Deuce II vs. TSL 100 - Anyone have a.....

[cuuhl]

coin? Each seems to be a kickass amp and each has its pros and cons. So I'm just gonna flip on it....unless someone can give me some sage advice and sound guidance! Come on dudes, take the bait and help a brother out! Thanks!

 

[Russ]

The DSL tends to sound better than a TSL for tone but the TSL gets more distortion than the DSL.

As far as a Stiletto Deuce II v. a TSL..... This is a Boogie Board so I guess it would be kosher to say the Stiletto Deuce II.

What are you trying to achieve?

Marshalls tend to do Marshall best. Though it is well known that the Stiletto with the Hollywood Mod or the II can do it well also. Mesa will always have a Mesa flavor to it though.

Bottomline: go play both and see what you like. Do not buy blindly... or at least without having heard both amps with the guitar and speakers you plan on using. You might try renting one of each to A/B in a band practice situation. I would suggest this after having played both long enough to get the tone settings close to what you want on each first.

 

[daveythomas]

I just put a TSL 100 up for sale in the classifieds section.

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=5518

 

[Grandor]

I'm very very critical of marshalls.
In my honest opinion, if its against a mesa, I'd only consider a JTM 45, JCM800 or Jubilee variant.

TSL's sound pretty flat and lifeless in my opinion, they can get very fuzzy too.
DSL's sound better, but I think even if your going the DSL route, you could probably prefer a JCM800 quite easily.

 

[MesaENGR412]

that's a great deal man, good luck!

-AJH

 

[cuuhl]

Thanks for the input. I've played both back-to-back, but in the showroom. I can dial in the tones I like on both models. The Stiletto seems more versatile and responsive.....but at a much higher cost. I'm not sure it's worth it. How's the Stiletto been from a reliability/durability standpoint? The other difference is between the cabs. I'd like to get two 2x12s vs. a 4x12 (43 yr old back ya know). The TSL suffers through a 1936, but the Stiletto did fine through a 2x12....meaning, I'd HAVE to buy a 1960 for the TSL, but could do what I want with the Stiletto, which is get 2 2x12s. Does that make sense?