Which tubes will tame the Stiletto beast?

What's everyone's opinion on tubes that will tame the "high shrill" and "flubbiness" aspect of the Stiletto? I'm using JJ's in mine, it sort of helps.

Try putting a 12at7 in your V1. That is an instant amp tamer. You could try it in the PI postition too or both. The 12at7 will still give you good tone but remove the overthetop gain.

Which JJ tube?

I found putting JJ EL34L's in worked very well when I owned the Stiletto

Thanks Russ, I will give a 12at7 a shot. I also ordered a different hi gain preamp tube for V1. Just to try a different brand. Is it true that the VI section is responsible for 85% of the amp's tone?

My post in the other thread goes hand in hand with my thread. RE: KT77's

I just purchased them friday morning from Eurotubes and received it on saturday! Freaking fast! I put them in my Stiletto and noticed some interesting things. First off, the KT77's really help reduce the flubbiness and high shrill of the Stiletto. It also sounds better at louder levels than the E34L's, IMO. Here's what I think are the tonal differences.
1) It's not "quite" as lush and harmonic as the E4L's
2) It's a tad bit more "midrangey".

I actually think I like them a little bit better than the E34L's. It can't be my imagination, but they really helped to filter out a lot of the qualities of the Stiletto that give you "ear fatigue".

I find that in most amps the first tube really dictates the attitude of the amp. If you use a 5751 it is not as dramatic as a change to 12at7. I had a 12at7 in the V1 of my JMP and it made it a totally different amp. It made the old Marshall have a clean.... yeah a Marshall with a clean imagine that. Granted the gain sort of disappeared without cranking it but then again I was just experimenting with some options. I actually played it a couple months like that. Since I got the Mark IV I don't need the Marshall to be clean anymore so I got a 1962 Mullard Blackburn in there now that I swap with a 1963 GE longplate halo and a 1960 RCA longplate square getter depending upon my mood. I have played with them all in the Mark IV too and find that I like the RCA and the GE in it. I am not as fond of the Mullard in the Mark IV as I am of it in the Marshall.

You might also want to try a weaker 12ax7. I found that some older 80's oem generic (most likely chinese/russian) are pretty tame compared to the 1960's vintage stuff I have. Some of the offerings from other tube manufacturers have lighter gain. With less gain you will get less ice pick in the ear.

You might also consider a mod. If Mesa's design is anything like Marshall's you might be able to get something similar to a bright cap mod. In a Marshall it is as easy as lifting a solder joint on a resistor. I believe it is on the input jack. I have heard of guys changing resistor values on their tone controls also for more control. There are also value changes that are for piggybacking or changing resistors and caps on your PCB. I am not too savvy on Mesa mods but the designs can't be that much different as they are both originally Fender based circuits. With this in mind, talk to your tech or find one that offers Mesa mods. I know that Mesa will not tell you anything because it is their prerogative to have you play it as designed. I thought that they changed the design a little in accordance to a mod that was going around. I also heard that they slapped Hollywood on the wrist for performing the Hollywood mod. I think that the Hollywood mod is what you might be looking for. I believe it was to remove the shrill and flub. It made the Stiletto into a true Marshall hunter/killer.

I've got the Hollywood Mod. Read my sticky thread in the "modern" area.
It helped TREMENDOUSLY. But it still has a touch of it.