The Boogie Board

I am liking my MV more and more, however, still contemplating a Stiletto as well. So, there is a fair amount of criticism about the Stiletto being too bright. I assuming it's primarily from the Recto drop tune folks. What are some thoughts out there regarding this? Also Shogun, did you need to do any external eq-ing? The lead portion on the fluid drive setting sounded great,...where were your treb and pesence approx set?

A Stiletto is about as bright as a Mark V in Edge mode with stock tubes. You have to keep your treble and presence at about 9:00 to keep the harshness at bay. I owned a Stiletto Ace and it is brighter than a Deuce. I loved the Deuce I had temporarily hooked up through a Recto 2x12 cab though!

Good comparison! I actually like the Edge mode a lot, although the mk1 mode has better soling tone, the edge with my bb provides some sweet tones double stop bluesy stuff with the strat! My Music man JP axe sounds really full and rich in edge as well!

Once you learn how to dial it in, then its not too btright at all. Though it deffinatelly doesnt lack any highs I would say it lacks lows more than it has too much highs.

The other amp I currently have is Carvin's V3, which many people say is harsh with too many highs. I use a Boss 7 band eq on every channel with it which is what I anticipate doing with the stiletto.

I've had an Ace 2*12 for 2.5 years and was always back and forth on the brightness issue. I would notice it mostly at home and at practice when the amp was facing me, but it was NEVER an issue at gigs. Here are a some things that I do:

*Run Treble and presence low (it's been said 100 times on these threads)
*Graphic EQ in the loop - I use an MXR 6 band, but really just for home use to add some lows and scoop the mids. I don't use it live because I don't cut through the mix as well with it on.
*Run the gain a little higher when you are playing at higher volumes - This is the one thing that I hate about the amp - I will run the gain at a moderate setting at home and it sound great, but when I turn it up it seems to get a little harsh - turning the gain higher always helps. IF I am running the gain at 2:00 on Tite Gain at home, I will turn it to around 3:00 when I play out
*JJ Kt77 along with the high gain preamp option makes a pretty big difference - You get a nice deep low end and a bit more of a modern sound. To me, this combination was just what the amp needed - Highly Recommended. I didn't need more gain, but there is a certain quality that I can't put my finger on that the high gain pre-amp tubes have that I really like.

Hope this is helpful

Backing down on the channel volume, and compensating using the output helps as well, especially if you've dialed in a tone you love, but sounds a bit too bright...

A stiletto with a parametriq eq in the loop will be what ever you want it to be. With some extreme bass freq settings it will send the recto home crying with shame if paired with the right cab. On its on it's very bright but not to bright as long as you use your ears instead of eyes when you are playing with the tone controls.

And it will cut through any band setting and without extreme volumes.

+1 on the EQ in the loop.
At home or playing out, just nudge those lower frequency sliders a little bit and you get all the lows you need! My 1x12 paired w/ the 2x12 Recto sounds phenomenal!! It's just a solid wall of sound from those 3 V30's. I'm really surprised I haven't had the local fuzz called on me yet!!

Never had an issue with my Ace being too bright, but I also primarily use it in a band setting and it's sits perfectly in the mix and cuts at the same time. I'm sure in a small room or practice space without a band it could sound too bright, but so would most guitars I've heard recorded or live if they were pulled out of the mix.

I have the stiletto sounding amazing in my room, at a low volume.. I took it to jam last week and turned it up and HOLY BRIGHT! I'm totally against mic'ing off center, and I dial my tone in with the speakers hitting my face.. I would need an EQ in the loop to cut down the highs, drastically ! I think you should just keep the MKV.. I bought the Stiletto, to resell it, so theres not much point in me buying an EQ.. Definitely wayyyyy too bright though, unless you let your cab point at your groin and are ignorant to what people in the crowd hear!

mitchell donut!!

lulz, not into that.. i wanna heaaaaaaaaaar my amps tone, not a muffled version.. I like the highs that come from the center of a speaker, LOVE them, even..

No, no. It doesn't muffle. What you hear when it is pointed at your groin is what you will hear when right in front of it after you install the donut so it makes what the audience hears and what you hear sound very, very close to the exact same.

The eq will be the way to go I am used to it anyway, I will have my stiletto by the end of the week.