New Stiletto Deuce II Owner with a Question

Hi, New to the forum and just recently purchased a used Stiletto Deuce II. I love it! Love the tones... simply awesome! But, when the amp is on... and the volume is all the way down... there is a low level steady hum that is present coming through my 2X12 Rectro Cab. When I turn the volume up, the hum does not increase... at that point I just get the normal gain noise as the volume increases. The hum stays at the same low but ever so present volume. Is this normal...? Helpfully some other owners can chime in. I've replaced all the tubes... pre's, power and rectifier.

I've been a Mark IV owner for years and have pretty much gotten use to the fan noise, but even with unplugging the fan the amp was pretty quiet coming through the speakers...

My new baby, who hopefully isn't sick.

Hmmm.....I don't think I have any hum with mine. Are you using proper speaker cable for your head to cab connection? Also, have you tried unplugging all other cables (fx loop, input cable, etc.)? What about switching to different modes (ch1 vs ch2, tube vs. diode rectifier, spongy vs bold). I would tinker with these settings and get back to us. Also, does it hum in standby?

Some amps just hum more than others. I have a Mark IV and a Maverick that are fairly quiet. My DC-2 has a similar constant hum that's very noticable if you are playing at low volumes at home. I had a DC-3 and it was the same. I had a tech look at it and he told me it was nothing to be concerned with. Unless it's really loud, or starts to come and go, I wouldn't worry.

Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about. It probably makes that noise even with nothing plugged in. I had a stiletto deuce II with the same hum (sort of 60 cycle type hum/buzz), that I only noticed at bedroom volumes or when trying to record. (I do realize that the terms stiletto and bedroom volume don't belong in the same sentance). So I think it is "normal", but not all amps make that noise to the same degree. Same thing with tube rattle which can be apparent at low volumes.

Obviously when you are in a live/band situation you won't hear it because everthing is humming, and you lose the hum noise in a bigger room.

On the other hand I have a single rectifier solo 50, a Marshall DSL50 and a fender hot rod deluxe that are all dead quiet when the volume is turned all the way down, or nothing is plugged in.

Easy thing would be to call Mesa customer service directly and tell them you are a getting a 60 cycle hum with the stilletto when nothing is plugged in, and is that normal. You can probably put the phone up to the amp and he can give it a listen. Most likely he will say it is normal. Ask him if he thinks a Hum-x or similar device will help.


PS: If you turn that thing up you will kill that house plant!

Thanks everyone for the replies...

I completely re-tubed the head today, all Mesa tubes. I also bought a "Hum X" from Guitar Center... Result? Still hums...

When I put my head up against the back of the amp head I can hear the transformer...and it's that sound that is going through to the speakers. So, not sure what that means. Called Mesa yesterday, but they're closed on Fridays...(Slackers)

I'll talk to them on Monday...


I took some video of what I'm talking about... again, this may be the "Norm" for this type of head. In the video I switch the standby on and off. There are no effects... Just the guitar and the amp. Even with nothing plugged into the head...it still has the same hum. YouTube link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HooWWlw6vec

Yep. Mine did the exact same thing. Might as well return all that stuff to guitar center.......

hmmm....mine just had bad gain hiss. no hums or buzzes. Id get it checked out if you can

I had a Nomad 100 head that did the same thing.
To make a long story short I ended up tightening the transformer ( and anything else that I thought might have needed it) put a little lock tight on the offending screws and the problem went away.
I'm talking about the screws that hold the transformer together and the ones that hold it to the chassis.
I currently have an ace head and don't have the problem, luckily

E_R said:

I had a Nomad 100 head that did the same thing.
To make a long story short I ended up tightening the transformer ( and anything else that I thought might have needed it) put a little lock tight on the offending screws and the problem went away.
I'm talking about the screws that hold the transformer together and the ones that hold it to the chassis.
I currently have an ace head and don't have the problem, luckily

Click to expand...

I'll give the tightening thing a try tomorrow... I can hear the transformer, the bigger one, next to the V5 preamp position if I put my head up against the back of the amp head, barely audible though... but that's the sound that's coming through the cab, or sounds like it anyway. It's almost a perfect Bb.

I did see this video of Quinten Hope talking about his Stiletto and he demos the amp. When he gets close to the cab you can hear his "hum" coming from the amp. In the video it sounds like the cab mic is gated... you can hear the hum, then the moment he starts playing, none... then as he stops playing you can hear the hum gradually come back.

Here's the video from mesa boogie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V986BVJUFFw

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. :wink:

Thought I would add a video of what the amp sounds like when not "humming".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEoXwW-PmA

*Only "effect" pedal used is a Xotic EP Booster in front, dialed at about 11:00. Guitar used: Custom Shop American Stratocaster, with a Seymour Duncan JB jr (Bridge), Lil' 59 (Neck)

jswanson said:

Thought I would add a video of what the amp sounds like when not "humming".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEoXwW-PmA

*Only "effect" pedal used is a Xotic EP Booster in front, dialed at about 11:00. Guitar used: Custom Shop American Stratocaster, with a Seymour Duncan JB jr (Bridge), Lil' 59 (Neck)

Click to expand...

Hey man, sounds great. Yngwie F.Malmsteen 8)

What did you do to get rid of the hum? I'm about to buy a Stiletto Deuce at the moment but I'm getting serious second thoughts when reading this thread. Noisy amps are the worst thing I know.

Is this a standard issue with them?

Have you tried using a power conditioner or powering your amp through a different outlet???

zenabI said:

jswanson said:

Thought I would add a video of what the amp sounds like when not "humming".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEoXwW-PmA

*Only "effect" pedal used is a Xotic EP Booster in front, dialed at about 11:00. Guitar used: Custom Shop American Stratocaster, with a Seymour Duncan JB jr (Bridge), Lil' 59 (Neck)

Click to expand...

Hey man, sounds great. Yngwie F.Malmsteen 8)

What did you do to get rid of the hum? I'm about to buy a Stiletto Deuce at the moment but I'm getting serious second thoughts when reading this thread. Noisy amps are the worst thing I know.

Is this a standard issue with them?

Click to expand...

Hey, I ended up having to send the head back to Mesa Boogie. They replaced two bad resistors... Sent it back to me... Sounds great! All free of charge! Mesa Boogie customer service is second to none. I'm a happy camper.

Right on!

zenabI said:

jswanson said:

Thought I would add a video of what the amp sounds like when not "humming".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhEoXwW-PmA

*Only "effect" pedal used is a Xotic EP Booster in front, dialed at about 11:00. Guitar used: Custom Shop American Stratocaster, with a Seymour Duncan JB jr (Bridge), Lil' 59 (Neck)

Click to expand...

Hey man, sounds great. Yngwie F.Malmsteen 8)

What did you do to get rid of the hum? I'm about to buy a Stiletto Deuce at the moment but I'm getting serious second thoughts when reading this thread. Noisy amps are the worst thing I know.

Is this a standard issue with them?

Click to expand...

No. Mine is quiet. Don't forget that in Quinten Hope's demo, his strats might have traditional single coils whereby they induce 60 cycle hum (or 50 cycle hum in other countries). Using humbuckers or humcancelling single coils would probably negate that noise...