NAD - Stiletto Ace

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screamingdaisy

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I recently traded my LSS combo with ifailedshapes for his Stiletto Ace. The LSS was a cool amp that really excelled at a couple of tones I used it for, but overall it wasn't quite what I was looking for in an amp and it had a lot of crossover with tones my Mark V was capable of so it was getting seeing a lot of use. With any luck he'll find more use for it than I did.

My first impressions of the Stiletto Ace are that I'm really impressed. I have very little prior experience with a Stiletto (1 time, low volume in a store) and was a little nervous due to the constant complaints that it's too bright... particularly with V30s. All I can say is that I don't know what's up with people... within about 5 minutes I had a thick, chewy tone dialled in and was most impressed. Yeah, if you do the Mesa thing and set all the knobs to 12:00 crunch mode gives you a tone reminiscent of crushed glass, but if you dial it in like a Marshall it sounds kind of like a Marshall.

I was really taken by surprise by the liquid gain mode. I didn't expect a Stiletto to produce the amount of gain/compression that it does. It's a seriously sweet lead mode that I think I'll make a lot of use of.

Tite Gain mode was also kind of cool. It's kind of like crunch mode but with more gain (I like Crunch mode better). I don't remember what the clean sounded like.... although I'm sure it was alright. I mostly used crunch mode with the guitar's volume backed off for cleans, which sound really good in that mid heavy, EL34 sort of way.

Anyway, it's a sweet *** rock and roll amp. I don't know what the Deuce/Trident are like, but the Ace produces just enough sag to make things interesting rather than stiff. I can't believe it doesn't get more respect considering how sweet it sounds.

And as a bonus, it looks sweet as f*ck!

file-10.jpg


*** And for reference purposes, ifailedshapes shipping was quick and the packaging was outstanding. The amp arrived in perfect working order. ***
 
Yeah, buddy! That's a killer amp, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And you're right, I packed the **** out of that thing. :)
 
Yep....it is in fact "The Sound"!! :twisted:
Glad somebody picked this up from ifailedshapes...it was too nice to just be sitting there waiting to be adopted.
Have fun w/ it screamingdaisy...these things sound killer w/ a 4x12! I'm just constantly amazed at mine everytime I crank it up...enjoy! :mrgreen:
 
Congrats on the new amp! I love my stiletto ace. Don't understand about it being too brought either! Dial with your ears and it sounds huge. Especially in a band mix. It always impresses the hell out of me in a band setting. Have fun with it!!!
 
That is one cool looking amp! Congratulations Screamingdaisy and welcome to the Stiletto family. Are we a family? I guess we are. :?
I agree with you guys. Get that thing out of the bedroom and into a band mix and you'll forget about any brightness.
 
After having this amp for a few days I'm really liking it. I'm not really into the whole '80s/Marshall hair/glam/cheeze metal thing, but this thing excels at what I'd call a garage rock or a straight up punk tone.

The tone controls are extremely simple, and for the first time on any Mesa I've ever owned they only do what they're labled to do... so changing the treble and mid pots doesn't change the response of the amp, just the sound of it. Despite that simplicity I've found a number of classic sounds in it, which works out great as changing the EQ between songs doesn't change the way the amp feels in my hands.

I've settled on using channel 1 on crunch mode and doing clean to mean via my pickup selector/volume controls. Channel 2 is staying on tight gain mode and is set up to give me "more" of what I have going on in channel 1. The "more" thing works really well throughout the gain range, so I can have channel 1 with my guitar rolled right off for clean, then switch to channel 2 and get a slightly more driven clean. Or, I can have my guitar on full volume doing a chunky distortion riff, then switch to channel 2 for a much more edgy/aggressive bite. I've had a number of amps before that couldn't channel switch the clean to mean thing throughout the entire gain range like that... so having it work so well in this amp is a bonus.

There is a little weirdness in the change from crunch to tight gain. My cab with regular Celestion V30s favours the crunch channel's upper mids and sounds great, but turns to mud when tight gain is kicked in and inserts it's low midrange into the mix. Conversely, tight gain sounds great through a Recto cab, which keeps the low mids clear and maintains separation.... yet makes crunch mode sound kind of cold and scooped sounding since it doesn't reinforce the upper mids in the same way as the other cab. I ran the amp through a Greenback (G12M-25) and it sounded great, but I don't have enough of them to fill a 4x12. My solution for the time being is that I have an orange 4x12 with 2x Greenbacks over 2x Mesa V30s.... the cab sounds great on both channels, but I really want to get another two Greenbacks for it.

The wine coloured amp on top of a bright orange cab is a somewhat interesting visual...
 
Glad you're enjoying the amp!!! The Greenbacks over V30's sounds like it might be interesting. I've heard also V30's and G12T-75's are supposed to be a pretty good mix too. I've got a pair of the 75's but they are 16ohm, they came out of another old 2x12 I scored a while back. I'm using one in my dc-2 right now and it sounds very good so far. I'm pretty much just waiting to score another set of either ohmage to match up in my 4x12 eventually. But for now I have a back up speaker for the DC. 8)
Keep us posted on how you get on with the Ace! :mrgreen:
 
The Greenbacks over V30s is producing some really cool results. I'm getting this sweet midrange clanging sound that I've never had before. I'm not sure if it's coming from the Greenbacks or from the GB/V30 mix. Overall there's more body to the midrange and I'm able to dial in some really warm/thick sounds without the tone turning dull.

I really want to load four GBs in it to see what it'd be like without any V30s... but that'll have to wait until I have more money.
 
Electra Dyne vs Stiletto GO!!!

I always like the v30 + greenback mix and if I got another 4 x 12 I'd give it a whirl for sure! I love that midrangey Marshall "Punk" tone too so I'm sure I'd be really digging what you are dialing in right now!
 
Stiletto through one of the G12Ms.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/Electric%20Cab/StilettoElectricCabG12M.mp3



And, for the fun of it... a Recto through the same speaker
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/Electric%20Cab/DualRectoElectricCabG12M.mp3
 
The Stiletto is a GREAT amp- and seriously- I think it is the most gain on tap of any Mesa I have played....and the crunch mode is fantastic with a nice reverb...I like the Dyne more, because it is such a mammoth thick character, but the stletto was a blast live- and cuts through live like no other....would be awesome paired live with a Dyne...
 
Laskyman said:
The Stiletto is a GREAT amp- and seriously- I think it is the most gain on tap of any Mesa I have played.

I agree. I have both a Recto and a Mark V and the Stiletto easily outpaces them in terms of gain. I don't know if it actually has more "gain", or if it compresses a lot easier... but whatever it is it has more of it.

I like the Dyne more, because it is such a mammoth thick character, but the stletto was a blast live- and cuts through live like no other....would be awesome paired live with a Dyne...

I like the Dyne for the third channel. I hate having to choose between a dedicated clean channel and a crunch channel when both sound so good.

I want to try both in a band to see how they compare, but I'm currently bandless so that'll have to wait until I figure something out.
 
@ screamingdaisy - Were both recordings done guitar straight into the amps, no effects B4 input or in the loop ?

Thanks, TT


screamingdaisy said:
Stiletto through one of the G12Ms.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/Electric%20Cab/StilettoElectricCabG12M.mp3



And, for the fun of it... a Recto through the same speaker
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37532735/Electric%20Cab/DualRectoElectricCabG12M.mp3
 
Straight into the amp. Loops bypassed.

For what it's worth, I think the Recto requires new tubes. I was having a hard time getting harmonics to pop without it turning harsh on me. At the time I thought maybe it was that the Recto just sounded harsher compared to the Stiletto, but now I believe it's that the tubes are worn to the point that they've gone dull.
 
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