Some thoughts on the Stiletto Ace I would like to share

So, of course still in the honeymoon phase with my new Stiletto Ace 1x12 combo.

Got it for a trade. Gave a guy an excellent condition Gibson SG Standard and 50$ for the Ace Combo and Flight case. He wasn't using the amp, I wasn't using the guitar.

My main amp for the last year has been a 1989 jcm 800 2204. LOVE IT!!!! Love the old school tones.

I think most of us would agree that the JCM 800 2204 will go down as one of the most influential guitar amps of ALL TIME!! It truly defined a generation.

Anyway, back to the Stiletto Ace.

So I have read a lot about how it is a bright amp. Here are some quotes I found after a quick search on the internet.

"sometimes at gigs it turns out sounding too bright, so I turn presence and treble all the way down, which is not really enough"

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"the amp has seemed to have WAY too much treble. So much so that I run the treble/presence at ZERO, and the bass all the way up, and I still can't even use the bridge p'up on my USA Strat (I use DiMarzio Area p'ups).... All my pedals sound too bright, it's just a mess.
IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!! "

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" It seems to me the tone is too much bright and poor, can you suggest me some tweaks for improved the problem and take more biggest and fat sound?"

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" i find that its realy bright aswell"

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"the treble and precense knobs have been firmly parked at zero. Still I've had to roll back tone on most guitars to get an acceptable sound."

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Ohh Crap!

My bad, those were actually quotes about the JCM 800.



As I said I own a JCM 800 2204 and yes it is bright!

On my JCM 800 the presence and treble stay off exclusively. And it sounds killer!

My Stiletto is also bright. But the fact is it is not that bright at drummer level.

Today I decided to try the instant gratification setting from the manual. No one was home so I did it exactly as it is in the book.
Clean Channel - Crunch - diode rectified

Presence - 12:00 (yes 12:00)
Bass - 1:00
Mid - 12:00
Treble - 1:00 (yes you read that correctly)
Gain - PEGGED!
Master 11:00 <----This is the key!!! Have loop bypassed or output very high!

British Steel tones all day!!!!

Now, the moment you bring it down to bedroom level it turns to fizzy ice pick crap. As does a real jcm 800.

Anyway. Just wanted to share that with you. The fact is this amp is NO brighter then the amps it is emulating. And as Isaac Berumen pointed out in his mod thread, this similarities between the Stiletto and 2204 are amazing when you look at the schematic.

And the clean tone is simply awesome.

Again, I am still in the honeymoon phase and have learned to NEVER say I will NEVER sell an amp. I trade stuff all the time.

But at the moment I am really enjoying this amp.

It was clearly made for tones at drummer level and not whisper level in your bedroom.

Got one in a trade too not that long ago. Head version of the Ace though not the combo.
I too am an old Marshall guy. I've had a couple of old JCMs but always play and have played older nmv 4-holers and like you say, I've NEVER run the T, M or P past 2 on my old Marshalls. The Middle is usually pretty much just a spare treble and the Presence is just an extra super treble.
Got the Ace, read the brightness complaints, brought it to rehearsal, set it up with the tonestack pretty much "nooned-out" and like with any great old Marshall, I found myself instantly reaching for the T,M, and P knobs to KILL that stuff.

Well, then came some vintage glass...followed by an adjustable bias mod, which was in-turn followed by more vintage bottles (34s this time)...and....pfffff...I LOVE this thing!
It's a Fender. It's a Plexi. It's a JCM. It's a Mesa!!!
If it had even a mediocre reverb.....yeah I know...but I like reverb and I don't really get along with loops so...yeah..verb would be nice.

Speaking of vintage tubes...I'll meet you in the classifieds/FS forum ;-)

My Ace combo is a heavy SOB, but I'll never sell it, barring emergencies. Not only is it one of my favorite colors, British Tan, but it sounds incredible, and ALL of the modes are usable. I, too, wish it had reverb, especially because there are times when I don't want to bring a pedal board; this is the reason why I'll be pickup up either an Express or a Lone Star next month.

FWIW, I borrowed my friend's Strymon Flint last week and placed it in the loop of my Ace. That pedal is the trem and reverb this amp is missing. I HIGHLY recommend it!