F-50 vs. Rectoverb vs. Stiletto Duece

I have an F-50 head right now and I LOVE the sound of it on both clean and overdrive. How does it compare to the other two amps mentioned?

Also the heartbreaker! I've always been enterested in that amp.

In my experience, the cleans on both the F-series and the Rectoverb are equally good (I haven;t owned a Stiletto, so I can't help you out there).

For gain, they are both very good, but do very different things. The Rectoverb is super-thick and chunky, smooth, and can fill up a lot of of space in a mix. It's great for 1-guitar bands, because it's so easy to fill a room with sound. My F-100, though (although it can really be dialed to get MANY different sounds and textures), really excells at the opposite - it's great for really razor-sharp, tight, and cutting rhythm tones. Of course, it can get thicker rhythm.lead tones, but IMO then the punchiness suffers.

It sounds REALLY good when you mix the two sounds together. That can't be beat.

Well I am the only guitarist and I think the F-50 fills the room very good. Maybe I should give the Rectoverb a shot!

I love my Rectoverb and have decided it's a keeper. I've been through several amps in the past year too. Mark IV, Roadster, and F-30 to be exact. The RoV fulfills all the tones I want and did not break the bank. I think it's the best for your buck in the Mesa series!

I loved my old "Verb" but had to go the way of the Dual Rec. Also have a F30, and my band mate uses a f-50 some times. Sixtonoise hits the nail on the head about the sound of the F series: Fast and to the point, as opposed to the Rectos being slow and forgiving. As far as the Stiletto, I haven't used one in a band setting, I does have that SLO 100/Uber type of vibe that makes me want to stock up on spandex and Aqua-Net, very cool! (The amp, not the other stuff)

I own all 3 so I can probably chime in here - what exactly do you want to know? They all sound like boogies, but they're all pretty different. To me, the F-50 cleans are the chimey-est, and the dirty sounds really "roar". I love my F-50 - it really has its own sound. Stiletto Deuce is super cool - probably a "desert island" amp for me - very versatile. Love the cleans, but they're different than the F-50. Stiletto is less chimey, but thicker and tougher sounding. Gain sounds on the Stiletto are incredible - not as ripping as the F-50, but very crunchy. Love it. The Rectoverb's cleans are the least spectacular of the three amps for me - but I love pushed mode all gained up - one of my favourite sounds on the amp. And obviously all 3 modes on the dirty side of things have that compressed, biting recto thing. The Recto certainly has its place, and I love it, but it's probably my least favorite of the three. Hope this helps. Ask specific questions if you'd like and I'll do my best to answer them...

Brent
bgroupmusic.com

Thanks, that really helps a lot. I love the F-50 cleans, and I like how thick it is and how it seems to fill the room, but I would also like a lil more cut. Is the overdrive on the Stiletto thick sounding?

It definitely can be thick sounding - depends on the mode, but I think if you love your F-50, then you'd probably love the Stiletto. While they don't sound the same at all, they seem to have a similar "spirit". The overdrive definitely has more cut than the F-50 (the cleans don't though). I have 4 boogies (the 3 mentioned here and a Mark2c+), and if I had to choose 2 it would be the Stiletto and the F-50...

and NO! my Mark2c+ is NOT for sale!!!!! :wink:

Hope this helps.

Brent
bgroupmusic.com

Okay thanks. Which model Stiletto do you have?

Deuce Stage 1... and don't believe any negative talk about stage 1 Stilettos - its an INCREDIBLE amp...

What were the differences between stage one and stage two? Would this amp be a good choice for a 1 guitar cover band? How does the Stiletto Ace head differ? Thanks

You can do a search here for lots of info...

An Ace is stage 2 but has different transformers than Deuce so apparently sounds a little different. Stage 2 has had all of the modes (except Tite Gain) revoiced for more gain, different power supply is supposed make bottom end tighter. I guess it depends what kind of music you make which will suit you better, but I can tell you, my Stage 1 isn't going anywhere - AWESOME amp and plenty of gain on tap for my needs...

The F-50 cleans were better than the Rectoverb but the gain channel was a no-contest in the other direction. If gain is more important (which it is for me) the ROV combo was better. And it's not necessarily the amount of gain, just the texture and fullness.