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iamqman « Awesome! »
Published on 04/07/11 at 13:05One of my best friends owns this amp and has served him quite well. Fortunately for me I have been able to spend some time with it as well. This is a Mesa Boogie that is voiced in the British realm. What that means is that it has a familiar characteristic to a Marshall or maybe an Orange amp or even a Hiwatt. There is something about those amps that carries a similar tune to one another.
What I like about this about also is that it takes pedals very well. Throwing a tube screamer of some like a clean boost and you will have this amp sizzling. This amps has many features that are prominent to Mesa such as the Recto or tube switching and the sponge/tight setting which changes the variac and loosens the amps or tightens the power section of the amp.
UTILIZATION
Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Deuce-Stage II 100-watt, 2-channel Tube Amplifier Head Features:
* Handbuilt in Petaluma, California
* Multi-Watt, Channel-assignable power amp allows you to assign either two or all four EL-34 power tubes to each channel for power ratings of 50 or 100 watts of Class A/B power via independent 50/100-watt power switches
* Tube complement: 4xEL-34, 5x12AX7, 2x5U4
* Fixed Bias for consistent, maintenance free performance
* Two fully independent channels with six modes: Channel 1 = Fat Clean, Tite Clean or Crunch (Cloning Channel 2); Channel 2 = Crunch, Tite Gain or Fluid Drive
* Channel-assignable dual rectification with Recto Tracking (Diode or Tube Tracking)
* Independent gain, treble, mid, bass, presence, and master controls per channel
* Bold/spongy "Variac" switch
* Output Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* Footswitchable Solo Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* All-tube effects loop with Send Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* "Hard" bypass switch that removes effects loop, Output Level and Solo Level Controls from signal path
* Slave out with level control
* External switching jacks for channels 1, 2, and Solo
* Chrome chassis
* 2-button footswitch (Channel 1/2 and Solo)
* Slip cover included
SOUNDS
This is a rockers amp. You will blown the hinges off the doors when you crank this thing up. I have been on the wrong side of this amp a few times where it just lit me up and thump my chest. The best feeling I got with this amp is a Les Paul and clean boost like pedal in front of it. This amp gets that pounding feeling but a full bodied warm tone. I find this amp not to be much of a lead amp per se but rather a solid rhythm guitar player amp. It doesn't cut through as much as I would like if I was the only player in the band, but it does thicken the walls of the sound for the band quite well.
OVERALL OPINION
If I were a rhythm guitar player in a band I would look to this amp. It is rather inexpensive to be hand built. At new they come in at around $1900, but you can find them fairly inexpensive on the used market right now. I would recommend some to try this amp out against other Mesa's if that is the tone you are going for. This amp may not be for you if you are used to the Rectos or the Mark series. It has the similar characteristics to Mesa but it is its own beats.
What I like about this about also is that it takes pedals very well. Throwing a tube screamer of some like a clean boost and you will have this amp sizzling. This amps has many features that are prominent to Mesa such as the Recto or tube switching and the sponge/tight setting which changes the variac and loosens the amps or tightens the power section of the amp.
UTILIZATION
Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Deuce-Stage II 100-watt, 2-channel Tube Amplifier Head Features:
* Handbuilt in Petaluma, California
* Multi-Watt, Channel-assignable power amp allows you to assign either two or all four EL-34 power tubes to each channel for power ratings of 50 or 100 watts of Class A/B power via independent 50/100-watt power switches
* Tube complement: 4xEL-34, 5x12AX7, 2x5U4
* Fixed Bias for consistent, maintenance free performance
* Two fully independent channels with six modes: Channel 1 = Fat Clean, Tite Clean or Crunch (Cloning Channel 2); Channel 2 = Crunch, Tite Gain or Fluid Drive
* Channel-assignable dual rectification with Recto Tracking (Diode or Tube Tracking)
* Independent gain, treble, mid, bass, presence, and master controls per channel
* Bold/spongy "Variac" switch
* Output Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* Footswitchable Solo Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* All-tube effects loop with Send Level Control (over all channels when activated)
* "Hard" bypass switch that removes effects loop, Output Level and Solo Level Controls from signal path
* Slave out with level control
* External switching jacks for channels 1, 2, and Solo
* Chrome chassis
* 2-button footswitch (Channel 1/2 and Solo)
* Slip cover included
SOUNDS
This is a rockers amp. You will blown the hinges off the doors when you crank this thing up. I have been on the wrong side of this amp a few times where it just lit me up and thump my chest. The best feeling I got with this amp is a Les Paul and clean boost like pedal in front of it. This amp gets that pounding feeling but a full bodied warm tone. I find this amp not to be much of a lead amp per se but rather a solid rhythm guitar player amp. It doesn't cut through as much as I would like if I was the only player in the band, but it does thicken the walls of the sound for the band quite well.
OVERALL OPINION
If I were a rhythm guitar player in a band I would look to this amp. It is rather inexpensive to be hand built. At new they come in at around $1900, but you can find them fairly inexpensive on the used market right now. I would recommend some to try this amp out against other Mesa's if that is the tone you are going for. This amp may not be for you if you are used to the Rectos or the Mark series. It has the similar characteristics to Mesa but it is its own beats.