fdesalvo
Hero Member
- Messages
- 3,607
I had a Stage II Deuce a couple of years ago but reluctantly sold it to fund a Splawn QuickRod (we picked up a sponsorship and I wanted in). Having missed the transparent FX loop and amazing clean tone of the Stiletto, I decided to get back into the Mesa fold and picked up a Mark V, but grew tired of it after a week. The first rehearsal with it was amazing, but the second was terrible. I found myself constantly having to tweak the settings and couldn't find that tone I had the week prior - even with the controls set the same. During live shows with the Mark IV, I had the same issues; it needed to be tweaked for every room and you couldn't just turn up the treble without effecting the balance of the other channels. I never had this issue with the Splawn or the Stiletto, as the tone controls were very easy to adjust on the fly. I returned it to Guitar Center.
While there, I saw this dusty Deuce II sitting neglected in the corner. It was beautiful in it's Wine Tuarus Skin, but it looked really sad. I turned the head about and saw that the chassis was covered with a thick layer of dust. Even the tubes were blanketed. The salesman approached and tried selling it to me, but I told him it wasn't the one I wanted because I "hated the color" :laughing7:
I came back the next day and told him that I was concerned about how long the amp was on the floor (and that the tubes are likely on their last legs because I noticed that people leave these amps on and off standby for hours or days at a time). I said I'd take the amp if they threw in a new quad of matched EL34s. They agreed and as the salesman went in the back to find the Tuki cover, manual, footswitch, and cables, I grabbed a PRS from the walll and plugged in.
I noticed immediately that this one was special - different from my other, but I have no idea why. The gain was tighter and more saturated, but very clear. I can't explain why this is when these amps are produced to such tight tolerences, but I know that components themselves can be off by as much as 20%, so maybe this one has the magical combination of resistor values. Whatever the reason, this one is AMAZING! My other was really nice sounding and I was hesitant to sell it, but the lead channel of the Splawn quickly erased my anxiety. After the honeymood period with the Splawn ended, I realized the FX loop and clean channel were mediocre - still, I was reluctant to sell it because the lead channel was the best I have ever heard in any amp. This Stiletto has erased the seller's remorse I carried from unloading the Splawn.
I took her home and removed the tubes and dusted the chassis, tolex, and as a preventive measure, cleaned the jacks. She cleaned up well~
ccasion14:
While there, I saw this dusty Deuce II sitting neglected in the corner. It was beautiful in it's Wine Tuarus Skin, but it looked really sad. I turned the head about and saw that the chassis was covered with a thick layer of dust. Even the tubes were blanketed. The salesman approached and tried selling it to me, but I told him it wasn't the one I wanted because I "hated the color" :laughing7:
I came back the next day and told him that I was concerned about how long the amp was on the floor (and that the tubes are likely on their last legs because I noticed that people leave these amps on and off standby for hours or days at a time). I said I'd take the amp if they threw in a new quad of matched EL34s. They agreed and as the salesman went in the back to find the Tuki cover, manual, footswitch, and cables, I grabbed a PRS from the walll and plugged in.
I noticed immediately that this one was special - different from my other, but I have no idea why. The gain was tighter and more saturated, but very clear. I can't explain why this is when these amps are produced to such tight tolerences, but I know that components themselves can be off by as much as 20%, so maybe this one has the magical combination of resistor values. Whatever the reason, this one is AMAZING! My other was really nice sounding and I was hesitant to sell it, but the lead channel of the Splawn quickly erased my anxiety. After the honeymood period with the Splawn ended, I realized the FX loop and clean channel were mediocre - still, I was reluctant to sell it because the lead channel was the best I have ever heard in any amp. This Stiletto has erased the seller's remorse I carried from unloading the Splawn.
I took her home and removed the tubes and dusted the chassis, tolex, and as a preventive measure, cleaned the jacks. She cleaned up well~
ccasion14:
