IS THIS THE 1X12 COMBO THAT ROCK PLAYERS THOUGHT WASN’T POSSIBLE? MICK TAYLOR GETS DEALT A HALF-TON OF BOOGIE-INJECTED BRITISHNESS THAT LOOKS LITTLE, BUT HOLLERS HUGE

With relentless R&D since the 1970s, Mesa Boogie has constantly redefined our expectations of the humble guitar amp. In British eyes, the brand stands for deafening volume, back-breaking weight, immense gain and, let’s be honest, prices that only the wealthy and/or truly devoted will meet. Those who do, however, rarely turn back.

In 1991, the Californian company began setting a new benchmark in hard rock and metal tones with its Dual and Triple Rectifiers, using features that have since extended to many more amps in the range. By the early 2000s, that range spanned everything you could want in US-flavoured blues, jazz, fusion, rock and metal, yet company founder Randall Smith and his team still had a gap in the catalogue when it came to tight and punchy, British-sounding rock tones. So in 2004, Mesa unveiled the Stiletto. Rather than a Rectifier that simply runs EL34 output valves, the Stiletto was designed from the ground up to offer classic British flavour, then take it to Mesa territory. It has become a resounding critical success.

Not everyone wants 100 (Stiletto Deuce) or 150 watts (Trident) though, so in 2006, Mesa added the 50-watt ‘Ace’ version to the family, including this 1x12 combo. The benefits of a loud, portable rock amp are clear in principle, so let’s see how it stacks up (or should that be down?) in practice.

"Highly credible Rock Tones... Loads of Volume from this Surprising Combo"

PRE & POWER AMP The Stiletto Ace’s all-valve preamp section is based around two independent channels, each with three distinct modes. Two identical rows of knobs deal with the tweakin’ – one for each channel – while the mode mini switches select the overall gain and EQ response. Channel one is where you’ll find the cleaner sounds, offering ‘fat clean’, ‘tite clean’ and ‘crunch’ modes, which span a high-headroom clean tone, through to a tighter, medium overdrive.

Channel two’s trio of modes comprises ‘crunch’ (duplicated from channel one), ‘tite gain’ and ‘fluid gain’, progressively upping the gain to a fully saturated, modern rock voice that draws on up to five gain stages. In the age of digital modelling and tons of present sounds, you might assume that the modes are footswitchable, but they’re not. Mesa’s reasoning is that the gain and EQ structures are so different, that switching between them would be too much of a compromise in terms of settings for each mode. You can switch between channels, of course.

Each channel has its own master volume to balance levels as you see fit, but Mesa has also included its popular ‘solo’ function here too. This means that when you have the hard-bypass effects loop switched in (see the box on p86), you can also footswitch between two further, global volume levels: ‘output’ and ‘solo’. This is especially useful if you want the tone and overdrive available with your guitar’s volume pot fully up, but need it quieter/louder at different times.

"...there are rock players who might scoff at ‘just’ 50 watts, but hold the preconceptions until you’ve heard it. This is an extremely loud amplifier, despite its 1x12 format."

Creating the power – 50 watts RMS – are a pair of EL34 output tubes. These are linked inextricably with Marshall amps, noted for their tighter, lower mid-range, less bottom-end bloom and early clip characteristics when compared with Boogie’s more usual choice of 6L6 power tubes. As a result, Mesa even suggests that the Stiletto is a great choice for a two-guitar band, where the other guitarist is using a 6L6-type amp such as a Dual Rectifier; both players can have distinctive tones, albeit still very much hard rock, and still very much Boogie.

Back to that power rating, there are rock players who might scoff at ‘just’ 50 watts, but hold the preconceptions until you’ve heard it. This is an extremely loud amplifier, despite its 1x12 format, which offers a likeable fat and fast attack at lower levels, edging into power-stage clip that bit quicker than a 100-watter. It’s all about dynamics, and players who have experience of both 50- and 100-watt Marshalls, for example, tend to have an instant preference for one or the other due to how the amps react and ‘feel’ underneath your fingers. Taking this a step further, Mesa has added a couple of extremely useful features to the Stiletto Ace to enable you to manipulate those dynamics even more. Firstly, you have the option of a solid-state or valve rectifier (see the box on p86) and secondly, two power modes: ‘spongy’ and ‘bold’. The latter is the amp running ‘normally’, while ‘spongy’ reduces the power somewhat to enable you to soften up the power delivery and push the power section harder for a more saturated, rounded, compressed tone. All this makes for an extremely versatile amp, as we’ll hear.

"...the speaker is a single Celestion Vintage 30...a superb all-round choice for rock guitar because of its balance of vintage and modern tone."

CABINET & SPEAKERS Amps are black boxes, right? Well, not if Mesa has anything to do with it. Thus, standard livery for the Stiletto Ace is this fetching ‘emerald bronco’ vinyl with tan grille and corners. It creates a classic/vintage look, but if you can’t compromise your rock image there is a second standard option of all-black. Beneath the covering is Mesa’s well-respected Baltic birch cabinetry, joined expertly for an extremely solid box. It’s also compact, thanks to a well thought-out design that separates the amp from the enclosed speaker section. Some height is saved by using a sloped separator panel that rises from beneath the power tubes, up towards the inside back of the front grille. This presumably enables Mesa to keep the cabinet closed for bottom-end thump, while still keeping it as compact as possible. If you don’t have an estate car, you’ll appreciate every square inch of space saved, overall portability aided further by quick-fit castors and the high-quality, comfy leather handle.

The only non-enclosed section of the Stiletto Ace’s rear is covered with a metal grille that protects the power tubes and offers access to the IEC mains connector. Health and safety regs deem that the grille needs to be fitted, but we’d have it off in an instant; a) so the power lead doesn’t always have to dangle from the back of the combo in the absence of anywhere to stash it, and b) to offer instant access to the valves.

Finally, the speaker is a single Celestion Vintage 30 which, as we’ve said many times in these pages, is a superb all-round choice for rock guitar because of its balance of vintage and modern tone. It’s a 60-watt driver, with a relatively efficient 100dB sensitivity rating, which, in guitarists’ terms, means it sounds ‘loud’!

Dual, footswitchable master volume levels are available when the effects loop is switched in.

TWO RECTIFIERS TO PUT YOUR SOUND RIGHT

An amplifier’s rectifier is the component that converts mains AC voltage to the DC required by the amp’s internals. The important issue for your tone is how efficiently they do it. History and experience tell us that valve rectifiers give a slightly spongier, more ‘vintage’ power delivery with more discernible ‘sag’ in the dynamics, while silicon diode rectifiers give a quicker, harder and more direct response that’s perhaps better suited to modern tones. Having the choice of both is a great inclusion on the Stiletto Ace, not least because you can select either kind of rectification for either channel, and switch between them when you change channels.

SOUNDS The Stiletto’s first mode in channel one is ‘fat clean’. It’s a departure from what many people associate with an EL34-driven rock amp, because pretty much every classic EL34-driven rock amp has some crunch in its ‘clean’ sound; this is really clean. The bottom end is huge, noticeably so compared with any of the other modes. In fact you might go so far as to say that it sounds a little mid-’60s-era Fender, albeit wearing an extra warm woolly jumper. Maxing out the gain brings some overdrive with grunty ’buckers, while easing it back just a touch offers up a lovely jazz tone if you want it. Don’t be afraid to be extreme with the tone controls – running hardly any bass at all still sounds big and full with humbuckers. That it’s all coming from a 1x12 is hard to believe, until you whip off the back panel and clap your eyes on that solitary Celestion.

Flicking to channel one’s ‘tite clean’ ACEmode lops off some bottom end for a much leaner tone. Flicking back to ‘fat clean’ makes ‘tite clean’ sound skinny in comparison, but heard in a band mix, you’ll appreciate its cut and definition. There’s not a great deal of clip available from the gain control in isolation, especially with single coils. However, if you switch in the loop to activate the ‘output’ and ‘solo’ volumes, you can also push the channel master hard, which adds a very likeable drive to proceedings. Switch it to ‘spongy’ power and the tube rectifier and the whole thing feels more elastic and responsive. Do turn it up to get the full feeling, though.

The clean channel’s final mode is ‘crunch’, upping the gain significantly. Mesa’s designers like this mode so much, they’ve duplicated it as the first mode of channel two as well. ‘Crunch’ is a medium-gain sound, offering arguably the Stiletto Ace’s most touch-sensitive tones, spanning crunchy rhythm, through to fairly saturated, Texas-style rock when driven with humbuckers. Again, experimenting with the masters, rectifier and power settings offers a huge range of dynamic responses to suit your playing style, guitar and pickups. It’s also here that you start to appreciate the power of the mid control, which helps set the overall voice to your liking: boosted for more forthright cut and punch, and cut slightly to sit back in a mix. Very few amps offer anything like this versatility, and we’re barely into the second channel. Take care with the presence and treble controls, too; in ‘crunch’ mode, the Stiletto Ace can sound brittle at times with single coils, especially if you’re just tickling the master – you have to turn this amp up to hear it at its best, in this mode more than the others.

BRIT SOUNDS AND BEYOND, WITH BOTH VOLUME AND VERSATILITY With the Stiletto series, Mesa Boogie has opened its doors to a significant proportion of the guitarists who want the fat mids, tight bottom end and crunch of Brit-flavoured amps. That it all now comes in this 50-watt 1x12 (or 2x12) combo extends the appeal further still, even if it does look expensive compared with the likes of Marshall, Fender, Vox and others. It’s no classic Marshall clone, however, firstly in terms of the sheer diversity of sounds available, and secondly, because it’s still unmistakably a Mesa in design. From loud, clean and bold, though to louder, filthy and squashy, it delivers an enormous breadth of loveable rock tones. It’s harder sounding and has more gain than the Lone Star, sounds less ‘American’ (for want of a better term) than the Rectifiers and is much less money/complex than the Roadster. Without doubt a top choice for supercharged Brit-flavoured rock playing.

The final two modes add Mesa’s trump cards to the Stiletto Ace: buckets of gain, fat mids and endless, singing sustain. The ‘tite gain’ mode in channel two picks up from ‘crunch’, adding much more gain for a more cascaded, compressed, modern tonality that benefits from the well-controlled bottom end. The focus is in the vocal mid-range of the instrument, ensuring you’re going to cut through, even when using drop tunings. The extra gain comes at the expense of some dynamics, but when you’re head-down thrashing, that doesn’t matter. On the upside, there’s a liquidity in the gain that helps lead playing trip off the guitar, smoothing out fast passages, which is great for the bluffers among us!

The final mode, ‘fluid drive’ adds yet more gain for a balls-out solo tone. There’s more depth compared with ‘tite gain’ which pays dividends in fattening out solos. Once again, experimenting with the rectifier type and power setting varies the dynamics further to suit your touch and ear. All up, it’s such a disconcerting experience for the other guitarist in the band, when you step on the Stiletto Ace’s channel switch and let fly with a huge, fat solo tone, thick in the mids, piles of gain and louder than a screaming baby. With a megaphone. At 3am. You keep telling him it’s ‘just’ a 50-watt 1x12. He’ll never believe you.

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