1 more time: let's talk EVH & Stealth

[crankyrayhanky]

So here is my experience:
KVH5150 50w head modded by Kruse to Stealth specs ( I never heard it stock, I sent it straight away for mods)
EVH stock 100w

KVH
Green
This seems to reflect what I read about 100w stealth. It breaks up quickly around 10 oclock or so. Sounds great! I typically use it anywhere from 9-11 oclock depending on how clean or gritty I need my "cleans". I like a little grit

Blue
This is amazing. Max the gain (or a little less), hit it with a OD clean boost and let it rip. I freaking love this channel. 10-12 o'clock gets some cool crunch but still on the aggressive side with full mids which I like a lot

Red
This one has me perplexed. I love me some brutality, but this one is kind of extreme. Not digging any OD boosts on this one, but with no boost I like it as it is an aggressive tone with lots of lows and a chimey Cameronish pick attack thing going on. I can't find a place for this sound in my rock sets. Even in extreme detuning chugging tunes I think the Blue boosted kicks it ass. It doesn;t help that the red is way harder to control as far as bad feedback and hiss (Blue is no issue)

stock EVH 100w
I finally got to try one! I was shocked at how clean the green was. The blue was much more vintage and I would never use it for my hi gain stuff- even gain maxed with an OD Boost. Great tone though. The Red actually reminded me a lot of the KVH Blue (?)

So I wonder if my KVH thoughts reflect those with the stealth 100w head? I'm half tempted to send the KVM back out to revoice the red closer to blue or closer to stock evh red, but the teenager angst in me likes the uncontrollable gain there, lol. I think KVH RED may sound better recording than libe so far.

 

[sg guy]

-the BLUE channel on the STEALTH is where the magic is-(the 50 watt EVH III & the STEALTH have the exact same voicing on the blue channel)-

-the red channel on the STEALTH is the lead channel-(saw Eddie on some late show, blue channel rythum, red channel lead)-(ohh.. and he left the amp for them to have)-

-(the EVH III 50 watt combo is a 50 watt STEALTH)-

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I was curious if Eddie used red for solos
Interesting info on the secret stealth combo!

 

[jrh_67]

I have the first 50 watt head Kruse modded to the stealth. It sounds phenomenal! You have to really crank this amp to gig volume to really appreciate the red channel IMHO. Depending upon how much gain you're used to playing with it can get out of control really quick so a good noise gate is mandatory...

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I used to have a Decimator I & II but, despite using a ton of gain, I never really needed it so I sold them off. I have gates on my fx8 but it's not real practical to adjust on the fly so I may go back to ISP.
Just yesterday I found that on RED if I max the mids and go about 10 o'clock on the highs I get some lead tones that really inspire!
No doubt the nature of the gain changes quite a bit when pushing serious volume, much more organic-y and warm in a great way. Sounds great at any level, but the character definitely changes.

 

[Rising Farce]

Jens (Kruse) is awesome--fast, friendly, and reasonably priced.

 

[Exo-metal]

Jens Kruse, sounds like someone I should have known already. Please inform me friends.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

http://www.krusekontrol.com

 

[Rick Lee]

I hated the stock green channel on my Stealth. I put a 12AU7 in V1 to tame it, but later had it modded by a local shop such that it now sounds like a Twin Reverb without the reverb, but with the stock 12AX7 in V1.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

What didn't you like about it?
Too bright?
Too much gain?

 

[Rick Lee]

With the green gain just barely on it sounds like AC/DC. I love AC/DC, but I also like crystal clear, Fender-like cleans. Otherwise, what's the point of having a clean channel? I bought a Marshall JCM2000 DSL 50w today and its cleans are amazing compared to the stock green on an EVH Stealth. The non-Stealth EVH green channel is great in stock form.

 

[HilltopExplosion]

Does his mod turn the regular 5150III to a stealth.. for real? I mean if they were side by side, could you tell the difference other than aesthetics? If It does I'll send mine. I think the blue channel alone is worth it.

 

[mudf00t]

I just bought a Stealth yesterday... waiting for it to arrive.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Does his mod turn the regular 5150III to a stealth.. for real? I mean if they were side by side, could you tell the difference other than aesthetics? If It does I'll send mine. I think the blue channel alone is worth it.

I never had them side by side, but FWIW the Kruse Stealth 50w Blue is amazing. I am sure the standardIII could be converted to be near identical to Stealth Blue tone.

With the green gain just barely on it sounds like AC/DC.

Is that normal for Stealth?
To compare, my Kruse Stealth 50w can get crystal clean with the gain on 8 oclock and gives just a touch of cool grit around 9 oclock. At 10-11 oclock it gets ACDCish. I like having those options but yeah you need a clean clean sometimes so if this normal for the 100wStealth that is bit of a bummer

The non-Stealth EVH green channel is great in stock form.

Agreed, that amp has a traditional clean that is very cool. It doesn't really break up much though; I like my cleans to have some crunch when the gain is maxxed. That may be silly nit picking though as the Blue delivers those tones easily

I just bought a Stealth yesterday... waiting for it to arrive.

 

[gbsmusic]

-the BLUE channel on the STEALTH is where the magic is-(the 50 watt EVH III & the STEALTH have the exact same voicing on the blue channel)-

-the red channel on the STEALTH is the lead channel-(saw Eddie on some late show, blue channel rythum, red channel lead)-(ohh.. and he left the amp for them to have)-

-(the EVH III 50 watt combo is a 50 watt STEALTH)-

Is this true. The 50 watt combo is a 50 stealth?

 

[Rising Farce]

Does his mod turn the regular 5150III to a stealth.. for real? I mean if they were side by side, could you tell the difference other than aesthetics? If It does I'll send mine. I think the blue channel alone is worth it.

From the Kruse Kontrol site: This mod turns the original EVH-III 100W amp into the STEALTH version. We painstakingly compared a Stealth head with an original 100W head. It was a HUGE chunk of work, but we got it done.

You could always shoot him an e-mail to verify; he tends to be very responsive.

 

[Rick Lee]

-the BLUE channel on the STEALTH is where the magic is-(the 50 watt EVH III & the STEALTH have the exact same voicing on the blue channel)-

-the red channel on the STEALTH is the lead channel-(saw Eddie on some late show, blue channel rythum, red channel lead)-(ohh.. and he left the amp for them to have)-

-(the EVH III 50 watt combo is a 50 watt STEALTH)-

Is this true. The 50 watt combo is a 50 stealth?

I've had two 50 watts, two 100 watts and a Stealth. I really don't think anything on the 50w sounds like a Stealth.

 

[ElMuchoDingo]

-the BLUE channel on the STEALTH is where the magic is-(the 50 watt EVH III & the STEALTH have the exact same voicing on the blue channel)-

-the red channel on the STEALTH is the lead channel-(saw Eddie on some late show, blue channel rythum, red channel lead)-(ohh.. and he left the amp for them to have)-

-(the EVH III 50 watt combo is a 50 watt STEALTH)-

Is this true. The 50 watt combo is a 50 stealth?

as per howard, yes, the 50 combo turned into the stealth head