5150-III 6l6 50 Stealth and Standard users...got a few questions

[romanianreaper]

So I just got my 5150-III 50watt 6l6 Stealth in thr mail. First impressions, nice and thick and perfect for Drop-D! I have the 50w 6l6 original so am able to compare. At first I thought it had less gain but not the case.

I have a few quick questions:

When you hit the "Effects" button on the footswitch, does it sound identical to the noise level prior to hitting it or does it add a bit of noise? On both amps, I get a kind of hiss when I turn on the effects loop.

Does it take a bit for the tubes to break in?

For users thst have had both amps, what eq did you adjust when moving to the Stealth?

Thanks for any info! I love both iterations of the amp but the effects loop noise thing is weird. At a show it wouldn't even be an issue obviously but in a room it is apparent. I just wish it was dead quiet when I hit that button.

 

[Shask]

Do you think they really sound THAT much different?

 

[demondestroyer]

On my stealth the noise level is higher when I hit the effects button/fx loop. Also when I hit any of the footswitch buttons it makes a pop. Wish I could fix that.

 

[romanianreaper]

On my stealth the noise level is higher when I hit the effects button/fx loop. Also when I hit any of the footswitch buttons it makes a pop. Wish I could fix that.

Dude that is exactly what I have!! I wonder what the hell that is??? Drives me batty. I want to reach out to a Fender repair place, etc and let them know so they can fix it.

 

[romanianreaper]

Do you think they really sound THAT much different?

Hey brother! I'm still playing around with the amp and have had limited time with it but there is more low end earlier on the knob with the stealth and mids are not as pronounced. The same "tone" is there obviously and definition, etc but almost sounds like a 6L6 with the mids turned down to 9 o'clock, bass knob cranked, etc. Hard to explain. Both sound awesome though and love EVH amps. When I'm able to crank at band practice in a few weeks, will be a great test.

 

[romanianreaper]

The effects loop is definitely louder in my regular 6l6 that the Stealth. It just makes me wonder what inside of this amp would create an AM radio type hiss when you turn on the loop?

 

[WarHed]

Dude that is exactly what I have!! I wonder what the hell that is??? Drives me batty. I want to reach out to a Fender repair place, etc and let them know so they can fix it.

On my stealth the noise level is higher when I hit the effects button/fx loop. Also when I hit any of the footswitch buttons it makes a pop. Wish I could fix that.

Does it pop with and without fx connected in the loop?
The loop return is DC coupled to return stage which makes it susceptible to pops. Easy fix by modding the signal path to the fx retun stage

 

[Deleted member 21113]

I use the loop on my 50 stealth with a noise gate, channel switching is completely silent, no hiss, nothing but chuggs.

 

[romanianreaper]

Does it pop with and without fx connected in the loop?
The loop return is DC coupled to return stage which makes it susceptible to pops. Easy fix by modding the signal path to the fx retun stage

I'm not sure and need to try it with and without.

 

[romanianreaper]

I use the loop on my 50 stealth with a noise gate, channel switching is completely silent, no hiss, nothing but chuggs.

I thought I tried a noise gate before and didn't help but I need to revisit that.

 

[MetalThrasher]

Congrats on the 5150 S 6L6! Where are you running the gain for the blue and red channel? I'm still messing with my amp, but I have the blue gain set between 2 and 4 o'clock and the red gain set around 10 o'clock. The red channel seems to get crazy once the gain goes over 11 o'clock. I haven't messed with the loop yet, but I do have a delay pedal that I plan on putting in the loop this weekend. I haven't noticed any pops when switching channels. My current setup is guitar --- tuner pedal ---- DT Whammy ---- OD ---- noise gate ---- amp. The gate does help with taking away a good chunk of the hiss.

 

[romanianreaper]

Congrats on the 5150 S 6L6! Where are you running the gain for the blue and red channel? I'm still messing with my amp, but I have the blue gain set between 2 and 4 o'clock and the red gain set around 10 o'clock. The red channel seems to get crazy once the gain goes over 11 o'clock. I haven't messed with the loop yet, but I do have a delay pedal that I plan on putting in the loop this weekend. I haven't noticed any pops when switching channels. My current setup is guitar --- tuner pedal ---- DT Whammy ---- OD ---- noise gate ---- amp. The gate does help with taking away a good chunk of the hiss.

Thanks man!! Yep, I have the blue around there and red at 9 or 10 like you. I like the red channel way better on the stealth!! It feels like an actual channel I can use whereas before I'd barely use that channel. Gets outstanding palm mutes, nice tight chug, etc. They did a great job with that channel.

I like the blue on the stealth but doesn't sound as warm and organic as the blue channel on my standard 6L6. It is like the blue channel sounds metal versus rock . I'm still getting used to it though and haven't even checked the bias or the tubes, etc. It still sounds good but trying to figure out where to sit the eq. On my 6l6 standard, I put all of the eq knobs at 11 o'clock. I'm not sure where is a good spot to get close to my tones. Where do you have your eq set at on the amp to include presence and resonance?

Sounds killer though!! Just trying to tweak a bit. When I have the amp cranked up, noise won't be an issue with the gate I'm sure.

 

[Shask]

Hey brother! I'm still playing around with the amp and have had limited time with it but there is more low end earlier on the knob with the stealth and mids are not as pronounced. The same "tone" is there obviously and definition, etc but almost sounds like a 6L6 with the mids turned down to 9 o'clock, bass knob cranked, etc. Hard to explain. Both sound awesome though and love EVH amps. When I'm able to crank at band practice in a few weeks, will be a great test.

I keep the mids about 9 oclock and the bass cranked on my 6L6, so I guess it probably sounds like the Stealth, lol.

 

[romanianreaper]

I keep the mids about 9 oclock and the bass cranked on my 6L6, so I guess it probably sounds like the Stealth, lol.

Lol, there you go man. ? The DNA is obviously the same because they are both 5150-III amps but the Stealth just leans more darker, low mids, and heavier. The red channel sounds so great on the Stealth. I need to get a multimeter today and see where the tubes are sitting.