Difference between EVH Stealth and EVH 5150 III 50 watt
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the4thlast1
Well-known member
Ive had both of these amps at the same time. You will notice differences between the two at any volume. With that being said at lower volumes I think most would be happy with either one. It was at band volume in a live mix that I much prefer the 100w heads (Ive also had the original 100w) The 50watt model at those volumes does not sound as big and fat on the lowend.
I have both and prefere the 50 watt over the stealth. I basically use the blue channel for everything. The blue channel on the stealth is also awesome. I get plenty of low end out my 50 watt at all levels of volume. I play through evh 2x12 and 4x12 cabs. The 50 watt sounds great with both cabs. I don't like the way the 100 watt stealth sounds through the EVH 2 x 12. The Stealth is basically a hot rodded virsion and has a little bit more of everything. If the stealth had midi it would be the perfect amp. It has a certain treble bite to it that can not be dialed out. I put lower gain preamp tubes in mine and it smoothed it out a bit and the red channel wasn't so in your face. As far as bedroom level goes the 50 watt sounds really good. The stealth is a bit buzzy at bedroom volume.I also have the 2x12 combo and I really like that amp at bedroom volumes. It has the built in variac.That is a really cool feature. I however do not like the combo amp at band level. To me the low end is not there even using the 4x12 cab the mojo just wasn't there compared to the heads. The regular 100 watt head I also had and I did not care for and sold it. The gain on the blue channel just didn't do it for me even with a boost in front of it. It always got lost in the mix for some reason even with the mids cranked.It could have been just that particular amp. If I had to choose I would get the 50 watt head. It has midi and is compact and has a certain low end punch and sounds great with everything set at noon.The stealth is a monster of an amp and has an absolute ball busting low end you can dial in. What ever EVH amp you choose,you can't go wrong. It is amazing that each model has its own flavor and has certain things that are different in each one however retaining the same gain foundation but in different formats. I have owned and have gigged every EVh amp and still prefer the 50 watt over all of them.
the4thlast1
Well-known member
8len8":xnrw6dqn said:
Exactly !
In my experience there was no question that the 50w version didn't have the balls at high volume the 100w heads have. This is not the case with a lot of other 50 watt amps though. So it must come down to the transformers. The 50w EVH was built to come in a small package for gigging players. If they built it in a larger package with same size tranny's there wouldn't be as much difference.
I also agree with the guy saying the Stealth has a bite in the treble that can be annyoing , I noticed it most at band volumes. Personally my favorite version is the original 100watt version not the stealth and not the 50w. I have not tried the EL34 version though.
the rossness
Well-known member
I own the 50 watt and had one of the original 100 watters. There is a big difference between them. The 50 sounds much better. My100 watter had an unuseable blue channel. I use the blue on my 50 watt all the time. The worst part of my 50 watt is the shared presence control. If there was a way to mod the amp for individual presence controls, I'd do it. I haven't tried the EL34 version yet.
the4thlast1
Well-known member
the rossness":2rwhbcj3 said:
If your 100w original head had a "unuseable" blue channel there must have been something wrong with it. A lot of people think that channel on that head is one of the best sounding tones out there. I would have liked a little more gain on that channel but either way Its a killer tone any way you slice it. The blue channel on the 100w Stealth was a little too over the top IMO, too much gain and compression. Then we have the 50w version which I would agree might have the best balance of added gain while not going to over the top. BUT the 50w does not have the balls , I know some dont feel that way but I also didnt feel this way until I got the amp out of my basement and into a good rehearsal space and compared it live with a band at high volume.
Its not a bad option dont get me wrong the 50w is also a great sounding head and its more compact size is appealing. Its gonna sound real good in a live setting at band volumes. I just prefer the extra balls the 100w has.
The Stealth is better overall. I love the 50w 5153 and the 100w a bit more than the 50w. However, the Stealth just has an amazing voicing and distortion. Whatever modifications they made to the Stealth, I never bothered to look into. All I know is that I've played the 50w & 100w side-by-side with the Stealth and the Stealth has the x-factor for me. There are some things about the 5153 that I like a little better, like maybe channel 1 is actually better than the Stealth's channel 1. The 50w gets a nice breakup on channel 1 at a lower volume than the Stealth. However, channels 2 & 3 on the Stealth are nearly up there with the legendary amps like the VH4, SLO... I really think it's almost that good.
Markmetalguitar
Member
Simply put the Stealth has a much more aggressive blue channel. The red channels on both are pretty comparable to one another. At lower volumes you’ll find yourself wanting to possibly add an overdrive on either. 5150’s are typically not “bedroom volume” friendly unless you run through a Captor X (highly recommended) to attenuated levels. Hope this helps!
7 Stringer
Well-known member
Yup, the blue channel on my 100w is soooo awesome. Very Marshall like but with a modern flair, love that channel. Boosted it gets crazy aggressive. It is so organic, oozes with tone. One of my favorite tones out there.
fek
Well-known member
I had a Stealth 50w for a while and it was good but there was something in the higher frequencies that I couldn't dial out. Personal preference of course because it would cut like nothing else if needed but I didn't want that much cut for me.
Sounds like the non Stealth version on the blue channel could be much more my speed. I am more of a Marshall gained up kind of guy. The Stealth had a bit too much of the higher end thing going on. For me anyway.
Sounds like the non Stealth version on the blue channel could be much more my speed. I am more of a Marshall gained up kind of guy. The Stealth had a bit too much of the higher end thing going on. For me anyway.
just42dave
Well-known member
quickest return I ever did was on the 50 watt EL34. IDK bout the stealth 6l6.
Speeddemon
Well-known member
This is no longer an issue with the newer versions of the 50W 6L6 head, since it has concenctric potmeters for gain and volume for the blue and green channels.
I have the older model without those and what I do is set Gain to about 7 (or 2 o' clock) which is a setting that gives me a great versatile blue channel tone, and a slightly dirty green channel. If I want/need pure clean, I use coil-splits on my guitars. All my guitars have 'em. Some pickups work better than others for it, but it has proven a good enough work-around for me.
If someone would offer me a no-cash-involved trade between their newer 6L6 and my older version, sure...but I can't be bothered to sell this one at a loss and fork up more dough for a newer one, when I *have* a work-around.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
So the Blue channels of the 50w 6L6 and 50w Stealth are almost identical. They absolutely have the same gain and aggression.
You are correct about the red channels all being similar.
Low volume vs high volume differences are minimal because the poweramp is intended to operate without breakup. Low volume control on the 50w amps is good, you absolutely do not need an attenuator. The comment about needing an overdrive for low volumes is not true.
People keep repeating the idea that the 50w Stealth is more aggressive than the 50w 6L6. It is not. The amps are almost identical in all channels. One is not more aggressive than the other. I have A/B’ed multiple instances of these amps and I can tell you the biggest difference between them is that the Stealth has external bias points and a black front panel.
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I’ve owned both the Stealth and regular 50 watt heads. I sold the stealth and kept the regular 50w. Except for the bias features the stealth didn’t really sound much different to me.
Right now my 50 watt 6L6 head is at Kaplan amp repair getting dual concentric EQ controls for the green/blue channels and bias points and trim pot added.
Right now my 50 watt 6L6 head is at Kaplan amp repair getting dual concentric EQ controls for the green/blue channels and bias points and trim pot added.
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
Exactly.
I bought a 50w 6L6 v2 head (concentric volume and gain pots) and by happenstance ended up with two new 50w Stealth heads at my studio shortly after that. I A/B/C'ed all three amps closely over several days and they really, truly are practically identical. One of the Stealths was just a bit fatter pre-distortion in the low end than the 50w 6L6, and the other was just a bit thinner, with the 50w 6L6 v2 sitting squarely in the middle of both of them. Other than that, the amps were effectively identical. Identical gain levels, identical gain characteristics, identical EQ signature, identical compression, identical everything. On all channels at almost all settings.
The ONLY real consistent difference I could find between the two amps was that on the Blue channel, when the Gain is set all the way down to between 0 and 1, the Stealth is very slightly more compressed and the 50w 6L6 has very slightly more extended presency treble. They are identical at all other Gain settings, and I cannot stress enough that the difference was so slight, at a setting almost nobody will probably ever actually use, that I could barely detect it even when A/B'ing in an isolated studio environment.
I am convinced that any real tonal difference between any single 50w 6L6 and 50w Stealth comes down to component manufacturing tolerances. I'd even go so far as to say that the only reason both of these amps are being made at the same time is so people who like the 100w 6L6 or 100w Stealth can be given the option of buying "the same" amp as their preferred 100w counterpart in a 50w package.
So basically, while the original 5153 100w 6L6 and 5153 100w Stealth amps are different, the 50w 6L6 v2 and 50w Stealth amps are not.
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