EVH 50 Stealth - Worth pulling the trigger?

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napalmdeath

napalmdeath

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So those who have played/owned one, is it THAT much better than the regular 6L6?? I do like the regular blue, but I thought it was a little bland at times. I often wished it was a bit more articulate, a little angrier.. I know red's gonna be red.. But, is it different?

I've got the funds.. I found a great deal on another Thrasher as well, and I do love that amp.

What else is out there for $1200-ish?? I prefer the smaller footprint/big bottles. I contemplated another 2525H as well. Another great sounding amp!
 
Got a buddy that's owned all the iterations multiple times and kept going back to the 5150 II; seriously he’s owned that amp like 50 times among a shit ton of others.

He got the Stealth and loves it to death, sold his last 5150 II combo that he's used for shows and recording and didn't look back. He's amazed with it, and knowing this dude it's that much better. @rbasaria
 
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napalmdeath said:
So those who have played/owned one, is it THAT much better than the regular 6L6?? I do like the regular blue, but I thought it was a little bland at times. I often wished it was a bit more articulate, a little angrier.. I know red's gonna be red.. But, is it different?

I've got the funds.. I found a great deal on another Thrasher as well, and I do love that amp.

What else is out there for $1200-ish?? I prefer the smaller footprint/big bottles. I contemplated another 2525H as well. Another great sounding amp!
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Short answer, no. The changes are very small. You likely wouldn't notice them in a mix or band setting.

Slighlty more low and high mids, not as nasal as the regular 6L6, slightly more clarity. Notice: I'm using slightly because the differences truly are slight.
 
It's been a bit since I owned the original 6l6 one but just playing it for a bit at GC a few weeks ago I was pretty impressed. Thought the clean channel was chimey with the gain turned up to noon, blue was dry tight and clear as was the red. One of the biggest differences with the red in this one is it has more useable gain I felt. Was playing an import Jackson with Dimarzio D-Activators in it. It was hooked up to a Friedman 2x12 (I believe with G12M-65's).

Once I get a new electric I want to spend some more time with one. Seems like the Stealth paired with an HX-FX or FM3 would cover all your needs.
 
It is my favorite of the bunch. I thought all the changes were positives and made the amp better. I didn't dislike any of the other models/versions, I just like this one best. YMMV
 
I own it. No, didn't own any of the other EVH models but very familiar with them. And I did play the original 5150 for a decade plus, was my main amp from about early 90's to 2000's. And had been wanting to venture down that path again for the fun of it.

I like the Stealth. Clean - I personally think it's a great clean channel. Not as good a my Fryette but a great punchy clean. Blue - I can see why people love boosting this channel, but really it doesn't need it. Lots of usable gain. Red - well, it delivers the gain. Less articulate than the blue but it's all there, and useable IMO.

It's fun bouncing from my Marshall to this and the bloom of the 6L6's after playing 34's for the last decade plus. I think it's totally worth it plus it has midi. Lately I've gone through a few amps Engl Artist, Mezzabarba Trinity for example just for the fun of it and I like this one the most in terms of gain + tone ratio. It's a fun amp.
 
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I've yet to hear a 5153 clip that makes me want to buy one, but have heard a few EL34 50 watt clips that caught my ear for a second.
 
napalmdeath said:
I've been tempted by that one as well, but alot say that the blue channel sounded like doodoo..
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Blue channel is flubby and muddy on the EL34 until you do the C137 mod, which is literally clip a leg on the capacitor, that's it.

I love the EL34 blue now that I did the mod, but again, not a massive difference between any of them.
 
I sold mine two days after buying it new and and kept my original 50 watt 6L6.

Toss an EQ pedal in the loop and this amp opens up a lot. Add a TS9 in front too and you're set on the blue channel.
 
I've owned the 100w 6L6, 50w EL34 and now own the stealth. Its definitely the best iteration of the series IMO. I agree with Kyle, its less honky than the standard model. Still has an abundance of mids if you want but less intrusive and more manageable than the original. The blue channel is mean like you are looking for. Plenty of tight low end punch with the resonance past noon. Very fun amp to play due to the feel. One of the very few amps I've played that doesn't need a boost for that feel we like from an overdrive pedal.

On another note, I'm confused to who started the whole blue channel on the EL34 model sucks. What internet YouTube gear reviewer sensation spread that? The blue channel mud/flub is greatly exaggerated. That amp smokes and sounds fine on all channels to me. Blue ch. is very useable. The C137 mod is even more greatly exaggerated. It does not change the character that drastically. It makes very little difference.
 
Purity said:
I've owned the 100w 6L6, 50w EL34 and now own the stealth. Its definitely the best iteration of the series IMO. I agree with Kyle, its less honky than the standard model. Still has an abundance of mids if you want but less intrusive and more manageable than the original. The blue channel is mean like you are looking for. Plenty of tight low end punch with the resonance past noon. Very fun amp to play due to the feel. One of the very few amps I've played that doesn't need a boost for that feel we like from an overdrive pedal.

On another note, I'm confused to who started the whole blue channel on the EL34 model sucks. What internet YouTube gear reviewer sensation spread that? The blue channel mud/flub is greatly exaggerated. That amp smokes and sounds fine on all channels to me. Blue ch. is very useable. The C137 mod is even more greatly exaggerated. It does not change the character that drastically. It makes very little difference.
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Truthfully, I disagree on the blue channel points for the el34. I thought it was bad, stock. Bad enough that after playing it, I had no desire to own it.

I didn't buy one until I found out about the c137, and knew I could do it myself. It's now more in line with the blue channels of the other 2 50w models, and sounds killer. I personally think the blue channel of all 3 50w sounds better to my ears with a boost, but in stock form, boosting the blue on the el34 didn't produce usable results for me.

To each their own of course, but I felt that channel wasn't good stock, and was drastically improved by the simple mod.
 
Purity said:
I've owned the 100w 6L6, 50w EL34 and now own the stealth. Its definitely the best iteration of the series IMO. I agree with Kyle, its less honky than the standard model. Still has an abundance of mids if you want but less intrusive and more manageable than the original. The blue channel is mean like you are looking for. Plenty of tight low end punch with the resonance past noon. Very fun amp to play due to the feel. One of the very few amps I've played that doesn't need a boost for that feel we like from an overdrive pedal.

On another note, I'm confused to who started the whole blue channel on the EL34 model sucks. What internet YouTube gear reviewer sensation spread that? The blue channel mud/flub is greatly exaggerated. That amp smokes and sounds fine on all channels to me. Blue ch. is very useable. The C137 mod is even more greatly exaggerated. It does not change the character that drastically. It makes very little difference.
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I see it happen all the time. People hear what other people think they hear.
 
I bought one from a member here. Awesome amp! Whats not to like - midi too. Do it!!!
 
thenine said:
I bought one from a member here. Awesome amp! Whats not to like - midi too. Do it!!!
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Blue channel is definitely more aggressive than the original 50, no? I think I'm going to order one today.
 
I’ve had several of the other versions (original Vietnam version, 50W combo, 100 El-34). Out of all of them, I loved the Stealth 50w version. It’s a great amp!
 
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