EVH Stealth - cold bias from the factory?

[guitarnate2000]

I know this has been beat to death.. but..

I just picked up a stealth two weeks ago. I was not liking it 100% vs the other ones I have had previously; however, this is the first 50 watt that I owned.

I decided to check the bias yesterday

clean channel volume and gain on 0

reading 26

I know Fender is supposedly shipping them with a cold bias to avoid the 90 day return period or whatever. but DAMN.. I wonder if this one slipped out like that? Or are they really shipping them that cold?

I increased it to 53. That seems to be the sweet spot. now it is a totally different amp. I literally can't stop pissing my family and animals off lol.. I have a quad of winged "c" 6L6's that I have been waiting for something cool to drop them into. I may throw a pair in for a go this week to see how they sound. I LOVE the 50 watt. I loved the 100 Watt but there is just something I can't really explain but I am definitely more partial to the 50.

 

[romanianreaper]

I know this has been beat to death.. but..

I just picked up a stealth two weeks ago. I was not liking it 100% vs the other ones I have had previously; however, this is the first 50 watt that I owned.

I decided to check the bias yesterday

clean channel volume and gain on 0

reading 26

I know Fender is supposedly shipping them with a cold bias to avoid the 90 day return period or whatever. but DAMN.. I wonder if this one slipped out like that? Or are they really shipping them that cold?

I increased it to 53. That seems to be the sweet spot. now it is a totally different amp. I literally can't stop pissing my family and animals off lol.. I have a quad of winged "c" 6L6's that I have been waiting for something cool to drop them into. I may throw a pair in for a go this week to see how they sound. I LOVE the 50 watt. I loved the 100 Watt but there is just something I can't really explain but I am definitely more partial to the 50.

Dude, night and day after a rebias. Trust me!! I love my 50w stealth after I biased it. If you look thru my posts, I should have something about it. Super easy to do too. Took me no time and the sound was warm, inspiring, etc. I went from "meh, amp is ok to holy crap I love this amp"

There is a youtube vid about this too. I wish I could remember my settings but I'll try to find it. I thought it was 59 for the pair?

 

[romanianreaper]

Here is a video a guy did that is really helpful. I remember mine being really cold too. So handy biasing from the outside of thr chassis.

 

[griff10672]

what's the plate voltage ?

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I plan on doing this to my EVH combo when it arrives this week. Been wanting to check the bias and know I have to pull the chassis to do so.

 

[guitarnate2000]

Here is a video a guy did that is really helpful. I remember mine being really cold too. So handy biasing from the outside of thr chassis.

Yes! I saw this one.. that same day I placed an order for the stuff he was using from Amazon. I agree man. two TOTALLY different amps when biased correctly. it really contends with a lot of the boutique heads I have owned. I mean seriously contends.

now if I could get me headrush pedalboard to switch the channels on that bastard, I'd be set!

 

[Racerxrated]

Similar to an SLO, the EVH amps seem to like somewhere between 28-32ma per tube.

 

[romanianreaper]

I plan on doing this to my EVH combo when it arrives this week. Been wanting to check the bias and know I have to pull the chassis to do so.

I like the stealth version for this reason. I remember biasing amps years ago and was terrified of being inside the chassis. Wasn't hard but just had to stay focused and safe.

 

[Meanjoegreene]

So in regards to the stealth or other amps in general do y’all think they’re straight up biased cold or kinda tuned to be biased cold ?

Like the designers come up with a badass amp at within normal range and then the companies make it a tad colder for warranty reasons thinking it’ll sound close enough to the optimal range while protecting themselves.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I like the stealth version for this reason. I remember biasing amps years ago and was terrified of being inside the chassis. Wasn't hard but just had to stay focused and safe.

Splawns weren't that bad at all...Once Scott told me where to go and what to turn, but warned me, I was fine and could bias Splawns no problem....I'm gonna have to figure out where shit is on the EVH....haha I will probably email Howard, as I've talked to him before...

 

[guitarnate2000]

Splawns weren't that bad at all...Once Scott told me where to go and what to turn, but warned me, I was fine and could bias Splawns no problem....I'm gonna have to figure out where shit is on the EVH....haha I will probably email Howard, as I've talked to him before...

Scott is awesome. I had a quickrod for quite a while and loved it. on my list to add back someday.

 

[romanianreaper]

Splawns weren't that bad at all...Once Scott told me where to go and what to turn, but warned me, I was fine and could bias Splawns no problem....I'm gonna have to figure out where shit is on the EVH....haha I will probably email Howard, as I've talked to him before...

Listen, you can't utter any amp in the same sentence as our beloved Splawn Competition....lol

Yeah I think it was a JVM I may have biased but has been years. All I know is whatever amp it was, I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando" trying to get past the capacitors so I wouldn't die.

 

[romanianreaper]

So in regards to the stealth or other amps in general do y’all think they’re straight up biased cold or kinda tuned to be biased cold ?

Like the designers come up with a badass amp at within normal range and then the companies make it a tad colder for warranty reasons thinking it’ll sound close enough to the optimal range while protecting themselves.

I think amps are probably biased out of the factory pretty good across the board. Maybe they don't mess with the Stealth because they know with that option, most folks will want to immediately check it since it is safe and easy. My other 6l6 50 standard sounded great right away and I haven't ever checked the bias.

I wonder if the average Joe would even notice. I've been playing since 85' and have chased tone for years. My ears will immediately pickup on harsh tones but a teenager just starting out might not. Another side note too, other than practice, I play pretty quiet in the house. Turned up with tubes pushed, I may not have noticed as much.

 

[guitarnate2000]

So in regards to the stealth or other amps in general do y’all think they’re straight up biased cold or kinda tuned to be biased cold ?

Like the designers come up with a badass amp at within normal range and then the companies make it a tad colder for warranty reasons thinking it’ll sound close enough to the optimal range while protecting themselves.

I think large manufacturers such as Fender, sell it biased cold specifically to avoid early warranties.

Most folks will probably just play the head forever, and not pay attention to biasing. I know a ton of guys that play tube amps that don't know what in the hell bias is, at all.

It's folks that are in the know that research stuff like this, then they get an amp and can sense something is just off a bit..

Just my opinion. I think I am fairly spot on.

case in point- I knew a guy that would switch the toggle between EL34 and 6L6 on his Mesa all the time not know what in the hell it was. when I told him you need to actually replace the power tubes with the flavor you want to switch over to, he looked like he'd seen his first pair of tits. dumbfounded.