Long term 5153 stealth owners (or why did you flip it?)

[Speeddemon]

What is it about the red channel that people dislike?
I've played thru Stealths many times and I absolutely love the red channel. No need for boosts and it's sooo easy to play.
I keep the gain on my 5150 at 7 or 8 when using it. Maybe I'm just nuts or something... *shrug*

The insane amount of gain and the cloinky/plasticky honk in the mids.

Yes, stock with the gain knob on 7 or 8 would be insane for me.
But that's why I figured I can lower it with some tube rolling and shift the whole gain range of the knob.
Say that stock goes from '2' to '12' on the gain knobs' range, with two 5751's it shifts to 0-10.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I have an OG 5150, a Stealth 100, a Stealth 100 EL34, and a 50w 6L6.

If I'm recording and have access to all the boosts, pre-EQ, and post-EQ around, there's a good chance I'm going with the OG 5150. But if I'm playing live, both the Stealth 100 and Stealth 100 EL34 sound better to me straight out of the box so I'm taking one of those because it means less gear to haul around.

Random wankery on OG Peavey 5150 with a RAT as a boost and post-EQ'd to balance it out:



The OG is less filtered so you can do more with it, and overall it has something happening in the extended sub-lows that gives it a weight and thud that's really cool. However, overall EQ wise it's pretty centered / prominent in the stuffy low mids area, even with the Mids scooped pretty hard. The Stealths by contrast are more filtered and don't have the same sub-low thud as the OG, but their overall EQ signatures are much more balanced.

The Red channels on the 5150 III 100's are honky with the Gain set low because of how aggressively they're filtered, but setting the Gain high enough will help smooth out the honk, however by that point you're running a truly batshit amount of gain so be ready for that. You can apply your own boost or pre-EQ to smooth out the honk as well:




I think my favorite amp of all of them really depends on what day it is. Currently it's the 100w EL34. It has more present and crispier upper mids than the Stealth 100 without those mids taking over and making the amp sound small or narrow.

Also, the 5153 50w is one of the best deals in high gain tube amps that exists. Crazy good value. The Stealth 100's do sound different. They don't necessarily have more lows, but the 100 watt amps' lows extend farther down. Other than that they're pretty similar.

The Iconic 6L6 is also great, but I'd go for the Iconic EL34 between the two. The Iconic 6L6 has some harshness in the highs, and the Iconic EL34 seems to have addressed that.

These amps are not my go-to favorite amps for high gain, but the OG 5150 is as popular as it is for a reason, and with enough pre and post stuff, it can still sound as good as anything. The 5153's are really good in their own right too. I like them for what they are and I have no plans to get rid of them.

 

[SonVolt]

I've been very impressed with the Peavey "1992 Original" reissue. It's not near as compressed as the EVH 5150's I've played through... and it's relatively cheap for a 120w all-tube amp.

 

[SFW]

I've had my stealth for about two years now. Had the original 5130 III 100 head for five years before that. I find it to be a super versatile amp in a live situation. Sits very well in a mix. I find all three channel very usable. Though I keep the gain knob on the red channel around 11:00.

Here a live clip form a couple of years ago.

 

[jabps]

I've had the Stealth for a few years and I just haven't bonded with it. I love the OG 5150, still one of my most fav amps I've ever owned but the Stealth, sounds good for a bit to me but after awhile there's this mid thing happening that starts bothering me. Sorta like a cover over everything for lack of a better term. Someone before said plasticky and I agree, and once I hit that mark where I notice I can't play it anymore.

Maybe one day I actually sell it and buy the OG Original but just been to lazy to deal with it.

 

[PBGas]

In your purple Rack-Head?

Yup!

 

[Simon Dorn]

Yup!

Nice

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

I've had the Stealth for a few years and I just haven't bonded with it. I love the OG 5150, still one of my most fav amps I've ever owned but the Stealth, sounds good for a bit to me but after awhile there's this mid thing happening that starts bothering me. Sorta like a cover over everything for lack of a better term. Someone before said plasticky and I agree, and once I hit that mark where I notice I can't play it anymore.

Maybe one day I actually sell it and buy the OG Original but just been to lazy to deal with it.

I feel the same way about the OG Peavey 5150 vs Peavey 5150 II

 

[PurityS.L.G]

For straight up tone the Iconic SMOKES the Stealth.

I wouldn't say smoke it but it can certainly sound better and beat out the stealth in some instances paired with the right cab of course. Maybe we are all used to the James Brown signature sound?

At any rate, I actually dig the stealth in both 6L6 and EL34 iterations. They both have a huge low end, cutting highs but the midrange is where they lose it I feel. Depending on what guitar/pickup config you're using, it can sound mean or it can sound synthetic. Its one of the weirdest amps I've owned, and that was my personal reason for selling it. I wouldn't kick it out of bed to use for a recording or a gig, I'll leave it at that.

 

[jabps]

I feel the same way about the OG Peavey 5150 vs Peavey 5150 II

Yeah on the III Stealth, it's like I can't dig in with the mids while playing. It's like this weird sensation where say on my Marshall, it works with you, allows you to feel the notes whereas on the III, it's like a gloss. I can hear it but I can't feel it in my playing.

I know that sounds completely weird but no other way to explain it. And no, I never felt that on the OG. Btw/ I never cared for the OG II.

 

[angelspade]

I owned the EVH 100W Stealth for about 3 years...A very good amp, but maybe not a great one for the reasons stated by many others here: There just seems to be something missing in terms of midrange character and organic feel. I see them used in LA between $1,200 and$1,600. I think it's a lot of amp for that money...Good build quality, reliable and flexible.

 

[TheMadMonk]

I've had a few and always end up moving them on. The red channel is borderline unusable and could never get the mids to sit quite right. I've owned pretty much every amp in the 5150 line and my favorite is actually the EL34 Iconic for some reason.

 

[The~Kid]

The way I see it they aren't bad but yeah as others have noted it's not really a 5150 and a 6505 by Peavey is more like a real 5150.......



Plus they are made in Mexico, so for that price why isn't it made in America/USA. They aren't bad but IMO there just isn't anything amazing about them. The 5150 Iconic IMO is a better amp and that's probably because J Brown was there for that one. It also cost way less and has a noise gate built in.

The Iconic sounds more like a real 5150 IMO