Soooo... Will the EVH 5150-III Stealth Blow My Skirt Up?

[Moshaholic]

I have noticed the clean breaks up really early too. I have an early model 100 watt and a newer model 100 and the 50 watt and the new stealth. The stealth clean channel definitely breaks up early. I have it on 1 whereas on my other 2 100 watters and 50 watt I keep it about 9-10 oclock. It's still clean but I'm having to back the gain way down compared to the other amps.

Yep, exactly where i have my gain knob dialed at too.

Does it still have the same clean sound but just that the gain knob needs to be lower?

As long as it`s a clean clean, i`m OK with that.

Maybe a pre tube swap might be in effect

Chris

It is clean but depending on the guitar I could feel it "pushing" a bit...

Humbuckers like in a les paul in the middle position were not doing it for me neither in my charvel with 3 way switching either...

If you totally love the amp this might not be a big deal... for me it was.

I cant wait to go home and spank the Suhr in about 15 min on my JVM's!

I have a cool wet dry rig doing with two JVM 210 heads wired up in midi... love it.

 

[7 Stringer]

I have noticed the clean breaks up really early too. I have an early model 100 watt and a newer model 100 and the 50 watt and the new stealth. The stealth clean channel definitely breaks up early. I have it on 1 whereas on my other 2 100 watters and 50 watt I keep it about 9-10 oclock. It's still clean but I'm having to back the gain way down compared to the other amps.

Yep, exactly where i have my gain knob dialed at too.

Does it still have the same clean sound but just that the gain knob needs to be lower?

As long as it`s a clean clean, i`m OK with that.

Maybe a pre tube swap might be in effect

Chris

It is clean but depending on the guitar I could feel it "pushing" a bit...

Humbuckers like in a les paul in the middle position were not doing it for me neither in my charvel with 3 way switching either...

If you totally love the amp this might not be a big deal... for me it was.

I cant wait to go home and spank the Suhr in about 15 min on my JVM's!

I have a cool wet dry rig doing with two JVM 210 heads wired up in midi... love it.

Yeah i get the pushing a bit description, but it might work for me, we`ll see. I`m also running a W/D/W setup so the cleans get a big push from the chorus and delays, should be OK.

So it sounds quite close to the 50 watts i assume, witch is a good thing, i guess. I had a 50 for a while and really loved it, just missed the seperate EQ`s.

Go jam those amps man, enjoy.

Chris

 

[nevusofota]

My EVH 50 watt just seems to have a nicer clean channel and seems much smoother (or possibly less brighter) of an amp compared to this amp and I have other amps that I really like more than this amp as well.

Hmm....

That's interesting. I was frustrated that I saved money for the little 50W and now appears a big monster like Stealth... after reading your impressions I just start to feel better

To be honest as a software systems architect different stakeholders will see the exact same solution and yet the encounter will yield different results.

In the same sense peoples perceptions on guitars amps can be very differing as well. I spent some time with the amp trying out different cabs and guitars and that was with I came away with. Some people might like the early breakup on the clean channel. It was mentioned in the other stealth thread but I did not think it was going be so severe. You need to like have the gain on 1 and crank up the post volume a bit to get it really loud.

People did also mention in the other thread about it being bright or plexish in some ways. I found some definite truth to this.

I think depending on what cabs you have might not notice the brightness thing or you might love it.

Based upon my findings, I would not recommend a front loaded cab for this amp and I have 3 of them... lol.

Again these are just my opinions from trying it out...YMMV

This is pure speculation but I wonder if to increase the gain on channel 2 meant increased gain on channel 1. All 5150III design has channels 1 and 2 share the same preamp cascade and channel 3 having its own. So you may not be able to change channel 2 without affecting channel 1.

The 100s would truly not be my thing if it's brighter than the standard 100 (as stated). I've always felt the standard to be very bright, and at volume I don't take the highs past 10:00.

What's your take on the "revoiced" channel 2? Have the mids changed dramatically? I can't wait for someone to post a clip comparing channel 2 of the 100 and 100s.

 

[SFW]

When I first got my 5150 III, I was just floored by how bright the amp was. I had been playing a Hughes & Kettner TriAmp Mk I for five years before I bought the 53. The TriAmp is very warm and large sounding. It took be a while to really get use to the 53's brightness. Now it's not a problem for me. I don't think I could do any more brightness. Granted, if I were going to buy another amp, it would not be another 5150 III.

 

[eddyrox]

Hi Moshaholic, glad you received your 100S safely given the weather!
It's too bad you're not "feeling" the 100S like you were lead to believe.

I like bright (as opposed to darker) sounding amps (Diezel Herbert). I also hate amps that are "too stiff" wherein I'm fighting the immediacy of the string attack (or lack of sag (latency)).

In fact, I use a PV 5150 (75W spkrs) to play my 5150's, and I've got all of the versions of the 5150 So, I'm definitely a Soldano-kinda guy.
That being said, the 100S has gain, probably too much for some. And I also know that my (Soldano) buds will state that the "clarity on the note" is problematic (they say this on every hi-gain head I've got BTW). Fukkkk them

Regarding the "lack" of clean, I just played the 100S on my funk/cover gig last weekend - and it fared well. Gain level set at 9-10 o'clock.
Not Roland JC120 mind you, but not SRV break up either
Pigtronix EP2, Guyatone WR5, EVH wah (of course) and a Diamond Compressor all pumped through the front input. Now, please note you gotta manage the pickup choice (using the split mode on my Anderson H1- or the SF1), and I run a ISP Decimator G-string II in the loop.

But, as we've stated, the reason I pulled the trigger 2x on this head was the 2nd Blue channel. That's quickly become my channel "of choice".

I get the Zakk/Dime/Akira squeals, but without the "intense" hair on the note that other amps needed to spark like the 100S does.

I also dial in Bohemian Rhapsody (vox-ish) and the "What About Love"/"Alone" tones (Heart/Howard Leese) solo tones without re-EQ'ing the amp. Again Blue channel and those songs are definitely NOT considered high gain/modern metal by any stretch. It's far from an exact replication, but the notes ring out like bells.

Again everyone's MMV.

 

[eddyrox]

The 100s would truly not be my thing if it's brighter than the standard 100 (as stated). I've always felt the standard to be very bright, and at volume I don't take the highs past 10:00.

I think you're asking the OP on his opinion, so apologies for jumping in.
I too have the 50W mini, the original 5153 and now the 100S.
the revoicing of Ch2 is perfect, and IMHO is not brighter than that of the original 5153.
with the new re-voicing, and the addition of post-EQ resonance controls, IMHO, the 100S is "darker" than the original 5153, but not so much so as to reduce the cut in a band mix.

 

[nevusofota]

The 100s would truly not be my thing if it's brighter than the standard 100 (as stated). I've always felt the standard to be very bright, and at volume I don't take the highs past 10:00.

I think you're asking the OP on his opinion, so apologies for jumping in.
I too have the 50W mini, the original 5153 and now the 100S.
the revoicing of Ch2 is perfect, and IMHO is not brighter than that of the original 5153.
with the new re-voicing, and the addition of post-EQ resonance controls, IMHO, the 100S is "darker" than the original 5153, but not so much so as to reduce the cut in a band mix.

Thanks for the input
I have a very early standard 100 (when it came w/ EHX and Sovtek tubes, its been my main amp since 2007) and a 50w w/ matching 2x12 for smaller gigs. I like the 100 over the 50w. I'm debating picking up a 100s but need a reason to pull the trigger. I love channel 2 of my 100. I stay on it 75% of the time, adding a Maxon OD9 for sustain and attack on leads. I'm not a huge fan of channel 3 on any of the versions. It's way too compressed and gets lost in the mix. From what I've heard of the 100s in clips so far it doesn't seem worth the effort. I wish my GC had one in stock to try.

 

[jlbaxe]

The 100s would truly not be my thing if it's brighter than the standard 100 (as stated). I've always felt the standard to be very bright, and at volume I don't take the highs past 10:00.

I think you're asking the OP on his opinion, so apologies for jumping in.
I too have the 50W mini, the original 5153 and now the 100S.
the revoicing of Ch2 is perfect, and IMHO is not brighter than that of the original 5153.
with the new re-voicing, and the addition of post-EQ resonance controls, IMHO, the 100S is "darker" than the original 5153, but not so much so as to reduce the cut in a band mix.

Thanks for the input
I have a very early standard 100 (when it came w/ EHX and Sovtek tubes, its been my main amp since 2007) and a 50w w/ matching 2x12 for smaller gigs. I like the 100 over the 50w. I'm debating picking up a 100s but need a reason to pull the trigger. I love channel 2 of my 100. I stay on it 75% of the time, adding a Maxon OD9 for sustain and attack on leads. I'm not a huge fan of channel 3 on any of the versions. It's way too compressed and gets lost in the mix. From what I've heard of the 100s in clips so far it doesn't seem worth the effort. I wish my GC had one in stock to try.

The glen burnie GC hardly has anything good anymore Towson didnt seem much different.

 

[nevusofota]

The 100s would truly not be my thing if it's brighter than the standard 100 (as stated). I've always felt the standard to be very bright, and at volume I don't take the highs past 10:00.

I think you're asking the OP on his opinion, so apologies for jumping in.
I too have the 50W mini, the original 5153 and now the 100S.
the revoicing of Ch2 is perfect, and IMHO is not brighter than that of the original 5153.
with the new re-voicing, and the addition of post-EQ resonance controls, IMHO, the 100S is "darker" than the original 5153, but not so much so as to reduce the cut in a band mix.

Thanks for the input
I have a very early standard 100 (when it came w/ EHX and Sovtek tubes, its been my main amp since 2007) and a 50w w/ matching 2x12 for smaller gigs. I like the 100 over the 50w. I'm debating picking up a 100s but need a reason to pull the trigger. I love channel 2 of my 100. I stay on it 75% of the time, adding a Maxon OD9 for sustain and attack on leads. I'm not a huge fan of channel 3 on any of the versions. It's way too compressed and gets lost in the mix. From what I've heard of the 100s in clips so far it doesn't seem worth the effort. I wish my GC had one in stock to try.

The glen burnie GC hardly has anything good anymore Towson didnt seem much different.

I know, the inventory at both stores has been really poor the last 2 years. I frequent the Towson store since it's about 25 minutes from me. I guess they're trying to keep overhead as low as possible. I went there in 2007 to buy an SLO and walked out with the EVH You will never see a new SLO on the floor of a GC now. Hell, its rare to see an EVH anymore.

 

[Badronald]

You guys give me a good laugh.

People buying the "latest and greatest" only to sell it a few days later.

 

[7 Stringer]

You guys give me a good laugh.

People buying the "latest and greatest" only to sell it a few days later.

A few days you say, make that the next day!!!!!!! Cough,Moshaholic,cough,cough.........

He's giving me gas pains, and I mean real gas.....

 

[Moshaholic]

Hi Moshaholic, glad you received your 100S safely given the weather!
It's too bad you're not "feeling" the 100S like you were lead to believe.

I like bright (as opposed to darker) sounding amps (Diezel Herbert). I also hate amps that are "too stiff" wherein I'm fighting the immediacy of the string attack (or lack of sag (latency)).

In fact, I use a PV 5150 (75W spkrs) to play my 5150's, and I've got all of the versions of the 5150 So, I'm definitely a Soldano-kinda guy.
That being said, the 100S has gain, probably too much for some. And I also know that my (Soldano) buds will state that the "clarity on the note" is problematic (they say this on every hi-gain head I've got BTW). Fukkkk them

Regarding the "lack" of clean, I just played the 100S on my funk/cover gig last weekend - and it fared well. Gain level set at 9-10 o'clock.
Not Roland JC120 mind you, but not SRV break up either
Pigtronix EP2, Guyatone WR5, EVH wah (of course) and a Diamond Compressor all pumped through the front input. Now, please note you gotta manage the pickup choice (using the split mode on my Anderson H1- or the SF1), and I run a ISP Decimator G-string II in the loop.

But, as we've stated, the reason I pulled the trigger 2x on this head was the 2nd Blue channel. That's quickly become my channel "of choice".

I get the Zakk/Dime/Akira squeals, but without the "intense" hair on the note that other amps needed to spark like the 100S does.

I also dial in Bohemian Rhapsody (vox-ish) and the "What About Love"/"Alone" tones (Heart/Howard Leese) solo tones without re-EQ'ing the amp. Again Blue channel and those songs are definitely NOT considered high gain/modern metal by any stretch. It's far from an exact replication, but the notes ring out like bells.

Again everyone's MMV.

My cabs probably are not the best match for this amp, I wish I has the matching evh cab to try this amp out with

As for your funk gig, were you using all single coils?

At 9:00 the gain on my stealth was way broken up for a clean channel, it was like a boosted clean amp with a tube screamer.

I could not deal with it at all with my les paul or my charvel, I needed the gain at like at 7:00 to even come close to the clean channel of my other amps and had to use the neck pickup on my EJ Strat.

The 50 watt EVH clean is much more to my liking and more usable. than this amp.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

My Stealth will arrive Monday. I expect the improvement of the Stealth to be basically the 50 watt blue channel now in the 100 watt head. I find my 5153s to be particular about cabs. I like the 2x12 EVH cab better than the 4x12 so far and sometimes prefer my Splawn cab with the 5153. In a nutshell Im hoping to be done chasing improvements on the 5153 after the Stealth arrives. If I could get by with the clean channel/shared eq on the 50 watt I would have never bought the 100 watt. Now im in for the Stealth to try and get the best of the 50watt and 100 watt in yet another incantation of the 5153.

I hope to be done chasing improvements on the EVH line once my Stealth arrives. With the limited number of them you can bet that if the Stealth does not get launched as the new standard 5153 then there will certainly be a " 5154" on the horizon. I have no plans of buying into anything more. If they dont get it right on the Stealth then Im done.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I like how you try to hypnotize yourself out of GAS
If a 5154 comes out and is more "organic", all that logic goes out the window

 

[stompboxfreak72]

I like how you try to hypnotize yourself out of GAS
If a 5154 comes out and is more "organic", all that logic goes out the window

Did you say more "organic" ? Oh shit…I better start saving !

 

[eddyrox]

My cabs probably are not the best match for this amp, I wish I has the matching evh cab to try this amp out with

I totally agree speakers make all the difference! In fact my Mesa 212 (V30's) are too middy (for me) and I basically use it as a dolly for my amps I still have a FL VHT cab with Eminence Tonkers which is also function as an amp stand on wheels.

The EVH5153 412 doesn't work for me for the sole reason that it's not tight enough, and the mids are too round for my taste.
Yes agree that with a bright amp like the SLO or the 5153, you should tame that top end with a good speaker (V30's record great IMHO). BUT, for my everyday shit, I'm all over the PV5150 412 (I know it's reputation). But there's just the right amount of tight low, and "give" for me. YMMV.

As for your funk gig, were you using all single coils?

100% affirmative as soon as I go full h/b, the amp will break up in Ch1, even at 9 o'clock.

At 9:00 the gain on my stealth was way broken up for a clean channel, it was like a boosted clean amp with a tube screamer.
I could not deal with it at all with my les paul or my charvel, I needed the gain at like at 7:00 to even come close to the clean channel of my other amps and had to use the neck pickup on my EJ Strat.

yup, my experience similarly, which is why I used the s/c or split h/b on my Anderson. The Anderson p/ups are pretty hot, which is probably similar to your LP if you've got the 490R or the JB in the Charvel. But I'm also all over the volume knob, ala Jeff Beck, and am constantly fucking with the tone knob while I'm playing. When you couple all of that with the ISP's I use, the amp is pretty tamed down, which I why I probably don't have an issue with the Green Channel of any of the 5153's or even the clean on the 5152.

The 50 watt EVH clean is much more to my liking and more usable. than this amp.

funny enough, I'm the exact opposite regarding the 5153 mini.
When I'm in channel 1, I want the volume of the Green mode to be louder and the Blue mode to be less loud, since i have tendency to switch between the 2 modes within the same song. For example, if we're playing "Crazy Lil Thing Called Love" or "Here for the Party", I want to go from clean (slight grit, but not quite TS grit) for the verses, a bit dirty for the chorus, and raging 80's (DeMartini, Paul Gilbert, Akira Takasaki) on the solos, and back to the clean again. Sometimes I'll load the front input with the Diamond Compressor, but a total channel change usually does the trick.

Again it's all about how we intend to utilize the gear

 

[eddyrox]

My Stealth will arrive Monday. I expect the improvement of the Stealth to be basically the 50 watt blue channel now in the 100 watt head.

I think you'll dig it. I find it to be quite similar, and it responds similarly to the various cabs, ala the 5150 mini (EVH12-20, T75, V30, PV Sheffields, even my alnico blues)

I hope to be done chasing improvements on the EVH line once my Stealth arrives. With the limited number of them you can bet that if the Stealth does not get launched as the new standard 5153 then there will certainly be a " 5154" on the horizon. I have no plans of buying into anything more. If they dont get it right on the Stealth then Im done.

+100000
I cannot even imagine what other gain (casading, diode, bright cap, etc.) or other improvements could be implemented on this series. I'm extremely happy with the 5153 100S and feel like it's the pinnacle of the 5150 line (starting from the single channel PV5150 block logo) in terms of versatility and tone.

 

[mojotone]

As far as clean channel breakup goes, are you guys following this instruction in the manual?

"NOTE: For a cleaner sound from this channel, set the
VOLUME knob to its maximum, and start with the GAIN
control at a minimum setting, bringing it up to the desired
level"

Just curious.

 

[jlbaxe]

As far as clean channel breakup goes, are you guys following this instruction in the manual?

"NOTE: For a cleaner sound from this channel, set the
VOLUME knob to its maximum, and start with the GAIN
control at a minimum setting, bringing it up to the desired
level"

Just curious.

Thats kinda what I do for my 20th XTC Vol almost maxed and gain to control the volume.

 

[mojotone]

I just got a chance to crank it up loud through the 4x12 EVH cab. While I do not have any other 4x12 cabs to compare it to, I like what I am hearing. All this coming from a Mark series Boogie- EVM12L/MS-12 longtime player. Apples and Oranges, I guess.