EVH ICONIC VS. EVH STEALTH AMP SHOOTOUT!

[@craigharrison5406]

The Stealth is not only the best amp EVH makes, it's one of the best high gain amps out there period.

[@christopher.k.guitar]

Word!

[@TheCyberMantis]

It sounds great, but the build-quality is crap.

[@craigharrison5406]

@@TheCyberMantis What are you basing that on? Mine has had zero problems in 2 years and I have never heard of anyone elses failing. I'm talking about the latest Stealth not the first run of the white 5153.

[@TheCyberMantis]

@@craigharrison5406 The 5153 is not the Stealth. I am not basing anything on anything. I watch amp tech repair videos. Amp techs work on all these amps. They show you inside the amp. They show you how they are built, and why they fail. Some of these guys have been doing this for over 30 years. A lot of these amp techs are older dudes. They have been working on these amps since the early Fender and Marshall days. Now they work on all this newer stuff. You would be shocked at how bad these things are designed and built. Unless you were an experienced electronics tech, you probably wouldn't even know. Just because you have had no problems in 2 years, does not mean your amp is built good. It will fail. It was not designed and built to last 30 years. It was designed to last 5 years. Maybe less if you abuse it. If you get 5 years out of it, maybe you think you got your moneys worth. Too many of them don't even last that long. Too much heat and high currents flying around inside them. Thin crappy PCB traces are way underrated for the current they are handling. Cheap components, stacked on top of each other. Plastic tube sockets, mounted directly to PCB boards. Output transformers running too high voltage. Adjustment pots soldered directly to cheap PCB's. Thin ribbon cables used for high current sections of the circuits. Cheap capacitors, resistors, and pots... just to save a few bucks over what should be used. Do you want me to continue? I think I have made my point. If you own one of these amps, you got ripped-off. Don't feel bad, how could you have known? Lots of people are getting ripped off, and I am mad about it. These companies always put profit above quality. They need to be exposed and held accountable for what they are doing. Best thing we can do is NOT buy their crappy products.

[@craigharrison5406]

@@TheCyberMantis LOL wtf are you talking about? amp tech videos? poor design? It's literally the best sounding amp I've played other than a Soldano SLO 100. If it was poorly designed it wouldn't sound as good as it does. I could care less about the type of resistor or capacitor it uses as long as it sounds amazing and like I said I don't know anyone who's Stealth has crapped out on them. So as I expected you offered zero evidence just "amp tech videos" so I looked it up and the first one I found was this video of an amp tech breaking down the amp and giving his review kzbin.info/www/bejne/joDMgqKelrmIpJI He has a different story than what you told me. Feel free to link me some of your "amp tech videos" that say the Stealth is poorly built and uses cheap parts.

[@dogse123]

I ended up getting the iconic about a week ago and so far I really am enjoying it! I’m never going to be in a pro touring band or needing anything crazy live so for my local band it works perfect! The stealth is sick but imo idk if it’s really worth the difference in price. Great video as always man!

[@ErrorlVlacro]

Yes it’s one of the best amps out there. It’s worth the money.

[@SamLibman]

That Iconic just has this texture that I find really satisfying.

[@richweber5256]

I have an Iconic. Love it, totally different sounding. I play with it and a Marshall Silver Jubilee 100 watt/2-12 , A/B for the best of both worlds ✊🏽

[@markusaurelius777]

Put in a TS9 in the front and EQ & Delay in the loop and you have the same sound as the Stealth at 1/3rd the price LOL

[@herbhabecker]

EVH = excellence. You can’t go wrong with any amp he’s put his name on. At some point in my life, I will have most, if not all of them. Great video Ray.

[@xanderraymondcharles]

Thanks bro!

[@mattlombardi54]

That’s the spirit! Get them all! Don’t listen to your wife, she can make sacrifices damnit! Tell her to be a team player, but always remember that your the boss! 😂. Sorry I couldn’t resist. Seriously though, I’d love to have every amp EVH has made, even some of the old peavy models would be awesome.

[@herbhabecker]

@@mattlombardi54 thanks man. I’m very lucky, my wife lets me be me. Never an issue and could care less about what amps and guitars I bring home.

[@TheCyberMantis]

EVH = built to a price-point to make a huge profit. They actually suck. The dude from Sonic Drive Studios bought two of them. They were brand new. He had to send both of them back, because they both had problems. He's not the only one.

[@herbhabecker]

@@TheCyberMantis good to know, I never had a problem.

[@austinnicolsonmusic711]

I pre ordered one of the 5150 iconic amps as soon as a heard about it and got it cheap brand new after they raised the prices it was my first tube amp and I love it clean tones overdrive crunchy tones and also those high gain 80s distortion tones beautiful amp without a doubt

[@evanl.3689]

I have the EVH stealth 50 and it’s a killer amp I’ve ever own. Plus I like that Doodle Bob shirt

[@Matthew_Scan]

I played the iconic Combo and was blown away how good it sounds clean and dirty

[@massttrshrdrharmonicminor2002]

Both have a place for serving the riff But the Stealth is just pleasing to the ear

[@cosmocovers4903]

The iconic kinda has that crazy unhinged vibe, tons of texture and very satisfying. Love it

[@ameer_saban]

You set up the PERFECT review comparison - whatever our opinions are, we can draw conclusions accurately.

[@vincentrandles8105]

Dude! That Stealth sounds really rippin just coming out of my tiny phone speaker! I can only imagine how it sounds coming out of a 4x12! (No wait I can do that TOO!! (Second run-through!) You make me laugh when that grin comes on! Stay Metal🤘🤘

[@TobyKBTY]

The stealth kicked ass and was the winner here, but it wasn't as wide a margin as I expected. With that said, I'm a happy Iconic combo owner. I have a Dirty Tree pedal in front of it and it absolutely destroys as a combo, and it packs just as much of a solid punch with a TS9 and Precision drive and even unboosted too. I love this thing, man. Lucky enough to have a range of guitars to play through it, and it shines with everything from E standard to Drop G. I can't wait to try it through a 4x12 though.

[@nomadronin7361]

The Iconic reminds me of a boosted Marshall. The Stealth makes me think of a customized boosted Marshall.

[@reichkowski]

I have the stealth as well wonderful brutal amp. But your shirt really gets me tho! 🤘🏻 Greetings from germany 🇩🇪 keep up the good work Ray!

[@1970borntorun]

One comment I can add about how these amps compare from my own experience is that the ICONIC amp sounds "flatter" and more neutral on the top-end ( Mids to Treble range ) than the 5153. I've noticed a lot of comments to that effect Online about how the ICONIC is pleasing and not fatiguing, frequency-response wise. I returned my 5153 6L6 to Sweetwater for that very reason, because it almost had a cocked-Wah tone in the Midrange that was colored the tone too much for me. I want to be in control of my own tone and sound, not the Amp telling me how I SHOULD sound. ♫

[@absolutewarband]

The Iconic nails the Carass Bill Steer tone!

[@darylhicks7008]

I bought both the EL34 and the 6L6 last Saturday. I set them both up next to my JCM 800 and I have to say, the EL34 gets pretty close to the JCM 800 tone on the green channel with overdrive on and drive set about 2. With a TS9 Tube Screamer in front of it with level dimed, tone at 12 o'clock and drive at 0. Eq Settings were Low at 8, mid 4, trebbile 8, resonance 2, Prescence 6. Kick in that TS9 and closed my eyes, and A-B back and fourth to my 2203 JCM 800 and sounds incredibly close On red channel, same eq settings and red channel drive at 2 with a Boss SD1 overdrive in front, drive at 0, tone at 12 o'clock and level dimed it has a killer tone for the heavvier stuff. I don't like the burn button, it is just way to much. I also running a CE5 Stero chorus, HOF Reverb, FlahBack2 delay and a EH 720 Looper in the effects loop and do not use the amp reverb. In front I am running Les Paul Custom Shop into a TU2 tunner, into Boss 200EQ to better shape the tone, into Morley Mark Tremonti Wah, then to TS9, SD1 and OC5 Octave. Last in Chain is NS2 Noise gate. The EQ pedal allows you to refine the tone really well. After 5 days of having both, I settled on the EL34 and returned the 6L6. The El34 is just a little more reminiscent of the classic Marshall tone. A bit warmer, and not as harsh as the 6L6. If I was a hardcore metal player, then the 6L6 would have been my choice. For me, the EL34 is a winner. And I forgot to mention the clean channel. Same EQ settings, but I do have a dedicated eq channel on the boss EQ 200 just for clean that gives probably the best clean tone I have ever heard from any amp. I have a fender twin reverb, and a 1977 Roland Jazz Chorus 120 I usually A-B with my JCM 800 for cleans, and the tone I got out of the EL34 with the eq pedal, is surprisingly better. No need for me to lug multiple amps to the gig now. Being a diehard vintage amp snob, I was very reluctant to give this a try. But wow!! I am glad I did. The vintage stuff can stay at home now where it is safe, and this will now be my gigging amp. Less to haul around to achieve great tones all in one head versuses A-B ing 2 amps, two mics in front and two channels to dial in on front of house board. This is a win for me. Never thought I would say this, and immediatley hated it until I gave it a try. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. PS: I spent about 6 hours total, tone shapping with EQ 200 to each specific channel to achieve the tones I finally dig. TS9 on Green Channel with Overdrvive engaged, and SD1 for Red Channel no burn button. The burn will never be used. And one final tweak, I removed the front grill and took off the 5150 and EVH logo and put behind the grill. Looks a lot better estetically. Now it's a custom lol 1 Reply

[@jketterman6054]

I like the iconic for its texture and fuzziness, but I also like the Stealth for its massive low end. Based on tone, I think they both sound similar enough, but the iconic has it's own thing going on and the Stealth sounds more refined.

[@emartinezr]

Yes. More modern. Iconic can get tigthened up with a pedal... Revv G2 (tighter and modern) or Tube Screamer/SD1 (tigthen up but vintage voiced) set at low gain, just for tone sculpting. Also depends on the guitar. This comes up mostly with a Les Paul, which is pretty big sounding. A Strat, Ibanez or Jackson will be 80s metal right off the bat. The Les Paul is more early 80s vintage metal and hard rock.

[@greatgiginthesky9287]

The stealth sounds fantastic. Nice demo.

[@joshvanzanten1502]

They both sound like two different 5150s. That's pretty much what they are. I really like the iconic just because it has that 5150 sound and aesthetic, But I'm pretty sure if you went out to a show no one would really notice or really care if you had either. That's kind of why I like the iconic for what it is. However, the stealth is very chunky and massive sounding, no doubt about it.

[@raymondbarreras8153]

Stealth for me! Thanks for another great review.

[@hierrogm]

I had both, u have the stealth dialed so great ..really killer brah 🍻🍻🤘🏽

[@70chevelless]

Love the LP Standard...Def fave guitar

[@jeffleecust]

I want the underdog to win so bad as I love the sounds you get from the Iconic and 60 Cycle Hum was able to get some great cleans too, but damn does that Stealth sound amazing. If it wasn’t a shootout there would be no loser.

[@1970borntorun]

lol Right! It's like saying, "Gee you're stuck with a BMW M3 or a Mercedes C43 AMG..." :)

[@rickardmoller7824]

When it came to 12:40. Now we are talking!

[@colinparks619]

Stealth was like a blanket of moosh was taken off the front of the cab

[@DROID1018]

I purchased an EVH Stealth and was so disappointed, I sent it back and spent extra on a Fryette Deliverance. The Stealth, like demonstrated in this video, has waaaaay too much gain (imagine that! 😂).. I’ve since purchased an Iconic head, and that amp is staying 😊🤙. I think you did the Iconic justice in this video. Amazing amp.. I think if it didn’t sell for $999 and sold for more, people would still buy it and would stop calling it a budget amp because IT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE ONE. 🤘

[@markusaurelius777]

With the Iconic, if you add a Tube Screamer in front....Delay & EQ in the loop...you're sailing. TS 9: Tone centered, Gain at 1, and level jacked.

[@jesseanderson4865]

And behind Ray is the first edition of the mark 3 5150

[@BillyPolaris]

New Noise? Thats a great riff Ray, I caught that one.

[@nachogames6562]

I miss the LP with the Duncan Distortions. That thing rips.

[@sb6232]

Did I just hear you play some Def Leppard? ..and some soloing?? Nice to hear!!!! Cool... That Iconic sounds great! I didn't dislike any of the tones you dialed in...They all sounded gain rich, round and pleasing..The Stealth sounds super bright and aggressive...There's a "buzziness" in the Stealth that I can't dial out..

[@enricoruotolo]

Where’s the shootout with the 50w stealth and 100w stealth? Allegedly, James Brown tweaked the voicing of the 50w

[@CS-ru4xd]

I don't think James Brown was involved with EVH/ Fender after Eddie left Peavey to do the EVH stuff. And JB started his own pedal company briefly. It wasn't until The Iconic that JB re-involved himself with working with Eddie before he passed. Pretty sure.

[@AuntAlnico4]

Howard Kaplan did the stealth James brown did the Iconic.

[@LouCondon-j1v]

The Iconic has 2 pre-amp tubes and the Stealth has 6 or 7 pre-amp tubes correct? I am surprised how good the Iconic sounds for the money.

[@metalheadpunk]

Just grabbed a 100w Stealth today! Hey what is that riff you are playing at 10:14? Sounds super familiar!

[@PatrickBateman1337]

Took me a while to get what it was, but it's prayer by disturbed. Not heard that for ages!

[@emartinezr]

Wow both are amazing. Iconic sounds grittier and more vintage/classic/80s metal. 5150iii sounds tigther and more modern. Iconic with an OD pedal will come pretty close, if not better depending on your taste and how good you are at dialing in a tone. Stealth doesn't need anything. Only a 412 cab and... go!

[@vonclod123]

Nice Refused riff!

[@CarsAndGuitarsTV]

What’s the best tunes to put in a 5153 stealth 100?

[@johndeschain2156]

The Stealth kills it.

[@jroobz]

what's the song at 4:06?

[@marcellee4212]

2:45 evh iconic - 8:20 Evh Striped

[@brandonbryson3317]

Only criticism I’d give ray on this demo, is that I think the amp really comes alive with the precense pumped. The 100 watt stealth has this really stupid design where the precense is basically inactive until 2 or 3 o’clock. It’s so stupid and most people don’t think it does anything because you have to turn it so high to engage it, so the amp ends up being darker and people review it like that, being non the wiser. Took me a while to figure this out as well, and I was so confused why my 50 watt stealth sounded better.

[@jconner3891]

Both sound good. But the stealth is amazing. I’m biased. I have the stealth 50 ! 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘💯💯💯💯

[@lukeshirtliff7861]

please tell me the riff at 10:13, ive heard it so many times but can remember who plays it haha

[@lukeshirtliff7861]

i feel like its a disturbed song

[@InfamouslyCantankerous]

I don’t want to sound ignorant here I have very limited playtime with any tube amp. But does the actually head and separate cab really make a huge difference over a combo, I ask because I wanted a PRS archon which a ton of people said is a great head but not so much as a combo I was hoping someone might have some insight, I want my first tube amp I don’t have a cab or a ton of cash to spend which makes combos appealing to me. I play modern metal, djent you could say and the classics and even some clean and blues im trying to get something that would cover as much as possible so if anyone has any input there to it would be greatly appreciated

[@ErrorlVlacro]

Depends on how loud and full you wanna go. You can play a show with a 30w all day. Just more about what your needs are. I say have at least on half stack of something or a mix. And a combo. Get one and the other later.

[@AuntAlnico4]

I've got thy stealth 50 head and EVH stealth 212 cabinet plus the iconic 40 112 combo and it is loud and punch is just like r 212 so if you go combo its still killer !

[@andyje]

I've tried out the iconic, the stealth, and the OG 5150, yes the stealth is the top shelf, but is it for everyone?

[@harveymckinlay913]

Every video... The shirts 👌

[@harshtruth9148]

My little LBXii with matching 1x12 sounds killer in my apartment so I imagine those two sound really good. A lot of hate on the iconic tho.

[@emartinezr]

There's not a lot of hate. Actually, almost no hate. Pretty much everyone who has actually played it likes it.

[@harshtruth9148]

guess you werent paying attention when they released it @@emartinezr

[@AuntAlnico4]

😂internet hate because of the number of tube. Real life is not the same as internet cap.

[@TrevyTrev-andTheFunkyPets]

Yes on both.

[@seagullpoet]

The one with the most dials wins !

[@sirgentlemandinosaur8383]

Ah shoooot you know imma click on this video I've got the EVH Iconic lol

[@Matthew_Scan]

Both sound great Stealth probably has the edge in gains iconic cleans are better

[@davedobson9801]

I also like the Iconic for what it is and agree it's a lot of amp for the money. I bought one because I was curious about whether I'd like it. I decided to keep it, at least for now, and it gets equal playing time with my Mezzabarba M Zero. Each one is good in its own way and one of the reasons for having multiple amps is being inspired by different tones.

[@Z17xMachine]

I know how this goes without watching it. The Stealth wins. The Iconic sounds cheap. I had one. I know.

[@CS-ru4xd]

I don't think it sounds cheap....I have the EVH EL34 100 and the Iconic. They both sound great thru a good cab.

[@GManEvans]

Looks like your amp settings on the iconic really didn't help the sound and left a blanket over the tone. Presence was too low and treble was cut too much. It was difficult to tell if the burn switch was on but I think of your could of adjusted those in them if it would of opened the sound up much better.

[@camdaman93]

Damn the stealth 💩💩💩 all over the iconic. I wanted the iconic to measure up but this just solidified my choice in amps between the two

[@DrErickLopez]

Can’t you play an E A G chord in clean…🤷

[@jcmoore5819]

The Iconic sounds great. I had the chance to actually visit Sweetwater and play thru one. I quite enjoyed it. I honestly don’t understand the hate it gets. The stealth is going to sound better based on the higher level of components going into it and the fact that it’s one of their top tier models both in stature and price. Both are great. Different tools for the job!

[@radmed979]

Can get more...

[@eric_casper5150]

Stealth for the win!!!!

[@timlaine6268]

So I didn't really detect a crunch tone. Is that in the iconic's wheelhouse?

[@ErrorlVlacro]

Honestly the green channel is basically the crunch. It barely can do full clean on green. Blue you can play low gain for crunch.

[@zacharymicah]

I've recorded on a Peavey 6505 and it was awesome!

[@ErrorlVlacro]

Who hasn’t is the question lol

[@pz1792]

I am split. Stealth is better quality sounding, but too modern for me. Iconic is more old school which I like more but same time quality of sound is not as good as Stealth.

[@JRs-guitars]

Iconic is a great amp, but it's just not really voiced for modern metal even with all that gain.

[@iwiggs6870]

The Stealth is louder but aside from that they literally sound the same.

[@radmed979]

However you have the iconic mic'd i don't know you get more out of it....or it could be me..... depends on cab....the stealth is badd a## though.

[@toblessedtobestressed9107]

Put a eq in the loop of the iconic and you can dial out all those unwanted frequencies.

[@blackcroworchestra8824]

EVH 5150 iconic Sounds to me Classic with balls, EVH Stealth is more modern with big balls. 😅😅😅 whatever That means 😅 ,

[@paulanderson771]

I haven't even gotten to the Stealth but I already don't like the tones you showed on the Iconic. Definitely not pleasant. Functional though.

[@paulanderson771]

Within seconds of the Stealth playing I'm happier.

[@danielwoods2531]

Hey Ray? You should have your tattoo artist do scratch board type designs with with white ink over your blackout work. Its a VERY interesting look. And love your channel!!!

[@LoveItDirtyOffroad]

My wannabe 6260 Bugera blows those outta the water 😅; for real though the 6260 is surprisingly good for the money.

[@19coyote5oh9]

I have the Iconic and Bugera 333xl stack, both are great.

[@ErrorlVlacro]

Awesome. Just gotta work on your leads. They are very just basic scales and you use that little down down up up high string to low string thing all the time.

[@teenixon]

Def Leopard is metal ? Lol !!!

[@elfieborimera3178]

U need side by side. This don't really show anything.

[@YonkyKADAVER]

Too much solid state sound to my ears

[@user-hq9tr9sg9s]

The iconic uses v1 stage high voltage transistor to boost guitar input signal and phase inverter and the other 2 tubes for the most important job to me doesn’t sound like a transistor amp this is coming from a guy hat traded a marshall silver jubilee for the iconic but its just my opinion

[@YonkyKADAVER]

​@@user-hq9tr9sg9s Of course, it goes without saying that people think things based on their opinion. To me it doesn't sound like a real all-tube amplifier, nor does it sound as crappy as a Marshall valvestate or one of those hybrids that has a valve in the preamp and that's it, but compared to my Engl powerball or a buguera 6262 that I have, I notice that solid state sound nuance.

[@Turbo-D]

please just stop smoking weed ray 🤥🤦.. thank you

[@Lukas-cg3ms]

What?

[@Turbo-D]

@@Lukas-cg3ms weed? makes you look like an eversmiling clown while doing worthless stuff 🤡🥱