5150III 50S Stealth vs standard 50 6L6

I've become so lost on all of the available 5150III models that I just gave up. There's a white 50w locally for $500 that I was thinking about, but why do they also come in black? Are all black models stealths? What is a stealth? Are they all available in 6L6 or EL34? How is the iconic said to be the best for the $, but there are numerous models. Which one? Before anyone asks; fuck google! :ROFLMAO:
 
The Stealth has more gain and aggression on the blue channel, and the red channel has more warmth and low mids.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
I've become so lost on all of the available 5150III models that I just gave up. There's a white 50w locally for $500 that I was thinking about, but why do they also come in black? Are all black models stealths? What is a stealth? Are they all available in 6L6 or EL34? How is the iconic said to be the best for the $, but there are numerous models. Which one? Before anyone asks; fuck google! :ROFLMAO:
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I have an original 50w, it has the 6L6 and no concentric volume. I am very happy with it.

All the newer ones like the stealth are voiced a bit different and mostly have EL34's.

All good but from what I have heard but I prefer the original 6L6 model the best as well.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
I've become so lost on all of the available 5150III models that I just gave up. There's a white 50w locally for $500 that I was thinking about, but why do they also come in black? Are all black models stealths? What is a stealth? Are they all available in 6L6 or EL34? How is the iconic said to be the best for the $, but there are numerous models. Which one? Before anyone asks; fuck google! :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
There are three models of 5150III. The standard, the Stealth and the EL34. The differences are mainly in the blue channel. The Stealth has a blue channel voiced for more gain and aggression, while the EL34's has a thicker and warmer sound.

The 50ws and 100ws are different too. The 50w models have MIDI control but shared EQ on the Green and Blue channels, and global presence/resonance controls. The 100w models have fully independent EQs per channel but no MIDI.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
I've become so lost on all of the available 5150III models that I just gave up. There's a white 50w locally for $500 that I was thinking about, but why do they also come in black? Are all black models stealths? What is a stealth? Are they all available in 6L6 or EL34? How is the iconic said to be the best for the $, but there are numerous models. Which one? Before anyone asks; fuck google! :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

The 5150 III lineup is confusing but it gets easier when you categorize them by wattage. 3 wattage categories, 3 options per wattage.

15 watt LBX - 5150 III Blue and Red channels
15 watt LBX II - 5150 III Green and Blue channels
15 watt LBX Stealth - 5150 III Green and Red channels

50 watt 6L6
50 watt Stealth
50 watt EL34

100 watt 6L6
100 watt Stealth
100 watt EL34
 
I own a standard 50w 6L6 and had two 50w Stealth amps in my studio all at the same time. I compered them both in the room and recorded. All three channels are effectively identical between all amps. Actually, one of the 50w Stealths was overall fatter sounding than my 50w 6L6, while the other 50w Stealth was slightly thinner, with my 50w 6L6 amp sitting right in the middle. We're talking EXTREMELY small differences most people probably wouldn't notice, but I was A/B'ing all three on a switcher so I could swap between all of them instantly, which is about what you'd need to hear the differences. To me that just says there's some slight manufacturing differences between individual heads, but again, the difference are subtle. Like if I walked away for a minute and somebody hit a random button on the switcher, I couldn't have told you which amp it was.

Overall:
Green channels of both amps were the same. Same voicing, same amount of gain on tap.
Blue channels of both amps were the same. Same voicing, same amount of gain on tap. When the Gain on this channel was set on around 1 (1 out of 10), the Stealth was slightly more compressed. After that, no difference.
Red channels of both amps were the same. Same voicing, same amount of gain on tap.

However out of the three I played, I kept the 50w 6L6 because that specific individual one sounded the best to me personally of those three by like a hair. But knowing what I know now, if I was starting from none of them and I had to buy one without playing it first, I'd go for the Stealth 50w because it looks killer, and it has external bias points which the regular 50w 6L6 version does not.

Overall, I like both the 100w and 50w amps. They're different. The 100w amps are thicker and have a low end extension that goes farther down the spectrum than the 50w amps (but what bass is there isn't necessarily louder in either version, there's just "more" in the 100w amps) and the preamp of the 100w amps are slightly thicker while the 50w amps sound slightly slinkier, but a good mid boost into the 50w will narrow that difference pretty well.
 
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I prefer the 50w 6l6 because to me the red channel sounds closer to the 100 watt versions. I had a 50s for about a year or so before I got the 100s, and at that point there was no contest, the 100s is simply better. I also compared the 50s and the 50 6l6, and prefer the 6l6. The 50s has a messier sound to it. Not as tight as the standard, but more aggressive, and more gain. I'm sure in a recording situation, you would have a hard time telling them apart.
 
Mammoth has 3 guitar players who each use a different version of the 50w live

The newer versions should all have dual concentric knobs for green/blue gain and volume.
 
rbasaria said:
I prefer the 50w 6l6 because to me the red channel sounds closer to the 100 watt versions. I had a 50s for about a year or so before I got the 100s, and at that point there was no contest, the 100s is simply better. I also compared the 50s and the 50 6l6, and prefer the 6l6. The 50s has a messier sound to it. Not as tight as the standard, but more aggressive, and more gain. I'm sure in a recording situation, you would have a hard time telling them apart.
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Its funny, because I think there was a time when you didn't like the 50w 6L6, lol.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Here's one argument for the 50w 6L6 amp.



Vogg could make most just about anything sound good but man the tone on this track is something else.
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Wasn't this the 100 watt on the recording but he did use the 50 watt live during this time...Until he started working with MLC
 
I've owned or played the 50-watt 6L6 and Stealth and the 100-watt 6L6 and Stealth. I vastly prefer the 100-watt versions, as they simply sound bigger. There is more gain on tap in the stealth versions in the both the blue and red channels. The amount of gain used on the blue channel effects the gain on the red channels. If you run the gain on the red channel at noon and while playing boost the gain on the blue channels it has the same effect as hitting the amp with a boost pedal.

I prefer the red channel on the original 6L6 version- as it is a tad more open sounding, but the blue channel on the Stealth is what makes the amp worth owning.

I'm currently using the 100 Stealth as my main amp.
 

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Detroit1973 said:
Wasn't this the 100 watt on the recording but he did use the 50 watt live during this time...Until he started working with MLC
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I heard it was the 50w in both cases but I don't know that for sure. I'd love to get more accurate info if you have an interview link or something.

edit: hope that didn't come off as me being a smartass btw, I'm genuinely curious now. :)
 
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