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EVH 5150IIIS Stealth

EVH Gear released a video of Eddie Van Halen demoing the 5150IIIS Stealth and discussing the story behind its design.

EVH 5150 IIIS Stealth

The EVH 5150IIIS Stealth is a limited edition version of the artist’s namesake line of amplifiers, based on the 5150III but with some modifications that were designed specifically to satisfy Van Halen’s current touring needs.

Virtually the same as the guitar amp head that Eddie is currently using on tour, the EVH 5150OIIIS comes complete with the modifications that he himself asked for. He describes the amp as a turbocharged 5150III, which interesting because the 5150III is already quite beefed up when compared to other high gain amps. Still, he wanted to have the amp tweaked to become even hotter, and the guys at Fender EVH Gear obliged.

Since Van Halen alternates between clean, crunch and high gain on many of his tunes, this amp is designed to be able to handle all three tones. It carries over the same three channel configuration (clean, crunch, and lead) as the standard 5150III but with some added tone shaping capabilities, and ofcourse hotter gain.

Controls for each channel include volume, gain, presence, low, mid, and high – and the new Stealth head brings with it added independent low frequency resonance controls for each channel. This allows you to tweak the “chug” or the presence for the lower frequencies of each channel to your taste.

Another important distinction between the standard and the Stealth version is how the crunch channel now sounds tonally closer to the lead channel. Channel two was modded to have improved low-midrange frequency definition, and it can also deliver more gain and improved sustain. Channel 3’s gain range was also increased, and paired with increased range on the Low control. This was specifically mentioned by Van Halen on the demo video, and is expected to allow for consistent tone when switching between channel 2 and 3 in live situations.

The exterior of the amp looks obviously different, featuring a dark “stealth” theme graphic on the front grille. The insides of this 100 Watt amp include EVH hand-selected eight JJ ECC83 preamp and four Wing C 6L6 output tubes. The amp head also features convenient adjustable bias controls at the back.

Who better to showcase the amp than the name sake artist himself! In the demo video Eddie walks us through the features of the amp while playing some of his signature guitar riffs and licks. Watch the video below:

If you’re looking to play the exact same amp that Eddie Van Halen’s team is currently lugging around for his iconic band’s tour, then you should be looking out for this limited edition amplifier. The EVH 5150IIIS Stealth is currently retailing for $2200, visit EVH Gear for more information.

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