I had both these amps and ended up keeping the iconic. The only channel on the stealth I liked was the blue channel and once I realized I could dial the overdrive on the green channel to sound like the stealth blue channel, game over. I can’t stand how there’s no midi on the 100w stealth and the dumb DIN footswitch jack. The “Easter eggs” on the stealth aren’t very practical in a live or rehearsal context unless you love tweaking dials constantly during your set when you’re going back and forth between channels. The iconic has a great volume boost option, better clean channel, the presence actually does something before 3 o’clock, has TRS channel switching that plays nice with other equipment, 1/4 power mode so you can truly play it at bedroom levels and it sounds good, and with an EQ in the loop you can easily get it to sound exactly how you want. The Iconic in my opinion punches way above its weight price-wise, and I felt perpetually underwhelmed by the 100w stealth for how much money I dropped on it. Did it sound killer? Sure, but it was hard to stomach paying the better part of 3k to find I only really loved one channel on it. It just isn’t close to being 3x the amp the Iconic is even though it costs 3x more. To me the 100w stealth is an amp for “tone chasing” that personally missed the mark for me, and the Iconic is a practical workhorse that has seemingly all the right features for rehearsal or gigging. I will say I really don’t like the reverb on the Iconic though. But that’s about my only complaint.
Since the Iconic falls in the middle of the 50 and 100 watt amps, it would be cool to see a comparison with the Iconic and the 50 watt stealth. Plus their prices are a little more comparable. Love all these comparisons you've been doing, especially all the amps linked to Eddie Van Halen. Keep up the awesome work🤘
Thanks for the info. I've also been looking at the older marshall Tsl 100. I know they can have some problems but it seems like once you get them sorted out it's a pretty cool 3 channel amp.
@@Z17xMachine I have the 6534+ and the Iconic and the 6534+ does NOT blow the doors off the Iconic in a side-by-side comparison using a Radial VT Headbone amp head switcher through Greenbacks.
@@Z17xMachine You are wrong. By the time you mod your 2 channel MT15 you are at nearly the 1100.00 mark. Then you are missing the 3rd channel and 50 watts. So without doubt, you are completely wrong in your incorrect assessment. And the 6505 1992 will not blow the iconic away. And you are still missing the clean channel. Which allows for a pedal platform. So everything you have stated here is factually incorrect and not nearly the value of a new ICONIC with factory warranty. You must be new to the amp world?? The only time you should be "calling it a day" is when your stepmom demands that you come in and eat your Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches before your 8:00 pm bedtime. Don't you dare interrupt your stepmom's time with Dad.
Well it doesn't work that way. With the same logic my 20 euros headphone amp is unbeatable and real winner over these because i can jam with my fav songs, the tone is good, it's quiet, it has effects and best it can fit to my smallest pocket.
Yes the iconic is really good for it's price but when you want something little extra over an already good amp you need to pay maybe double, even if it doesn't sound twice as good.
Great video my man, the Stealth wins, but it’s like a heavy weight vs a lower weight class. Not a fair fight usually. But the Iconic sounds great, definitely much better than I expected 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Great job and your time spent making the videos Jarrod...excellent comparison! Both amps do their justice respectively and is really dependant on someone's budget in the end. Love my Stealth 100...no regrets. Cheers my friend 🎸😃
I just got an Iconic 80 watt head for $650. I bought the OG block letter when they first came out. I had to sell it and my Marshall 4x12 with 2 V30s and 2 greenbacks and actually most of my guitars at the beginning of the pandemic. Anyway this Iconic feels very similar to my block letter but is actually alittle more aggressive. I bought a 212 Marshall cab used also for $220. Pretty sure it has Seventy 80s in it. But this Amp still sounds killer through it. I will be upgrading the speakers very soon. Probably a V30, Green Back combo again. I like how they blend.
they both sounded really good but not to criticize but the pedals weren't even necessary for the stealth, it just kind of clips the signal. Try your pedal into a DI of an audio interface and crank the volume to the max and it'll sound like rice crispies. It did improve the sound of the iconic but still sounded a bit clippy...I'd back off on the volume on your pedals to half way and distortion at zero. Just give it a bit more of a lift in the string attack, but don't use it as a source of distortion, rely on the amp gain and picking attack for that.
I would love to hear the iconic go up against the stealth, but this time with the iconic go into an MXR custom comp deluxe compression (or any compression pedal of choice) pedal then into amplifier as well into boost. I bet a compression pedal would really make the iconic really come alive.
This shootout went pretty much as I would expect. Both amps sounded very workable. The Stealth always sounds killer, and the Iconic held it's own. Yeah, big price difference between those amps. So you have to ask yourself: is the Stealth really worth the extra price. For me, nope. Absolutely not. But maybe for some people, the answer would be "yes". I would still rather have an ENGL Fireball 100 over both of these amps. But the ENGL is still way too much money for me at $1,900. If I needed an amp right now, I would order the new Boss Katana Artist head for $569. It does more than I need, at a price I can afford. No tubes to mess with, and it's NOT "Made in China" or "Mexico". 😁
I have the iconic and really enjoy it at what I consider bedroom volume. I am looking at getting the 100w stealth, how does it compare at lower volumes? I don’t live in an apartment but have really close neighbors.
Man, both sound amazing. I think Stealth is a bit more modern metal; sounds more compressed and tight. Iconic a bit more open and gritty. I think Iconic is better for more classic metal and general hard rock. Iconic can do modern metal, but Stealth is a lot better at it. Plus, it has 3 channels. Iconic has reverb, noise gate and the internal Boost function which is pretty useful. Also... Stealth is over 2x the price so there's that.
Thanks for doing this video, was waiting for this one! Fair conclusions... I have the Iconic and LOVE it... even among several other more expensive high gain heads in my collection. Can't really beat that Stealth though... but I can't justify paying all the extra tax for American amps (here in Australia) along with the high price along with inflation price hikes at the moment which comes to $4000Aud ($2775US) brand new. When I see it on the used market for just over half that price I'll nab one lol. (might take a few years)
Love your videos man 🤘been playing a lot of The Black Dahlia Murder riffs these days and saw on them their recent tour in Montreal a few weeks back🤘🔥🤘They using the EVH Iconic 80 watt (4 of them)!!! I believe Brandon is using a Direwolf to boost it. Have the Marshall DSL20HR , Badlander 25, Stealth LBX and Peavey Invective MH … I think the Iconic would make a good addition 🤔 after watching this video I just want this Iconic even more… sounds great .. that red and blue channel sounded awesome 🤘🔥🤘 got my Mudkiller ready to go 👍 awesome video 💯💥 cheers 🍻
@@TONEWARSgearshow for sure 👍 I don’t usually go for these larger Amps as I mainly play at home and volume is always an issue… but I did end up getting a Two Notes Torpedo Captor X recently and even my smaller Lunchbox amps have never sounded better !!! Not afraid of the big boys anymore 😂
Great vid! (as always). One could safely assume the EVH STEALTH, was gonna get the win overall, though the ICONIC is no slouch. Very curious now, how close the ICONIC would come to the STEALTH when pared with an EVH Overdrive pedal.
I could be wrong but it seems to me the Iconic has the ability to cut in a mix a bit better. Almost a nod to a more Marshall sound. But i don’t live for the chug lol. In my book Iconic for the win. But that’s just me.
@TONEWARSgearshow i have the iconic, the 5153 OG 50 and a 6505+ do you think i should invest in the stealth. Is it really worth the money if i have the amps i already have?
Hi jarrod. I been drooling over the iconic combo lately but I already own the 50 watt 6l6 and 100 watt stealth. Should I get the iconic anyway. I'm liking the combo because I can pick it up and take it anywhere licketysplit. Or should I get the head.
After owning the Iconic for a couple weeks I'll say this...don't use it with Greenback speakers lol. The high-mid frequency is ear piercing and can't be dialed out. Otherwise...it's great lol. ...and I want a stealth 50 too now. Thanks 😅
The stealth sounds much better. I was considering an Iconic to scratch the 5150 itch, but it sounds flat and compressed in comparison. Almost like what you would expect a 5150 solid state pedal to sound like. Not quite there. Its ok, but not great.
Iconic has a fizzy sound to it I don't really like. The Stealth is just a beast that I would put up against the expensive boutique metal amps like the Driftwood purple nightmare or Omega Granophyre.
It's absolutely killer. Every time you turn it on you will be equally impressed as the first time you turned it on. It's almost hard to believe an amp can sound so good.
You know where they went wrong with the Iconic, they should have copied the schiit freya preamp. Have the ability to have preamp tubes, or take the tubes out and default to onboard jfet/mosfet preamp. Ship the amplifiers out without tubes, and let the owner populate with tubes if they want.
The OD pedal amplifies the guitar signal and shapes the tone a little. The difference is that you can decide how to amplify the guitar signal (either volume or gain - and a mix of the two) and you can define which frequencies to boost (via either the pedal EQ or the Tone knob). And you can choose when those things come in by turning the pedal on/off. If you get it all strictly from the guitar and amp.... that's it. Unless you change the guitar or adjust the amp, you're stuck with a specific tone.
Great video both amps are great I would like the Stealth 100 watt, I have the Iconic ,I am kinda wondering on EVH el34 model too 100 watt! Both are killer. Thanks Jarrod 🎸🎛🥁👋
@@metallion0738 I think that would be a really good shootout. The Iconic against the Stealth 50w. I'm not even sure which one would win. I would have to play through both of them to know for sure.
I had both these amps and ended up keeping the iconic. The only channel on the stealth I liked was the blue channel and once I realized I could dial the overdrive on the green channel to sound like the stealth blue channel, game over. I can’t stand how there’s no midi on the 100w stealth and the dumb DIN footswitch jack. The “Easter eggs” on the stealth aren’t very practical in a live or rehearsal context unless you love tweaking dials constantly during your set when you’re going back and forth between channels. The iconic has a great volume boost option, better clean channel, the presence actually does something before 3 o’clock, has TRS channel switching that plays nice with other equipment, 1/4 power mode so you can truly play it at bedroom levels and it sounds good, and with an EQ in the loop you can easily get it to sound exactly how you want. The Iconic in my opinion punches way above its weight price-wise, and I felt perpetually underwhelmed by the 100w stealth for how much money I dropped on it. Did it sound killer? Sure, but it was hard to stomach paying the better part of 3k to find I only really loved one channel on it. It just isn’t close to being 3x the amp the Iconic is even though it costs 3x more. To me the 100w stealth is an amp for “tone chasing” that personally missed the mark for me, and the Iconic is a practical workhorse that has seemingly all the right features for rehearsal or gigging. I will say I really don’t like the reverb on the Iconic though. But that’s about my only complaint.
Since the Iconic falls in the middle of the 50 and 100 watt amps, it would be cool to see a comparison with the Iconic and the 50 watt stealth. Plus their prices are a little more comparable. Love all these comparisons you've been doing, especially all the amps linked to Eddie Van Halen. Keep up the awesome work🤘
I have a 50 watt Stealth and it also blows the Iconic out of the water. It's just tighter without that fizzy sound the Iconic has.
Thanks for the info. I've also been looking at the older marshall Tsl 100. I know they can have some problems but it seems like once you get them sorted out it's a pretty cool 3 channel amp.
@@user-vr5wd4et8ohad a few Marshall DSLs and a JVM, sold them. I will NEVER sell my Stealth head. Marshalls are fun, but there are better choices.
You made the iconic sound really good!
The real winner here is the Iconic. For the money IT CANNOT BE BEAT. The iconic is the Rocky balboa of the guitar amp world.
Nope. That would be the Boss Katana Artist head. Only $569, with built-in effects! Free Boss Tone Studio software to make your patches! 😁
@@Z17xMachine I have the 6534+ and the Iconic and the 6534+ does NOT blow the doors off the Iconic in a side-by-side comparison using a Radial VT Headbone amp head switcher through Greenbacks.
@@Z17xMachine You are wrong. By the time you mod your 2 channel MT15 you are at nearly the 1100.00 mark. Then you are missing the 3rd channel and 50 watts. So without doubt, you are completely wrong in your incorrect assessment. And the 6505 1992 will not blow the iconic away. And you are still missing the clean channel. Which allows for a pedal platform. So everything you have stated here is factually incorrect and not nearly the value of a new ICONIC with factory warranty. You must be new to the amp world?? The only time you should be "calling it a day" is when your stepmom demands that you come in and eat your Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches before your 8:00 pm bedtime. Don't you dare interrupt your stepmom's time with Dad.
Well it doesn't work that way. With the same logic my 20 euros headphone amp is unbeatable and real winner over these because i can jam with my fav songs, the tone is good, it's quiet, it has effects and best it can fit to my smallest pocket.
Yes the iconic is really good for it's price but when you want something little extra over an already good amp you need to pay maybe double, even if it doesn't sound twice as good.
the iconic sounds great here
The EL34 EVH vs the stealth vs iconic next would be killer 😉
Great video my man, the Stealth wins, but it’s like a heavy weight vs a lower weight class. Not a fair fight usually. But the Iconic sounds great, definitely much better than I expected 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
Love my stealth! Been thinking of adding the Iconic, as it was Eddie's last endeavor.
Thanks for commenting. That amplifier definitely has some sentimental value to me as well.
Excellent demo, very informative.
Thank you
@@TONEWARSgearshow Quick question: Do you place your Mud Killer in front of the amp or behing it in the efx loop?
@@jeffhirshberg5171 He uses it in front because he uses his effects in the loop.
@@CS-ru4xd OK. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
The Iconic did better than expected... the Stealth still took a commanding lead at about 12:00 in on the video.
It was pretty shocking how much i preferred the Stealth at that moment. The Iconic almost sounded like a pedal in comparison.
@@mooferoo Yep! That's when it left the Iconic in the rear-view mirror.
IMO, the stealth punches way above its class, it can hang with amps way more expensive.
Great job and your time spent making the videos Jarrod...excellent comparison! Both amps do their justice respectively and is really dependant on someone's budget in the end. Love my Stealth 100...no regrets. Cheers my friend 🎸😃
Hey Tony, good hearing from you!! Glad you liked the video.
i love how you made/released this one now and not last year. i have a stealth 50w so i really wanna try the iconic at some point. great video.
Came for the sick sweeps stayed for the rest. awesome as usual.
Thank you!!
I just got an Iconic 80 watt head for $650. I bought the OG block letter when they first came out. I had to sell it and my Marshall 4x12 with 2 V30s and 2 greenbacks and actually most of my guitars at the beginning of the pandemic. Anyway this Iconic feels very similar to my block letter but is actually alittle more aggressive. I bought a 212 Marshall cab used also for $220. Pretty sure it has Seventy 80s in it. But this Amp still sounds killer through it. I will be upgrading the speakers very soon. Probably a V30, Green Back combo again. I like how they blend.
Could test EVH iconic versus Stealth 50w
Great job man, I love the stealth. Iconic is good for the pricepoint.
Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. They both definitely have their place, especially when you consider the price.
Wow man really surprised at how well the iconic did ....can't lose for the money there
they both sounded really good but not to criticize but the pedals weren't even necessary for the stealth, it just kind of clips the signal. Try your pedal into a DI of an audio interface and crank the volume to the max and it'll sound like rice crispies. It did improve the sound of the iconic but still sounded a bit clippy...I'd back off on the volume on your pedals to half way and distortion at zero. Just give it a bit more of a lift in the string attack, but don't use it as a source of distortion, rely on the amp gain and picking attack for that.
great review...nice wall unit in your living room!
why the low frame rate on your videos?
I would love to hear the iconic go up against the stealth, but this time with the iconic go into an MXR custom comp deluxe compression (or any compression pedal of choice) pedal then into amplifier as well into boost. I bet a compression pedal would really make the iconic really come alive.
This shootout went pretty much as I would expect.
Both amps sounded very workable. The Stealth always sounds killer, and the Iconic held it's own.
Yeah, big price difference between those amps. So you have to ask yourself: is the Stealth really worth the extra price.
For me, nope. Absolutely not. But maybe for some people, the answer would be "yes". I would still rather have an ENGL Fireball 100 over both of these amps. But the ENGL is still way too much money for me at $1,900. If I needed an amp right now, I would order the new Boss Katana Artist head for $569. It does more than I need, at a price I can afford. No tubes to mess with, and it's NOT "Made in China" or "Mexico". 😁
I wish the iconic had a small head version
I have the iconic and really enjoy it at what I consider bedroom volume. I am looking at getting the 100w stealth, how does it compare at lower volumes? I don’t live in an apartment but have really close neighbors.
Man, both sound amazing.
I think Stealth is a bit more modern metal; sounds more compressed and tight. Iconic a bit more open and gritty. I think Iconic is better for more classic metal and general hard rock. Iconic can do modern metal, but Stealth is a lot better at it. Plus, it has 3 channels. Iconic has reverb, noise gate and the internal Boost function which is pretty useful.
Also... Stealth is over 2x the price so there's that.
Thanks for doing this video, was waiting for this one! Fair conclusions... I have the Iconic and LOVE it... even among several other more expensive high gain heads in my collection. Can't really beat that Stealth though... but I can't justify paying all the extra tax for American amps (here in Australia) along with the high price along with inflation price hikes at the moment which comes to $4000Aud ($2775US) brand new. When I see it on the used market for just over half that price I'll nab one lol. (might take a few years)
Thanks for commenting. I hope you get a chance to pick one of these up some time...they are worth every penny.
Love your videos man 🤘been playing a lot of The Black Dahlia Murder riffs these days and saw on them their recent tour in Montreal a few weeks back🤘🔥🤘They using the EVH Iconic 80 watt (4 of them)!!! I believe Brandon is using a Direwolf to boost it. Have the Marshall DSL20HR , Badlander 25, Stealth LBX and Peavey Invective MH … I think the Iconic would make a good addition 🤔 after watching this video I just want this Iconic even more… sounds great .. that red and blue channel sounded awesome 🤘🔥🤘 got my Mudkiller ready to go 👍 awesome video 💯💥 cheers 🍻
Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoy the videos. Let me know if you end up getting the iconic and what you think of it.
@@TONEWARSgearshow for sure 👍 I don’t usually go for these larger Amps as I mainly play at home and volume is always an issue… but I did end up getting a Two Notes Torpedo Captor X recently and even my smaller Lunchbox amps have never sounded better !!! Not afraid of the big boys anymore 😂
Great vid! (as always). One could safely assume the EVH STEALTH, was gonna get the win overall, though the ICONIC is no slouch. Very curious now, how close the ICONIC would come to the STEALTH when pared with an EVH Overdrive pedal.
100w Stealth is allways pissed, that's a mean amp
I could be wrong but it seems to me the Iconic has the ability to cut in a mix a bit better. Almost a nod to a more Marshall sound. But i don’t live for the chug lol. In my book Iconic for the win. But that’s just me.
@TONEWARSgearshow i have the iconic, the 5153 OG 50 and a 6505+ do you think i should invest in the stealth. Is it really worth the money if i have the amps i already have?
Absolutely! The stealth offers a lot of great tones and way more aggression than what you have.
Hi jarrod. I been drooling over the iconic combo lately but I already own the 50 watt 6l6 and 100 watt stealth. Should I get the iconic anyway.
I'm liking the combo because I can pick it up and take it anywhere licketysplit. Or should I get the head.
I would get the head.. from what I hear the speaker in the combo does not sound good.
After owning the Iconic for a couple weeks I'll say this...don't use it with Greenback speakers lol. The high-mid frequency is ear piercing and can't be dialed out. Otherwise...it's great lol.
...and I want a stealth 50 too now. Thanks 😅
The stealth sounds much better. I was considering an Iconic to scratch the 5150 itch, but it sounds flat and compressed in comparison. Almost like what you would expect a 5150 solid state pedal to sound like. Not quite there. Its ok, but not great.
The EVH stealth sounds way better in all channels, the 5150 sounds real good too but the EVH stealth is much better in my opinion of course.
Without the boost pedal there was no fight at all. After you engaged the boost there still was no fight. Stealth for the KO!
Iconic has a fizzy sound to it I don't really like. The Stealth is just a beast that I would put up against the expensive boutique metal amps like the Driftwood purple nightmare or Omega Granophyre.
Anyone else hear crackling in the clean channel in both amps?
The Stealth sounds a little honky in the mids compared to the Iconic here, IMO. Iconic mids sound more balanced.
I'm getting the stealth as the ultimate giging and jamming amp. that external bias feature is great for self maintenance.
Congratulations!! You'll love it
It's absolutely killer. Every time you turn it on you will be equally impressed as the first time you turned it on. It's almost hard to believe an amp can sound so good.
Seems like the Iconic has more bite... In a good way
You should get your wife in to do the switching and have a blind test 😜👍🏻
You know where they went wrong with the Iconic, they should have copied the schiit freya preamp. Have the ability to have preamp tubes, or take the tubes out and default to onboard jfet/mosfet preamp. Ship the amplifiers out without tubes, and let the owner populate with tubes if they want.
Every champion gets in the ring with a bum to up his record.
Why do you add a pedal what is it doing exactly to the amp and not the guitar signal?
It's just a OD pedal
But why an overdrive pedal through a high gain amp? You're just overdriving the guitar signal to the amp. Get a better guitat
The OD pedal amplifies the guitar signal and shapes the tone a little.
The difference is that you can decide how to amplify the guitar signal (either volume or gain - and a mix of the two) and you can define which frequencies to boost (via either the pedal EQ or the Tone knob). And you can choose when those things come in by turning the pedal on/off. If you get it all strictly from the guitar and amp.... that's it. Unless you change the guitar or adjust the amp, you're stuck with a specific tone.
🔥☠️🤘☠️🔥😊
Your channel would grow if you move the camera closer to you and tried different camera angles. I know how dumb that sounds but trust me....
Great video both amps are great I would like the Stealth 100 watt, I have the Iconic ,I am kinda wondering on EVH el34 model too 100 watt! Both are killer. Thanks Jarrod 🎸🎛🥁👋
If you already have the Iconic, you really don't need the Stealth. Yeah, it's a little better, but it's also a LOT of money.
@@TheCyberMantis . What about the Stealth 50w head? Is more affordable than the 100 and sounds very close in sound but less headroom.
@@metallion0738 I think that would be a really good shootout. The Iconic against the Stealth 50w. I'm not even sure which one would win. I would have to play through both of them to know for sure.