New Amp Day- EVH 5150 III 50 watt

[jmh151]

Interesting review, has me very curious about trying it out someday.

If you try it out,make sure you play it through an EVH cabinet, as the amp is voiced to sound its best through the gGreenbacks in the 4x12 and G12H30's in the 2x12 and 1x12.

Also - a secret I saw on the bulletin boards-place all controls a 6 (well, maybe not the volume, this is called the "666". This give you a great basic starting point to sound great and tweak to your preference

[Van Noord]

If you try it out,make sure you play it through an EVH cabinet, as the amp is voiced to sound its best through the gGreenbacks in the 4x12 and G12H30's in the 2x12 and 1x12.

Also - a secret I saw on the bulletin boards-place all controls a 6 (well, maybe not the volume, this is called the "666". This give you a great basic starting point to sound great and tweak to your preference

Yeah that's the old 6505 Satan setting. Great starting point for sure.

These 5150 III's do sound awesome, they are smoother and have, dare I say, a more polite and refined high gain sound than the original Peavey versions. They are different amps though, but share the same basic family or foundation of tone.

I tend to prefer the 6505 over the 5150 III though. The 6505 is certainly noisier and more offensive sounding, but I like that grainy mutlti-faceted, complex & out of control high gain tone from the 6505.
Although really aggressive, tight and very modern sounding, the III is still missing that attitude of the old faithful model.
That being said, it probably won't stop me from picking up a 50w III.

[TheLivingDead]

He's jamming.

[youngthrasher9]

This thread has me GASing.

[jmh151]

You'll have to try the EVH 50 watt out to see how it compares to your 6505. I tried the 6505+ 1x12 combo out, and found it to be very dark. The EVH 50 watt ( without comparing it to the 100 watt version) is very bright, but can be dialed in nicely. I think with the extreme metal I see everyone using the 6505 for, the EVH may not be dark enough. Also, consider that I'm using it through 2 1x12s, not a 4x12 that I think you really need for full bore metal, but this does have a better bottom end with clarity for down tuned stuff than the Carvin or Marshall had- Channel 3 really loves downtuned modern stuff, and at very high gain it's way quieter than the Peaveys- really no noise gate needed

I put an MXR Carbon Copy in the effects loop, and within a second Channel 3 nailed EVH's live Soldano tone / live F.@.C.K tone.

The amp is also very sensitive to pick attack and mistakes- I had to add a little delay to hide my less than perfect playing, unlike the 6505's and Mesas I played which were so thick and compressed they covered up alot of dynamics

[alteredbeast]

man i want one so bad.

[jmh151]

man i want one so bad.

I keep tweaking the tone settings, and it keeps getting more awesome. First, it would help if Fender decided to put some recommended settings in the manual like they did the 100 watt head...

If you take the recommended settings from the 100 watt head, you get a nice, smooth tone out of channels 2 and 3... Nice, but too refined for me...

There's a pic on the internet of Eddie with the first prototypes of the 100 watt head, with a close up of his amp settings- before it was confirmed Fender was to make them. If you dial in those settings, you get an amazingly brutal metal tone- not like EVH at all, but modern metal, with harmonics jumping off the fretboard.

There's anotehr pic floating around where someone took a magnifying glass to a recent pic of EVH and his stacks and got the settings- I'm trying that next to see where it gets me, again, just to get some starting points to see what this amp can do, and I keep getting amazed

Oh- and I forgot to mention- put the gain on Channel 3 down to 3, get a Strat, preferably a Clapton strat, and you have Clapton's Soldano era/24 nights tone- though the mid boost can get noisy and could use a noise gate

Also, this is straight from the designer's mouth- they are now going to be made in Mexico, no longer Vietnam. The Vietnam factory could not produce enough to keep up with demand, so they're going be made in Mexico alongside the 100 watt model now to save the shipping time

[Van Noord]

I keep tweaking the tone settings, and it keeps getting more awesome. First, it would help if Fender decided to put some recommended settings in the manual like they did the 100 watt head...

If you take the recommended settings from the 100 watt head, you get a nice, smooth tone out of channels 2 and 3... Nice, but too refined for me...

There's a pic on the internet of Eddie with the first prototypes of the 100 watt head, with a close up of his amp settings- before it was confirmed Fender was to make them. If you dial in those settings, you get an amazingly brutal metal tone- not like EVH at all, but modern metal, with harmonics jumping off the fretboard.

There's anotehr pic floating around where someone took a magnifying glass to a recent pic of EVH and his stacks and got the settings- I'm trying that next to see where it gets me, again, just to get some starting points to see what this amp can do, and I keep getting amazed

Oh- and I forgot to mention- put the gain on Channel 3 down to 3, get a Strat, preferably a Clapton strat, and you have Clapton's Soldano era/24 nights tone- though the mid boost can get noisy and could use a noise gate

Also, this is straight from the designer's mouth- they are now going to be made in Mexico, no longer Vietnam. The Vietnam factory could not produce enough to keep up with demand, so they're going be made in Mexico alongside the 100 watt model now to save the shipping time

I also heard the new MiM one's will have LED channel lights and power indicator.

[jmh151]

I also heard the new MiM one's will have LED channel lights and power indicator.

The current ones (at least my MIV one) already has that. What Howard Kaplan (the designer) said is the LED's will be mounted differently- on the Vietnam ones, they are glued to the inside of the chassis, on the MIM ones they will snap in and will be wired differently to the board- that is why there's a different schematic for the vietnam and MIM version, as it's the same way the 100 watt MIM heads are done (simplify production). Kaplan indicated everything else will remain the same.

Howard Kaplan's pretty active on the bulletin boards, for anyone that has had questions or issues with the amp, he's responded personally.

[Van Noord]

The current ones (at least my MIV one) already has that. What Howard Kaplan (the designer) said is the LED's will be mounted differently- on the Vietnam ones, they are glued to the inside of the chassis, on the MIM ones they will snap in and will be wired differently to the board- that is why there's a different schematic for the vietnam and MIM version, as it's the same way the 100 watt MIM heads are done (simplify production). Kaplan indicated everything else will remain the same.

Howard Kaplan's pretty active on the bulletin boards, for anyone that has had questions or issues with the amp, he's responded personally.

Ah cool. I heard it second or third hand from a 50w owner. And yes, lot's of people have been getting the inside scoop from Mr. Kaplan over at TGP. Lot's of interest in this amp, so it's great to have a source like that.
I'm looking ahead to the next amp by EVH.
The IV....

[Blix]

For current EVH settings:

[jmh151]

For current EVH settings:

Thanks! That's alot rounder than the previous settings he used which I tried out, which were very close

[Blix]

Notice how the volumes differs, he was WAY loud last tour, and that loud these amps doesn't sound that good anymore IMO. His live tone is much better now.

[Gypsyblue]

I favor using several small 20 watt amps over one 50 watter but if I were looking for a head, is this the amp to get?

Is it the best value in a versatile amp with stellar clean and high gain tones?

I like what I've been hearing on Youtube, and reading on the various forums.

[jmh151]

Notice how the volumes differs, he was WAY loud last tour, and that loud these amps doesn't sound that good anymore IMO. His live tone is much better now.

Here's how he sounded with the older setting- this video was taken that night- and the tone is a bit insane compared to the new settings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZmm_a1ymqc

[jmh151]

I favor using several small 20 watt amps over one 50 watter but if I were looking for a head, is this the amp to get?

Is it the best value in a versatile amp with stellar clean and high gain tones?

For a grand, is there anything "better"?

I like what I've been hearing on Youtube, and reading on the various forums.

For a grand, I don't think there is any better- but it all comes to personal taste. I got mine for $899- there's plenty of places that will give it to you for that price- even $825.

The only amps IMO that have come close to these for years are Splawn amps, but they cost much more, don't have as good a clean channel, and still need to be cranked up a bit. The EVH 50 watt can get great tones at whisper bedroom levels or cranked levels, so you get that versatility as well.

Some people dislike the shared EQ of the clean and first overdrive channel- which doesn't bother me because if you EQ it right the 2 channels will sound fine with the same EQ setting- unless you're aiming for ultra clean. I like having a slightly dirty clean, so i don't mind.

When the 100 watt first came out, I played one of teh $25,000 Frankenstein replicas through it at Guitar Center- hated the guitar, loved the amp, but hated the $3,000 prce tage for the head and cabinet. At half the price the 50 watt is amazing, so much so that Fender can't make enough to supply the demand so they switched factories

Before this amp I was using a Carvin V3, which was the best value on the market with the most features and quality for the price. IMO the EVH 50 watt is now the best amp for the price, considering the quality of the tone you get on all three channels.

All I may end up doing to complete it is pick up a used Line 6 HD500 or Boss GT100 (or GT 10) to use Midi to switch the channels and have different reverb and delay settings for each channel.

[Gypsyblue]

For a grand, I don't think there is any better- but it all comes to personal taste. I got mine for $899- there's plenty of places that will give it to you for that price- even $825.

Can I ask where can I find one for $825? Or even $899? The going price seems to be $999. Thanks!

[jmh151]

Can I ask where can I find one for $825? Or even $899? The going price seems to be $999. Thanks!

Wait for the sales- 10 percent off. You should be seeing them at places like Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, American Music Supply next week for Labor Day. Some guys manage to double up on coupons, getting it down to 825. I paid 899, got free shipping, but still paid sales tax

[Blix]

I've had mine for 5 months and it still surprises me!

Yesterday I discovered that the best brown tones from it comes from the Ch 3 with the gain turned way down, it gets way more "Marshally" than Ch 2!
Now that's something I hadn't expected, but the proof is in the audio...

Listen to this:
http://soundcloud.com/amund-blix/g12h


Even does a decent Yngwie to too. Not as good audio here, the backing track is horrible.
http://soundcloud.com/amund-blix/strat-5150-hack

[astrozombie]

I've used the full size EVH 3 for rehearsals for about a year.

great tone!

the right cab does wonders too.

I've wanted to run it through a rectifier cab or orange cab to see what happens in terms of bass.