Is a 5150III EL34 what I'm looking for?

GreatRedDragon

GreatRedDragon

Well-known member
Wanting to get a three channel amp.

Looking for a clean channel, and rip-your-face-off high gain channel and a Marshall-y crunch channel in the middle, something I can play like a normal single-channel Marshall if I'd like.

The EVH seems to tick all the boxes, and the MIDI compatibility is a big plus. Euge's demo really sold me on its ability to get the sound I want, I'm just curious about alternatives out there.
 
It for sure ticks all those boxes, is voiced well, feels good, priced well, but I always just found the core tone plastic-y for my taste and lacking when AB’ed with really great amps

Other options for that criteria would be the Bogner XTC’s and 5150 Iconic, although I honestly haven’t been convinced yet tonally by many amps with more than 3 channels

If you can live with 2 channels the Wizards and Naylor’s are great
 
Got a little pumped up there !!! It checks all the boxes and is affordable . There are a bunch of choices out there but they start getting pricey.
 
I have the 6L6 and love it. The MIDI programming is indeed a huge plus, especially since the footswitch is fucking huge for it. Not sure why they left it off the 100-watt heads as that automatically killed me lust for a 100-watter after I got the 50-watt.

I think the only gripe you might run into as far as using the Blue channel as a ‘use the volume knob to clean up’ thing is that that amp doesn’t clean up quite as well as others, even with the gain rolled back. To be fair, I haven’t tried it with low output pickups yet.
 
braintheory said:
It for sure ticks all those boxes, is voiced well, feels good, priced well, but I always just found the core tone plastic-y for my taste and lacking when AB’ed with really great amps

Other options for that criteria would be the Bogner XTC’s and 5150 Iconic, although I honestly haven’t been convinced yet tonally by many amps with more than 3 channels

If you can live with 2 channels the Wizards and Naylor’s are great
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This.

I'll mention the MT100, as the lead ch and clean are fantastic and have none of that 'plastic' thing the EVHs tend to have, save the Iconic which IMO is the best of all of them. But only 2 channels.
The MT OD channel is very midrangey, can't dial it out but is somewhat Marshall-y. It'll do a decent early AC/DC unboosted. The MT also saves you $800 vs the EVH Stealth 34 model.
 
GreatRedDragon said:
Marshall-y crunch channel in the middle, something I can play like a normal single-channel Marshall if I'd like
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I love the EVH amps. However, I don't think this is really the case. Don't get me wrong, the blue channel is sweet in its own way, but a substitute for a single channel Marshall it is not. Just my opinion of course.

It'll have its own set of quirks, and it won't do that 5150 saturated metal thing without a boost, but have you considered something like a Marshall TSL or 6100LM? Because man, the 6100LM especially, channel 2 is your dream if you want a single-channel Marshall on a channel switcher, and I regularly see them for sale right around $1k. I have two lol.

Not trying to steer you off of the EVH of course, it's a sick amp that I'm sure you'll be happy with. Depends on what is more important to you, a more authentic Marshall-type crunch, or the super saturated 5150 metal sound.
 
Just my opinion, but the el34 5150iii was the only amp I sent back because I disliked it so much.
It was such a bummer because I was very much excited to get one
 
braintheory said:
It for sure ticks all those boxes, is voiced well, feels good, priced well, but I always just found the core tone plastic-y for my taste and lacking when AB’ed with really great amps

Other options for that criteria would be the Bogner XTC’s and 5150 Iconic, although I honestly haven’t been convinced yet tonally by many amps with more than 3 channels

If you can live with 2 channels the Wizards and Naylor’s are great
Click to expand...
The Bogner is out of my price range, but the Iconic is one I've considered. The deal breaker for me is the best tone the amp has IMO is the Green channel with the overdrive engaged, but the OD mode isn't footswitchable so you sacrifice the clean channel.

TotallyRadGuitars said:
I love the EVH amps. However, I don't think this is really the case. Don't get me wrong, the blue channel is sweet in its own way, but a substitute for a single channel Marshall it is not. Just my opinion of course.

It'll have its own set of quirks, and it won't do that 5150 saturated metal thing without a boost, but have you considered something like a Marshall TSL or 6100LM? Because man, the 6100LM especially, channel 2 is your dream if you want a single-channel Marshall on a channel switcher, and I regularly see them for sale right around $1k. I have two lol.

Not trying to steer you off of the EVH of course, it's a sick amp that I'm sure you'll be happy with. Depends on what is more important to you, a more authentic Marshall-type crunch, or the super saturated 5150 metal sound.
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I've considered the Marshall options, but the hassle of having to find one and dealing with used gear that may or may not be up to snuff is a bit of a turn-off to me right now. I would lean towards the JVM but it's way outta my price range compared to the 50w EVH.

I already have a single channel head, so it's not like I need 100% authentic Marshall tone. I'm really looking for something that can hit those Zakk Wylde and Slash ballparks with a boost tightening it up.

It's why I'm considering the EL34 over the Stealth or 6L6. I know people complain about the Blue channel on the EL34 being overly warm and flubby compared to the other two, where it's super tight and aggressive, but that's kinda the vibe I'm looking for.
 
GreatRedDragon said:
It's why I'm considering the EL34 over the Stealth or 6L6. I know people complain about the Blue channel on the EL34 being overly warm and flubby compared to the other two, where it's super tight and aggressive, but that's kinda the vibe I'm looking for.
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thats what clipping the c137 does, removes the flubby lower mids on the blue channel
 
I’ve owned every version of the 5150 iii amps. I still have the 100 watt stealth 6l6 and el34 I think the 100s sound better than the 50s. More open to me. I just recently got the iconic head. I think it’s more what you’re looking for. I also have a peavey 5150 and 5150 II. The II would be a good choice too if they hadn’t jumped up in value after Ed’s death. The iconic is just tremendous value and voiced better for the tones you’re after imho.
 
RaceU4her said:
thats what clipping the c137 does, removes the flubby lower mids on the blue channel
Click to expand...
Maybe I misspoke, I meant the thick lower mids on the Blue Channel are what I'm looking for, vs the already super tight bottom end the Stealth's Blue has.

Definitely wanna try both amps though.
 
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