Is the EVH 5150 III underrated?

EyesOfTheSouth! said:
I think they are pretty mediocre. I keep reading stuff like this and buying them thinking I’m missing something. I’ve owned the OG 6L6, the concentric 6L6 (twice), and the Stealth. I agree with the “plastic” comments. Also found a serious lack of punch…….just a flat SS type tone. I greatly prefer the 5150/6505.
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Exactly. Really don't understand the apeal excluded size factor. The 'plastic' thing is real, it has no depth compared to big 5150/6505, crunch sounds are mediocre at best and the feel is very stiff. After all these glowing review I ran to the shop as soon as they was stock and it was quite a letdown. I gave them few more runs thru years and still no bueno.
 
Speeddemon said:
Did you try the tube swaps yet that I recommended you?
Makes a ton of difference and makes the red channel far more useable.
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No, because I forgot where I got the recommendation!

I looked around a week or two ago in all my PM’s for that specific info!
 
bubucci said:
Exactly. Really don't understand the apeal excluded size factor. The 'plastic' thing is real, it has no depth compared to big 5150/6505, crunch sounds are mediocre at best and the feel is very stiff. After all these glowing review I ran to the shop as soon as they was stock and it was quite a letdown. I gave them few more runs thru years and still no bueno.
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I’ve had the 6l6 twice and the el34 and I would consider both to be very forgiving amps—IMO the opposite of stiff. Also I think the crunch/blue channel is great. To each their own, I had the 100w white one and didn’t think there was much of a difference outside of the ridiculous size of the bigger one. Don’t get the “plastic” thing either but these are really compressed amps—at least compared to the SLO, Fuchs, Friedmans and Marshalls I have here.
 
tallcoolone said:
I’ve had the 6l6 twice and the el34 and I would consider both to be very forgiving amps—IMO the opposite of stiff. Also I think the crunch/blue channel is great. To each their own, I had the 100w white one and didn’t think there was much of a difference outside of the ridiculous size of the bigger one. Don’t get the “plastic” thing either but these are really compressed amps—at least compared to the SLO, Fuchs, Friedmans and Marshalls I have here.
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I know what he means by the "stiff" comment. It doesn't have the bounce or squash of something like an Ecstasy or Plexi, so in that sense it does sorta-kinda have a stiffer feel than some high gain amps, but to me that just equates to it sounding and feeling more modern. It's hard to describe. It's still saturated and easy to play, but notes don't really feel like they're sinking down and bouncing back as you play, unlike how some other amps feel, if that makes sense. Not a bad or good thing, btw, just a characteristic some people prefer and some don't.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
I know what he means by the "stiff" comment. It doesn't have the bounce or squash of something like an Ecstasy or Plexi, so in that sense it does sorta-kinda have a stiffer feel than some high gain amps, but to me that just equates to it sounding and feeling more modern. It's hard to describe. It's still saturated and easy to play, but notes don't really feel like they're sinking down and bouncing back as you play, unlike how some other amps feel, if that makes sense. Not a bad or good thing, btw, just a characteristic some people prefer and some don't.
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This is my exact experience as well.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
I know what he means by the "stiff" comment. It doesn't have the bounce or squash of something like an Ecstasy or Plexi, so in that sense it does sorta-kinda have a stiffer feel than some high gain amps, but to me that just equates to it sounding and feeling more modern. It's hard to describe. It's still saturated and easy to play, but notes don't really feel like they're sinking down and bouncing back as you play, unlike how some other amps feel, if that makes sense. Not a bad or good thing, btw, just a characteristic some people prefer and some don't.
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If you use the matching cab with the heritage greenbacks, the amp can be bouncy...
If you use V30 or a K100 it will be stiff...
 
In my experience the EVH III models are not stiff like a Quick Rod, Driftwood or CAE.

The part that sticks out to me is the quacky attack which can sound plasticy.

The OG 100 watt 6L6 has less of this.
 
I owned the EVH 100W 5150III 6L6 Stealth for about two years. Very solid amp. I guess where I kind of landed with it was it's a good amp, but not a great one. It is certainly a more "refined" version of the original Peavey 5150II sound, but the outright agression of those amps was kind of removed in that refinment process if that makes sense? It sounds a bit more even and "produced" than the original Peavey series sonically, like many more expensive boutique amps (such as the Diezel Herbert or Koch Supernova)...But without the richness or depth of those amps. So it kind of was pretty good in both areas, but not great at either. Still really enjoyed it, and may own one again at the right price.
 
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vinirosa said:
Totally agreed! I remember trying a 5150 head back in 1992 and I thought it sounded terrible... Although maybe I hear differently nowadays.
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I did not like it either first time I played the original.....but the damn combo version sounded great to me, go figure.
 
PaintChipsAreVegan said:
How so?
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All the 5153s I've owned, which consist of 2 50w 6L6, 1 Stealth 6L6 100w, and 1 Stealth EL34 100w, have this plastic/fake/contrived thing to the tone, like it's almost a bad modeler to some degree. It's hard to explain but I just don't care for it. They also seem to not have a 'bloom' at high volume, like an amp that has higher pv tend to have, where it 'hits' you with the punch it has. They get loud of course but they don't punch like a vintage Marshall/HiWatt etc will. And last but not least, the compression even if I put a 12AT7 or 12AU7 in one of the preamp positions is still ginormous. Way too over compressed.
The Iconic, by contrast, was set up in a way that sounded way more open/raw/uncompressed than any of the 5153s I mentioned. Just a way better sound to my ears. I have tried to 'uncompress' the 5153s I owned but even with tube swaps, keeping the gain down on the blue ch it still didn't appeal to me.
I wanted to like them, hence buying and trying many times but ultimately I threw in the towel.
 
Racerxrated said:
I wanted to like them, hence buying and trying many times but ultimately I threw in the towel.
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Do you know how many amps that I was in the exact same position with???????????......................LOL!:LOL:

I finally had to conclude that if I had to convince myself that I liked it, then it wasn't for me and had to move on......This happened with every Mesa amp that I tried..... Dual Recto and a MarkIII+++. I finally decided I just wasn't a Mesa guy not matter how much I liked the sound of other people playing them...................:dunno:

I can honestly say that I am quite content with what I have now...... but every now and then something catches my ears.....but not enough to get it.
 
harddriver said:
Do you know how many amps that I was in the exact same position with???????????......................LOL!:LOL:

I finally had to conclude that if I had to convince myself that I liked it, then it wasn't for me and had to move on......This happened with every Mesa amp that I tried..... Dual Recto and a MarkIII+++. I finally decided I just wasn't a Mesa guy not matter how much I liked the sound of other people playing them...................:dunno:

I can honestly say that I am quite content with what I have now...... but every now and then something catches my ears.....but not enough to get it.
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You n me in the same boat....I've had some truly killer Mesas....4 C+, 2 F Triples and a Dual C....great amps but at the end of the day, I'm a Marshall guy and even the amazing C Recto started getting ignored for my 72. That's when I knew it was time to move it.
 
I can see why many people prefer some of the high gain "boutique" amps out there, they are really good amps indeed. But is the 5150 III plastic sounding? No punch? I think I'll disagree on that, maybe it's got something to do with the speakers because the amp will certainly sound a bit harsh with Vintage 30s (or something like that), but I use a Greenback 4x12 all the time and that makes the amp sound a lot warmer. Channel 3 does sound a bit too much on the treble side though.

 
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vinirosa said:
I can see why many people prefer some of the high gain "boutique" amps out there, they are really good amps indeed. But is the 5150 III plastic sounding? No punch? I think I'll disagree on that, maybe it's got something to do with the speakers because the amp will certainly sound a bit harsh with Vintage 30s (or something like that), but I use a Greenback 4x12 all the time and that makes the amp sound a lot warmer. Channel 3 does sound a bit too much on the treble side though.

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The OG version in my experience have lass of the plastic feeling. I've had the original 50 watt and now have the 100.
 
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