5150 III One Day Review-GOT IT-UPDATED FIRST POST

[Steinmetzify]

With a LOT of help, it's there. Low end, low volume, gritty, gainy, sounds good with BOTH of my main guitars (where before the solid body LP with BKPs in it sounded thin!?) on all channels and it's definitely rockable...had to use some settings that I'd never have come up with on my own for an amp like this....if I took a pic you guys'd laugh your asses off. But it's working, so I'm done complaining.

Plan is to keep it and snag another Orange cab after Christmas; with where it's at now it's gonna THUMP like a motherfucker thru a 2x12. Guess I'll just keep the 1x12 as a backup after I can snag the Orange.

I'd like to thank everyone that contributed; I know it was a PITA to read all this shit over and over, but it got done thanks to the brilliant minds at RT. Much appreciated, guys.

Special thanks to GuitarGuyLP and H Golf Sport for RT duty above and beyond. Their advice was invaluable. Thank you gentlemen.

I love this forum....people can say we're 80s guys, we're old guys, we're stuck in VH guys....but at the end of the day if someone has an issue we'll spend all weekend getting it figured out and that's not common on many of the forums I frequent.

 

[SFW]

Volume. That's the only way you make the 5153 a beast. There is plenty of chest thumping bass in the amp. You just have to open it up to get it. I run channel two and three masters at 11:00. It's loud and it crushes. You need to at least be able to open it up to 9:30 or 10:00 to get the bottom end cooking. I'd say that you're probably working with the wrong amp if you can't give it some volume.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

I didn't have a problem with the low end at low volumes......through a 2x12 and 4x12. My problem after awhile was how "toyish" and synthetic the gain was. Also started sounding really nasal to my ears after a few weeks as well. It's a strange amp.......sounds amazing at first and is so fun to play because of the compression/smoothness. But all that quickly fades. Especially if you plug into something different immediately after. I kept mine for about 3 months. The guy I sold it too was blown away.....for about 2 months.

I also thought the blue channel hated every OD I threw at it. Not that it needs one, but I'm an OD junkie. I wish I could have made the amp work because it was loud and compact.....it just didn't stand up to anything in our rehearsal space.

FWIW, I've never played the 100w.

 

[Erock]

I didn't have a problem with the low end at low volumes......through a 2x12 and 4x12. My problem after awhile was how "toyish" and synthetic the gain was. Also started sounding really nasal to my ears after a few weeks as well. It's a strange amp.......sounds amazing at first and is so fun to play because of the compression/smoothness. But all that quickly fades. Especially if you plug into something different immediately after. I kept mine for about 3 months. The guy I sold it too was blown away.....for about 2 months.

I also thought the blue channel hated every OD I threw at it. Not that it needs one, but I'm an OD junkie. I wish I could have made the amp work because it was loud and compact.....it just didn't stand up to anything in our rehearsal space.

FWIW, I've never played the 100w.

I had the 100w, and didn't have a problem with the lowend, but I was using an OS 4x12. Funny you mention your experience though, almost exactly the same. I loved the amount of gain and liquid feel, but there was something synthetic about it that started to grate on my ears. I know exactly what you mean. Im an OD junkie too. I'm really interested to hear how the tweaks sound on the ltd version. The blue with more gain and lowend could be really interesting.

 

[Steinmetzify]

The modded Single Rec I had sounded great at the same volume. Is there just nothing out there that's gonna replace that for me? I knew it was a mistake to sell it, but I needed $ at the time.

I'm not going down a rabbit hole. I did my homework on this amp, and played it numerous times; the low end wasn't an issue in stores. I guess I just didn't realize how low I was actually going to have to play it at home.

If there's nothing out there that's gonna thump at the volumes I need then I'll just give it up. I can't do the stuff that some guys on here do; running thru multiple amps chasing something. I don't have the time, the money or the inclination to do so.

Did I just get lucky with that amp/cab combination?

 

[sjk]

A 1x12 cab is certainly not helping your situation.

 

[Erock]

Jerry's recto mods almost sounded like a really good boosted recto to me, I really dig his his mods on the recto and DSL. Are you opposed to using a boost? That fortin designed rd45 sounds really interesting for the coin.

 

[Steinmetzify]

A 1x12 cab is certainly not helping your situation.

You think it'd be worth my time to go snag a 4x12 randomly from GC just to try it out, or would the volume still be an issue?

Jerry's recto mods almost sounded like a really good boosted recto to me, I really dig his his mods on the recto and DSL. Are you opposed to using a boost? That fortin designed rd45 sounds really interesting for the coin.

Not opposed to using one at all; got an OCD that I'm slamming the front of this with now. It actually did a lot to tighten this up and I dig what it sounds like; just too thin for me atm.

By the way; I appreciate all the insight guys. Both from the guys that sent em on and the ones who kept em.

 

[Mailman1971]

Think you know what to do.......

 

[Steinmetzify]

You're not helping!

 

[Mailman1971]

You're not helping!

HA!!

 

[moronmountain]

Yeah a 1x12 certainly is not helping. There's just not that much speaker surface and weight to it IMO. A 4x12 shouldn't necessarily be any louder than a 1x12 afaik. Why not just get another Single Rec and be done with it? Can't those things be had on the cheap?? $800-1000?

 

[xzyryabx]

A 1x12 cab is certainly not helping your situation.

+1
My Ironball/savage sounded like ass through a jectcity 1x12, but through the splawn sounds massive.

What cab/speakers was your Mesa running through?
Try a different EQ and try boosting the lows/low mids?

The Ironball I have has plenty of balls even @ 1 watt w/ EL84s (running throught a splawn 2x12 loaded w/ only one governor), so that might be worth a try if you have a dealer around you if all else fails w/ the EVH. It also has a great headphone out since volume seems to be an issue at your place.

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

With the eq in the loop drop the levels so that you can turn the amp volume up with it still being quiet. The 1x12 shouldn't be the problem. I have ran a few different 1x12s, and you can get good bass, but the g12h30s in the 1x12, and 2x12 evh cabs are very bright until they break in a bit which at apartment volumes is pretty much never. Try the eq as an attenuator in he loop, and if that doesn't do it I would think about trying a different cab if you are able to exchange it.

 

[glassjaw7]

The IIIs I've played had plenty of low end. Definitely the 112 and low volume killing you here.

 

[guitarobert]

I haven't owned this amp but how about checking and adjusting the bias? I read that these come biased on the cold side from the factory. If it has room to go higher that will warm it up.

Also haven't tried that 1x12 but from past experience going from a 1x12 to even a 2x12 was a pretty big difference in tone and fullness.

 

[H Golf Sport]

What kind of volume are we talking? Has one of the best MV out there IMHO. I have 0 problem with low end thru a 4 x12 with greenbacks at late night someone sleeping in the next room volume. G12h30 in the 1x12 cab might not be helping. Can't stand that speaker. Never had a prob with a 2x12 stiletto cab v 30s or avatar 2x12 with greenbacks.
Don't be afraid to dial way back the prescence and treble. Like 8-9:00 o'clock. Will thicken it up. It can be a bright amp.
Got friends with other cabs you can try? Crank the resonance on the back.
Sometimes takes a while to figure out an amp. Give it a week or so for a fair shake.

 

[H Golf Sport]

Oh and can't imagine needing a boost. I'll get up to AIC, slayer or SOD gain at max. Never go above 1:00 on the blue or 9:30 on the red.
Anyway drunken slurring typing on the phone. Hope you work it out.
Aloha, Rob.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

a 4x12 cab with dual inputs can give you a split 2x12
I liked the Fortinrd50, but sold it because the low end was tight but lacked punch/power IMO
You'll likely need to look at another modded Recto...but a KPA would totally kick ass in apartment settings

 

[311boogieman]

Gotta be the cab


otherwise, get a Vypyr tube 60 or your Single Rec