I ordered the 50w and two 2x12 cabs from Brad recently.
Was really disappointed at first. The amp seemed so cartoonishly over-the-top. I've been gigging the same Bogner XTC 101B rig since the late 90s and the poor amp has been dying a slow death for the last few years (needs some TLC). But I've gotten so used to that tone.
After that initial day with the EVH, I put it away to sell. I broke it back out last night on a whim, and took it to band rehearsal. The only thing I can compare it to is that "WOW" feeling you get with your first pair of glasses after not realizing how bad your eyes were. Kinda' like seeing your first HDTV.
I spent rehearsal tweaking it, and I'm glad I did. I had the balls and punch I've been missing from my XTC lately, while still being in that chewy, barky tonal area I like. It's like an exploded, less-refined version of of the XTC, if that makes sense. Just needed to get used to it and hear/tweak it within the context of the band. Haven't really had to do that in years.
I may be the odd man out on this one, but I really dig the red channel! In my amp at least, it has quite a bit more body than the blue, which is a little more boxy and mid-focused. I think I run the red gain a lot lower than some of you. You guys running it at 2 o'clock and up...no idea how you get away with it. It's insanely saturated. I settled in between 9 and 10 o'clock and it could almost be a one-channel amp. I prefer a cleaner, punchier OD to a gained-out one though. Full up on the guitar...AIC heaviness, easy. THE most impressive thing to me was how well the highs cut through, even when I messed around with the gain set way up. I think that's why the amp cleans up so well with the guitar volume. At my 9 o'clock gain on the red, I can roll back and get a respectable clean, especially with single-coils.
For you roll-back-the-volume-for-clean guys like me, the EVH could easily be a one-channel amp, on either blue or red.
I play in a loud, six-piece tribute band with a pretty dense mix and I barely had to open it up. I can assure any and all doubters out there that it has way more than enough volume for just about anyone or any situation I can think of.
Let the honeymoon period begin!
