F.U.C.K. vs Balance Tone: SLO-100, 5150 Reissue, or x88ir for the ultimate '90s Ed rig?

[brunocormack]

I'm looking to build a dedicated rig to chase the absolute peak of Eddie's '90s era-specifically the massive, thick tones on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance.


To me, this is the gold standard of high-gain stereo guitar production. But I'm torn on which foundational path to take to get there, and I want to hear from anyone who has AB'd these setups for this specific flavor.


Here is what I'm looking at:

• Peavey 5150 1992 Reissue (6505 Original) The obvious choice for Balance. It has that exact aggressive, mid-heavy roar, but can it pull off the slightly more open, searing liquid crunch heard on tracks like "Poundcake" or "Judgment Day" without getting too compressed?
• Soldano SLO-100 (or SLO-30 - The F.U.C.K. record is heavily documented as having a ton of SLO-100 all over it alongside the early Peavey prototypes.
  The Soldano harmonic complexity and upper-mid clarity are unmatched, but does it lack the low-end chunk needed for the Balance era stuff? (Also, would a modern SLO-30 with the depth mod suffice at lower volum
• Soldano X88R / X88IR: The wild card. Going the high-end preamp route into a quality power amp or IR loader to recreate that rack-era separation.

If you were trying to bridge the gap between both of these records into a single rig, which path are you taking? Is the 5150 reissue the definitive answer because of the raw tone, or does a real SLO give you that refined, studio-grade harmonic sweetness that the Peavey misses?

 

[Rick Lee]

Flame away, but I think the Eventide will make any of these amps get you pretty close.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

FU.C.K. tone is really boring for my taste. Hard to know if it’s the amps fault or the recording/mixing. I really enjoy the tone and songs on Balance. 5150 def my pick

 

[heath]

Flame away, but I think the Eventide will make any of these amps get you pretty close.

I've been chasing this tone for years and have come to a similar conclusion. The eventide(s) 9 cents up and 9 cents down and the two sde delays running to separate power amps and cabs left and right with the dry amp running down the center is the tone.

I think the recorded tone is probably a mix of the 5150 and SLO depending on the song, but if I were going to try doing it with one amp, I would pick the 5150 III 50 watt 6l6. It feels like a good compromise between the two, and the blue channel with a klon clone as a boost is magic.

 

[glpg80]

You want the 1992 peavey 5150 reissue for the dry cab and choose a stereo poweramp of your preference for the stereo wet cabs. An eventide H3000 for the wet effects. I chased the Van Halen thing for years and all you need is a 5150 original and a W/D/W setup with original 5150 cabinets. No need to overthink it.

As was said previously you could get fancy and also use a SLO for the dry tone depending on the song but a 1992 reissue 5150 will do pretty much all of balance. You also need to crank the piss out of the 5150 - Eddie played loud and that core tone is with the amps at least on 4.

 

[marvcus]

Just a tip: Every YT I see of the tone recreation is too heavy on the effects in the mix. If you hear a chorusy sweep, it ain’t right.

OG 5150 for sure or if you want to get fancy, SLO pre out into a Marshall EL34 amp power section.

 

[SonVolt]

You want the 1992 peavey 5150 reissue for the dry cab and choose a stereo poweramp of your preference for the stereo wet cabs. An eventide H3000 for the wet effects. I chased the Van Halen thing for years and all you need is a 5150 original and a W/D/W setup with original 5150 cabinets. No need to overthink it.

5150 cabinets with Sheffield's? I didn't even think Eddie used those.

 

[marvcus]

4x12 Marshall w G12Ts from Andy Brauer if I remember correctly

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I've been chasing this tone for years and have come to a similar conclusion. The eventide(s) 9 cents up and 9 cents down and the two sde delays running to separate power amps and cabs left and right with the dry amp running down the center is the tone.

I think the recorded tone is probably a mix of the 5150 and SLO depending on the song, but if I were going to try doing it with one amp, I would pick the 5150 III 50 watt 6l6. It feels like a good compromise between the two, and the blue channel with a klon clone as a boost is magic.

The original 50 watter 6L6 is my favorite too. Amp is just pure fun

 

[Dale B]

I'm looking to build a dedicated rig to chase the absolute peak of Eddie's '90s era-specifically the massive, thick tones on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance.


To me, this is the gold standard of high-gain stereo guitar production. But I'm torn on which foundational path to take to get there, and I want to hear from anyone who has AB'd these setups for this specific flavor.


Here is what I'm looking at:

• Peavey 5150 1992 Reissue (6505 Original) The obvious choice for Balance. It has that exact aggressive, mid-heavy roar, but can it pull off the slightly more open, searing liquid crunch heard on tracks like "Poundcake" or "Judgment Day" without getting too compressed?
• Soldano SLO-100 (or SLO-30 - The F.U.C.K. record is heavily documented as having a ton of SLO-100 all over it alongside the early Peavey prototypes.
  The Soldano harmonic complexity and upper-mid clarity are unmatched, but does it lack the low-end chunk needed for the Balance era stuff? (Also, would a modern SLO-30 with the depth mod suffice at lower volum
• Soldano X88R / X88IR: The wild card. Going the high-end preamp route into a quality power amp or IR loader to recreate that rack-era separation.

If you were trying to bridge the gap between both of these records into a single rig, which path are you taking? Is the 5150 reissue the definitive answer because of the raw tone, or does a real SLO give you that refined, studio-grade harmonic sweetness that the Peavey misses?

The SLO is a WAY better amp to me. Most of what you're hearing at the beginning of Judgement Day is the SLO. They may have blended a 5150 prototype back in at lower levels, but the 5150 doesn't sound like that. It doesn't have that "wangy" overtone. The high-mids and highs aren't as clear.

The Depth Mod... I never used that, and both of my SLOs had it. If it acts the same way on the 30 as it does the 100, it won't sound the same. The Depth Mod fattens up EVERYTHING. I only found it usedful if I had the Lead channel gain below 10:00. Other than that, MEH!

I like the original 5150 block letter and script versions. Neither one is anywhere near an SLO to me.

Of course, these are just my opinions. There are lots of people here that feel the oppositie way about it. No one is wrong.

 

[Techdeth]

Balance time destroys FUCK

 

[Rick Lee]

Balance has fantastic tone, but it does sound more processed than FUCK.

 

[glpg80]

5150 cabinets with Sheffield's? I didn't even think Eddie used those.

The 5150 was released during the summer just before the F.U.C.K. album summer tour kicked off. Balance came afterwards and probably does have different speakers on the album but for live, I believe it was all Eddie designed Sheffield’s.

Sheffield’s get a lot of flack but there’s someone else here that has a killer cabinet tone using a different Sheffield model. I never had a problem with the Sheffield’s in my cabs chasing the EVH tone. Half of it is in your fingers and playing style - if you can’t get there with a WDW setup using 5150’s and a Wolfgang, I don’t know how much speakers are going to make or break it.

 

[SoooRad]

The 5150 was released during the summer just before the F.U.C.K. album summer tour kicked off. Balance came afterwards and probably does have different speakers on the album but for live, I believe it was all Eddie designed Sheffield’s.

Sheffield’s get a lot of flack but there’s someone else here that has a killer cabinet tone using a different Sheffield model. I never had a problem with the Sheffield’s in my cabs chasing the EVH tone. Half of it is in your fingers and playing style - if you can’t get there with a WDW setup using 5150’s and a Wolfgang, I don’t know how much speakers are going to make or break it.

I 100% agree. Sheffields can sound fantastic. People just look for excuses to spend more money than they have to.

 

[Alpha Stryke]

Good tone but alcoholic song writing.
"Only time will tell if we stand the test of time". LOL
Sam said in his book he was convinced Ed was nutts whilst EVH tried & almost succeeded in smashing out a window on their charter jet
@ 30,000 ft.

 

[JonPearson1994]

Don't have too much to contribute, BUT I'm at the airport bar and Right Here, Right Now is on, really is such a ripper.

 

[harddriver]

4x12 Marshall w G12Ts from Andy Brauer if I remember correctly

According to an interview with Dave Friedman he delivered 4x12 cabinets( when Dave worked for Andy Brauer's) with G12T75's and G1265's to 5150 studios when Ed was using the SLO and Dave says Ed preferred those speakers with the SLO.

 

[harddriver]

Just a tip: Every YT I see of the tone recreation is too heavy on the effects in the mix. If you hear a chorusy sweep, it ain’t right.

OG 5150 for sure or if you want to get fancy, SLO pre out into a Marshall EL34 amp power section.

I don't remember what songs but John Suhr said Ed also used the CAE OD100 preamp into the power section of Marshall. The interview with Suhr and Friedman is a good one if interested.

 

[harddriver]

Don't have too much to contribute, BUT I'm at the airport bar and Right Here, Right Now is on, really is such a ripper.

Are you having a drink with Cabo Wabo tequila in it?

 

[marvcus]

I don't remember what songs but John Suhr said Ed also used the CAE OD100 preamp into the power section of Marshall. The interview with Suhr and Friedman is a good one if interested.

Dream Is Over is CAE 3+