Nitrobattery
Well-known member
Many thanks to itsallinmyh3ad for an excellent deal and transaction.
My first impression was, "This is cool, but unfortunately I don't think it's for me". It was just too compressed, too over the top, and the clean channel had this high end squawk that I couldn't dial out. Kind of bummed I made some coffee and pondered. Fully caffeinated I opened up the back of the amp and saw that all of the preamp tubes were JJ's. Not being the biggest fan of JJ 12AX7's I yanked out the V1 preamp tube and replaced it with the Tung-Sol, and *bam*. The cleans shimmered but stayed warm, and the lead channel was a million times clearer, less compressed, and infinitely more articulate. It's easily one of my favorite amps that I've ever owned. I'm normally a 100watt guy for the headroom and bottom end, but with the resonance control the low end is still huge, and even at insane volumes the clean channel doesn't break up unless you crank the gain. This thing definitely lives up to the hype.
I know one of the big questions a lot of people have is if they should ditch their Peavey 5150's/6505's for the EVH. I've had a couple of 6505's, and the EVH and the Peavey are different beasts for sure. I find I like the green channel in crunch mode of the Peavey more than the blue channel of the EVH. As far as clean tones, the EVH is a Fender. Shimmering, full bodied cleans. The lead channels are pretty different. The EVH is a lot more compressed, but with more usable gain. I'm a firm Maxon OD808 user, but honestly at band volumes this amp doesn't need it. That's a double edged sword though. I do wish the amp wasn't as compressed as it is, but on its own it's infinitely tighter and quieter than the Peavey. I'm not in a gigging band at the moment so I sold my Mesa Tremoverb and 6505 and picked this guy up, and for jamming at home it's just what I need. But mind you, it's PLENTY loud. I've had it wide open all day and it just rumbles. The lead channel is sort of a SLO100 and Mesa Mark IV hybrid. Super tight, super articulate, with a big bottom end. It's a cool amp for sure.
So, for guys contemplating whether to ditch they Peavey for the EVH, it depends on what you need. For what its worth, when I wrap up the recording up the project I'm working on now and start playing live, I'll more than likely pick up another 6505 and A/B between the EVH and the Peavey. The Peavey with the Maxon and an EQ in the loop for the main heavy rhythm tones, and the EVH for the clean and lead tones. If I could only have one though, it'd be the EVH.
I'm definitely interested in checking out the 100 watt version of the EVH. I know the mini was revoiced, so maybe the full blown version would address what few issues I have with it. All in all though, it's a KILLER amp for the money.
My first impression was, "This is cool, but unfortunately I don't think it's for me". It was just too compressed, too over the top, and the clean channel had this high end squawk that I couldn't dial out. Kind of bummed I made some coffee and pondered. Fully caffeinated I opened up the back of the amp and saw that all of the preamp tubes were JJ's. Not being the biggest fan of JJ 12AX7's I yanked out the V1 preamp tube and replaced it with the Tung-Sol, and *bam*. The cleans shimmered but stayed warm, and the lead channel was a million times clearer, less compressed, and infinitely more articulate. It's easily one of my favorite amps that I've ever owned. I'm normally a 100watt guy for the headroom and bottom end, but with the resonance control the low end is still huge, and even at insane volumes the clean channel doesn't break up unless you crank the gain. This thing definitely lives up to the hype.
I know one of the big questions a lot of people have is if they should ditch their Peavey 5150's/6505's for the EVH. I've had a couple of 6505's, and the EVH and the Peavey are different beasts for sure. I find I like the green channel in crunch mode of the Peavey more than the blue channel of the EVH. As far as clean tones, the EVH is a Fender. Shimmering, full bodied cleans. The lead channels are pretty different. The EVH is a lot more compressed, but with more usable gain. I'm a firm Maxon OD808 user, but honestly at band volumes this amp doesn't need it. That's a double edged sword though. I do wish the amp wasn't as compressed as it is, but on its own it's infinitely tighter and quieter than the Peavey. I'm not in a gigging band at the moment so I sold my Mesa Tremoverb and 6505 and picked this guy up, and for jamming at home it's just what I need. But mind you, it's PLENTY loud. I've had it wide open all day and it just rumbles. The lead channel is sort of a SLO100 and Mesa Mark IV hybrid. Super tight, super articulate, with a big bottom end. It's a cool amp for sure.
So, for guys contemplating whether to ditch they Peavey for the EVH, it depends on what you need. For what its worth, when I wrap up the recording up the project I'm working on now and start playing live, I'll more than likely pick up another 6505 and A/B between the EVH and the Peavey. The Peavey with the Maxon and an EQ in the loop for the main heavy rhythm tones, and the EVH for the clean and lead tones. If I could only have one though, it'd be the EVH.
I'm definitely interested in checking out the 100 watt version of the EVH. I know the mini was revoiced, so maybe the full blown version would address what few issues I have with it. All in all though, it's a KILLER amp for the money.
