RE: EVH 5150 III 50 Watt head....

[angelspade]

I Have a shot a getting one of these (50 watt EVH Head) cheap, and have been doing my research online. The videos and clips sound really good...But I have heard varying reports regarding functionality, reliability, etc. Whats the general consensus / verdict on these little devils around here? THANKS!!!

 

[mystixboi]

Best amp I've ever owned. I had better success with the Mexican made models versus the original Vietnamese model. Either way though, you can't go wrong

 

[neilli]

I got one a couple of months ago and am really happy with it. Had an issue with a poorly seated phase splitter tube, but that was down to shipping and compounded by my lack of knowledge..

 

[Rayneman]

Pretty cool little amp. A little difficult if you like the blue channel with lots of gain AND need a clean channel. Mine HUMS terribly on the red channel, I used it live at an outdoor gig recently and a decimator pedal in the loop couldn't touch the hum, which blasted through the mains any time I wasn't playing. We may have had crappy power, but it has always hummed, just not so badly. Despite it sounding good, the hum makes the red channel nearly unusable for me. Mine is a fairly new Mexico-made version.

 

[Racerxrated]

I've had 2...both new. First one sounded good, second was a little sterile. Both Mexican. Rolled pre tubes in both, helped a bit. Both reliable good sounding 3 channel heads. Wasn't the end-all amp for me like some around here, but its between this and the DSL100h as the best bang for the buck amp out there...new cost that is. I had them through V30s, G12C VM cab and an EVH 4x12. Liked it best through the Vintage Modern cab.

 

[thesockmonster]

I Have a shot a getting one of these (50 watt EVH Head) cheap, and have been doing my research online. The videos and clips sound really good...But I have heard varying reports regarding functionality, reliability, etc. Whats the general consensus / verdict on these little devils around here? THANKS!!!

I've never had a problem with mine - only decided to replace it with a modeler for convenience. Rock solid, consistent tone - no issues. I just sent mine to the tech for its yearly checkup, and he's always raving about what a clean build it is.

 

[4406cuda]

I love mine. I stay on the blue chennel mostly with the gain 1:00

I started using an ep booster for a lead boost and love it.

 

[Anonymous]

Love mine. Had it for a few months now. Versatile !!
Blues, hard rock, metal and a nice clean in you need.

 

[Anonymous]

BTW, I would take this over the DSL any day, tone wise I think it kills it not even a competition imo.

 

[CP5150]

I got one a couple of months ago and am really happy with it. Had an issue with a poorly seated phase splitter tube, but that was down to shipping and compounded by my lack of knowledge..

What was happening? My 2x12 combo one time got a loud hum and volume and gain would drop every 20 seconds or so then go back to normal over and over again. All three channels and the hum was present with nothing plugged in. No fx loop and no footswitch plugged in. PI tube is my primary suspect. Hasn't happened again and I've logged several hours trying to replicate the problem. What was yours doing?

 

[Racerxrated]

BTW, I would take this over the DSL any day, tone wise I think it kills it not even a competition imo.

Well, I'll find out in a week or so. I'm getting a newer 100h for 500. I can always return it. I can tell you that for me, the 5153 is OK...good bang for the buck amp that does a lot. My Jubilee crushes it period. Not even in the same conversation as a top level tone amp, at least to me. The Stealth might be different. And for that matter any 800 I've had is better than the 5153 at pure in your face tone. But the 5153 is a 3 channel amp so its not gonna have one trick...its got a few obviously. Its a nice amp but after having some great marshalls, SLOs and some VHTs and others the 5153 just pales in comparison. I don't expect the DSL to be anything better than the EVH....if I could find a 5153 for 500 I might be getting that instead.....

 

[CP5150]

BTW, I would take this over the DSL any day, tone wise I think it kills it not even a competition imo.

Well, I'll find out in a week or so. I'm getting a newer 100h for 500. I can always return it. I can tell you that for me, the 5153 is OK...good bang for the buck amp that does a lot. My Jubilee crushes it period. Not even in the same conversation as a top level tone amp, at least to me. The Stealth might be different. And for that matter any 800 I've had is better than the 5153 at pure in your face tone. But the 5153 is a 3 channel amp so its not gonna have one trick...its got a few obviously. Its a nice amp but after having some great marshalls, SLOs and some VHTs and others the 5153 just pales in comparison. I don't expect the DSL to be anything better than the EVH....if I could find a 5153 for 500 I might be getting that instead.....

Guess I've only found bad 800s. Every one I played sucked. All mids no bottom and zero gain. Great for country I guess. And the one Jubilee I played was the same except more. And this was a brand new one back in the day. Not a reissue. More mids. Little bit of gain. It sounded better. More rounded I guess. Still needs something in front to push it to sound good. That's why when the Peavey 5150 came out I was all over it. Too much gain and too much bass. Exactly what I was looking for. Honestly I only abuse the bass. I run my 5150s as clean as possible. Just enough gain to get some sustain out of the amp. Which is still a lot of gain. But less than other people I've seen use them. 5150 III red channel is just insane. Way too much gain. The blue channel is where it's at. I back off the gain to around 10:00 for classic rock Marshall type sounds.

I liked the DSL-100. It might do classic VH better than the 5150 III blue channel. I'd love to get one. No more amps until I get Ed's new 5150-34 or whatever they call it. Whenever it gets released. Gives me time to save up.

I preferred the Dual recto. They were too expensive so I stuck with my old 5150. It's till a monster amp!

 

[Racerxrated]

BTW, I would take this over the DSL any day, tone wise I think it kills it not even a competition imo.

Well, I'll find out in a week or so. I'm getting a newer 100h for 500. I can always return it. I can tell you that for me, the 5153 is OK...good bang for the buck amp that does a lot. My Jubilee crushes it period. Not even in the same conversation as a top level tone amp, at least to me. The Stealth might be different. And for that matter any 800 I've had is better than the 5153 at pure in your face tone. But the 5153 is a 3 channel amp so its not gonna have one trick...its got a few obviously. Its a nice amp but after having some great marshalls, SLOs and some VHTs and others the 5153 just pales in comparison. I don't expect the DSL to be anything better than the EVH....if I could find a 5153 for 500 I might be getting that instead.....

Guess I've only found bad 800s. Every one I played sucked. All mids no bottom and zero gain. Great for country I guess. And the one Jubilee I played was the same except more. And this was a brand new one back in the day. Not a reissue. More mids. Little bit of gain. It sounded better. More rounded I guess. Still needs something in front to push it to sound good. That's why when the Peavey 5150 came out I was all over it. Too much gain and too much bass. Exactly what I was looking for. Honestly I only abuse the bass. I run my 5150s as clean as possible. Just enough gain to get some sustain out of the amp. Which is still a lot of gain. But less than other people I've seen use them. 5150 III red channel is just insane. Way too much gain. The blue channel is where it's at. I back off the gain to around 10:00 for classic rock Marshall type sounds.

I liked the DSL-100. It might do classic VH better than the 5150 III blue channel. I'd love to get one. No more amps until I get Ed's new 5150-34 or whatever they call it. Whenever it gets released. Gives me time to save up.

I preferred the Dual recto. They were too expensive so I stuck with my old 5150. It's till a monster amp!

I guess if you love the recto that's the camp you are in, and you won't be a Marshall guy. A Jubilee is TOTALLY different in where it sits eq wise compared to an 800. More low end than you need. I don't bond with rectos, although I've thought about grabbing another for another go. Thing is, I guess I judge an amp when you push the power section. How does it spank you with tone? And that's where 800s, nmv, Jubilees, MKIIIs, SLOs, and the VHT Deliverance shine. Lots of others out there also but those are what I've owned. And the 5153 is a distant second to any of those for me. But hell its a 3 channel amp that has a clean, Marshall channel and a recto channel..very versatile and good sounding. And referring to marshalls yes you have to boost them to get heavy gain. I use an OD1x now to boost my Jubilee and it has a low end dial, can add low end back into it. Great boost.

 

[BSRIAudio]

The little 5153 50 watter is great. I agree with the issue about green/blue volume so treat it as a 2-channel amp with a bonus voicing for recording. A good example of too many features being a bad thing. If this was a two-channel amp no one would complain about a thing. Because there is a third channel but its not easy to use people complain and write it off.

 

[nevusofota]

Had mine since it first came out. Vietnam version, never had an issue. It is a great amp, all I need is Channels 1 and 2 and boost channel 2 if I need more gain. However, I like my standard 100w a little more.

 

[Soulstealer]

Pretty cool little amp. A little difficult if you like the blue channel with lots of gain AND need a clean channel. Mine HUMS terribly on the red channel, I used it live at an outdoor gig recently and a decimator pedal in the loop couldn't touch the hum, which blasted through the mains any time I wasn't playing. We may have had crappy power, but it has always hummed, just not so badly. Despite it sounding good, the hum makes the red channel nearly unusable for me. Mine is a fairly new Mexico-made version.

Mine hummed like crazy at my friend's "studio", but is quiet at my gigs. I blame the bad power at his place.

 

[charvelstrat81]

I have had mine for a little over a month now and it still is impressing me
ps,if buying used try to go with a MIM one, new it wont matter since they all are being made there now