The best 5150 ever made?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 27494
  • Start date
I'll forever love the OG 5150 II.. not the 5150 block letter. The II was better and I will die on that hill. The 50w III blue channel is high on my list too though. I never had the version with concentric pots... was anything changed in it other than the addition of the pots?
 
glpg80 said:
The circuit is different than all of the others, it has built in tube buffered reverb. The amp seems to have a clearer gain structure. I love to engage the reverb but keep it off or low - it’s just easy to play and sounds great doing it. Those models always had less of that upper nasally smear attitude and were more defined. It’s just sad they came in bulky awful 2x12 sizes.
Click to expand...
The bias, (even though non-adjustable), was much closer to where it should have been when they left the factory, vs. the head. Not sure if they used hotter tubes, or just the design, but it's well-documented. My favorite 5150 by far, but they were 80 fucking 5 pounds!
 
I love your vids Jon and watch all of them whenever released. Keep up the fantastic work (y)

My personal all time fav is the EL34 100w. Other than a Fryette UL, the EL34 is the only amp I've personally played that had the balls to compete with my Splawn Nitro. EVH had more cutting and useable mids in a band context. Nitro has a fixed tone unfortunately but that low end is addictive through the right cab.

With all of that said, I've only ever gotten complimented on my tone live with a Framus Cobra and the OG Peavey 5150. Go figure...
 
I've had the original 5150, a 6505+, an original EVH 100w and now have the 50 watt Stealth. I also played the 50 watt EL34 and Iconic a handful of times.
The 50s is my fav of those. My understanding is that it sounds nearly identical to the V2 50 watt. Probably could have saved some $, oh well.
It has all the headroom and volume I'll ever need. Not too congested in the mids. Smooth gain like Soldanos I've had, tight enough and modern sounding for heavy chugging and singing leads. Great master volume and effects loop. An Okko Diablo in the clean channel works for Marshally crunch.
Talking to folks at the Dallas Guitar Show, it seemed to be a fav amongst many of the locals that get their mitts on the good stuff that runs thru the Dallas GC. Were talking Soldanos, Diezel, Bogner, Mesa, Friedman, etc. A few of them bought one. I did the same after having a few opportunities to compare it to some great amps. It has the same functionality as a Bogner 3534. The Bogner has better cleans and many different shades of gain, more versatile with quality tone. The 50s hits the tight gainy stuff the Bogner doesn't get to, but can't do the gorgeous cleans and crunchy stuff like the 3534.
In short, the EVH 50s (and V2 EVH 50) is a great bang for buck amp that covers cleans and higher gain, modern sounds just right. For a few more bills, way more amp than the Iconic.
 
@Guitarjon awesome demo and playing and mixing as usual.

Thanks for putting all the work you put into these :yes:

Not sure if it was said already but to me, the OG 5150s are the original Peavey 5150s that Edward contributed to back in the day. You started your video by saying this was the OG 5150 III and I'm not sure that is what I would call it. That's all. Maybe that is just a weird preference I have by not referring to "OG" when talking about anything outside of the Peavey 5150 series.
 
The 5153 50W 2x12 combo is awesome too. The power scaling feature on that makes it very versatile and useful. Great amp, I love mine. Midi control to change channels and FX too.
 
My favorite that I have tried was the Stealth 100W blacked out head. Love the tones from that one. Never got a chance to pick one up though. First time I tried to order when they were first released the Fender rep didn't order any for Canada. Second time, I ordered, it never showed up and was sent to a different dealer who sold it. I gave up after that and figured it just isn't meant to be.
 
The OG combo gets a great classic rock tone just turning up the clean channel. But yeah, heavy as fuck. Imagine your two guitar band uses that and either a Mesa T-Verb 2x12 or Heartbreaker combo. It could be called Hernia Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
 
thenine said:
The 5153 50W 2x12 combo is awesome too. The power scaling feature on that makes it very versatile and useful. Great amp, I love mine. Midi control to change channels and FX too.
Click to expand...
Agree, I have the 5153 6L6 combo now and I also had the 50 watt stealth at the same time and I prefer the combo so I got rid of the stealth. I have had the 6l6 head in the past and still think the combo wins for me overall
 
I started working on my comparison with the EL34 today and all of the sudden it didn't want to turn on anymore... No lights, no nothing. Checked the fuse, the fuse is good. No clue what's up but I'm going to return it and hope they'll have a new one in stock at the store. I have many cool things planned with this amp. Hopefully it will be rectified asap! Usually the store is really good about these things.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
skoora said:
The OG combo gets a great classic rock tone just turning up the clean channel. But yeah, heavy as fuck. Imagine your two guitar band uses that and either a Mesa T-Verb 2x12 or Heartbreaker combo. It could be called Hernia Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
Click to expand...

Yep they're literally like 85 pounds lmao. I never move mine; it's easier to transport my halfstack honestly haha
 
I own a Peavey 5150, an EVH 100w 6L6 Stealth and an EVH 100w EL34S.I have also played a Peavey 5150II. For hard rock and metal, by far my favorite is the EVH100w EL34S. It is the most aggressive, unforgiving amp I have ever played. If you are off just a tiny bit it magnifies that and punishes you. If you are on, it magnifies that and rewards you. It has more gain than you will ever need and even at high gain settings the notes are clear and distinct and not too compressed sounding. They are big and bold.

I have not played the EVH White 100w, or any of the 50 watt heads or combos but I have spent A LOT of time comparing the different versions through clips and demos. Based on my research and experience I would have a hard time believing that the EVH White 100w, or any of the 50 watt heads or combos are as aggressive and bold sounding as the 100w Stealth or the 100w EL34S.

This is just my opinion based on my tastes. YMMV :)
 
Guitarjon said:
I started working on my comparison with the EL34 today and all of the sudden it didn't want to turn on anymore... No lights, no nothing. Checked the fuse, the fuse is good. No clue what's up but I'm going to return it and hope they'll have a new one in stock at the store. I have many cool things planned with this amp. Hopefully it will be rectified asap! Usually the store is really good about these things.
Click to expand...
That sucks. And its not an internal fuse? Fuses blow for a reason. Hope they get it sorted and turned around for you. Honestly, I was pretty happy with the original EVH 5153 black 6L6 100w.
 
PBGas said:
My favorite that I have tried was the Stealth 100W blacked out head. Love the tones from that one. Never got a chance to pick one up though. First time I tried to order when they were first released the Fender rep didn't order any for Canada. Second time, I ordered, it never showed up and was sent to a different dealer who sold it. I gave up after that and figured it just isn't meant to be.
Click to expand...
I definitely found the stealth to be a keeper in my stable . I widdled the collection down and I just could not sell it .l
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top