Is there a "boutique version" of the EVH 5150III?

I know I´m late to the party, but I played an EVH 5150 III for the first time recently. It´s a very cool amp and I LOVED its tone, however it was a bit noisy. Plus it does have quite a few features and is quite reasonably priced, so I´m wondering how well they´re really made? Build quality is very important to me as I already have Bogner and Soldano amps which are very well made.

Clean is not that important to me, crunch and especially the read channel is where it´s at for me.

Any advice?

I’d say the closest in sound, channel layout is probably the Bogner 20th Anniversary Ecstasy. I’m not saying they’re identical by any means but I can’t think of anything that comes closer.

I had an original version 5153 100watt and an Ecstacy 101b side by side and was amazed by how similar they were. However, the 101b was superior to the evh in every aspect. From note clarity, punch, noise, etc., the Bogner was just a little bit better. But it was almost like evh had tried to make a mass produced clone of the 101b. At the time, I kept the Bogner and returned the evh.
Eventually, I sold the 101b, and re- visited the evh 100 watt, but I've modded the evh to fix the shortcomings and I'm quite happy with the amp now.( but I enjoy working on amps )
2 things to note about the original evh 100 watt amps: there can be an issue on the power supply pcb with the fuse holder for the heater supply, and the footswitch cable is fragile as fuk. Never leave home without a spare.

Or the short answer to your question would be: yeah there is - get a Bogner Ecstacy

I've played them side by side also. Very similar voicing . I like them bothe but the effects loop design is more transparent on the EVH , I find Bogner loops to suck the tone of the amp. Might be something to consider for someone who likes to run delay/reverb in the loop.

Another amp to consider is the 6505+ which sounds very much like the EVH , it goes into a little more of a modern metal tone with more clarity though I was surprised but the EVH is a little blurry on the low notes in comparison. The XTC goes in the other direction to more of a heavy rock type tone so it depends on what style you are after .

Why not just get the EVH and use a good gate with it? You would save yourself a ton of cash.

OP, what Bogner amp do you currently own?

Funny enough, I already have a Bogner Ecstasy (albeit a Classic). The second channel in the EVH reminded me of the XTCs blue channel, but the red channels differ quite a lot IMO. The EVH is far more open and more aggressive. More "marshally"? Also way more harmonic content in the EVH... Maybe I should just get some kind of pedal to get the EVHs red channel sound from the Bogner?

EDIT: I played the EVH through its matching cab with those EVH speakers and use a Bogner Uberkab with the XTC if that matters.

I played the EVH through its matching cab with those EVH speakers and use a Bogner Uberkab with the XTC if that matters

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Well...yeah, it kinda does, because the EVH 4x12 with the Heritage greenbacks is night and day different from a Bogner Uberkab.
I bet a lot of what you loved about the EVH rig was coming from the cab.
There's nothing wrong with an UberKab, but those EVH 4x12's are freakin' incredible sounding cabs
I have 2

I just received a new 5153 v2 6L6 yesterday. I would not say it is noisy at all. I haven felt the need to use my Gate except maybe when boosting the red channel.

Its a GREAT amp and am loving it!

I’ve owned a ton of great amps.
To me the EVH 5150 III EL34 stealth 100 watt head sounds as mean clean tight as any boutique amp I’ve owned. Others have come and gone.
Still have the el34 stealth.

amp maniac":3fsyx57h said:

Funny enough, I already have a Bogner Ecstasy (albeit a Classic). The second channel in the EVH reminded me of the XTCs blue channel, but the red channels differ quite a lot IMO. The EVH is far more open and more aggressive. More "marshally"? Also way more harmonic content in the EVH... Maybe I should just get some kind of pedal to get the EVHs red channel sound from the Bogner?

EDIT: I played the EVH through its matching cab with those EVH speakers and use a Bogner Uberkab with the XTC if that matters.

Click to expand...

There's a popular mod called the Marvel Mod that guys do to their Ecstasys. It gives you a 3 position toggle on the back that changes the voicing of the Red Channel. Bogner changed the voicing of the Red channel in 2004. With the mod, you get "Pre-2004" "Post-2004" and "Cameron."

Several thoughts:
1. I totally agree with regard to liking the EVH 4x12 with the Heritage GBs. It is a terrific cabinet.
2. Marvel mod is really cool, because the post-2004 Red channel can get all the gain you want but is controllable, unlike (for me) the EVH Red.
3. The 20th Anniversary XTC 6L6 is the best of all worlds in the matter, channel-wise.
4. The loop is the weak point of the XTC. Once I stopped using mine, it was like a whole new amp - and this was the reason I eventually went to the BE100 even though it is inferior in some aspects to the Bogner. The loop in the Friedman is the best.
5. If the EVH came with a structure switch, in order to lower the overall gain structure of the entire amp, it would be a much more compelling choice because value/sound wise it really is great.

My main amp since around the early 2000s has been an XTC 101B. Having owned the EVH 5153, the 6L6 Stealth and v1 of the 50 watt, it's always been my thought that the 101B is a more "upscale" (if you will) version of the 5153 series. There are things both do better than the other, but ultimately, there are some nuances in the XTC's tone that suit me better.

I had the XTC Classic for a while as well and I think the 101B is a much closer match to the 5153. Haven't tried any of the Bogner anniversary models yet. Maybe one of those is even closer.

Another one I might suggest is the VHT/Fryette CL-50/100 with graphic EQ. Its two slightly different high-gain channels can pretty closely mirror blue and red on the 5153. Again, I like the CL quite a bit better, but that's my tastes. They can definitely get in the ballpark.

I'm admittedly scratching my head on the XTC loop complaints. Mine has one of the most transparent loops of any amp I've ever owned and handles pedal or rack levels equally well. No special cables, no tone suck. Works perfectly. I can't say the same for any of the EVH amps I've had.

amp maniac":5y0dytjw said:

I know I´m late to the party, but I played an EVH 5150 III for the first time recently. It´s a very cool amp and I LOVED its tone, however it was a bit noisy. Plus it does have quite a few features and is quite reasonably priced, so I´m wondering how well they´re really made? Build quality is very important to me as I already have Bogner and Soldano amps which are very well made.

Clean is not that important to me, crunch and especially the read channel is where it´s at for me.

Any advice?

Click to expand...

Almost all high gain amps will have some hiss involved regarding the gain channel it's inherent to multiple gain stages in the preamp.

I would say if you are looking for Boutique the Mezzabara Mzero might be up your alley. Lot of people say it's cross between an SLO with a little recto. I would save the money and get the EVH or a Peavey 5150II/6505+.