5150 Iconic - New Budget 5150 from EVH Gear

[lattjeful]

EVH expands its value-for-money 5150 Iconic Series with new 15W 1x10 and 60W 2x12 combo

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Will the 2x12 continue the tradition of being a metric ton like the OG 5150 2x12?

 

[lattjeful]

Will the 2x12 continue the tradition of being a metric ton like the OG 5150 2x12?

Is it a real 5150 if it isn't?

 

[technomancer]

Will the 2x12 continue the tradition of being a metric ton like the OG 5150 2x12?

66lbs so going with more than heavy enough

 

[amptweaker]

Will the 2x12 continue the tradition of being a metric ton like the OG 5150 2x12?

Is it a real 5150 if it isn't?

66lbs so going with more than heavy enough

It's 66 lbs, but the original 5150 was 84 and the current 5150 III 212 combo is 90. So I think we did a decent job on that front. PLUS it comes with pop out casters!

Thanks
James

 

[eddyrox]

My 2nd one… will see if it lasts. But upon plugging in, I’m like “that’s it… that’s the sound…”

View attachment 120963

1000% agreed. i too own all of the 100W head versions....IMHO the 5150 iconic NAILS the 80's shred tone right out of the box.
Especially love the green channel in overdrive with the boost on, but turned down. thank you James Brown!

 

[Hollowway]

I was just on SW and saw the 15W combo. It’s got a 6L6! I was surprised to see that, but I think it’s pretty cool. The 80W head has an awesome MV, so I’m expecting this will too, and be a great bedroom amp.

 

[jclogston]

I was just on SW and saw the 15W combo. It’s got a 6L6! I was surprised to see that, but I think it’s pretty cool. The 80W head has an awesome MV, so I’m expecting this will too, and be a great bedroom amp.

I'm very interested in this though I have the EVH Lbx-s head already so don't know if it's worth it, might be too similar?

 

[Mathemagician]

Can the 15w be plugged into a larger 2x12?

 

[Hollowway]

I'm very interested in this though I have the EVH Lbx-s head already so don't know if it's worth it, might be too similar?

Speaking only of the 50W 5153 and the Iconic 80W, I didn't think they sounded a like. I felt the Iconic was more open, dry, and raw, whereas the 5153 was more saturated, smooth, and compressed. Not sure how it will play out for the little guys, but the fact that they went with the big glass on the little iconic is super cool.

What I just saw, and do NOT like is the absence of the built in boost (and gate). I think the boost is a super cool feature to have. I suppose everyone could use the boost they already own, but I love when it's all built in.

@Mathemagician the speaker isn't hardwired, so you should be able to unplug the stock speaker and run it to a 212, I'd think.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Iconic Combo head conversions are starting to show up.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Iconic Combo head conversions are starting to show up.

View attachment 122392View attachment 122393

It's just not the same as the 5150/6505.

 

[amptweaker]

I was just on SW and saw the 15W combo. It’s got a 6L6! I was surprised to see that, but I think it’s pretty cool. The 80W head has an awesome MV, so I’m expecting this will too, and be a great bedroom amp.

I'm very interested in this though I have the EVH Lbx-s head already so don't know if it's worth it, might be too similar?

Speaking only of the 50W 5153 and the Iconic 80W, I didn't think they sounded a like. I felt the Iconic was more open, dry, and raw, whereas the 5153 was more saturated, smooth, and compressed. Not sure how it will play out for the little guys, but the fact that they went with the big glass on the little iconic is super cool.

What I just saw, and do NOT like is the absence of the built in boost (and gate). I think the boost is a super cool feature to have. I suppose everyone could use the boost they already own, but I love when it's all built in.

@Mathemagician the speaker isn't hardwired, so you should be able to unplug the stock speaker and run it to a 212, I'd think.

RE: 15W Iconic 110......yes, it's basically the same preamp as the big Iconics, and we used 1-6L6 instead of 2-EL34s, so it's a class A power amp. In order to meet the price point, we had to take some stuff out but kept the most important things....including the noise gate. I used a trick from my Amptweaker days and made the noise gate automatically adjust with the gain control so it gates more as you increase the gain, and while it's not quite as much gate as the 112/head, it's very usable and helps Channel 2 quite a lot. Yes, the built in Boost had to go....to get the cost down we needed to use a single button footswitch, and less knobs for the smaller faceplate/chassis. So you're right, you'll have to use an outboard pedal for that.

BUT it STILL has the impedance selector so you can plug it into whatever cab you want. Most companies don't do that. And it's still closed back, which nobody else does on their little tube combos. It still has Resonance/Presence, which are not on the LBX amps, same reverb, same 1/4 power switches that cuts the power amp gain so it's easier to get lower volume tones, Celestion speaker that we tweaked for the EVH tone, and while the LBX amps come in 3 styles(Green/Blue, Blue/Red, or Green/Red) The 15W Iconic has the same Overdrive and Burn switches as the bigger Iconic amps, so all those combinations of tones are in there, in addition to the thicker Burn sound that's more like the block letter. You can also use the headphone jack as a speaker-simulated quiet recording out.

They're in stores now, if you want to go chunk through one. I think y'all will be surprised at how big it sounds and how many cool tones you can find in it.
James

 

[Hollowway]

RE: 15W Iconic 110......yes, it's basically the same preamp as the big Iconics, and we used 1-6L6 instead of 2-EL34s, so it's a class A power amp. In order to meet the price point, we had to take some stuff out but kept the most important things....including the noise gate. I used a trick from my Amptweaker days and made the noise gate automatically adjust with the gain control so it gates more as you increase the gain, and while it's not quite as much gate as the 112/head, it's very usable and helps Channel 2 quite a lot. Yes, the built in Boost had to go....to get the cost down we needed to use a single button footswitch, and less knobs for the smaller faceplate/chassis. So you're right, you'll have to use an outboard pedal for that.

BUT it STILL has the impedance selector so you can plug it into whatever cab you want. Most companies don't do that. And it's still closed back, which nobody else does on their little tube combos. It still has Resonance/Presence, which are not on the LBX amps, same reverb, same 1/4 power switches that cuts the power amp gain so it's easier to get lower volume tones, Celestion speaker that we tweaked for the EVH tone, and while the LBX amps come in 3 styles(Green/Blue, Blue/Red, or Green/Red) The 15W Iconic has the same Overdrive and Burn switches as the bigger Iconic amps, so all those combinations of tones are in there, in addition to the thicker Burn sound that's more like the block letter. You can also use the headphone jack as a speaker-simulated quiet recording out.

They're in stores now, if you want to go chunk through one. I think y'all will be surprised at how big it sounds and how many cool tones you can find in it.
James

Cool, thanks again for chiming in in this thread to give us the real deal. I'm curious how the 15 and 40 sound in comparison. Is the 6L6 vs EL34 something noticeable? Either of these would be killer home amps that would also work to take out.

 

[amptweaker]

Cool, thanks again for chiming in in this thread to give us the real deal. I'm curious how the 15 and 40 sound in comparison. Is the 6L6 vs EL34 something noticeable? Either of these would be killer home amps that would also work to take out.

Sorry, I typed "1-6L6 instead of 2-EL34's" but should have typed "1-6L6 instead of 2-EL84's", but I'll edit my post to fix that(for some reason it won't let me edit the previous post I made....sorry). Sure the EL84s have a different gain structure, and I think the 6L6's sound a little tighter. Plus going from push pull to class A is a different tone too, especially if you hit the rails.

The 10" is as close as I could get working with Celestion to tweak an existing part, so it's pretty close. I think the 10 is a little bit warmer than the 12, which I thought would help it sound bigger. The goal of a 15W amp isn't to get super loud, but rather to sound like a big amp but not as loud. Usually 10's can be wimpy, but I think this one just sounds like an EVH.

James

 

[jclogston]

What brand tubes come in the 15 w combo? Any tube layout available?

 

[complex-barb.0t]

The 15w iconic seems pretty cool. I might sell my supro delta king 12 for one of these.

 

[amptweaker]

What brand tubes come in the 15 w combo? Any tube layout available?

I've described the preamp design elsewhere, but basically we used a high voltage transistor input stage, followed by 2-ECC83s....and used a solid state effects loop and a high voltage transistor phase inverter, driving 1-6L6 partially self-biased power amp. It's the exact same design as the 80W head, just without the boost and with the small power amp.

As for the tube brands.....we started these projects in 2019 when we could actually GET tubes. In 2021 when we started building/shipping things, tubes become almost impossible to get, so we had to start getting creative with it. We did build some of the early 40 and 80W amps with JJs, but later we had to adjust and started using some Chinese made Tube Amp Doctor 6L6 GCM tubes that have worked out nice...and almost all of the first 15W amps use those. As for preamp tubes, we've been using Mullard CV4004, which is similar to the 12AX7EH from New Sensor, in the first spot(V2) and a Psvane Chinese made preamp tube in the 2nd spot(V3). They work well, and we're not having to work too hard to avoid feedback since V1 is solid state. But don't beat me up if you get an amp and the tubes are different! Like I said, all tube amp manufacturers have had to juggle over the past 2 years.

Thanks
James

 

[LCW]

James - it just blows me away with what you’ve been able to achieve with the 5150 Iconic for so little. Playing it back to back tonight against an amp 2.5x the price and it holds its own. Clearly some trade off like the shared EQ. But tone wise you’ve really nailed it. Brilliant circuitry.

 

[Hollowway]

James - it just blows me away with what you’ve been able to achieve with the 5150 Iconic for so little. Playing it back to back tonight against an amp 2.5x the price and it holds its own. Clearly some trade off like the shared EQ. But tone wise you’ve really nailed it. Brilliant circuitry.

View attachment 122558

Agreed. I love reading the info about the design, and wishing I were smart enough to put something together that efficiently for that price. I think the tone/dollars makes this my favorite 5150 design ever. I love that this is affordable to a lot of people.