5150 Iconic 15watt opinions?

[Bearitone]

I’m really tempted to grab the 15 watt Iconic combo and convert it to a head.

I wanted to ask have any of you tried one and used an extension 212 or 412 cab?

I know lower power will of course change the the character of the amp a bit but, I want to know if the voicing is different or if their are any quirks about the small one that I might notice compared to the full size.

I understand its power section only has a SINGLE 6L6 tube? I thought power amps couldn’t have just a single tube? That has me thinking the whole amp may sound different even when plugged into a 412.

 

[budda]

any reason you arent just grabbing an iconic head or lbx or 50w?

 

[Bearitone]

any reason you arent just grabbing an iconic head or lbx or 50w?

Definitely want to stick in the Iconic family.
I’ve looked into the history/design of it and love that James Brown had a hand it. The demos of it all sound great too.

Also, might sound weird but, I actually like shared EQ between clean and dirty channels.

Anyway, If I grab the 15 watter and convert it to a head using some 1/2” ply it should fit perfectly on top of my Thiele cab.

 

[budda]

Im for it.

 

[Kosthrash]

Definitely want to stick in the Iconic family.
I’ve looked into the history/design of it and love that James Brown had a hand it. The demos of it all sound great too.

Also, might sound weird but, I actually like shared EQ between clean and dirty channels.

Anyway, If I grab the 15 watter and convert it to a head using some 1/2” ply it should fit perfectly on top of my Thiele cab.

There is the 80w Iconic head already available. I like the 15w combo, but it hasn't the onboard noise gate of the 40w combo. It still has the onboard booster which I find very nice feature.

 

[The Monster With .]

I’m really tempted to grab the 15 watt Iconic combo and convert it to a head.

I wanted to ask have any of you tried one and used an extension 212 or 412 cab?

I know lower power will of course change the the character of the amp a bit but, I want to know if the voicing is different or if their are any quirks about the small one that I might notice compared to the full size.

I understand its power section only has a SINGLE 6L6 tube? I thought power amps couldn’t have just a single tube? That has me thinking the whole amp may sound different even when plugged into a 412.

Sounds awesome, I say go for it!

 

[complex-barb.0t]

Sure you could do it, but just get a 6L6 5150 III or 80w Iconic head used for the same price.

I was hoping he discussion would be about the combo. I have been interested in one as a practice amp.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Sure you could do it, but just get a 6L6 5150 III or 80w Iconic head used for the same price.

I was hoping he discussion would be about the combo. I have been interested in one as a practice amp.

The stock speaker doesn’t do it justice at low volume IME. Sounded pretty fizzy when I tried one briefly but I would be very surprised if that had to do with the amp itself because I’ve played the other two versions and they kick ass. Also the Iconic 4x12 was a similar vibe as far as fizz goes just… bigger.

 

[Deadpool_25]

Can you try one locally? If so take your cab over there and plug the amp into that instead of the stock speaker and try it out. If that's not possible, maybe buy from somewhere with a good return policy and try the same thing in your preferred place.

 

[amptweaker]

.....I like the 15w combo, but it hasn't the onboard noise gate of the 40w combo.......

Actually, the 15W DOES have the onboard noise gate on Ch 2, but it automatically adjusts along with the Gain control....similar to how some of my Amptweaker pedals worked. It also has the Overdrive and Burn buttons, for alternate tones of the Ch1 and Ch2, but doesn't have the footswitchable Boost function.
James B

 

[Kosthrash]

Actually, the 15W DOES have the onboard noise gate on Ch 2, but it automatically adjusts along with the Gain control....similar to how some of my Amptweaker pedals worked. It also has the Overdrive and Burn buttons, for alternate tones of the Ch1 and Ch2, but doesn't have the footswitchable Boost function.
James B

Thanks for the clarification Mr Brown, I'm a fan of your work!

 

[amptweaker]

Thanks for the clarification Mr Brown, I'm a fan of your work!

YW

 

[Stiman]

I have the 15w and play it through a EVH 112. Sounds really awesome, and any fizziness can easily be dialed out with the presence knob. To the point that I'm surprised people say it's fizzy at all, like it can't be changed.

Anyway, would love to see this as a head. Please share photos if you do a build.

 

[amptweaker]

I have the 15w and play it through a EVH 112. Sounds really awesome, and any fizziness can easily be dialed out with the presence knob. To the point that I'm surprised people say it's fizzy at all, like it can't be changed.

Anyway, would love to see this as a head. Please share photos if you do a build.

The Presence knob comes up pretty fast on these Iconic amps, because we used the same pot tapers as the 50W 5150 III's, which ALSO come up fast. A lot of people compared the head with the Peavey heads, or the 100W EVH head, and they all have the original Presence pot tapers I designed back in 90.....which was an error. I put a pot in there that we had at the time, and once it was in there, we couldn't change it because Ed liked the amp. They proliferated that same part ever since, and it basically doesn't do anything until about 7......

Unfortunately, a lot of folks will set something at 5, and make a judgement. Not listen to it and adjust the knob a little bit.

Glad you like it, and of course I share with our product guys when folks say they'd love to see this in a head.....
thx
James

 

[Emperoff]

Unfortunately, a lot of folks will set something at 5, and make a judgement. Not listen to it and adjust the knob a little bit.

Truer words were never spoken.

 

[complex-barb.0t]

The Presence knob comes up pretty fast on these Iconic amps, because we used the same pot tapers as the 50W 5150 III's, which ALSO come up fast. A lot of people compared the head with the Peavey heads, or the 100W EVH head, and they all have the original Presence pot tapers I designed back in 90.....which was an error. I put a pot in there that we had at the time, and once it was in there, we couldn't change it because Ed liked the amp. They proliferated that same part ever since, and it basically doesn't do anything until about 7......

Unfortunately, a lot of folks will set something at 5, and make a judgement. Not listen to it and adjust the knob a little bit.

Glad you like it, and of course I share with our product guys when folks say they'd love to see this in a head.....
thx
James

I think it would be rad to have a 5150 in a pedal format. Be that like the Friedman IRX which you can go direct with or like the Victory pedal amps. Those are really cool and would be something different for the product line. There are folks that want that sound but they are home players that don’t have room for a dedicated head+cab or even a combo. For me it just allows me to build a more compact gear hoard.

Of course it would be much easier to make an Iconic head from the existing 15w amp. I need to sell my Supro combo and get one of these 15w’er Iconic.

 

[Emperoff]

I think it would be rad to have a 5150 in a pedal format. Be that like the Friedman IRX which you can go direct with or like the Victory pedal amps. Those are really cool and would be something different for the product line. There are folks that want that sound but they are home players that don’t have room for a dedicated head+cab or even a combo. For me it just allows me to build a more compact gear hoard.

Of course it would be much easier to make an Iconic head from the existing 15w amp. I need to sell my Supro combo and get one of these 15w’er Iconic.

An EVH 5150 III preamp in a Friedman IR-X format would break the internet.

 

[MatrixClaw]

An EVH 5150 III preamp in a Friedman IR-X format would break the internet.

I mean, to be fair... Isn't that what the Kraken pedal is?

 

[complex-barb.0t]

I mean, to be fair... Isn't that what the Kraken pedal is?

If we are comparing apples to apples with an IRX-like device the Kraken v4 preamp does not have IRs or power amp sim like the Friedman unit does. The V4 amp pedals do, but cost a lot more than the IRX and are much larger in size.

The Kraken preamp pedal you can’t go direct with. Even if you add a cab sim after it still sounds kinda weak without an added power amp sim. Just preamps + IR always feel like they are missing something to me.

I am guessing a 5150 III you can go direct with would be pretty popular. I figure the Iconic is a better fit to not steal sales from the flagship amps. It also only uses 2 preamp tubes which makes it much easier to package like the IRX since it only uses 2 preamp tubes as well.

 

[Emperoff]

I mean, to be fair... Isn't that what the Kraken pedal is?

Having both, I can say "not really"

- The Kraken is 2-channel, TRS controllable, uses 4 odd tubes and draws 2A of current.

- The Friedman is 2 channels + independent boost (so 4 channels), MIDI controllable and uses 2 regular tubes (easier to replace if needed). It weights a lot less and takes way less space. It also draws 1A, which can be easily done with a current doubler in most modern PSUs. And of course, it has built-in poweramp sim, IR loading, and balanced direct out.

So, no. Not the same at all. The Friedman is a beast feature-wise.