5150 Iconic - New Budget 5150 from EVH Gear

[Hollowway]

I just don’t get how EVH made the 50W chassis practically too narrow (couple more inches the switches could have been out front) and the 100W almost too wide - it dwarfs almost all other amps. The Iconic is sized just right without weighing a ton either.

The 5153 head width is linearly related to wattage. The 100 watt is 2x the width of the 50. The upcoming 150 watt version is 3x as wide as the 50, and it will come with white glove delivery where two guys will bring it into your house and install it for you.



*there is no upcoming 150W version.

 

[LCW]

I’m weak… so very, very weak…

 

[Necky379]

They really do look better with the logo behind the grill, from a man whose PV 5150 badge is mounted on the outside.

 

[feraledge]

This might be a stupid question, but asking it anyways: any chance the iconic cabs hold up to the standard EVH ones?

 

[Emperoff]

This might be a stupid question, but asking it anyways: any chance the iconic cabs hold up to the standard EVH ones?

MDF cabs Vs. birch ply with Greenbacks cabs? Hell no

 

[MASS DEFECT]

This might be a stupid question, but asking it anyways: any chance the iconic cabs hold up to the standard EVH ones?

Probably not, soundwise. From what I've tested a GC, they seem very solid and road-worthy especially for the price. I'd gig with it no problem. The speakers are decent and not as neutered as PV Sheffields.

 

[youngthrasher9]

MDF cabs Vs. birch ply with Greenbacks cabs? Hell no

I doubt the speakers suck, but there’s no way I’d buy a (primarily) MDF cab for $499 when the used market on cabs is fine. $499 will get you a pretty nice used 4x12.

 

[feraledge]

It was a stupid question. Lol. I was just preparing myself to justify whatever option GC would have today and, well, color match aside, the right option presented itself. The regular EVH cabs remain my favorite.

Goddamnit. File too large. Picture here a white Iconic head on a black EVH EL34 212 cab.

But for real, kudos @amptweaker this thing destroys and I’m just raw dogging it right now. Sounds *that* good.

 

[feraledge]

Always remember: if the pic is too large, just screen shot it. Derp.

 

[amptweaker]

Probably not, soundwise. From what I've tested a GC, they seem very solid and road-worthy especially for the price. I'd gig with it no problem. The speakers are decent and not as neutered as PV Sheffields.

We were going for something in between the EVH 412s, which are EVH tweaked Greenbacks(darker) and the G12H Anniversary from the 5150 III combos, which are brighter. In the end, I put the Iconic with the EVH 412 and my tattered Sheffield Peavey 5150 straight. To me the Iconic sits right between, so I think a lot of people will like it.

I doubt the speakers suck, but there’s no way I’d buy a (primarily) MDF cab for $499 when the used market on cabs is fine. $499 will get you a pretty nice used 4x12.

I always chuckle when people compare what manufacturer's sell to used gear. We don't sell used gear. So we need something that CAN compete with it, and that's kind of the whole point. In the old days you didn't have to compete much with used, but now with eBay and Reverb, Craiglist and Facebook, you HAVE to.

James B

 

[youngthrasher9]

We were going for something in between the EVH 412s, which are EVH tweaked Greenbacks(darker) and the G12H Anniversary from the 5150 III combos, which are brighter. In the end, I put the Iconic with the EVH 412 and my tattered Sheffield Peavey 5150 straight. To me the Iconic sits right between, so I think a lot of people will like it.



I always chuckle when people compare what manufacturer's sell to used gear. We don't sell used gear. So we need something that CAN compete with it, and that's kind of the whole point. In the old days you didn't have to compete much with used, but now with eBay and Reverb, Craiglist and Facebook, you HAVE to.

James B

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re gonna be bad cabs. At this point I doubt EVH as a brand would put out anything lackluster. I bet they do compete, but that’s not really what I was implying. I personally think that the MDF construction wouldn’t make nearly as much of a difference in sound as many keyboard warriors would like to believe, but there’s a certain confidence in a proven product that one can find on the used market vs anything newly released and relatively unexplored. It’s not really about quality or perceived value at that point, it’s about the feeling of security in your investment.

From everything you’ve posted about the design, it sounds like a great cab. That being I don’t know what it sounds like in a room, I haven’t seen one yet.

Anyway, I hope you didn’t view my initial comment as inflammatory. I’m a long time fan of your designs. Thank you for your input here, and your ability to take things in stride.

 

[Zado]

Questione: how accurate is this demo sound wise?

 

[feraledge]

Yo @amptweaker my head just fucking died!!!
Probably my fourth time playing it. Was playing at 1/4 power on a low volume for probably 30-45 mins and all the sudden the volume drops to zero.
Unplug everything, plug it back in. Nothing. Change chords. Nothing. I’m running it through a Furman power strip and nothing else on it was impacted.
When you turn it on, there’s a hiss like it’s on. Does not react to any sound through the guitar or messing with the chord. If you put it on full power and turn the volume all the way up, there’s some faint preamp sound, but that’s it and only when maxed out. All tubes are glowing normally.
I’m fucking bummed as shit. Please tell me there’s something stupid going on here and this is some easy fix. I waited ages to get this and I drove five hours to buy it brand new like days ago. Zero handling really. From GC sales floor to flat in my car, brought it in here and it’s sat unmoved and played without issue now multiple times.

 

[technomancer]

Yo @amptweaker my head just fucking died!!!
Probably my fourth time playing it. Was playing at 1/4 power on a low volume for probably 30-45 mins and all the sudden the volume drops to zero.
Unplug everything, plug it back in. Nothing. Change chords. Nothing. I’m running it through a Furman power strip and nothing else on it was impacted.
When you turn it on, there’s a hiss like it’s on. Does not react to any sound through the guitar or messing with the chord. If you put it on full power and turn the volume all the way up, there’s some faint preamp sound, but that’s it and only when maxed out. All tubes are glowing normally.
I’m fucking bummed as shit. Please tell me there’s something stupid going on here and this is some easy fix. I waited ages to get this and I drove five hours to buy it brand new like days ago. Zero handling really. From GC sales floor to flat in my car, brought it in here and it’s sat unmoved and played without issue now multiple times.

Sounds like a bad preamp tube. Shit happens. I literally had this happen on a new $3k amp a week after buying it (well, power tubes so sounded like a bowl of rice krispies but same type of thing). Either trouble shoot the tubes to rule it out or just take it back.

 

[amptweaker]

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re gonna be bad cabs. At this point I doubt EVH as a brand would put out anything lackluster. I bet they do compete, but that’s not really what I was implying. I personally think that the MDF construction wouldn’t make nearly as much of a difference in sound as many keyboard warriors would like to believe, but there’s a certain confidence in a proven product that one can find on the used market vs anything newly released and relatively unexplored. It’s not really about quality or perceived value at that point, it’s about the feeling of security in your investment.

From everything you’ve posted about the design, it sounds like a great cab. That being I don’t know what it sounds like in a room, I haven’t seen one yet.

Anyway, I hope you didn’t view my initial comment as inflammatory. I’m a long time fan of your designs. Thank you for your input here, and your ability to take things in stride.

YW. I was just trying to get folks to think about it from the manufacturer's side. There's always a used thing out there that to some would be a better deal......BUT we don't make money on those!
JB

 

[amptweaker]

Yo @amptweaker my head just fucking died!!!
Probably my fourth time playing it. Was playing at 1/4 power on a low volume for probably 30-45 mins and all the sudden the volume drops to zero.
Unplug everything, plug it back in. Nothing. Change chords. Nothing. I’m running it through a Furman power strip and nothing else on it was impacted.
When you turn it on, there’s a hiss like it’s on. Does not react to any sound through the guitar or messing with the chord. If you put it on full power and turn the volume all the way up, there’s some faint preamp sound, but that’s it and only when maxed out. All tubes are glowing normally.
I’m fucking bummed as shit. Please tell me there’s something stupid going on here and this is some easy fix. I waited ages to get this and I drove five hours to buy it brand new like days ago. Zero handling really. From GC sales floor to flat in my car, brought it in here and it’s sat unmoved and played without issue now multiple times.

That sucks. There is one possibility that I've had happen to me......make sure you didn't accidentally push the Power Amp Mute switch on the back. If it's out, then you could try plugging straight into the effects return.....if that plays, then you may have a bad preamp tube or something like that....you also said 'all the tubes are glowing normally', so that's good. I assume you mean also the preamp tubes.
James

Sounds like a bad preamp tube. Shit happens. I literally had this happen on a new $3k amp a week after buying it (well, power tubes so sounded like a bowl of rice krispies but same type of thing). Either trouble shoot the tubes to rule it out or just take it back.

Yeah, since it's so new it's probably good to get it in front of one of our service centers so we can see if it's something else to worry about. The first few months are critical for finding things that you only find out with some field use.

JB

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Yo @amptweaker my head just fucking died!!!
Probably my fourth time playing it. Was playing at 1/4 power on a low volume for probably 30-45 mins and all the sudden the volume drops to zero.
Unplug everything, plug it back in. Nothing. Change chords. Nothing. I’m running it through a Furman power strip and nothing else on it was impacted.
When you turn it on, there’s a hiss like it’s on. Does not react to any sound through the guitar or messing with the chord. If you put it on full power and turn the volume all the way up, there’s some faint preamp sound, but that’s it and only when maxed out. All tubes are glowing normally.
I’m fucking bummed as shit. Please tell me there’s something stupid going on here and this is some easy fix. I waited ages to get this and I drove five hours to buy it brand new like days ago. Zero handling really. From GC sales floor to flat in my car, brought it in here and it’s sat unmoved and played without issue now multiple times.

That sucks. There is one possibility that I've had happen to me......make sure you didn't accidentally push the Power Amp Mute switch on the back. If it's out, then you could try plugging straight into the effects return.....if that plays, then you may have a bad preamp tube or something like that....you also said 'all the tubes are glowing normally', so that's good. I assume you mean also the preamp tubes.
James

Yeah, since it's so new it's probably good to get it in front of one of our service centers so we can see if it's something else to worry about. The first few months are critical for finding things that you only find out with some field use.

JB

My friend has one and a similar thing happened. He was able to plug into the effects return directly and the poweramp worked fine. If I remember correctly one of his preamp tubes was not lit. He replaced tube and still nothing. Took it back to the store and the amp tech said there was a 'faulty switch'.

Probably wont help but thought I'd share.

 

[feraledge]

My friend has one and a similar thing happened. He was able to plug into the effects return directly and the poweramp worked fine. If I remember correctly one of his preamp tubes was not lit. He replaced tube and still nothing. Took it back to the store and the amp tech said there was a 'faulty switch'.

Probably wont help but thought I'd share.

Yeah, this was it. Sorry @amptweaker I meant the powertubes were lit fine and forgot to check the preamp tubes when I had it taken apart.
So took it to GC, swapped the preamp tubes and only one was lighting up. We tried the old one, a new one, making sure everything was in tightly, nothing. I ended up just returning it and ordering another, which will hopefully be coming in a few days.
They did have the 1x12" combo in stock, which sounded really damn good, but definitely want the full head. Just FWIW, the EVH cabs probably do sound pretty solid, as the combo sounded right there with the full head.
Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again. This amp sounds amazing when it works.

 

[amptweaker]

Yeah, this was it. Sorry @amptweaker I meant the powertubes were lit fine and forgot to check the preamp tubes when I had it taken apart.
So took it to GC, swapped the preamp tubes and only one was lighting up. We tried the old one, a new one, making sure everything was in tightly, nothing. I ended up just returning it and ordering another, which will hopefully be coming in a few days.
They did have the 1x12" combo in stock, which sounded really damn good, but definitely want the full head. Just FWIW, the EVH cabs probably do sound pretty solid, as the combo sounded right there with the full head.
Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again. This amp sounds amazing when it works.

Sounds like one of the dropping resistors feeding the preamp filaments opened......do you remember which tube was not lit? Nearest the input or furthest?
JB

 

[feraledge]

Sounds like one of the dropping resistors feeding the preamp filaments opened......do you remember which tube was not lit? Nearest the input or furthest?
JB

Furthest