Best bedroom amp (no headphones) - EVH 5150III 1x12" 50-watt Tube Combo ?

[yiti]

Hey all - I'm trying to find a good amp to practice with in my bedroom. I don't want to use headphones, and play often with both clean and high gain sounds. I've had an Axe-FX III (and Axe-FX II and Kemper) and I'm not interested in a digital or modeling solution. The Katana Air and the Yamaha's all sound too digital to me. I've explored getting a small amp that excels in clean sounds to function as a pedal platform (Roland JC-22 maybe) and a the clean darker sound of a Fender Deluxe 57 might work. Except for the weight and lack of portability the EVH 5150III 1x12" 50-watt Tube Combo with it's built in attenuator looks like it might perfectly fit the bill. Is any one using one of these at home to practice with? I'm looking for the most inspiring tone at all times. Thank you all in advance for your thoughts!

 

[USMarine75]

What type of tone(s) are you looking for and what budget?

5153's come with built-in attenuators now?

There's a million smaller/low wattage amps or amps with attenuators, PPIMV, or pentode/triode options. But, most master volume amps with a good pot work as a bedroom amp.

Either a 112 combo or cab with a non-efficient (low SPL) speaker also helps.

 

[Mike_R]

What type of tone(s) are you looking for and what budget?

5153's come with built-in attenuators now?

There's a million smaller/low wattage amps or amps with attenuators, PPIMV, or pentode/triode options. But, most master volume amps with a good pot work as a bedroom amp.

Either a 112 combo or cab with a non-efficient (low SPL) speaker also helps.

The 5153 combos have variable power scaling down to 1 watt, supposedly. I don't know if it is an attenuator that is soaking up output or some power-section trickery.

To OP: I have a 50w 5153 head and I often have to play fairly quietly. There is no master volume on it so the knobs are pretty jumpy, but it does sound great at low volumes. The combo might make that easier depending on how well the attenuation works. It gets a lot easier to control the volume if you add an EQ or volume pedal in the loop. The headphone out sucks, so if you must have headphones you would likely want a loadbox/ir loader. I now run a 100w 5153 Stealth through a Torpedo Captor on the 20db attenuation out to a Mesa 4x12 just to make the knobs less sensitive. The Mesa ww/V30s is the best sounding cab I have used with a 5153 even turned way down.

I am not a fan of the stock EVH cab/speaker combo, but if you need the combo format you could swap the speaker if you felt the same way. The 5153s sound better to me at bedroom volumes than my OG 5150 or Dual Rec. I tried to love the Katana for low volume playing but I just couldn't get it to work for me, personally. I tried sneaky amps, playing with EQs and all of that and it was far better than my old solid state Fender combo but couldn't hold a candle to the 5153. Personally I would do a head/cab, which means giving up the power scaling but a volume pedal or EQ will make it workable IMHO.

I think the best "bedroom" amp is a great sounding, full tube amp with some way of controlling the volume.

 

[USMarine75]

The 5153 combos have variable power scaling down to 1 watt, supposedly. I don't know if it is an attenuator that is soaking up output or some power-section trickery.

Interesting. I own 10+ Peavey and EVH amps but I never looked into the EVH combo before. It looks like they use power scaling (LPS).

My Peavey 5150 Head was quiet at minimum volume (didn't wake a baby asleep in next room) and my 60w 212 combo was even quieter.

You can also jump your FX loop and turn down the FX return volume if your amp has that option.

Personally, I'd buy a Revv D20 or G20 with the 4w bedroom setting. Or a Tone King amp because they have the best attenuator money can buy.

 

[ATRguitar91]

My solution to this problem is a preamp pedal with a pedal power amp into a 112. Sounds great at whisper volumes and has enough to really shake the walls if you want.

Can easily scale it up or down as you need, and for the money I think it's hard to get a better tone. If you end up getting a head you've already got a cab, and the pedal amp can always serve as a backup.

I went down the preamp pedal rabbit hole the past 3 years and I've had my tube amp on maybe 5 times since then. To me, they're the ideal home jam solution. I've never been satisfied with tubes at what I consider bedroom volumes, and I don't have to worry about wear on tubes.

 

[yiti]

Thanks all so far for your thoughtful replies. I actually am looking for amps in two different rooms, one being a literal bedroom. I'm going with the 5150iii 50S head and 1x12 cabinet for my music room, but can't find a satisfactory sound for the bedroom (where I play my electrics often at a low volume). I play both high gain sounds ala metal/hard rock, and often rock style clean sounds too. The EVH combo with that variable power just seems to nail the low volume high gain sound. Since I will have a new head and cab in one room, I thought maybe a combo or smaller amp would be good for this other room, but the fenders don't have a great high gain sound unless I rely on pedals. Budget for those who asked is $1500 top for this rig if the tone justifies it.

 

[Werecow]

Thanks all so far for your thoughtful replies. I actually am looking for amps in two different rooms, one being a literal bedroom. I'm going with the 5150iii 50S head and 1x12 cabinet for my music room, but can't find a satisfactory sound for the bedroom (where I play my electrics often at a low volume). I play both high gain sounds ala metal/hard rock, and often rock style clean sounds too. The EVH combo with that variable power just seems to nail the low volume high gain sound. Since I will have a new head and cab in one room, I thought maybe a combo or smaller amp would be good for this other room, but the fenders don't have a great high gain sound unless I rely on pedals. Budget for those who asked is $1500 top for this rig if the tone justifies it.

Good choice, i've never played an amp that sounds better at really low volumes than the 5153. It has a wide range of tones as well.

 

[yiti]

The Mesa ww/V30s is the best sounding cab I have used with a 5153 even turned way down.

Mike_R - I haven't picked up a 1x12 cab yet for my 5150iiiS50 head (arriving in July), so it's great to read your recommendation. Which Mesa cab are you referring to exactly? I don't see a 'ww' cab on their site.

My solution to this problem is a preamp pedal with a pedal power amp into a 112. Sounds great at whisper volumes and has enough to really shake the walls if you want.

ATRguitar91 - that's a really interesting idea. Which preamp pedals and pedal power amps are you having great luck with?

 

[ATRguitar91]

ATRguitar91 - that's a really interesting idea. Which preamp pedals and pedal power amps are you having great luck with?

For my main practice rig, I use a depth finder modded Tight Metal Pro into a Rocktron Velocity 120 and Vader/Mesa 412. I have a mix of other preamps I use: SNK VHD, ISP Theta, and Megalith Delta. They all sound great and have their own thing going, but the Tight Metal is my main preamp. All of these are boosted, that's just the sound I prefer and to get the most out of preamp pedals I find they need a boost.

I spent years honing my home rig and this setup has basically stopped me from having GAS. Occasionally I'll think I may need something digital or a new head, and then I crank this rig and all that fades away. It's simple, sounds good at any volume, and provides with me tons of tonal variety.

For my living room rig, I use an Empress Heavy into a Quilter Microblock and 112 cab. I've got a Tight Metal Jr I use with this setup as well, and will mix in my other preamps as I feel like. Honestly I could probably get by with only using this rig as the sounds are that good.

 

[sirbuh]

go with the combo, great tone at low volume.

 

[cardinal]

Best small amp, low volume tone I've had has been from Mesa Mark amps. They bring it even at low TV volumes.

 

[Estilo]

I've explored getting a small amp that excels in clean sounds to function as a pedal platform (Roland JC-22 maybe) and a the clean darker sound of a Fender Deluxe 57 might work. Except for the weight and lack of portability the EVH 5150III 1x12" 50-watt Tube Combo with it's built in attenuator looks like it might perfectly fit the bill.

Interesting how you're considering an amp known for its drive; in fact it's an iteration of one of the staple death metal amps, and using its cleans as a pedal platform.

 

[Gmork]

My engl fireball100, bogner twinjet and randall t2 are all mind blowingly awesome at wisper volumes.
My 6505+.. Not so much, so it was cast away to the jam spot dungeon

 

[yiti]

Interesting how you're considering an amp known for its drive; in fact it's an iteration of one of the staple death metal amps, and using its cleans as a pedal platform.

Hi Estilo - I'm considering the 5150iii combo because I like the drive sound, not just to use the cleans as a pedal platform. I actually want to get away from drive pedals for the most part as they never seem to satisfy. Hopefully a real tube amp will do the trick. That said, I still want a great clean channel available for the times that I do play clean. I would go for another 5150iii head and cab but the variable power knob on the 5150iii combos seems like a worthwhile feature.

 

[rexbinary]

I don't see much use for variable power or any attenuation on the 5153s, at least not on my 50w 6L6 head for sure. I have it plugged into a 4x12. I can turn it down to bedroom volumes and it sounds absolutely great.

I tried using the Captor's attenuator on my amp because I had one anyway for silent recording. It didn't make anything sound better at all.

Variable power might be nice to have, but if you really would rather have a head and cab I'm not sure you really need it in your case. Maybe you could try a 5153 head somewhere in person to see if you are happy with the bedroom volume of it?

 

[yiti]

I don't see much use for variable power or any attenuation on the 5153s, at least not on my 50w 6L6 head for sure. I have it plugged into a 4x12. I can turn it down to bedroom volumes and it sounds absolutely great.

I tried using the Captor's attenuator on my amp because I had one anyway for silent recording. It didn't make anything sound better at all.

Variable power might be nice to have, but if you really would rather have a head and cab I'm not sure you really need it in your case. Maybe you could try a 5153 head somewhere in person to see if you are happy with the bedroom volume of it?

Thanks Rexbinary. Yes, if the variable power doesn't do that much, I'm probably best off getting a 2nd head and cabinet for the 2nd room. At least they are more easily movable up stairs (as opposed to the 65lbs of the 1x12 combo). And later down the line, there would be the advantage of having 2 1x12 cabs to either use in stereo or as a 2x12.

 

[Shask]

The 5150 III 50W with an effects processor in the loop to control the volume with finer control has been one of the best sounding lower volume tube amps I have found. The Peavey XXX is probably the second best. All my bigger tube amps stay in the basement where they can be much louder.

 

[Mike_R]

Mike_R - I haven't picked up a 1x12 cab yet for my 5150iiiS50 head (arriving in July), so it's great to read your recommendation. Which Mesa cab are you referring to exactly? I don't see a 'ww' cab on their site.

Sorry, that was a typo- meant w/V30s, I use a Mesa Rectifier Traditional Straight 4x12 cab with the V30 speakers. I prefer the V30s to the Anniversaries that come in the matching EVH 2x12, and even more so at low volume.

 

[The Thing Upstairs]

I’ve got 2 5153s (el34 and 6l6) and can confirm they sound great at low volume. If you want to go super low, you will want something in the fx loop to give a little more control. the best MV low volume amps I’ve owned are the JVM and ENgl Savage (although I did return the engl).

I’ve owned Kemper, helix and own an AxeFX 3. There’s no low vol advantage tone wise in using a modeller over these amps in my experience. Just the tonal variety that can be achieved with the modelled amps and IRs.

save up for a boss tube amp expander and buy the amp you want. I use it with all my amps. It gives me greater control on volume and it adds a bit more heat and feel to the amp. Subtle but very, very nice.

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I won’t say the 5153 combos are the best based on tone, but they certainly are a great option that will no doubt leave you happy. They do retain great tone at low volumes, and you have all the features of the full monte size amps.

FWIW the BEST example of low volume tone for me is the Friedman lunchbox heads. I can’t get over how good my JJ Jr Head sounds at super low volumes and the combo is excellent. There is a very steep volume jump however, they need a boost to get really brutal (but do very well without and the gain dimed), and most importantly are NOT cheap.

5153 combo is one of the best value/quality options out there, so you cannot go wrong there.