Egnater Vengeance vs EVH 5150 III 50 watts pros and cons

[maloteslos]

Hi guys, I have a questions for you.
Which is the pros and cons of these heads?
Which of these heads have a better tone and quality of build?
Which would you buy?

Thanks!

 

[vick1000]

I don't know if the Vengeance I had was messed up, but the gain on it was sort of like a hot rodded Marshall, not really all that modern.

The 5153-50 is supposed to be saturated enough, even without a boost.

The Vengeance may be a bit better built, partially made in China, but very well built. The 5153 is made in Mexico (unless you get an early one from Vietnam), and they had lots of problems early with them. Probably about equal quality now on new builds. Tone is subjective, but I think the 5153 is slightly more versatile, even with the shared EQ and volume variance between the Clean and Crunch channels.

I would buy the 5153.

 

[Wrecklyss]

Is there any way you could try both out? That would be the best way to decide, seeing as how tone is very subjective and what one person's ideal tone is probably doesn't match another's. Both are very good amps, but it would be hard to recommend one over the other having not heard the tone in your head.

 

[Jayd41]

I have yet to play the 5150 mini so I can't compare the two, but I can point out some cool things about the Egnater that a lot of people don't realize.

The Vengeance has built in bias pots and test jacks for each pair of power tubes. What this means is you never have to pay someone to re-bias your amp.
More importantly, this means you can run whatever tubes you want in pairs, and you can mix and match different tube types at the same time. I am currently running a pair of 6550s and a pair of EL34s and it absolutely rips.

There is also a 60w / 120w switch on the front panel so you can run just one pair of tubes or all 4 at the same time.

 

[Blasphemer]

I can attest to the Vengeance

Pros:
Can get a modern tone if dialed in right, but can also do that "hot rodded Marshall" that Vick1000 was referring to.

Clean tone is GREAT. Seriously. This amp has my favorite clean tone of any amp I've owned, which is quite a few

Lots of tonal variety thanks to the 3 switches each channel has

Tight switch is a godsend for getting that modern tone

Cabinet emulated DI is useable (not great. I use mine to send a signal to my drummers IEMs. It works well for that)

60/120 watt switch is really handy

The onboard reverb is actually pretty rad. Super useable and can go anywhere from "barely noticeable" to "stuck in a cave"

2 master volumes is good for solos, as is the footswitchable mid switch (put the mids on +, and then hit it for a solo. No crazy volume increase, but you definitely stand above the rest of the band a little bit. Much more "album like")


Cons:
Made in China. I haven't had any problems, yet, but the fear is always kind of there

It doesn't NEED a boost, but it definitely helps to have one

Not super noisey from the preamp, but I have actually heard the fan in the back in recordings, which is annoying.

The loop is kind of finnecky. It has input and output gain, which is nice, but I don't really like where it is in the amps circuitry (post-reverb), and it colors some of my pedals, but not others. My Vox Time Machine delay sounds like somebody threw a blanket over the amp when I put it on, which hasn't happened on any other amp. But, if I put in my shitty Behringer delay box, it sounds fine. It's kind of strange.

The handle could be better

If you don't have an XLR, you'll need to buy one for the footswitch (not a huge problem, if you have one around, and also kind of a pro, because you don't have to buy a MIDI cable, or anything)

Footswitch is kind of enormous (once again, kind of a plus due to how much versatility you get at your feet)

And, this may just be my amp, but I have a REALLY hard time putting certain speaker cables into the speaker jacks.


Overall, I really, really like my Vengeance, and am very happy with it!

 

[maloteslos]

good answers, thanks, I want know more. =) nobody more?

 

[Chrisjd]

I have the armageddon and it's a damn monster, especially when boosted. I love it to death.

 

[veshly]

I have the armageddon and it's a damn monster, especially when boosted. I love it to death.

What do you boost it with and for what purpose exactly?

 

[Chrisjd]

What do you boost it with and for what purpose exactly?

I use a BBE Green Screamer and or a Maxon OD808.

The amp doesn't need the boost, because channel two gets very tight, but I just like the feel and bounce i get using the boost especially when playing in drop A.

 

[veshly]

Hmm, interesting. I've also got an armageddon and don't desire any more gain out of it but it would be fun to fiddle with some different sounds.

 

[sandalhat]

Hmm, interesting. I've also got an armageddon and don't desire any more gain out of it but it would be fun to fiddle with some different sounds.

Apologies if I'm repeating something you already know, but a lot of people use TS type boosts to tighten/brighten the sound a little bit for high gain. Gain at 0, and volume/tone to taste. Removes some lows and adds mids/highs for more clarity. Basically just using it as a pre-gain eq and semi-clean boost.

 

[veshly]

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll try to find a used one and mess around with it.

 

[xzyryabx]

Before you go with Egnater go to rig-talk.com and check out their section.....all I ever hear about are breakdowns, mainly with the transformers.....not sure if they ever sorted that out, but I keep hearing complaints about reliability.

 

[mniel8195]

if you have mid to high out put pickups especially ceramic the evh III is insane on ch. III and in my opinion sounds better un boosted. With that said ch 2 needs a boost

 

[maloteslos]

Excellent, nobody more have a opinion?

 

[will_shred]

Before you go with Egnater go to rig-talk.com and check out their section.....all I ever hear about are breakdowns, mainly with the transformers.....not sure if they ever sorted that out, but I keep hearing complaints about reliability.

I know my friend had the transformer blow on his tweaker, had no problems with my Vengeance though.

 

[parksed24]

I haven't played around with the Egnater, but I own the EVH 5153 50watt and it is without a doubt one of the best heads you can buy. You've got a great Fender clean channel, the crunch channel can take you from blues to metal, and the lead channel is intense without losing clarity. There's so much versatility in the amp, and the tones that come out are world class. I have a KTR Klone OD that's always on with the gain completely off to tighten up the amp and drive the mids, which helps the tone across every channel.

I gig with mine regularly, and so far it seems built as solid as any other head I've had.

This amps turns a lot of heads when you kick it on, and there's a reason you see so many of them around. The 50 watt version is louder than I have use for. I have yet to turn the volume past 3.5-4 at any show.

 

[will_shred]

I know my friend had the transformer blow on his tweaker, had no problems with my Vengeance though.

Edit: it looks like my friend actually mismatched the ohms on his home made cab, that probably contributed to the transformer shitting the bed on him.