EVH 5150 III 50W EL34 in-depth!

[Guitarjon]

Hey all!

A year or two ago I got this EVH 5150 III 50W EL34. Before I chose to get the EL34 version I also checked out the 6L6 version and I preferred how the EL34 sounded in a full mix. To me that's the most important thing so that's why I decided on getting this one. The 6L6 seems really great too though so who knows, I might get one of those one day.

One of the main differences between the 2 versions is the (in)famous blue channel. Some people hate the EL34's blue channel and others love it. The blue channel on the EL34 is a bit more vintage, loose and fuzzy sounding. To me it reminds a lot of Marshall amps and stuff like Soldano amps. It has a hint of Rectifier in there too. The red channel does that super tight and aggressive signature EVH thing very well. I guess a lot of people prefer to have 2 drive channels that sound more similar but I'm primarily a studio musician so for me the added versatility is a huge plus. To me it makes the amp that much more versatile since it's now more capable of delivering more vintage tones as opposed to just doing clean and more tight (high-)gain tones.

The clean channel is good but probably not my favorite as it has a lot of headroom and it's basically super clean and kind of 'sterile'. Good for super clean sparkly tones but I usually prefer clean channels that can deliver a little bit more breakup.

I made an in-depth demo of the amp to show off what it can do and to demonstrate how versatile it is. There are clips with 15 different guitars in various styles from clean to super heavy. It's very much a rock/metal amp in general so there are plenty clips there of those genres. Hopefully this gives a good idea of how the amp sounds:



To those who own this amp: how do you like it? Do you like the blue channel and if so, how do you like to use it?

 

[gunch]

Awesome job as always dude! I couldn’t find a bad tone in there. If the green channel wasn’t the best clean in the world my unseasoned ears couldn’t tell. The blue channel segments were really awesome too.

 

[Guitarjon]

Awesome job as always dude! I couldn’t find a bad tone in there. If the green channel wasn’t the best clean in the world my unseasoned ears couldn’t tell. The blue channel segments were really awesome too.

Thanks! Yeah I guess the green channel is great if you like super clean tones. Cool to hear that I'm not the only one who loves this blue channel!

 

[Bandersnatch]

The clean channel ... it's basically super clean and kind of 'sterile'...

...

To those who own this amp: how do you like it? Do you like the blue channel and if so, how do you like to use it?

Funny you say that about the clean channel. I actually don't like the clean channel on mine. I can't get it clean enough. I did notice you've maxed out the gain on the clean channel though. How did you manage to avoid breakup with that setting?

As for being an owner of it, it's an excellent amp. You can't go wrong with it. I quite like the blue channel and my amp basically lives on the blue channel with a TS Mini always on. The one thing I'll say about that is that in a mix, the blue channel, unboosted, sounds killer. When I record the blue channel with the TS Mini on, it sounds like fizzy shit, but in the room, the reverse is true. It's that typical "If it sounds like shit on it's own, it'll sound great in a mix" kind of thing. I only use the red channel for leads or to double up rhythm tracks with a bit more hairiness. I barely use the clean channel. When I do, it's only when I want to do some Breaking Benjamin style "clean" tones.

 

[rexbinary]

I purchased both the 50w 6L6 2.0 and the 50w EL34. Sold off the 50w EL34. I'm one of the people that hated the blue channel on the 50w EL34. It was way too flubby for me even with a overdrive for tightening. I considered trying the C137 mod on the 50w EL34, but I gelled so well with the 50w 6L6 2.0 I didn't bother.

The green channels were pretty much the same to my ears between the 6L6 2.0 and EL34, but the red on the EL34 was a tad bit darker and was pretty awesome. The 50w EL34 is not a bad amp by any means as long as you are good with it's blue channel.

 

[Guitarjon]

Funny you say that about the clean channel. I actually don't like the clean channel on mine. I can't get it clean enough. I did notice you've maxed out the gain on the clean channel though. How did you manage to avoid breakup with that setting?

As for being an owner of it, it's an excellent amp. You can't go wrong with it. I quite like the blue channel and my amp basically lives on the blue channel with a TS Mini always on. The one thing I'll say about that is that in a mix, the blue channel, unboosted, sounds killer. When I record the blue channel with the TS Mini on, it sounds like fizzy shit, but in the room, the reverse is true. It's that typical "If it sounds like shit on it's own, it'll sound great in a mix" kind of thing. I only use the red channel for leads or to double up rhythm tracks with a bit more hairiness. I barely use the clean channel. When I do, it's only when I want to do some Breaking Benjamin style "clean" tones.

Weird! Like I said, my clean channel is SUPER clean! Maybe you're using very high output pickups? Are you running the stock tubes like me?

The blue channel is great indeed with a boost! It makes it nice and tight but it still has that 'airy' tone to it which is kinda cool!

I purchased both the 50w 6L6 2.0 and the 50w EL34. Sold off the 50w EL34. I'm one of the people that hated the blue channel on the 50w EL34. It was way too flubby for me even with a overdrive for tightening. I considered trying the C137 mod on the 50w EL34, but I gelled so well with the 50w 6L6 2.0 I didn't bother.

The green channels were pretty much the same to my ears between the 6L6 2.0 and EL34, but the red on the EL34 was a tad bit darker and was pretty awesome. The 50w EL34 is not a bad amp by any means as long as you are good with it's blue channel.

Yeah, the 34 isn't for everybody and I can see why that would not work for some people. I do agree about the red channel, it's amazing!

 

[Seabeast2000]

I love my EL34 50W, but never owned any other 515x amp. Red channel screams, a little delay and eq in the loop and its Planet Arena lol.
The Blue needs the C137 mod when I feel like cracking it open. I have done the OD and gain dimed for some less compressed metal crunch, i just don't find myself wanting to go there very often with the Red giving me %200 of my daily metal intake.

 

[Guitarjon]

I love my EL34 50W, but never owned any other 515x amp. Red channel screams, a little delay and eq in the loop and its Planet Arena lol.
The Blue needs the C137 mod when I feel like cracking it open. I have done the OD and gain dimed for some less compressed metal crunch, i just don't find myself wanting to go there very often with the Red giving me %200 of my daily metal intake.

The mod seems to have potential but I'm afraid I'll lose too much gain. And I agree about the red channel doing that more than enough in spades tbh.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Weird! Like I said, my clean channel is SUPER clean! Maybe you're using very high output pickups? Are you running the stock tubes like me?

The blue channel is great indeed with a boost! It makes it nice and tight but it still has that 'airy' tone to it which is kinda cool!

Yep, still the stock JJ's in mine. The only one of my guitars that would expect to stay clean is my Special Edition Telecaster which I put the Sentient and Pegasus in. Those aren't too hot of pickups but even so, my EL34 5150 still doesn't stay clean. The rest of my guitars, yeah, they run pretty high output pickups (PRS SE SVN stock pickups are super hot and noisy, Fishman Fluence Moderns, EMG-HZ, SD JB's, Crunchlab/Liquifire, others I can't remember right now).

Like I said, the blue channel boosted in the room sounds great, but not on a recording. That TS Mini needs to be off for it to sound good in a mix!

 

[KailM]

Great demo! I thought the blue channel sounded wonderful. I am strongly considering trading my 6L6 version for one of these -- because of the blue channel. Red and green seemed to be no better/no worse than the 6L6 version. I know people rave about the 6L6 blue channel, but IMO there is nothing spectacular about it. I mean, I can get good tones out of it, but still prefer the red channel with the gain low for all distorted tones. The blue channel on the 6L6 seems to have the same voicing as the red, but more neutered, for lack of a better term.

What I like about the EL-34 version is it seems like the blue channel actually has a different voicing. I am undeterred by the extra bass, because I can always boost it with my M77 and cut as much bass as needed before the preamp. And actually, that channel seems much better for classic and hard rock than the 6L6 blue, which is a little too clinical and modern for that. Those old-school tones had a healthy amount of bass anyway.

 

[Guitarjon]

Great demo! I thought the blue channel sounded wonderful. I am strongly considering trading my 6L6 version for one of these -- because of the blue channel. Red and green seemed to be no better/no worse than the 6L6 version. I know people rave about the 6L6 blue channel, but IMO there is nothing spectacular about it. I mean, I can get good tones out of it, but still prefer the red channel with the gain low for all distorted tones. The blue channel on the 6L6 seems to have the same voicing as the red, but more neutered, for lack of a better term.

What I like about the EL-34 version is it seems like the blue channel actually has a different voicing. I am undeterred by the extra bass, because I can always boost it with my M77 and cut as much bass as needed before the preamp. And actually, that channel seems much better for classic and hard rock than the 6L6 blue, which is a little too clinical and modern for that. Those old-school tones had a healthy amount of bass anyway.

I agree with you completely! It makes the amp much more versatile indeed.

 

[Shask]

I got a 6L6 model a few weeks ago. I bought it after trying the EL34 model in the store (all I could find in stock). I generally prefer 6L6 amps, and I have had more tube issues with EL34's, so the decision made sense.

Going from memory, I think they sound and feel pretty similar. I have found there is more of a difference because of the speakers they are paired with than the tubes. I didnt like the 6L6 model I got at home as much, but I found that I think that is due to speakers. At the store, the EL34 model sound great with it's matching cab.

I use an OD on the Blue, and I think I would on either model, so that would negate some of the differences between the models.

I am curious if the new Stealth model will be THAT much different, or similar to these existing models.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Dude. That is one pro demo. You basically covered all bases. Tasty playing, too.

 

[Guitarjon]

I got a 6L6 model a few weeks ago. I bought it after trying the EL34 model in the store (all I could find in stock). I generally prefer 6L6 amps, and I have had more tube issues with EL34's, so the decision made sense.

Going from memory, I think they sound and feel pretty similar. I have found there is more of a difference because of the speakers they are paired with than the tubes. I didnt like the 6L6 model I got at home as much, but I found that I think that is due to speakers. At the store, the EL34 model sound great with it's matching cab.

I use an OD on the Blue, and I think I would on either model, so that would negate some of the differences between the models.

I am curious if the new Stealth model will be THAT much different, or similar to these existing models.

Cool! Yes, speakers make all the difference. Mine sounds cool with it's matching cab (which is basically the same cab as the 'regular' 2x12) but a lot of my amps don't sound really good through it. That's why working with IRs is so flexible for me.

Dude. That is one pro demo. You basically covered all bases. Tasty playing, too.

Thank you!

 

[Emperoff]

I find plenty of contradictory reviews of all these amps and it's all a blurry mess...
- Some say the blue channel on the EL34 is flubby, but the clean channel is great.
- Others say that the clean channel on the 6L6 with concentric pots is not the same as the original (better), and same as the EL34.
- The Stealth was based on the 50w 6L6, but now they release the 50W Stealth (WTF?), which apparently is just a 6L6 with more gain all over (which results in a worse clean channel)...

I mean, I wouldn't know what the hell buy if I were in the market of one (which I might depending on how my latest amp purchase turns out...).

 

[Guitarjon]

I find plenty of contradictory reviews of all these amps and it's all a blurry mess...
- Some say the blue channel on the EL34 is flubby, but the clean channel is great.
- Others say that the clean channel on the 6L6 with concentric pots is not the same as the original (better), and same as the EL34.
- The Stealth was based on the 50w 6L6, but now they release the 50W Stealth (WTF?), which apparently is just a 6L6 with more gain all over (which results in a worse clean channel)...

I mean, I wouldn't know what the hell buy if I were in the market of one (which I might depending on how my latest amp purchase turns out...).

Well, it's not that complicated. The EL34 just has a more loose and vintage sounding blue channel that sounds pretty different from the red channel. Some guys expect all the EVH amps to have very tight gain sounds like the 6L6 has to offer on the blue. So the blue on the EL34 can be unexpected because of that. The only one who can decide if you like the blue channel on the EL34 is you!

The clean is fine, it's just very clean on mine and I prefer cleans with a touch more saturation on tap.

 

[Shask]

I find plenty of contradictory reviews of all these amps and it's all a blurry mess...
- Some say the blue channel on the EL34 is flubby, but the clean channel is great.
- Others say that the clean channel on the 6L6 with concentric pots is not the same as the original (better), and same as the EL34.
- The Stealth was based on the 50w 6L6, but now they release the 50W Stealth (WTF?), which apparently is just a 6L6 with more gain all over (which results in a worse clean channel)...

I mean, I wouldn't know what the hell buy if I were in the market of one (which I might depending on how my latest amp purchase turns out...).

That is why I just grabbed a normal 6L6 model recently. It is the most popular, I am sure for a reason. The concentric pots are a great addition, so no reason to grab an old one when they dont go for THAT much cheaper. (It would be a different story if they were 40% cost or something).

The original 5150 had 6L6s, and the Peavey 6534 was a less popular model, again, I figure for a reason.

The real question is what the Stealth will bring to the table, but I have a feeling it will be months before reviews come out.

 

[Guitarjon]

That is why I just grabbed a normal 6L6 model recently. It is the most popular, I am sure for a reason. The concentric pots are a great addition, so no reason to grab an old one when they dont go for THAT much cheaper. (It would be a different story if they were 40% cost or something).

The original 5150 had 6L6s, and the Peavey 6534 was a less popular model, again, I figure for a reason.

The real question is what the Stealth will bring to the table, but I have a feeling it will be months before reviews come out.

Well, the models that started the hype have 6L6's so it makes sense that that's what people would gravitate towards. I think this EL34 model is really popular though.

 

[viifox]

Great overview! I definitely prefer the 6l6 version over the el34. Kinda whish they just made it so the amp could take both. The 6l6 Stealth is the king of all of these amps, imo. I even like it more than the original blockletter.

Btw, do you have a review of the Archon 100?