The EVH 5150 III Owners Thread

[Genghis]

Previous owner had it done by FJA mods. He does other things as well, but that's the only mod that was done for this amp. I'm digging the sound just the way it is, so not sure I'd want any other mods.

I kind of like that idea for the bass, mid and treble. Never heard of anyone doing that; not sure if it could be done, but it sounds like it would be cool if they could do it.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

New member of the club too (well a little over a month ago I got this beast) and I love this thing!!



For any other owners, when I go to replace the tubes, do I need to do anything else special besides just replacing them? Like, if the Power Tubes are changed, does the amp have to be biased? Thanks!

 

[aneurysm]

I have a Harley Benton G212 Vintage with my 5153 50W, it sounds good, but I find it a little harsh. I'm thinking about buying the original EVH cab because I can get it for a good price (almost the same as HB). I have heard that harshness of the HB could be the chinese version of the V30 poor quality, or the fact that they didn't break in yet. Some say that even if they break they don't compare to the UK V30 present in the Mesa Boogie. I'm a bit confused what could be the best compromise for this head, as I like the tone not to be too harsh, but precise and harmonically rich. I'd like to buy one thing not very expensive, but the best quality for a good cab and not waste too much money and changing every time or buying something overated.

Have anyone compared the HB G212 with the EVH 2X12 Cabs and the Mesa 2x12 ?

Thanks a lot for your advice.

Hi,

never played the HB G212 or Mesa but the EVH 2x12 is a great Cab to use with the 50W.
I have the EVH 4x12 and it´s sounds great but so does the 2x12 ! But consider, if it´s a new EVH Cab you probably don´t like the Tone cause the Speaker´s aren´t broken in, so just give it some Time.
I also have a Heritage 2x12 Cab ( G12H30 / V30 ) and this also sounds great.
You really have to testdrive as many Cabs as possible to see what you like best !

 

[CVK85]

One more. Made one more batman logo for the cab so it the one I have in the head.

6 months after buying the amp and the honeymoon isn't over. Its the amp I've been waiting for for years. I swapped 1 of the g12s in the cab for a v30. G12+v30 combo is perfect for this amp.

 

[RustInPeace]

What does the V30 add to the sound of the cab?

 

[CVK85]

What does the V30 add to the sound of the cab?

I've never been good at reviews or describing sounds, but I'll try...

I feel the g12 gives me more low end smoothness, and the v30 hits a sweet spot in the mid's that I really like. It adds a real crispness that balances very well with the g12h. I just tried it for the hell of it, and was suprised in how well the experiment went. A lot of it also probably has to do with me using mostly v30 in the past with other amps. I have always prefered them. Try it. You might like it too.

 

[CVK85]

New member of the club too (well a little over a month ago I got this beast) and I love this thing!!



For any other owners, when I go to replace the tubes, do I need to do anything else special besides just replacing them? Like, if the Power Tubes are changed, does the amp have to be biased? Thanks!

Yes you do. I had my tech do mine when I had annother issue with the volume pot. Had him bias it a hotter than stock (they come biased low usually). It sounds so much better this way

 

[Brody]

Wow its awesome to see how much this thread has taken off! So sick to see all of these badass amps on one spot!

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Yes you do. I had my tech do mine when I had annother issue with the volume pot. Had him bias it a hotter than stock (they come biased low usually). It sounds so much better this way

Interesting, I reached out to EVH/Fender on bias and tubes to buy and got this response:

[FONT=&quot]Hello Eric,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You will want to use the Groove Tubes ECC83S preamp tubes - GT-ECC83-S | Groove Tubes Tubes
and you will want to use the GT 6L6S in a duet in a rating from 8-10 (or high rating) - Groove Tubes TUBE GT-6L6-S R1 DUET[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]These are the exact tubes we use from factory just with the GT and/or JJ label removed. You should not need to adjust the bias if you stick with those tubes in that power rating.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is no definitive lifespan on tubes. If you are using mostly distorted sounds, it can be even more difficult. However, if you feel you are loosing volume/headroom, you can't really get a proper clean tone or if one of the tubes physically goes bad. I personally go by time on an amp that I use regularly with 1 year on the power tubes and 2 years on the preamp tubes. That way I tend to stay ahead of problems that may come up instead of a tube going down on be during a gig. Always good to have spares![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hope that helps![/FONT]

 

[TheRileyOBrien]

I biased mine hotter after a tube swap and I thought it sounded horrible so I put it back down to stock. The circuit was designed around colder running tubes so I wasn't surprised.

If you like it though, there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[TheShreddinHand]

Yup, they emailed me back again and said bias is at 60 mv

 

[RustInPeace]

I think I need new power tubes. Going onto year 3 with this set and the amp has seem to lost a bit of punch and some gain in channel 2. Probably going to drop a Mesa pair in, as they are usually pretty good tubes and they are actually the cheapest to buy.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

I just picked up the 50 watt head to potentially replace my 6505+ combo, and I am on the fence with it. My main issues are that it has too much gain, and is too bright. I can't seem to get a lead tone that I like with it. Maybe it just doesn't match well with my cab? I'm using a Peavey 412MS with Celestion g12k-85 speakers, which do have a bit of that g12t-75 high end sizzle to them.

I also am getting the annoying pop sound when using the footswitch. I read earlier in this thread about letting it warm up and use the clean channel for a while before pressing any buttons, but this only worked a couple times for me so far. Is there a fix for this?

 

[zilla]

Found a great deal on a carvin legacy 4x12 with v30 speakers

Would this be a good match for the 100 watt head?

 

[quassarmetal]

Hello there!

I have a EVH 5150 50w head connected to a Blackstar HTV412 cabinet (which comes with the Blackstar HT100)

The point is that i sold the HT100 long ago, because I play modern death metal, and did not fit the sound that I like.

The EVH 5150 50w is a beast, but I feel that I do not get the full profit with such cabinet. Not a bad cabinet, but plays in another league

I was thinking of buying the EVH 2x12 cabinet, because I do not want to spend much money, but I'm afraid of losing power or punch to move from 4x12 to 2x12

What is your opinion? Is it worth having a better cabinet even if it is smaller? I play many concerts where the instruments are not miked or pass through mixer (small clubs), and do not want to lose power because of the cab size

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[RustInPeace]

^^ The matching 212 suits it very well, plenty of punch.

 

[quassarmetal]

^^ The matching 212 suits it very well, plenty of punch.

How about overall volume? It lose much volume?

THANKS!

 

[RustInPeace]

It still pushes plenty of air!

 

[TheRileyOBrien]

The 2x12 is pretty big/deep in size and sounds great. I would prefer it over the 4x12 in nearly every way other than "looking cool".

 

[RustInPeace]

I picked up some Mesa power tubes and a Tungsol 12ax7 for V1, dropping them in tonight! Lately I've found that channel 2 has low or no gain to it, not like it used to.

Havent changed power tubes in 3 years, suppose its time lol.