EVH - 5150III 50W EL34 Head Guitar Amplifier

There's lots of meat packed into the 5150-III Stealth's chassis, for sure! This may be "only" a 50W head, but it outweighs a couple of 100W heads I have. With selectable impedance (4/8/16), one can drive their choice of cabinets, or two, with its parallel outputs. NO problem pushing a full 4x12 cab to xmax (and Tinnitus).So is this the "5150 Sound?" I couldn't say, having never plugged into a legacy model. But taken at face value for what it is, this amp is definitely unique amongst others I own. Its "Green" channel being the least aggressive, is NOT a "Clean" channel, per se - but CAN run clean (and very dry). Sharing bi-level controls with Orange channel, gives one options. I suppose. But not really...Blue channel is what this amp's all about IMO, and I'm glad ... MoreThere's lots of meat packed into the 5150-III Stealth's chassis, for sure! This may be "only" a 50W head, but it outweighs a couple of 100W heads I have. With selectable impedance (4/8/16), one can drive their choice of cabinets, or two, with its parallel outputs. NO problem pushing a full 4x12 cab to xmax (and Tinnitus).So is this the "5150 Sound?" I couldn't say, having never plugged into a legacy model. But taken at face value for what it is, this amp is definitely unique amongst others I own. Its "Green" channel being the least aggressive, is NOT a "Clean" channel, per se - but CAN run clean (and very dry). Sharing bi-level controls with Orange channel, gives one options. I suppose. But not really...Blue channel is what this amp's all about IMO, and I'm glad it gets it's own set of dials. I doubt I'll ever run this thing NOT on Blue channel. Twist the Gain & Volume knobs each past 40% - that sound is worth the price of admission! It's a seriously BEEF piece of hardware!Without taking it apart, the 5150-III 6L6 Stealth looks and feels to have a solid build quality. It's input / output tubes are cleanly displayed behind front & rear grilles. Again, there is an impedance switch, and parallel speaker jacks out back; along with a bias test point / adjustment. Weirdly, the Presence dial, Power and Standby switches are also out back. I really wish the Standby switch, at least, wasn't - this being my only qualm.

Amp that has all what musician needs, except maybe a reverb for "vintage style guys". Three channels, first fenderish clean, second that goes from crunch to heavy rhytm distortion, and third with gain for export, hardly gain knob after 12 o'clock ever need to be turned. What is exceptional with this amp is harmonic content that springs from every note played. Chords due to these higher harmonics simply make you play more and more... Pretty organic sound, but pretty tight at the same time.... pure bliss. At the back of amp there is a resonance knob that gives hard "thump" to your sound, this is super penetrating and makes amp really big. So far i have no regrets, i purchased due to recomendation on forums, youtube, and various comments, something i never do. I would ... MoreAmp that has all what musician needs, except maybe a reverb for "vintage style guys". Three channels, first fenderish clean, second that goes from crunch to heavy rhytm distortion, and third with gain for export, hardly gain knob after 12 o'clock ever need to be turned. What is exceptional with this amp is harmonic content that springs from every note played. Chords due to these higher harmonics simply make you play more and more... Pretty organic sound, but pretty tight at the same time.... pure bliss. At the back of amp there is a resonance knob that gives hard "thump" to your sound, this is super penetrating and makes amp really big. So far i have no regrets, i purchased due to recomendation on forums, youtube, and various comments, something i never do. I would always test it before. In this case it could be said that i was "rescued by my faith". Also, excellent service from Musicstore. de, amp came really quickly, something i never expierencend so far with other on-line stores that sell music equipment!

Bought this to replace a H&K Grandmeister 36 and use the 36 as a backup.The EVH gives me the Clean, Crunch and Lead I need for my covers band. Channels and effects loop are all switchable via Midi from my Line 6 HX Effects.The Red Lead channel has all the gain you need without using boost pedals.The Blue crunch channel has enough gain for classic rock/rock tones and takes boost pedals well if you need to and can match the lead channel this way. People mention the C137 mod on the Blue channel but if you are used to British, Marshall type sound then that's what it does. The Blue channel does have less gain but it is supposed too. Why have two channels with the same gain? As mentioned, you can always boost it if needed. It allows for dynamics between channels.The ... MoreBought this to replace a H&K Grandmeister 36 and use the 36 as a backup.The EVH gives me the Clean, Crunch and Lead I need for my covers band. Channels and effects loop are all switchable via Midi from my Line 6 HX Effects.The Red Lead channel has all the gain you need without using boost pedals.The Blue crunch channel has enough gain for classic rock/rock tones and takes boost pedals well if you need to and can match the lead channel this way. People mention the C137 mod on the Blue channel but if you are used to British, Marshall type sound then that's what it does. The Blue channel does have less gain but it is supposed too. Why have two channels with the same gain? As mentioned, you can always boost it if needed. It allows for dynamics between channels.The Green Clean channel sounds great and can do full on clean to slightly bitey. Again, takes pedals really well.It's still a good portable size/weight and fits on top of my two 1x12 H&K V30 cabs that I use for gigging.A great amp. Try one!!