5150iii EL34 50W with G1275 loaded 1960A

5150's and 75's generally aren't a good mix. They take well to V30s, H30s, 12Ms, but in my experience do not mix well with 65's or 75's.
 
glpg80":2myv92q5 said:
5150's and 75's generally aren't a good mix. They take well to V30s, H30s, 12Ms, but in my experience do not mix well with 65's or 75's.
Gonna disagree with ya on the 65s. The EVH 5153 is a bit different than the peaveys, and the last 50w I had sounded great through 65s. 75s, depends on the vintage...early ones are nice and fat with mids...later ones not so much.
 
Racerxrated":1ubkjxik said:
glpg80":1ubkjxik said:
5150's and 75's generally aren't a good mix. They take well to V30s, H30s, 12Ms, but in my experience do not mix well with 65's or 75's.
Gonna disagree with ya on the 65s. The EVH 5153 is a bit different than the peaveys, and the last 50w I had sounded great through 65s. 75s, depends on the vintage...early ones are nice and fat with mids...later ones not so much.

I stand corrected on the 65's - the rule holds true for the others but this speaker needs a breakdown. 5150 and 5150 II's have a mid focus that already sits exactly where 65's are voiced and it is not a good mix. I owned an original 1983 cabinet with original 65's that I sold to a member here on the forum and know from experience first hand.

5150 III's were revoiced and sound more linear across the spectrum, so there isn't an ominous honk in the mid voicing as with peavey models.
 
Bloodstorm":8zab00j2 said:
Is the blue channel on the el34 really as bad as people are saying?

I don't know but should have one in hand tomorrow.

From what I have heard, people are saying that it is more vintage and Marshally and needs a boost to tighten it up. I guess I can understand the disappointment if you are used to the modern tight tonality of the 5150's with 6L6's.

Personally, I prefer Marshall tones with EL34's and like to boost the front end so this one could be right up my alley. Having the red channel for leads or crazy metal is just a bonus.
 
Got my El34 5153 Monday.

Sounds great through my Mesa OS with V30 and BS90. Haven't tried any other speakers but it really is a good amp.

For me, much better than the 6L6.
 
I think this could truly be my amp. I've been disappointed for years that companies cannot produce a modern, high gain amp that is good for british-voiced heavy metal and not just the drop tuning modern metal stuff. Most of the time you've got to go with a vintage sounding amp and get all kinds of gear for it to increase the gain and make it sound right. The reviews of this amp have been outstanding. This is potentially one of the best gifts to the guitar world. I played the 100w version in guitar center a few months ago and was very impressed.
 
I hear you Bloodstorm. I am hoping for the best myself. Just finalized the deal and picking mine up tomorrow.

I have a Marshall DSL100HR and a Randall RM100KH loaded with modded Marshall and Soldano modules. Both are great but also do very different things even though I tried to base the RM100 on Marshall type tones. It's just not a Marshall and that is OK.

The EVH should fit another tonal spectrum for me and believe that it will. Can't wait to fire it up!
 
Racerxrated":2txlmo76 said:
glpg80":2txlmo76 said:
5150's and 75's generally aren't a good mix. They take well to V30s, H30s, 12Ms, but in my experience do not mix well with 65's or 75's.
Gonna disagree with ya on the 65s. The EVH 5153 is a bit different than the peaveys, and the last 50w I had sounded great through 65s. 75s, depends on the vintage...early ones are nice and fat with mids...later ones not so much.
110% agree!
I use my 6L6 5153 50W almost exclusively with a Mesa 2x12 Vertical cab that has a G12-65 on top and a Mesa V30 on the bottom with a beamblocker.
Another good combo was with the Marshall 1966B 2x12 (diagonal), with a '86 T75 (Serifed Font logo) and the 2nd Mesa V30.

Both these cabs help in taming down the EVH's strident highs. 12M's and H30's are magic too with this amp.
 
Bloodstorm":2qmvq0mo said:
Is the blue channel on the el34 really as bad as people are saying?

Its probably "bad" for those who expect a fire-breathing, slightly-more-tame version of the red channel like the 6L6 amp. In that case, I can completely understand when it disappointed some guys. Personally, I really dig that its a completely different tone than the red channel. I really, really dig the tone and feel when I use my Maxon 808 in front, but even without a boost there's a place for the channel IMO. Then of course there's the red channel with all the mayhem and gain one would need.
 
fek":1zw7t9ju said:
I hear you Bloodstorm. I am hoping for the best myself. Just finalized the deal and picking mine up tomorrow.

I have a Marshall DSL100HR and a Randall RM100KH loaded with modded Marshall and Soldano modules. Both are great but also do very different things even though I tried to base the RM100 on Marshall type tones. It's just not a Marshall and that is OK.

The EVH should fit another tonal spectrum for me and believe that it will. Can't wait to fire it up!

OK man, what's the verdict??
 
Buckeyedog":1uu5uvcc said:
OK man, what's the verdict??

I am going out of town today so I only had about 10 minutes to turn it on and make sure that everything seemed to be working.

First I went straight in with everything at noon at what I consider to be below bedroom volumes. Clean sounded good, blue sounded thick, red sounded mean. Each sounded pretty good to me though.

Then I added a few boosts to the front end and reduced the low end on the blue channel. Koko was wicked on both channels! SD1 sounded usable, Cusack V2 Screamer will work well with the blue channel, and the Buxom Boost might have a spot here and there.

Overall, I can't wait to get this thing up to gig levels. Shouldn't take much time to get it dialed in.
 
Rayneman":2zjxlb0j said:
Bloodstorm":2zjxlb0j said:
Is the blue channel on the el34 really as bad as people are saying?

Its probably "bad" for those who expect a fire-breathing, slightly-more-tame version of the red channel like the 6L6 amp. In that case, I can completely understand when it disappointed some guys. Personally, I really dig that its a completely different tone than the red channel. I really, really dig the tone and feel when I use my Maxon 808 in front, but even without a boost there's a place for the channel IMO. Then of course there's the red channel with all the mayhem and gain one would need.

Rayneman, what settings are you using? There doesn't seem to be much of a learning curve with this amp but I haven't had a 5150 type since I had a block letter probably 15 years ago.
 
fek":pnv2z8t2 said:
Rayneman":pnv2z8t2 said:
Bloodstorm":pnv2z8t2 said:
Is the blue channel on the el34 really as bad as people are saying?

Its probably "bad" for those who expect a fire-breathing, slightly-more-tame version of the red channel like the 6L6 amp. In that case, I can completely understand when it disappointed some guys. Personally, I really dig that its a completely different tone than the red channel. I really, really dig the tone and feel when I use my Maxon 808 in front, but even without a boost there's a place for the channel IMO. Then of course there's the red channel with all the mayhem and gain one would need.

Rayneman, what settings are you using? There doesn't seem to be much of a learning curve with this amp but I haven't had a 5150 type since I had a block letter probably 15 years ago.

On the red channel, I think its pretty much everything at noon kind of a deal for me. Maybe a little more treble depending on the speakers. Even noon on the gain is a lot, but it rocks. Blue channel, I tend to use gain wide open, less bass and mid than on the red, and more treble. Then hit it with a boost if needed, for me the perfect boost is the Maxon 808, with drive nearly off and tone and level at 50%. I have the EVH 2x12 cabinet and haven't played it through anything else, so that's what I'm used to. But you're right, its not hard to get a good tone, nor like dialing in a Mesa Mark series amp.
 
I just bought mine with the matching 212 yesterday. Been playing on it this morning. Beautiful looking amp. Great sound and great quality. Can someone please recommend some boosts I should try in front of it? Looking for probably a mini pedal since my board is small.
 
Forgive me as I'm not very much into amps or gear, but a boost pedal will tighten up the bottom end right? Will make palm muting sound better for single note riffers like me? Should I go with a clean boost or what? Need recommendations. Thanks.
 
Bloodstorm":3tv08aom said:
I just bought mine with the matching 212 yesterday. Been pkaying on it this morning. Beautiful looking amp. Great sound and great quality. Can someone please recommend some boosts I should try in front of it? Looking for probably a mini pedal since my board is small.

I liked my maxon 808 when I was boosting, so I would think any mini ts style would work.
 
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