5150 Iconic EL34 Available (Clips!)

  • Thread starter Thread starter glpg80
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JackBootedThug said:
It’s like we strip down to our skivvies and douse each other in baby oil…then we Indian wrestle until one of us lands face down , butt up….

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glpg80 said:
Youre not the only one hearing it. You hear it in person but not under a microphone at least not initially. The fun they are to play far outweighs that character at the pricepoint they target though IMO. They hit far above their weight class.
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I can hear it in some mic’d recordings too, but it’s more subtle to pick up on in that scenario. It was still more enjoyable for me than the stealth’s and a lot of other amps way more expensive despite this weakness, but with the stealth I’d have to compare directly. I predict I’d probably still like it more, but would hear that the stealth sounds fuller
 
braintheory said:
I can hear it in some mic’d recordings too, but it’s more subtle to pick up on in that scenario. It was still more enjoyable for me than the stealth’s and a lot of other amps way more expensive despite this weakness, but with the stealth I’d have to compare directly. I predict I’d probably still like it more, but would hear that the stealth sounds fuller
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TBH I've not been a big fan of most of the EL34 5150 style amps I've played, not because they don't sound solid - the iconic does sound good for what it is, esp at that price point.

I guess I just want it to "pick a lane" and be a 5150/6505 or just be a modded marshall/brown sound machine

I can see the appeal for sure

It's not my wheelhouse really though
 
Bad.Seed said:
Self promotion alert:
I will be livestreaming at 1 PM EST today comparing the 3 big EL34 5150 family offerings. If you guys have any questions or requests, make sure to tune in

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Can you compare the crunch boosted of the 6534 and the crunch burn/no burn of the iconic? Also can you compare the presence sweeps of all 3 sonically? I tend to love the presence WAY up on my 5150 II as it removes the fizz at low volumes.
 
glpg80 said:
Can you compare the crunch boosted of the 6534 and the iconic? Also can you compare the presence sweeps of all 3 sonically? I tend to love the presence WAY up on my 5150 II as it removes the fizz at low volumes.
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Same, I always have to run the presence way way high on 5150 style amps - like 3 o clock high at least, which feels off, but I guess lots of us dial them this way
 
DanTravis62 said:
TBH I've not been a big fan of most of the EL34 5150 style amps I've played, not because they don't sound solid - the iconic does sound good for what it is, esp at that price point.

I guess I just want it to "pick a lane" and be a 5150/6505 or just be a modded marshall/brown sound machine

I can see the appeal for sure

It's not my wheelhouse really though
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The only EL34 ones I tried so far are the Stealth and non-stealth EVH 5153’s. Will have to see how it translates in the iconic. I’d imagine it would still be like a 5150/6505 with the accent that EL34’s would give, but will have to try it. A slightly more "modded Marshall-esque" 5150 doesn't sound bad to me at all though on paper

I’d think the iconic’s I’ve tried (6L6) could possibly be in your wheelhouse since they seemed to me tighter and faster than the peavey versions (imo better feeling too). I haven’t compared it directly with any other 5150 amps, but it basically seemed to me from what I could tell sort of like a tighter, brighter and leaner sounding 6505+. Maybe a bit less nasal too, but not as fat or full. One of these days I should compare for my own curiosity even if I don't see either amp as necessary keeper material
 
braintheory said:
The only EL34 ones I tried so far are the Stealth and non-stealth EVH 5153’s. Will have to see how it translates in the iconic. I’d imagine it would still be like a 5150/6505 with the accent that EL34’s would give, but will have to try it. A slightly more "modded Marshall-esque" 5150 doesn't sound bad to me at all though on paper

I’d think the iconic’s I’ve tried (6L6) could possibly be in your wheelhouse since they seemed to me tighter and faster than the peavey versions (imo better feeling too). I haven’t compared it directly with any other 5150 amps, but it basically seemed to me from what I could tell sort of like a tighter, brighter and leaner sounding 6505+. Maybe a bit less nasal too, but not as fat or full. One of these days I should compare for my own curiosity even if I don't see either amp as necessary keeper material
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I do like the iconic (havent played the 34 version) but i've played it side by side and prefer the original 5150s and 6505s - i prefer the quacky nasal mid hump of the OG, I can definitely see how many would find the iconic more sonically pleasing though
 
DanTravis62 said:
I do like the iconic (havent played the 34 version) but i've played it side by side and prefer the original 5150s and 6505s - i prefer the quacky nasal mid hump of the OG, I can definitely see how many would find the iconic more sonically pleasing though
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Yeah the nasal quacky quality is part of why I never loved them. They were one of those almost good amps to me. That’s partly also why Splawn’s are some of my least favorite amps

When I play a powerchord I like to hear a throaty growl like a fire breathing dragon like a Rev C or a grindy uppermid chainsaw like a good Marshall-y amp or 20w GB, not a quacking duck or a hollow smoothness like a Hiwatt, VHT/Fryette or Wizard (they all do powerchords wrong to me in their own way lol), even though I have some of those amps still and love other aspects of them
 
braintheory said:
Yeah the nasal quacky quality is part of why I never loved them. They were one of those almost good amps to me. That’s partly also why Splawn’s are some of my least favorite amps

When I play a powerchord I like to hear a throaty growl like a fire breathing dragon like a Rev C or grinding uppermid chainsaw like a good Marshall-y amp, not a quacking duck or a hollow smoothness like a Hiwatt, VHT/Fryette or Wizard (they all do powerchords wrong to me in their own way lol), even though I have some of those amps still and love other aspects of them
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I mean if it was up to me, I prefer the marshall style voicing

But I have to adapt my playing and tone to multiple different bands and studio stuff I do

So I have an appreciation for all of those tones to some extent, though the recto low end absolutely drives me insane

I adore the high frequency brilliance of a hiwatt breaking up, I think it's quite different than a VHT/fryette or wizard which are all smoother

The 5150 nasal sound is so ubiquitous for certain genres its just like what people expect to hear
 
DanTravis62 said:
I mean if it was up to me, I prefer the marshall style voicing

But I have to adapt my playing and tone to multiple different bands and studio stuff I do

So I have an appreciation for all of those tones to some extent, though the recto low end absolutely drives me insane

I adore the high frequency brilliance of a hiwatt breaking up, I think it's quite different than a VHT/fryette or wizard which are all smoother

The 5150 nasal sound is so ubiquitous for certain genres its just like what people expect to hear
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Yeah I also like to have all the flavors covered even if I don't technically need them. The Rev C and D I feel a markedly better than other Recto's in that department (among many others), but I still would need a good boost to really get it tight or percussive and still wouldn't choose it if tightness was a priority

I think the VHT/Fryette's and Wizard's are smoother overall (certainly less raw/gritty), but in the midrange specifically felt the Hiwatt DR103 I had was smoother/less growl. It had that brilliance, but for brilliance the best I've had so far are the Alessandro DAZZ (more headroom and power too than the Hiwatt I had at 200w powered by 4xKT88's), 1963 Vox AC30 Top Boost and surprisingly this 1969 Marshall 50w Tremolo. For me the Hiwatt mainly was very big, open and powerful, but had a few other amps that I felt were even stronger in those departments, so I traded it

Yes, many of my favorite metal bands used 5150's and I liked everything about them besides their sound lol. I guess it's very familiar to most, but still not my preference and would just go with something familiar but also much better to me like a boosted early recto, modded or boosted Marshall or just great sounds they won't be as used to like Hermansson, Uber, Hell Razor, etc.

EDIT: re-read you meant brilliance in how Hiwatt's break up, so not applicable to most except the DAZZ, which I actually think is in some ways more special in that exact same way when it starts to break up. It's awesome
 
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braintheory said:
Yeah I also like to have all the flavors covered even if I don't technically need them. The Rev C and D I feel a markedly better than other Recto's in that department (among many others), but I still would need a good boost to really get it tight or percussive and still wouldn't choose it if tightness was a priority

I think the VHT/Fryette's and Wizard's are smoother overall (certainly less raw/gritty), but in the midrange specifically felt the Hiwatt DR103 I had was smoother/less growl. It had that brilliance, but for brilliance the best I've had so far are the Alessandro DAZZ (more headroom and power too than the Hiwatt I had at 200w powered by 4xKT88's), 1963 Vox AC30 Top Boost and surprisingly this 1969 Marshall 50w Tremolo. For me the Hiwatt mainly was very big, open and powerful, but had a few other amps that I felt were even stronger in those departments, so I traded it

Yes, many of my favorite metal bands used 5150's and I liked everything about them besides their sound lol. I guess it's very familiar to most, but still not my preference and would just go with something familiar but also much better to me like a boosted early recto, modded or boosted Marshall or just great sounds they won't be as used to like Hermansson, Uber, Hell Razor, etc.

EDIT: re-read you meant brilliance in how Hiwatt's break up, so not applicable to most except the DAZZ, which I actually think is in some ways more special in that exact same way when it starts to break up. It's awesome
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I guess the point I was making is that I don't prefer the OG 5150 to the iconic because of my own tone preferences, but because it's what is expected - and when people pay money for guitar-ing, they want what they expect

A hiwatt would be one of those amps I would want as "my own tone preferences" type thing - not many people wanting to cop early who tones on recording, and no people at all wanting to start early who cover bands

which is weird that I have to separate all amps into those categories but it is what it is
 
DanTravis62 said:
I guess the point I was making is that I don't prefer the OG 5150 to the iconic because of my own tone preferences, but because it's what is expected - and when people pay money for guitar-ing, they want what they expect

A hiwatt would be one of those amps I would want as "my own tone preferences" type thing - not many people wanting to cop early who tones on recording, and no people at all wanting to start early who cover bands

which is weird that I have to separate all amps into those categories but it is what it is
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Yeah I get that. Sadly it can be this way also with classical guitar. People are familiar with double top guitars and so want to hear them now since they’re so loud and even sounding, but they lack all the warmth and beauty of traditional guitars, so there’s a balancing act there too sometimes to conform to and I don’t like it

I admittedly was never a who fan and didn’t get into Hiwatt because of any bands. I just tried one for sale locally and was impressed enough at the time to buy it at the time

I separate my amps at what I feel are their respective strengths, but if I was in band playing regularly I’d I guess have to think about it that way too, but thankfully only do that to some extent with classical and still wish I didn’t have to
 
braintheory said:
Yeah I get that. Sadly it can be this way also with classical guitar. People are familiar with double top guitars and so want to hear them now since they’re so loud and even sounding, but they lack all the warmth and beauty of traditional guitars, so there’s a balancing act there too sometimes to conform to and I don’t like it

I admittedly was never a who fan and didn’t get the Hiwatt because of any bands. I just tried one for sale locally and was impressed enough at the time to buy it at the time

I separate my amps at what I feel are their respective strengths, but if I was in band playing regularly I’d I guess have to think about it that way too, but thankfully only do that to some extent with classical and still wish I didn’t have to
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That makes sense, I have to separate my gear into gear thats "for me to make my music" and gear that's "For me to make other peoples music"

I'm actually not a who fan either, that was just the first example I thought of as "cranked hiwatt gain tones"
 
Definitely want to try one of these. I wonder why they aren't doing a lower wattage head version of the iconic tho? A lower priced, lower wattage version would sell like crazy. The marshall DSL does similar and sells like crazy. This amp sounds twice as good.
 
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