Big amps still used by the pros - what do we know

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I'd say 80% of all current metal can be summed up with one of the 5150 amps.

It most certainly can, especially the mainstream deathcore Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God etc bands

They literally all use a variation of the 5150 of some kind
 
Meshuggah has a crazy collection of boutique and custom stuff and still they are choosing 5153's, gotta say something about them. my 50w el34 is definitely cool
I keep seeing the descriptions of EVH amps as plasticy but EVH, Jake E Lee don't sound plasticy playing through them and recorded clips by you and other people sound foookin great........I haven't played through an EVH 5153 but I've been tempted to pick up a 6L6 50 watter many a time.
 
Any day of the week my FB marketplace has about 25 Triple Rectfiers for sale.
Not kidding. Not many Duals.
 
I keep seeing the descriptions of EVH amps as plasticy but EVH, Jake E Lee don't sound plasticy playing through them and recorded clips by you and other people sound foookin great........I haven't played through an EVH 5153 but I've been tempted to pick up a 6L6 50 watter many a time.

That particular clip is way too vague sounding to make out much of the tone there. Most close mic recordings I’ve heard capture some of the qualities I didn’t care for in the EVH’s, but as always in person it’s to me at least very present those qualities

I find the EVH’s, especially the stealth 100w’s, to be good amps for the price. They feel good and are voiced very well, but when I’ve AB’ed them with top tier amps, especially a few Cameron modded Marshall’s I had at the time, it was very exposed where they were lacking. In comparison they just were way less lively/flatter/sorta muted, not as full frequency or complete/aggressive in the growl on powerchords. It just wasn’t in the same league, I think most would’ve agreed in that scenario, and I don’t own any Cameron’s anymore, so no skin in the game, but of course valuewise a very good amp in that way. I don’t exactly hear them plastic-y, but I can see why others hear it that way
 
Jake plays RJS & Friedman amps last i heard.
The EVH3's were like 10 years ago.
 
That particular clip is way too vague sounding to make out much of the tone there. Most close mic recordings I’ve heard capture some of the qualities I didn’t care for in the EVH’s, but as always in person it’s to me at least very present those qualities

I find the EVH’s, especially the stealth 100w’s, to be good amps for the price. They feel good and are voiced very well, but when I’ve AB’ed them with top tier amps, especially a few Cameron modded Marshall’s I had at the time, it was very exposed where they were lacking. In comparison they just were way less lively/flatter/sorta muted, not as full frequency or complete/aggressive in the growl on powerchords. It just wasn’t in the same league, I think most would’ve agreed in that scenario, and I don’t own any Cameron’s anymore, so no skin in the game, but of course valuewise a very good amp in that way. I don’t exactly hear them plastic-y, but I can see why others hear it that way


Here’s another recorded 5150 III tone. Always dig decapitated stuff, one of my favorite bands but know it’s not everyone’s favorite deal. I’d definitely take a Cameron over a 5150 iii but probably will never have a shot at owning one lol.
 
They are killer fucking . I use them for my live tone always .
Interesting...

All the diezels...


And you prefer a 5153 still?

Yeah man sell one of the damn diezels you're hoarding.
 
That particular clip is way too vague sounding to make out much of the tone there. Most close mic recordings I’ve heard capture some of the qualities I didn’t care for in the EVH’s, but as always in person it’s to me at least very present those qualities

I find the EVH’s, especially the stealth 100w’s, to be good amps for the price. They feel good and are voiced very well, but when I’ve AB’ed them with top tier amps, especially a few Cameron modded Marshall’s I had at the time, it was very exposed where they were lacking. In comparison they just were way less lively/flatter/sorta muted, not as full frequency or complete/aggressive in the growl on powerchords. It just wasn’t in the same league, I think most would’ve agreed in that scenario, and I don’t own any Cameron’s anymore, so no skin in the game, but of course valuewise a very good amp in that way. I don’t exactly hear them plastic-y, but I can see why others hear it that way
Maybe it's something you feel more so than hear but I've heard alot of killer clips posted by guys from RT with the 100 and 50 watters and they sound good. I had a Cameron Ocean modded Sovtek and it wasn't good enough for me to keep it, albeit maybe it had issues I don't know but it was a bit of a disappointment. Regarding the EVHIII's I have not played one in person I am only going off the clips I've heard and they don't sound bad.

Here's a EVHIII clip from SFW.
https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/threads/tracking-guitars.304182/#post-3890409
 
Meshuggah has a crazy collection of boutique and custom stuff and still they are choosing 5153's, gotta say something about them. my 50w el34 is definitely cool
Again, it's a common thread with the amps you mention.....DSLs, 5153s....they are cheap, and available any and everywhere. And, of course, they sound good enough. Not a bad tone at all.

But they are both amps that I'd hard pass, vs many others.
 
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Maybe it's something you feel more so than hear but I've heard alot of killer clips posted by guys from RT with the 100 and 50 watters and they sound good. I had a Cameron Ocean modded Sovtek and it wasn't good enough for me to keep it, albeit maybe it had issues I don't know but it was a bit of a disappointment. Regarding the EVHIII's I have not played one in person I am only going off the clips I've heard and they don't sound bad.

Here's a EVHIII clip from SFW.
https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/threads/tracking-guitars.304182/#post-3890409
It's funny to me that of all the 5153 type amps out there, that the Iconic is easily a better tone vs ANY of the other 5153s. And, it's the cheaper to buy. Lol
Set up right, they can sound very open/raw. At volume of course. Whereas, the 5153s cannot sound like that no matter how you dial in the Blue channel...even with a lower gain tube. There's an inherent 'squishy compression' that can't be unheard. I've had both 100w stealths, and 2 50w 6L6s.

I agree they are a good value...but when you compare the 100w versions, that are 2200 on up to 2700, to a PRS MT100 that is 1800, well the PRS is a much better deal and is a better sounding/feeling amp. IMO.
 
Maybe it's something you feel more so than hear but I've heard alot of killer clips posted by guys from RT with the 100 and 50 watters and they sound good. I had a Cameron Ocean modded Sovtek and it wasn't good enough for me to keep it, albeit maybe it had issues I don't know but it was a bit of a disappointment. Regarding the EVHIII's I have not played one in person I am only going off the clips I've heard and they don't sound bad.

Here's a EVHIII clip from SFW.
https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/threads/tracking-guitars.304182/#post-3890409
No, I’m honestly not even that picky about feel actually (it’s just a nice bonus). It’s the tone where I get very picky, maybe cork sniffer-y, but whatever. I tried one or 2 Cameron Sovtek’s. I much preferred the Cam modded Marshall’s, but I liked some thing about the Sovtek ones too. No one is saying the EVH’s sound bad at all. They can sound good or at least more than decent enough, but nothing in the amazing category. If you heard it in person vs a good Cameron, IIC+, Rev C, Wizard, etc you’ll see it’s just a different class of amp. It doesn’t have anywhere near the detail, clarity, or the ability to be receptive to all the various expressive nuances in playing. It simply just comes off like a cheaper sounding amp to me when compared to those, but on its own it can be solid and sound plenty good. It’s a good amp for the price, but I don’t care about that. If we remove price from the equation it’s a decent-ish amp, nowhere near top tier in my book (taking price out of how we judge gear, which is imo how it should be done)
 


Here’s another recorded 5150 III tone. Always dig decapitated stuff, one of my favorite bands but know it’s not everyone’s favorite deal. I’d definitely take a Cameron over a 5150 iii but probably will never have a shot at owning one lol.

Yeah Cameron’s are great no doubt, but honestly with some of the stuff you have it might not be a must have. I at least didn’t feel the need to keep mine (ccv and 5 modded Marshall’s), but they all were really good

To me that vid is an example of a sound that functionally works very well, but not a tone that seems like anything amazing to me where I’d wonder what gear are they using. That’s typically the case I hear in bands with EVH or Peavey 5150’s/6505’s. Some of my favorite metal bands use those amps, I know, but it was never their tone that made them among my favorites
 
On the subject of EVHs, this appeared on my YouTube feed just now. Looks like Buckethead is another user

 
 
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