EVH 5150III 100S EL34 vs Marshall JCM800 2203 [Update]

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simon Dorn
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My amp doesn’t start getting cooking until 4. Most I could ever crank it was 2 when I was gigging because the drummer for the band I was hired for wasn’t a hard hitter. I had a friend who was a drummer in another band and he could keep up at 6.5 on the volume. Dude could also break 2 ply drumheads on command in one hit lol

Also I totally fucked my hearing doing this when I was young. Please if you play that loud wear ear plugs or ear protection.
I got so use to keeping it 2 for live shows that I redid my boosting and eq according to sound great . And it’s still a great tone today after all these years
 
My amp doesn’t start getting cooking until 4. Most I could ever crank it was 2 when I was gigging because the drummer for the band I was hired for wasn’t a hard hitter. I had a friend who was a drummer in another band and he could keep up at 6.5 on the volume. Dude could also break 2 ply drumheads on command in one hit lol

Also I totally fucked my hearing doing this when I was young. Please if you play that loud wear ear plugs or ear protection.
WHAT DID YOU SAY??????!!!??? :D ;)
 
My amp doesn’t start getting cooking until 4. Most I could ever crank it was 2 when I was gigging because the drummer for the band I was hired for wasn’t a hard hitter. I had a friend who was a drummer in another band and he could keep up at 6.5 on the volume. Dude could also break 2 ply drumheads on command in one hit lol

Also I totally fucked my hearing doing this when I was young. Please if you play that loud wear ear plugs or ear protection.
Btw.:
 

Saw this, was surprised. I’ve honestly only played an SLO once when I was like 15, so I don’t even count it because I can’t remember. Sounds super close here. I think peaveys get dismissed a lot by higher end amp owners because of how affordable they are. They really do sound great.
 
You have the bass maxed on the 800.

Perhaps cut it back a bit. Sounds like Dicks hitting bricks....imho
 
You have the bass maxed on the 800.

Perhaps cut it back a bit. Sounds like Dicks hitting bricks....imho
"like Dicks hitting bricks" :D
We are "Like Dicks hitting bricks" and we play Brick'n'Roll. Next Song is called Concrete-Cunt from our New Album Dicksy-Suckers.

I change the settings all the time.
 
Saw this, was surprised. I’ve honestly only played an SLO once when I was like 15, so I don’t even count it because I can’t remember. Sounds super close here. I think peaveys get dismissed a lot by higher end amp owners because of how affordable they are. They really do sound great.

They have a (fairly wide) range where they do sound very, very similar, but the main point of matter for me is that the 5152 is way more gain, and at settings where it "opens up", it does not clean up nearly as well as the Soldano (when using the high gain channel on both amps)

(Caveat: I have only played the SLO 30 and cannot speak for the SLO 100)
 
Saw this, was surprised. I’ve honestly only played an SLO once when I was like 15, so I don’t even count it because I can’t remember. Sounds super close here. I think peaveys get dismissed a lot by higher end amp owners because of how affordable they are. They really do sound great.
Lol. Heck back in the day when the OG 5150's and the 5150II's were hitting big people bagged on them...but I loved my OG. I owned an SLO back then, celebrated when I got the amp because at that time it was "the" amp. It never booted my OG and sold it soon enough. I remember opening for a band once and their player had an SLO, after we got offstage and peeling back the stage line he's quizzing me on the OG. Boost this blah, blah, blah and I'm like dude no OD's, boost etc... all amp gain. Agree with @BlueParfait, little doubt the SLO is/was a masterpiece of construction and it's reputation as one of the great all time amps is well deserved but for me the OG5150 did/does one thing really incredible and that's high gain.
 

This!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

This is the clown show vid that proves my point of CLIPS DON'T MEAN SHIT.
Play each of these IN THE ROOM and get back to me.

Why? You may ask......

BECAUSE!! This 'comparo' proves that in a clip, NOTHING translates vs playing these amps in person. I've played both, owned 4 SLOs and the only thing they have in common is the identical EQ response. Well, duh....the 5150 is an SLO CLONE so the EQ should be close.

The 5150 is a smeared box of shit when it comes to clarity vs the SLO. The SLO wipes the floor with the Peavey when you compare power sections. The 5150 is a cheap imitation of an SLO. Yes, I will give the 5150 the 'tighter response' award but for me, the 3D nature, amazing clarity and punch puts the SLO in a much higher space than the Peavey.

It was this exact vid that made me laugh the first time I played an SLO..."The 5150 is just as GOOD!!!" Hahaha no it's not.
 
This!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

This is the clown show vid that proves my point of CLIPS DON'T MEAN SHIT.
Play each of these IN THE ROOM and get back to me.

Why? You may ask......

BECAUSE!! This 'comparo' proves that in a clip, NOTHING translates vs playing these amps in person. I've played both, owned 4 SLOs and the only thing they have in common is the identical EQ response. Well, duh....the 5150 is an SLO CLONE so the EQ should be close.

The 5150 is a smeared box of shit when it comes to clarity vs the SLO. The SLO wipes the floor with the Peavey when you compare power sections. The 5150 is a cheap imitation of an SLO. Yes, I will give the 5150 the 'tighter response' award but for me, the 3D nature, amazing clarity and punch puts the SLO in a much higher space than the Peavey.

It was this exact vid that made me laugh the first time I played an SLO..."The 5150 is just as GOOD!!!" Hahaha no it's not.
The Clip is accurate.
I like my boosted 2203 better than the SLO and the Peavey. The Gain-Structures kinda suck. :D But i prefer the Peavey for Metal.
 
The Clip is accurate.
I like my boosted 2203 better than the SLO and the Peavey. The Gain-Structures kinda suck. :D But i prefer the Peavey for Metal.
The clip is accurate but when you are in the room, there's a HUUUGE difference between those two amps....in feel, thump, and clarity. It's absolutely undeniable....to anyone who's played an SLO, and a 5150, ANY version.
If you think they are close in the room, get your hearing checked.
Sorry.
 
The clip is accurate but when you are in the room, there's a HUUUGE difference between those two amps....in feel, thump, and clarity. It's absolutely undeniable....to anyone who's played an SLO, and a 5150, ANY version.
If you think they are close in the room, get your hearing checked.
Sorry.
Nobody said they sound the same. 🤷‍♀️ But they are quite similar. Like most of the Amps. I wasn't impressed by neither the Peavey, nor the SLO.
I find the SLO kinda slow and mushy on the Lead-Channel. Crunch is like an americanized 2203. The Peavey is better in that regard, but it sounds a bit 2-Dimensional. But for Metal it's obviously great.
 
Nobody said they sound the same. 🤷‍♀️ But they are quite similar. Like most of the Amps. I wasn't impressed by neither the Peavey, nor the SLO.
I find the SLO kinda slow and mushy on the Lead-Channel. Crunch is like an americanized 2203. The Peavey is better in that regard, but it sounds a bit 2-Dimensional. But for Metal it's obviously great.
The key for me was boosting the SLO, and setting it up with the EVH settings I found on the now defunct SLO forum. I didn't really gel with the amp until I boosted it...then, it was almost like a great modded Marshall in some ways. Got tighter, and bloomed like a monster through a 1983 800 cab with 65s.
Awesome rig.
 
This!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

This is the clown show vid that proves my point of CLIPS DON'T MEAN SHIT.
Play each of these IN THE ROOM and get back to me.

Why? You may ask......

BECAUSE!! This 'comparo' proves that in a clip, NOTHING translates vs playing these amps in person. I've played both, owned 4 SLOs and the only thing they have in common is the identical EQ response. Well, duh....the 5150 is an SLO CLONE so the EQ should be close.

The 5150 is a smeared box of shit when it comes to clarity vs the SLO. The SLO wipes the floor with the Peavey when you compare power sections. The 5150 is a cheap imitation of an SLO. Yes, I will give the 5150 the 'tighter response' award but for me, the 3D nature, amazing clarity and punch puts the SLO in a much higher space than the Peavey.

It was this exact vid that made me laugh the first time I played an SLO..."The 5150 is just as GOOD!!!" Hahaha no it's not.

Tom, you know the truth you dog...Clips are the only way to base judgement and drop $2K, $5K, $8K on an amp you've never played, or to not buy an amp because you're so disgusted with the amp based on said clip....LOL...LOL..LOL!!!
 
I think it really depends on the style of music you are playing. When SLO100 came out, it covered a lot of musical ground back then. Amplification in general presumably improves over time and cheaper builds can be had with really good sounds. Needless to say there are shitty amps too. It “the 5150 stealth” is a cheaper “improvement” on a known bar. I own both the SLO 100 and the EVH Stealth 100W. Both are fantastic. I could gig with either and have. My favorite, however is the Soldano. It gives me everything I need for what I play and I can feel it when I play it. If I had one amp for me; it would be the Soldano.
 
The key for me was boosting the SLO, and setting it up with the EVH settings I found on the now defunct SLO forum. I didn't really gel with the amp until I boosted it...then, it was almost like a great modded Marshall in some ways. Got tighter, and bloomed like a monster through a 1983 800 cab with 65s.
Awesome rig.
Did you boost the Lead-Channel? With what Pedal?
 
Tom, you know the truth you dog...Clips are the only way to base judgement and drop $2K, $5K, $8K on an amp you've never played, or to not buy an amp because you're so disgusted with the amp based on said clip....LOL...LOL..LOL!!!
You'll never know unless you play it. But Clips are useful nevertheless. You get the idea.
I like watching crappy clips, when i want to talk myself out of a buying decision. 😂
 
I think it really depends on the style of music you are playing. When SLO100 came out, it covered a lot of musical ground back then. Amplification in general presumably improves over time and cheaper builds can be had with really good sounds. Needless to say there are shitty amps too. It “the 5150 stealth” is a cheaper “improvement” on a known bar. I own both the SLO 100 and the EVH Stealth 100W. Both are fantastic. I could gig with either and have. My favorite, however is the Soldano. It gives me everything I need for what I play and I can feel it when I play it. If I had one amp for me; it would be the Soldano.
I did not quite gave up on it. Do you use a boost? Which Channel? Tuning? Pickups?
Hopefully the JP-2C arrives by the end of the month at Thomann/Germany.
I've been waiting a loooong time.
Then i'll have 2 80ies Amp-Reissues.
Guess i like the 80ies sound.
 
I did not quite gave up on it. Do you use a boost? Which Channel? Tuning? Pickups?
Hopefully the JP-2C arrives by the end of the month at Thomann/Germany.
I've been waiting a loooong time.
Then i'll have 2 80ies Amp-Reissues.
Guess i like the 80ies sound.
I use the clean channel only with a bit of bite and 3 separate boosts to go wherever I need- 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. Standard tuning. Some Drop D. Any pickup in my Arsenal seems to work. I don’t play high gain metal so I won’t speak to that style. I know there are better amps for that style of music.
 
 
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