EVH 5150iii 15w

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BigGuitars

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Is the 15w 5150iii with a evh 112 enough to gig with? Will it keep up with a drummer? Would it suffice for rehearsals?

If so. How well does it do classic/80s metal tones?
 
You have the cash to hire a band and are ready to front a band in a utilitarian fashion and are asking if 15 watts can hold it?

To answer your question.

Even if it was loud enough, you would have no clean headroom.
Also for you to hear and the drummer to hear and the audience? Nope.
Personally? I wouldn't do it.
 
I have the LBX 1, and I used to have the 2 as well. I love how they sound recorded.

But are they loud enough in a full-band context? Barely. Depending on how hard the drummer hits and how loud the rest of the band is. Sometimes they aren't. And by the time you hit those volumes, the amp has barely got any low end left.
 
Just wondering if I should get this as a bedroom amp, or something like a yamaha thr10, because I hate to go solid state if I can help it. I love tube tone. But I thought if I went with the evh 15w I could use it to gig with too, or at least jam with a drummer at home. The only drawback is the price. I would have to get pedals for reverb and delay too
 
The LBX Mk. 1 sounds great at bedroom volumes. The Mk. 2 doesn't.
 
I had the LBX 2. It was the first guitar amp I bought in a long while. I was so excited and I bought a used peavey 412ms to run it. Put an add on CL to find a band. Went and jammed with a drummer who had a practice space and the lbx2 didnt hold up at all. He wasnt even playing that loud. I literally had it dimed. Granted my speakers werent efficient but I dont think it would have gotten much better.

Needless to say I didnt keep jamming with the guy. If you are set on getting a small rig there are much better choices.
 
I run mine through two Mesa Thiele cabinets and I have to admit, it sounds pretty damn big for a 15w amp. The Thielies help a lot though. It would work to rehearse but I wouldn’t gig with it.
 
Although different in most ways, if you want something small, that Can push just a little harder volume with, the PRS MT15 will do a little better, the bigger glass retains a little more bottom end in my limited experience with it.

If you want to gig with something without issue, shoot for 30+ watts.
 
LP Freak":2jg9cift said:
I run mine through two Mesa Thiele cabinets and I have to admit, it sounds pretty damn big for a 15w amp. The Thielies help a lot though. It would work to rehearse but I wouldn’t gig with it.

It's hard to live up to a thiele for 1x12's especially if they are the EVM12L equipped ones.
 
Well, I will tell you. My primary objective is great bedroom/studio tube amp tone for practice and recording songs and YouTube videos. I’m going to start making more high-quality videos on my YouTube channel. I’m going to start buying the video/audio/editing equipment, as well as a killer studio guitar rig for good rock/metal tones. The amp you hear me playing in my current vids is just a little MG10CF.

The reason I asked the question above is because if my bedroom amp will also handle live situations, then that would be a plus, but I still plan to buy a loud amp For live.

Out of the demos I’ve heard, I definitely gravitate towards the EVH lbx. I’m looking for something that gets straight to the point with that fast-response, saturated shred lead tone for the type of playing I do.

I do have a couple more questions though...

First, is there a difference between the circuitry of the EVH EL34 models and the non-EL34 models, or is the only difference the power tubes? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m not a gear guy.

I ask this because if putting an EL34 in the lbx would make the sound more British or brown, I would probably do that.

Lastly, if I go the lbx route, which of the two is better, and should I just get the matching 112 or 212 cab with it?
 
Personally? Get the 50 watt. It's way better and totally worth it. It can nail great tones, isn't huge, more versatile, and it could handle just about any gig. They really aren't that expensive used either.
 
BigGuitars":4t8n6uzp said:
Well, I will tell you. My primary objective is great bedroom/studio tube amp tone for practice and recording songs and YouTube videos. I’m going to start making more high-quality videos on my YouTube channel. I’m going to start buying the video/audio/editing equipment, as well as a killer studio guitar rig for good rock/metal tones. The amp you hear me playing in my current vids is just a little MG10CF.

The reason I asked the question above is because if my bedroom amp will also handle live situations, then that would be a plus, but I still plan to buy a loud amp For live.

Out of the demos I’ve heard, I definitely gravitate towards the EVH lbx. I’m looking for something that gets straight to the point with that fast-response, saturated shred lead tone for the type of playing I do.

I do have a couple more questions though...

First, is there a difference between the circuitry of the EVH EL34 models and the non-EL34 models, or is the only difference the power tubes? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m not a gear guy.

I ask this because if putting an EL34 in the lbx would make the sound more British or brown, I would probably do that.

Lastly, if I go the lbx route, which of the two is better, and should I just get the matching 112 or 212 cab with it?
The LBX doesn’t accept EL34’s only EL84’s. If you’re going to buy a 112 go with the Theile, trust me.
 
swamptrashstompboxes":3juc2fsb said:
Personally? Get the 50 watt. It's way better and totally worth it. It can nail great tones, isn't huge, more versatile, and it could handle just about any gig. They really aren't that expensive used either.

This, they're a great bang for the buck. I had the 50 watt EL34 head and the 6l6 1x12 combo. If I got one again I'd do the EL34 50 watt or newer stealth 6l6 50 watt.
 
ClintN667":32t4c5kz said:
I was so excited and I bought a used peavey 412ms to run it. Put an add on CL to find a band[...]Granted my speakers werent efficient but I dont think it would have gotten much better.
Doesn't the 412MS have G12K-85's? Or is it Sheffields in there?

If they're Sheffields, the efficiency does actually make a big difference. I once brought my Marshall cab to a jam with an old friend that has an Orange cab with two T-75's I gave him and two Creamback M-65's (both 97dB sensitivity). Killer-sounding cab. My Marshall cab has two Relic 30's and two Creamback H-75's which are about the loudest Celestions I've tried. We tried running both in a full stack, and we could not hear his cab over mine like at all, LOL.

Like I said, I've used my LBX to jam with a friend drummer, and it did cut it, but just about. That's through a loud 4x12, though, and it certainly wasn't sounding the best it could. That being said, though, I do agree. There's other small amps more suited for LOUD scenarios than the LBX.

BigGuitars":32t4c5kz said:
Well, I will tell you. My primary objective is great bedroom/studio tube amp tone for practice and recording songs and YouTube videos. I’m going to start making more high-quality videos on my YouTube channel. I’m going to start buying the video/audio/editing equipment, as well as a killer studio guitar rig for good rock/metal tones. The amp you hear me playing in my current vids is just a little MG10CF.

The reason I asked the question above is because if my bedroom amp will also handle live situations, then that would be a plus, but I still plan to buy a loud amp For live.

Out of the demos I’ve heard, I definitely gravitate towards the EVH lbx. I’m looking for something that gets straight to the point with that fast-response, saturated shred lead tone for the type of playing I do.

I do have a couple more questions though...

First, is there a difference between the circuitry of the EVH EL34 models and the non-EL34 models, or is the only difference the power tubes? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m not a gear guy.

I ask this because if putting an EL34 in the lbx would make the sound more British or brown, I would probably do that.

Lastly, if I go the lbx route, which of the two is better, and should I just get the matching 112 or 212 cab with it?
Both versions of the LBX sounds fantastic recorded. Just like pretty much anything 5150-related, really. Don't expect a HUMONGOUS low-end like on the bigger EVH's, but if you're smart with the resonance control, they can fool the mic into sounding bigger than they really are.

Regarding bedroom volumes, the LBX II sounds very fizzy until you turn it up some. The original LBX does not have this problem. It sounds smooth and more than useable turned down. You can sorta counter the fizziness of the II by turning down the presence, but you definitely have to set it quite a bit differently quiet than when you're running it loud, while your loud settings work well on the 1 when it's quiet too.

Regarding loud volumes, I find their sweet spot is between 2 and 3 on the master volume on 15W mode. This is pretty loud for home use, but well below loud band settings. It really only gives you more volume up until like 4-4.5 on the dial, but by that time, the EL84's in the power section start sounding a bit too much like EL84's. Above that, you might squeeze a couple more dB's of volume which can get you somewhat heard over a drummer, but at that point, the amp is sounding both pretty farty and shrill.

The LBX II is the only one of the two which is really two channels, TBH. The LBX 1 has two "channels", but the rhythm channel is quite a bit louder than the lead channel, which makes switching between them pretty much useless. Both blue and red sound great on the LBX 1, but it's really not two completely separate channels... more like switching in a couple gain stages between the input and the tone stack. The LBX II has a great clean channel that you can crank to get some breakup and a great overdrive channel with separate gain and volume controls that can handle from 80's rock and metal to modern chuggy stuff with the right guitar with the right pickups.

Neither can take EL34's. Both run EL84's in the power section.
 
I used the lbx II for a couple of years at church. It had more than enough headroom for that situation and I always played it on 1/2 power. Of corse the amp was miked and the drums were electronic.
Would it hold up in the rock bands I've played in? NO.

It is a great sounding amp IMHO , of course, there is the el84 drawback of the flabby bottom when cranked but your gonna get that with any el84 amp

I second the 50watt EVH 5150III. You can get a used head for about $600. I wouldn't suggest a 1x12 cab though. If you don't get the right one it's gonna sound boxy and confined.
 
I third the 50W version, and if you're set on rehearsing/gigging for a longer time, definitely get at least a 2x12.
I specifically went for a vertical slanted 2x12, since it has the top speaker way higher off the floor than a horizontal 2x12 would, plus it has casters and is still quite portable (~65lbs). But since mine is a well built Mesa cab, it basically weighs the same as a mediocre Marshall 4x12 cab would. :lol: :LOL:

As others have said, aside from an 1x12 Thiele cab, running the EVH through a 1x12 cab will sound boxy.
 
Speeddemon":2z2dj7re said:
I third the 50W version, and if you're set on rehearsing/gigging for a longer time, definitely get at least a 2x12.
I specifically went for a vertical slanted 2x12, since it has the top speaker way higher off the floor than a horizontal 2x12 would, plus it has casters and is still quite portable (~65lbs). But since mine is a well built Mesa cab, it basically weighs the same as a mediocre Marshall 4x12 cab would. :lol: :LOL:

As others have said, aside from an 1x12 Thiele cab, running the EVH through a 1x12 cab will sound boxy.


I second the 2x12 . I had sourmash build me a vertical slant
 
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