UPDATE! Looking for Speaker Suggestions with EVH 5150III 100w EL34 Head or should I trade for a Stealth?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PhloridaMan
  • Start date Start date
PhloridaMan

PhloridaMan

Active member
Recently, I traded a bunch of gear around and ended up with a pretty much brand new EVH 5150III 100W EL34 Head

I really love this thing and the mid growl is absolutely what I was looking for, but the highs seem a little ice-picky and harsh to me and I want to find a way to balance them out a little bit. I do have an EQ in the loop and have spent a ton of time tweaking it around but there's just something there that isn't pleasant to my ears.

Currently the amp is paired with my Mesa 412 oversized straight cab with the stock V30s in it. I was however considering swapping in a pair of something different in an X pattern with two of the V30s but just have no idea where to start. I've never dove into the world of speakers much other than having some K100s with T75s in an old Marshall cabinet of mine.

Trying not to go crazy spending money but once I get the remainder of my medical bills paid off I would like to try something a little different.

I play a ton of Drop A, Drop A# and Drop C chug metal and such so I love how the mids of this amp really cut. Just want to take a little off the top and smooth it out a bit, hopefully without killing the mids too.

I appreciate any suggestions on something to pair up with the V30s to get me pointed in the right direction.

Thanks ya'll!


UPDATE!: See my recent post! Got an intriguing trade offer today...
 
Last edited:
I couldn't get rid of that amp fast enough and is crazy because I typically am an EL34 guy. It's also strange because I have two 5150-III 6L6 50 watts (stealth and stock) and love them both!

I'm sure someone will mention a great speaker for that. I didn't jive with the combo EL34 amp.
 
romanianreaper said:
I couldn't get rid of that amp fast enough and is crazy because I typically am an EL34 guy. It's also strange because I have two 5150-III 6L6 50 watts (stealth and stock) and love them both!

I'm sure someone will mention a great speaker for that. I didn't jive with the combo EL34 amp.
Click to expand...

I'm not typically an EL34 guy. I'm even switching my Carvin V3 that I keep in the living room to jam on so I don't have to go fire up the studio to 6L6's, but I wanted a little variety in the studio. That bark that the EL34 5153 has is fantastic. The harshness I am hearing is just not to my taste and I know there's gotta be a way to smooth it out without killing that mid bark.
 
I mean I love that amp to death with all my cabs, but man the EVH 4x12 is really hard to beat to me with those amps. I’ve got 8 cabs, one being an EVH 4x12, and it just sounds “right” with that head.


If you have a loadbox, check out @easstudios EVH IR’s. They are far and away my favorite EVH IR’s, his pack is really special. I think they are older, from the first year or so those cabs came out. Nice and worn in and just sound great. The sound is just incredibly dense and focused when listening through my monitors with those IR’s, that’s the best way to describe it. Super dense and thick but also laser focused ( in a pleasing way)

The EVH cabs themselves are incredibly well made, and Are basically a really great 70s Marshall cab. You just can’t go wrong with that cab or those speakers, or other speakers in that cab itself. It all rules.
 

Threw this together to see if this helps anyone more with what I am hearing. Just some weird riffage I came up with sitting here tweaking. (don't judge I suck lol)
It actually sounds a LITTLE better than it had been. 100% as it recorded mic'd fredman technique with 2 SM57s.

I'm flat out of room in my little home studio room so more cabs aren't really an option. I am however intrigued by the number of people saying Greenbacks. That's not a speaker I ever would have honestly considered.

I did have a pair of T75s I just put in an old Line6 Combo of mine, those speakers are cheap enough and the head did sound quite a bit better on my Marshall 1960A JCM900 cab that's loaded with UK V30s and T75s currently. I just prefer to leave that cab paired with my 6505+ because it sounds phenomenal and is a combo I've used for 20+ years now so it's generally the one I like to take out if I go jam somewhere.

It seems the majority like Greenbacks or T75s so I might pull the T75s back out of the Line6 combo this weekend and give them a run and see how they react in the Mesa Cab. If I like them I'll just buy a second pair. If I still want something different, I'll get a set of Greenbacks and try those.

Keep the suggestions coming though, I'm open to as many suggestions as possible because it shows a trend to me.

Thanks guys!
 
Speaking on the EVH 50 6L6 here……I prefer my 1960ax with standard greenbacks by far over the EVH 4x12 (which I sold). I even tried the EVH Celestions in the top slots of my 1960ax to make sure it wasn’t just the cab itself. The EVH speakers are too honky and compressed for my ear. The regular greenbacks are definitely more stout and punchy.

Second favorite cab is a 1960a with 75’s. Did not like V30’s or Creamback 75’s at all. A dark horse is the Eminence CV-75 I have in a Bogner Cube.
 
VESmedic said:
I mean I love that amp to death with all my cabs, but man the EVH 4x12 is really hard to beat to me with those amps. I’ve got 8 cabs, one being an EVH 4x12, and it just sounds “right” with that head.


If you have a loadbox, check out @easstudios EVH IR’s. They are far and away my favorite EVH IR’s, his pack is really special. I think they are older, from the first year or so those cabs came out. Nice and worn in and just sound great. The sound is just incredibly dense and focused when listening through my monitors with those IR’s, that’s the best way to describe it. Super dense and thick but also laser focused ( in a pleasing way)

The EVH cabs themselves are incredibly well made, and Are basically a really great 70s Marshall cab. You just can’t go wrong with that cab or those speakers, or other speakers in that cab itself. It all rules.
Click to expand...
Yup
 
Those EVH cabs are well worth hunting down. 70’s style 1960B with KILLER sounding reissue Greenbacks. They pair up really well with the EVH amps, it can open them up and make them feel a bit less stuffy/bloated (while still having a deep low end and present top).
 
off topic but -v30's are my go to but my mode 4 cab is to dark or something with my ultra +. I would suggest the greenbacks or maybe try and get a cheap pv cab with those sheffield's(sp). They really worked with the 5150's and nothing else.
 
Not the easiest find as they are (sadly) discontinued, but the Lynchback is known to have a softer, rounder top end that tames highs while still bringing a lot of what players love about the Greenback/V-30 combo to the table.
 
Greenbacks or Creambacks. Imho EVH5150III doesn't love the vintage 30 or T75, It needs more sweet sounding speakers
 
Yup...greenbacks, creambacks, or heritage/evh speakers....That is a spendy swap though for a 4x12 cab, so you could also do a few tube swaps to try that, but I think the v30s are still gonna dominate...
 
The EVH cabs sound fantastic .... and they have the Eddie Backs ( I like to call them )
I loved them so much I bought 4 and put them in a old Marshall cab I had .... now it's my favorite cab .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top