5150 III-IV

[Blix]

Yeah but you're one of those jerks that everything you play through sounds good. I hate you
I myself tried in vein and I cannot coax much from a PV. I tried it dry, then I lubed it up, I did it missionary and doggie, even spit on it before I put it in. Still nuthin
But I would like to try that crunch channel again with an e.q. gain boost. Just to see if it browned up more. I did however nail the AIC Sludgefactory tone with it. But again on the rythm crunch channel. And it seemed strictly a metal tone.

I'm sorry DC, I'll do my worst!

[Brad737]

I've had a block-letter 5150 for probably 20 years. I agree that in their stock form, they're brutal gain monsters. But I think it's a very easy thing to make one sound great. First off, you HAVE TO do the bias mod. Peavey set the bias ice cold at the factory. That fizzy, ear-fatiguing harshness you mentioned is crossover distortion. Crank up the bias!!! My bias is set at 38mA. It's been a long time, but I think mine was around 14mA from the factory.

The next thing I tackled was preamp tubes. I put vintage GE 5751s in V1 and V2. With all those gain stages, you'll still get a metric assload of gain. But those 5751s sound musical, and give you a much nicer clean tone. FWIW, I've tried 12AT7s and 12AU7s. I didn't like them nearly as much.

The last thing is to consider the speakers. Those Sheffield 1200s are so-so at best. While I HATE Vintage 30s with Plexi-type circuits, I think you'd agree they sound pretty good with the Peavey. (I'm not a huge fan of them with the 5153.) Greenies also sound good with the modded 5150.

If you're ever around Cincinnati, you're welcome to come check it out.

[jnew]

Hmm. Ed's vintage Marshall tone was not with EL-34's.

[rgorke]

Hmm. Ed's vintage Marshall tone was not with EL-34's.

I would bet that once this amp is done and rolling off the assembly line, it will have rebranded EH 6CA7s. Here is yet another product for Ed to stamp an "EVH" or 5150 on. Just like the Celestion speakers. The 6CA7s are such a huge part of the early tone structure. Now, if we could get someone to remake those Sylvania 12AX7WA, that would be another great product.

[MrBeasty]

I think I feel the Peavey days were a farce ampwise. Not the guitars because I feel they were respectable.
But the amps were not really toneful. Flat out. They really aren't.
But I think the 5153 stands firmly on its own.

The 5153's are generally better for most than the Peaveys, but Ed sounded much better with the Peaveys...
That's the weird thing

Personally I really like the Peaves and would definitely not call them a farce at all. They are raw and brutal. Not nearly as easy to play as the EVH's

IMHO, one can wonder how much he actually used the Peavey gear, is very unclear, especially the early ones.
When he toured the F.U.C.K. and Balance records, he had a pair of Suhr/CAE amps hidden behind the Peavey's, and the cabs had Celestion speakers in them.
Both F.U.C.K. and Balance are a mix of amplifiers, III is perhaps the album that sounds the most "Peavey" to me, yet the tour revealed that the 5150-II had non-factory KT-77s in them.
The Best Of Both Worlds tracks were weird sounding and might have been a Line6 POD among other odd things.
On the Hagar reunion tour, the EVH brand was already moving in.

[Blix]

Theres a few tour pics taken backstage around with 5150's, I see no reason why he would rack up 4 5150's and not use them.
Clearly looks like they're used here.



Still an Eventide in the rack here, but not sure which tour.

Having owned a Peavey 5150 myself I know it matched his live tones pretty good back then.


Oh well, he's not going back to them anyway.

[Tone Slinger]

Getting off topic a bit, but Think of ALL the amp heads Ed has used over the years/tours. All have been cast to the way side,never to be seen or used by him again. I know that quite a few Hardcore Metal Head types have an affinity for the original Peavey 5150's, but I never liked Ed's use of them. I have heard OTHERS (DonnyBoiler ) get great tones out of the new(er) Fender EVH amps, but again, I just dont dig what Ed himself is getting out of them.

Out of all of the amps that Ed has used over the years only a few are still in his possession and worth remembering (imo of course ) and they are the #1 12xxx of course, the bare wood 1959 ('70 or '71 ?), the ('69 ?) 1959 plexi used on tour from 1984-'89. I'll throw in that first Soldano as well. Ed got GREAT tone with that in that '88 or '89 CABO WABO grand opening gig. Other than that, I'd say that any of the (then) new 1959's that Ed had on those first 2 tours should have been kept in his possession(maybe some were ?). Remember, Ed didnt have that #1 12xxx from June to like Sept.(temporarily lost in air freight), and even when he got it back, he never used it live on tour again.. All the live tones from AFTER the Japan shows were NEW (1978) Marshall 1959's ! Ed tracked that solo on that Nicolette Larson tune ('Cant get away From You') in the Summer of '78, which meant NO #1 12xxx (still "flying around India"), pretty good example of a 1978 1959 on that one (v1b 2.7k/.68uf)

[MrBeasty]

Theres a few tour pics taken backstage around with 5150's, I see no reason why he would rack up 4 5150's and not use them.
Clearly looks like they're used here.



Still an Eventide in the rack here, but not sure which tour.

This picture is from the F.U.C.K./Live RHRN tours, and were from the September 1991 Guitar World (along with a couple others).

[MrBeasty]

I am really looking forward to this 5150-IV ... even if all the ground research work has already been done, on this forum, but also by people like John Suhr, Dave Friedman and few others.

At this point, building an VH1 style amp for EVH should be real easy.

[rdodson]

Theres a few tour pics taken backstage around with 5150's, I see no reason why he would rack up 4 5150's and not use them.
Clearly looks like they're used here.



Still an Eventide in the rack here, but not sure which tour.

This picture is from the F.U.C.K./Live RHRN tours, and were from the September 1991 Guitar World (along with a couple others).

LOVE that purple EBMM!!

[Blix]

I am really looking forward to this 5150-IV ... even if all the ground research work has already been done, on this forum, but also by people like John Suhr, Dave Friedman and few others.

At this point, building an VH1 style amp for EVH should be real easy.

My fear is that they'll ignore all that and just make a EL34 variation of a 5150 III and claim it nails the old Marshall..


I really hope it won't come to that.

[GilmourD]

Theres a few tour pics taken backstage around with 5150's, I see no reason why he would rack up 4 5150's and not use them.
Clearly looks like they're used here.



Still an Eventide in the rack here, but not sure which tour.

This picture is from the F.U.C.K./Live RHRN tours, and were from the September 1991 Guitar World (along with a couple others).

LOVE that purple EBMM!!

I was just thinking that. Ed's purple EBMM and Wolfgang were beautiful. I wish he would come out with colors like that for the EVH line.

[EJSLPlexi]

I do not have my hopes up for this new 5150 III-IV for a few reasons.
They are not copying his 12301 and the finished amp will still have way too much gain and compression than anyone here
wants.
I have a feeling it will be a lower gain 5153 and nothing more.

[jnew]

High probability it will be nothing like a plexi.

[MrBeasty]

LOVE that purple EBMM!!

Sadly, all those old purple fade-out in the worst possible way. Many of the early EBMM EVH had a problem with the dye used by EBMM. Many of the purples became black-ish or just faded completely to a "natural" finish.

High probability it will be nothing like a plexi.

Yes, probably ... it will have at least have a Line-out, and FX loop and a Master Volume for commercial reasons.
... but it might still be a nice amp with a strong vintage EVH flavor. And if it's simple enough, we'll be able to mod it ... A LOT.