Members chrismreeves Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'm very nearly in the market for a new amp and cab as soon as I can sell my unfortunate Line 6 gear. I'm looking at the EVH 5150 III 50w Head and 2x12 cab or the Laney IRT60H with 2x12 cab. I live in a part of Montana where it's a pain in the ass and several hours to go try something out. I've seen almost every YouTube video there is so now I'd like to hear about some hands on experience. I play a lot of hard rock and love to dime my gain, but I want a mirror finish pristine clean sound, too. Versatility isn't as concerning to me as actual tone is. I have a pedal board for versatility. I will say that if I end up with a 5150 III, I'll probably send it to Voodoo Amps and have them mod it for independent volume and gain for channel 2. Tell me what they sound like, how they feel, about the response. I'm open to other suggestions that might not be otherworldly in price like Mesas or something. I don't think I want to buy used, so I don't really care about picking up a JVM410H for a ripping price, although it's nearly tempting. FIRE AWAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 5, 2015 Members Share Posted August 5, 2015 If that's the amp you want, don't let anyone talk you out. Since you want to go with a 2X12 cab, why not just buy the EVH 5150 III combo? Less hassle hauling it around and allot of bands have downsized. Don't know about the cleans on that amp. From what I've heard it gets allot of drive from the preamp. Using drive pedals before probably isn't needed and your time based effects may be better in an effects loop. If you use pedals for drive you do want something that will run clean at high volumes and the pedals get the drive. Best thing you can do is go to a music shop and try one. This way you aren't stuck with something that doesn't suit your needs. I'm more into the old Van Halen sound from 35 years ago when he used a Marshall head to get his sound. We played that stuff in a band using 50W Marshall tube heads with very few effects, just cranked the amps. We got the drive from the speakers and only used simple analog gear to enhance things like a Phaser and tape echo. You'd get that kick in the chest at that volume. My Buddies Marshall had a master volume installed and he'd overdrive the preamp. I used a Rolland Sustainer to compress my sound more and the two nailed the songs on that album quite well. I believe the Laney can get some better cleans, but I haven't heard one in a long time so their new gear may have changed. Guys into metal often use stuff like a BBE to get that big fat sound. Many use rack setups with Power heads and rack gear. All that's a bitch to haul around if you aren't being paid to move it however. A Combo that targets the tones you want is a good way to go. I'd just say try it before you go spending a grand or more because you loose a good 30% or more of the resale value the minute you walk out the door. I'd also keep and open mind to lightly used gear. If you can buy the same amp barely used for $300 less it shows you have good business sense. Music can be a business as well as an art form. The smart guys take that extra cash and put it towards other gear or items they need to succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Rendon Posted August 7, 2015 Members Share Posted August 7, 2015 5150 III Combo. I had an original 5150 2x12 Combo years ago. It was the best amp I've ever played through. I miss it dearly. As soon as I can get my hands on a new 5150 III, I will never let it go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I've always liked the overdriven / distorted tones of the 5150, but was never quite as impressed with their clean tones. They're really not bad... just not my favorite. I've always resorted to using two different amps - one for clean, one for dirty - in the studio whenever I've wanted to optimize the sound of both. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrismreeves Posted August 7, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 7, 2015 You know, Phil, I've begun to think about that. I've thought about some Backstair mini's, the new Peavey mini's and a few others that could do it. I'm still leaning towards just one amp for sheer convenience. Any thoughts on Bugera or Egnater? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 7, 2015 Members Share Posted August 7, 2015 The Bugera is an excellent blues amp. It will drive up and do some nice lead tones without pedals as well. Eganter will do similar things but to me it sounds a little lower ended, at least the model I tried. If you use pedals anyway it might be a great amp for what you do. You can crank the amp up for a little crunch then let your pedals do the rest. No problem with being loud for sure. They easily fill a medium sized club with volume to spare. Best thing to do is just try them out first hand. Its hard to know what someone might like just talking about it. Make a list of the choices you want to try within your budget then try them out. List the plusses and minuses and decide from there. Be sure to Google up any dirt on them as well. If a brand has issues someone out there has likely complained about it. You read only sales adds you can easily begin to thing everything out there is great, only to be disappointed later. Unfortunately that's when most people start checking things out and find they have the same issues as others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Rendon Posted August 9, 2015 Members Share Posted August 9, 2015 You know' date=' Phil, I've begun to think about that. I've thought about some Backstair mini's, the new Peavey mini's and a few others that could do it. I'm still leaning towards just one amp for sheer convenience. Any thoughts on Bugera or Egnater?[/quote'] I have a Blackstar HT-5 that I use for practice. It sounds stellar through the speaker emulated output with headphones. Not so good cranked on stage, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrismreeves Posted August 9, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 9, 2015 Wow, I really missed that auto correct for Blackstar. You know, I keep thinking about going to them for something, but I'm just not totally convinced except for the S1046L6, which is a bit out of my price range. I looked at the Peavey Mini's but I just don't think I can pull off two amps. It's more an effects routing thing as opposed to pricing. Right now, I have my effects pretty meticulously ordered both in front of my amp and in the loop...and I'm not interested in doubling my effects board. I know, I've looked at AB switches and it just doesn't seem worth the confusion. After looking hard at the 5150 III, the Laney IRT60h, the Bugera Trirec, the Egnater Armageddon, the Peavey XXX II, and a few others here and there, I think I'm going after the Laney, but the 120 instead of the 60 for the extra headroom. I had the IRT60-212 combo before and loved the tone, but hated the open back cab. So now, who wants to buy my DT25 micro stack?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted August 10, 2015 Members Share Posted August 10, 2015 I am a big Mesa Boogie fan. I have owned quite a few of there amps along the way, but when I did a clean out I sold most of the early rectifiers I owned and only kept a 55 watt Nomad Combo.The Express is a rather popular amp and it might work for you. Seems like your a head kind of guy and the Express does come in a head too. Looks like 1000 bucks is the cost of the Peavey, and the Mesa Express would be about 1299. You probably wouldn't modify it either. You'll either like it or you will not. I found a youtube clip of how it sounds.Mesa makes a killer ext cab too [video=youtube;1-ny5nRZz0A] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrismreeves Posted August 10, 2015 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2015 You know, I have to be honest...although I didn't want to buy used, I have seen some Dual Recto Roadsters in mint shape that fall within my price, both head and combo. I wouldn't mind a combo as long as it's a closed back cab like the Roadster. I would definitely consider a used Roadster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 10, 2015 Members Share Posted August 10, 2015 They do have a wide range of sounds, especially with 4 channels to work with. Definitely get you into metal territory. The cleans are supposed to be pretty good plus it has 50/100 Watt modes, and Tube/solid sate rectifier modes. I've played through a number of Mesas and heard allot of bands use them. The only bad things I've heard is they can be tricky to get your settings, and that the cabs/speakers tended to get an overly compressed sound. You could always get around that with different cab or speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted August 10, 2015 Members Share Posted August 10, 2015 You know' date=' I have to be honest...although I didn't want to buy used, I have seen some Dual Recto Roadsters in mint shape that fall within my price, both head and combo. I wouldn't mind a combo as long as it's a closed back cab like the Roadster. I would definitely consider a used Roadster.[/quote'] I'm a huge combo link of guy and actually never owned a head and cab unit. One of my fav amps I have ever owned was a Mesa Tremoverb 2x12 combo. Amazing amp. I sold it and the only reason I sould it was it weighed in at 98 lbs. Now I can pick up 98lb with out much of an issue, but Mesa amps are in a large cabinet than most. I never trust handles so I would grab around the amp and lift. It was not an easy haul. If you get something like a Roadster, take my advice and get the head and cab. The Roadster is even heavier. My T Veb was in mint shape. With the money from the sale of the T Verb, I bought a Dr Z Maz 18 combo, that 40 or so lbs is manageable. I owned a Mesa ex cab and there stuff is amazing.Marshall may have invented the 4x12, Mesa perfected it. Another amp I very much dig is the Bogner Shiva and I have seen em used in killer shape for 1500 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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