EDDIE VAN HALEN’S EVH LAUNCHES 5150III 1X12 50-WATT COMBO AMPLIFIER
After nearly three years in development, EVH is pleased to announce the launch of the 5150III 1×12 50-watt combo amplifier. This is not your average 1×12 combo by any stretch. In line with Eddie Van Halen’s legacy, this 1×12 is a true game changer, making players swear they’re standing in front of a half-stack.
The EVH 5150III® 1×12 is an all-tube combo amp, featuring three channels of pure 5150-III high performance tone (clean, crunch and lead). Fitted with a single 12-inch Celestion®, 16-ohm speaker and powered by seven JJ ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes and two JJ 6L6 power tubes, it also features front-panel adjustable power output from 50 watts down to one watt. The adjustable power feature is especially useful in achieving “fully cranked” sounds while maintaining reasonable overall volume levels.
Features include a single input, rear-panel selectable output impedance (4, 8 or 16 ohms), versatile controls (gain, low, mid, high, volume, master presence, rear-panel master resonance, power level, reverb), built-in DSP reverb, rear-panel MIDI input and preamp output, two rear-panel parallel speaker outputs, rear-panel effects loop and headphone jack (mutes power amp), and four-button footswitch (controls all three channels and reverb).
Top-notch construction features a custom-shaped birch cabinet with special and exclusive internal baffling, vintage-style chicken-head control knobs, red jewel, plastic top strap handle and casters. A fitted cover is optional. Available in Black and Ivory.
For more information, go to evhgear.com.
As a guitar geek, I’ve been hoping he would roll out this smaller version for folks who want the sound of this amp, but can’t afford, and don’t want to carry around the larger model. I could see one of these finding a home in my living room/home studio. I’ve heard that this and the Joe Satriani amps have incredible tube overdrive.
Lee, not sure which part of the “standing in front of a half stack” you’re scoffing at, but a 50 watt tube amp is pretty damned loud. Unless you’re talking about comparing the one speaker to a 4×12 cabinet? For a combo this seems like a pretty killer amp. Way overkill for my needs, but cool nonetheless.
Marshall or Mesa Boogie…..fire them up.
The days of being ridiculously loud on stage are over. Once everyone sobered up, they realized it damages your hearing. If you need to be loud on stage to be good, you’re not good.
I concur ,T. I have a 2×12 Gibson L5 amp that I use simply to push air and a bunch of pedals to supply distortion. It is more than loud enough for where I occasionally play. If it isn’t, that’s what a P.A. and sound man are for. Sure, a stack looks cool. But being able to rip through any size amp is cooler.
I’m with you T. I’ve been playing almost 40 years and play through a 30w Vox without any foot pedals. It’s funny when guys with like a $14000 rig try to play through my little set up.The most common question is “how do you get those sounds and tone at that volume without any pedals…. Lol Pedals and volume hide a whole lot of nonsense. 😉
I just play at home for my own enjoyment, so I have no use for volume you could gig with. Even low wattage tube amps are still pretty loud for that kind of environment. I do use a handful of pedals for “flavor” though, I love a bit of chorus for clean stuff, and a little delay for leads. Just the basics though, I don’t want my guitar to sound like some kind of alien.