NAD - EVH 5150 iii 50w

[witeter]

So had this amp since the beginning of the year and have decided to only do a review now after playing it a fair amount at home, practice and live.
Let me start by saying that this is an AMAZING amp for the money, its just plain ridiculous. Some pics:






So as you probably know already, it has 3 channels; with channel 1 and 2 sharing eq and gain. It has a presence knob and a resonance knob (at the back) and also a headphone jack which is a nice touch. However there is no master volume.

-Channel 1 is very clean and as you would expect from Fender sounds really really nice, it also takes effects really well.
-Channel 2 is my main rhythm sound . I am a big fan a boosted crunch channel (i used to do this on my JSX) and the EVH sounds absolutely phenomenal when boosted. With my Maxon OD808 channel 2 is huge, clear and most importantly THICK. Its a very modern, punchy and uber tight sound-I love it.
-Channel 3 has tons of sustain and compression, you could use it for rhythm as its certainly tight for that (no boost required); but I love using it for solo work, it really sings and harmonics fly off the fretboard - lovely stuff.

One of my main concerns when purchasing the EVH was the channel 1/2 shared eq and that there was  a volume jump when changing between these channels. I didnt find this to be an issue as long as you have the gain at 12 o'clock (at least)-so i tend to have my gain around 1 o'clock this gives me a clean sound and an amazing rhythm sound with no volume issues when swapping between channels (and this is using EMG's + having the Maxon engaged all of the time). This may not be clean enough for everyone but it suits me just fine-i play metal with clean interludes,etc and it certainly is clean enough for that.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the EVH. It is portable, has plenty of features and most importantly it has some of the most amazing metal tones I have heard. Tight, thick, percussive, and huge - that is good enough for me 

Here is a short vid that i did with the aim of showing the tightness of the amp via some random riffing-enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2W8wHaT7tA

[CommonCourtesy]

Nice amp man!

I thought about getting one of these before I landed my hands on the 6505+, 50 watts would allow me to crank more headroom rather than being told to turn down with a 120 watt head!!

What cab do you play through by the way? Still debating whether to get a Mesa in exchange for my Marshall.

I use the lead channel for my main rhythm tone with a tubescreamer, and its pretty bitey. I have thought about maybe using the crunch channel, whack the gain up (6 or so) and boost with an OD. I wonder how it'd sound cos the lead channel has gain to spare, I have to be careful not to make it too distorted otherwise chugs and chords sound terrible, esp at low-ass tunings.

[witeter]

Cheers man!

I play through a Zilla Superfatboy (basically an oversized 2x12) with V30s. I find that most crunch channels on amps give me more clarity and definition as they tend to be less saturated, adding an OD will tighten it add a tad more juice but still retain those properties. I tend to have the gain on about 3 (out of 10) on the lead channel as it has gain to burn!

[CommonCourtesy]

Ah so the custom built cabs? I've heard about them before. Not a fan of 2 x 12's though cos I need some stage volume. Thankfully most places we play are mic'd up and have good monitors. Have put 2 V30's in my Marshall cab and its mixed with 2 stock G12T-75's. Sounds pretty good.

I have my gain on my 6505+ lead channel on 4 and its still pretty beefy! Had it on 6.5 before and its a bit overkill haha, esp with an OD in front of it. I may give the crunch channel a go with my tubescreamer, its just I switch to a crunchy clean for sections of the songs, I think my nailbomb bridge might make the squeaky clean channel to clanky. AND I've also had the lead channel modded, but as the clean channel is shared I have a toggle switch at the back of the amp so I can flick it to whatever channel I have when I click off the lead. Might be tricky seeing as they share the same one.

[witeter]

Yeah just mess around with gain settings and see what you prefer :-)

I dont lose stage volume with the Zilla, its immense, i downsized from a 4x12 and i play live-dont miss the 4x12 at all; at my first practice with the zilla the other guitarists 4x12 was destroyed-he ordered a Superfatboy the following week :-)
They are very beefy sounding and the front grill is angled so the sound is projected no problem.

[CommonCourtesy]

In a straight up standard tuning indie rock band I'd probably use the crunch channel, but for this high gain drop tuned chugga chugga band I usually think the lead channel is more suited, however you have to watch the gain. All these metal bands that play with their gain on 10 is just stupid. Combined with the bleed of the cymbals it sounds awful.

I may consider getting a Zilla cab with all V30's, or just swap out the stock two of the Marshall and put them in that. A 2 x 12 is easier to transport, I can see the advantages from that, and also car space! Its just when I've played through them before either its a cr@p cab or I'm not turned up loud enough!

[Dave Sloven]

Sounds tight in that vid!

[littleredguitars2]

i've always wanted to try one of these. mostly to see how it compares to my original peavey 5150

[Telerocker]

Congrats, great rockamp and it's got a decent clean channel too!

[dave_mc]

Nice :D

[witeter]

Cheers guys-bizarrely if you want the head in black it costs more...also worth mentioning is that it sounds great at low volumes.

[Alex]

Good amp choice, looks good.

I do think the black one looks better though.

[Kiichi]

I must say that is a lovely amp. Especially how the three channels work is very intriguing. Congrats!

[m t soule]

This amp is the one reason I am gutted I went for a blackstar.
They had sold out in my area once i had saved up the cash.

The review no helps me relive that gutted feeling all over again.............er. .........Thanks?

T

[witeter]

Sorry man! hope you find the tone you are looking for in the future