2011 EVH 5150 III 100w

Overview

This modern classic is the evolution of the Peavey 5150 and 5150 II series amps, with new development headed up by Fender and the late Eddie Van Halen. This modernized amp has three true channels, each with their own separate gain, volume, presence, and 3-band EQ section. They are titled on the amp as one/two/three, but most refer to them by the LED colors - green, blue, and red.

The green channel can go from clean to a very convincing mid-gain crunch. I find this channel to be really underappreciated and seldom talked about, but I really enjoy the crunch tones I can get with the gain maxed out - much like an old Marshall but with the 6L6 power section and smoother mids this type of amp brings.

Blue is easily the most well regarded channel on this amp, and it can go from a light crunch all the way up to a saturated high gain sound. It has a very clear and articulate gain sound with very smooth, hollowed out mids and thumping bass. The blue channel is slightly different on the 50w model amps, and a lot of people prefer that version of the blue channel, which has a little bit more gain and a global resonance control (more, adjustable sub-bass). While I really like this version of the blue channel, later EVH 5150 “Stealth” amps use the blue channel from the 50w version, but with resonance controls for each channel separately.

Red is the all-out high gain channel, and probably the most comparable to the Peavey 5150/5150II and 6505 amps that this amp is descended from. This channel has a huge amount of gain and saturation, but stays tight even with low tuned guitars and doesn’t need a boost (but you can use one for a different texture). It’s somewhat of an instant gratification thing - just plug in and set all of the controls at 1/2 on the red channel and start shredding, and it sounds fantastic. It’s smoother and has a little less growl than the Peaveys, but with more pleasing treble and high end. I think it’s a little less cutting than other amps in this family (6505, SLO, Rectifiers) but that gives it a lot of flexibility when tracking and layering, especially for very heavy modern styles.

You don’t have to look far to find examples of this amp’s tone, just listen to any EVH live tone from about 2007 onward. Sachel of Steel Panther also used one for several of their songs, my favorite example is the solo from “Community Property,” which I can replicate the tone of nearly 1:1 with this amp.