EVH 5150 III LBX

The LBX has more
features than most
lunchbox heads
The EVH’s quarter-
power switch is ideal
for recording work
The range-topping 5150 III 100-watt
head (£1,719) has no less than eight
12AX7 preamp valves and four 6L6
power valves, together with dual
speaker outlets and a line out. Three
channels for clean, crunch and
lead, each with independent gain,
volume and tone controls, mean you
can precisely tailor each channel’s
sounds. There’s a 50-watt version at
a much more affordable £959, which
shares controls for channels one
and two, making it more compact, as
well as adding a headphones socket.
The 5150 III 100S (also £1,719) is
a hand-modifi ed and customised
version that’ s identical to the ones
Eddie tours with, featuring increased
gain on crunch and lead channels,
and separate resonance controls
for each channel on the rear panel.
As well as a choice of 1x12, 2x12 and
4x12 speaker cabinets, you can also
buy a 5150 III 1x12 combo for £999,
or a 2x12 version for £1,269.
51-nifty
Hungry for more power?
The 5150 range has
something for you…
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
more than enough power for
small-to-medium gigs, while the
quarter-power option is handy for
recording, when you want a fully
cranked sound at lower volume.
Compared with other lunchbox
heads, the 5150 LBX does the
same thing its full-sized versions
do to most other amps in this genre
– it comprehensively blows them
away. It’s a fl ame-thrower of tone
that gives you the authentic EVH
sound and response in a small,
portable package that’s more
affordable than ever and way
better than a pile of transistorised
wannabe boxes. That’s the most
important thing about the 5150
LBX: it’s the real deal – all-valve
from input jack to speaker jack.
That can make it less controllable
than a solid-state facsimile, but
learn how to drive it with picking
dynamics and your guitar’s volume
and tone controls, and you’ll be
rewarded with one of the best rock
guitar tones to ever come out of a
box this small. However, to really
appreciate the LBX’s carefully
crafted bottom-end, you’ll need a
decently-sized speaker cabinet
that isn’t going to be so portable,
but it’s so worth it. If you want to
sound like Eddie but don’t have
a huge budget, this is the amp
you’ve been waiting for.
Nick Guppy
ALSO TRY...
ORANGE DUAL
TERROR
£599
Orange’s
popular
Dual Terror
is 30 watts,
switchable to 15 and seven watts,
and has a second channel called ‘Fat’
with its own EQ
VICTORY RD1
ROB CHAPMAN
SIGNATURE
HEAD
£599
The RD1 gets a
lot of tone from
a deceptively simple front panel. Its
28 watts, with a very useful two-watt
low-power mode
PEAVEY
6505 MH
MINI-HEAD
£495
This
mini-head
packs a
dual-mode
clean/crunch rhythm channel and
speaker-emulated direct out, which is
great for recording. It’s a lot of amp for
the money
74 AUGUST 2016
EVH 5150 III LBX
REVIEW
TGR282.gear_lead.indd 74 6/16/16 11:58 AM