5150 III - Head

[Scatterwound]

Anyone have any thoughts on the new 5150 III head/cabinet? I tried one in the store the other day...I thought the overdrive/distortion shounds were pretty good...Like the first two series this one does not have reverb either...And instead of Peavey this one is made by Fender....

What floored me on this was the price....It was $2400 for the head only...Much more expensive than the I & II models....Add to that that the 5150 III is not made in the USA...It is made down south of the US....The salesman agreed that for that price one would expect it to be made in the USA OR considering where it is made that it should be a lot lower in price.....

Any thoughts on this? For me that price is in the same league as Soldanos, Marshalls, Mesas.....

 

[SpaceShipOne]

Re: 5150 III - Head

Eddie needs to pay the mortgage...that's why.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I'd be embarrassed to both use that amp, and pay a premium price for it. haha

 

[ErikH]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I pretty much agree with you, Joe. Granted, I know why you said what you did, Mr. Bognerologist....LOL. But I don't see myself wanting to use the 5150 III either. I'd much rather have the Marshall Vintage Modern when it comes to new heads, or a Mission Aurora 30 watter with reverb. I love the original 5150 but with the 5150 II and now the III, my interest has become less and less.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I'd be embarrassed to both use that amp, and pay a premium price for it. haha

No kidding, that is used XTC/new Road King price range......

Those kinds of amps deserve their respective reputations, as opposed to a player's reputation being printed on a badge and screwed to the front panel (that frickin' badge is at least $1000 of the price tag....)

Though, I would like to play one myself and see what it does.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I think street is about $2K. I didn't realize it was MIM either. The online videos I've seen look cool, but is it that much better than the 5150/6505?

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: 5150 III - Head

Eddie needs to pay the mortgage...that's why.

Actually he's at that point in life where he's gotta think about the kid's college education, Valerie's alimony, his retirement fund (I don't think record companies offer musicians 401k's) as well as the mortgage! And that's just the responsible stuff. He's in his 50's, probably going through mid-life crisis, buying sports cars and spending big money on younger women. Oy!! :crazy:

Now you see what drove him to drink.

Seriously, I didn't know the 5150 III was MIM either. For that kinda cash I would expect hand made, boutique quality, made in USA. Ed must be taking a big cut.

How did it clean up when you rolled the volume back? That's one thing that impressed me about the original 5150. It cleans up nicely, and there's no sound like tearing paper when you cross that threshold between clean and a little bit of grit. A very smooth transition.

I'm sure the new 5150 is a fine amp. I just don't think I could justify the price even if I had it to pay. I'll stick with my SuperSonic head that I got in mint cond for $700. BTW the SuperSonic head doesn't have reverb either. I prefer it that way. I bought it for recording, and I'll add reverb in the mix. Or if I use it in a pro studio, I'll have them set up room mics to get the reverb.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I saw one on Craig's for 1450

I really liked the amp. Would really love it for $900

 

[brit84]

Re: 5150 III - Head

this one is made in mexico, but guess who the workers were building the former series' in the us anyway

 

[KeyOfG]

Re: 5150 III - Head -INTERIOR-

Re: 5150 III - Head -INTERIOR-

I'm sure the new 5150 is a fine amp. I just don't think I could justify the price even if I had it to pay.

Exactly Kosh. But given the prices of some VERY NICE hand-wired boutique amps, it's not that much scratch. It is unique in the sense that these are the first of the EVH brand amplifiers (yea, yeah.., 3rd verision of his co-designed 5150 amps where the various layouts have been tweaked by some well respected and knowledgble people in the amp biz.), and a first of a joint venture with Fender (or, err, well FMIC), but Fender amps are the "schniz" for clean tone, for sure. It was always well known that 'early Ed' had a penchant for Bassman's, Bandmaster's, & Plexi's. This is his first attempt at rolling it all into one head.

I saw one on Craig's for 1450.

Was it "HOT" or a demo model? Actually I suppose that price is just about right for a $1999.99 list.

this one is made in mexico, but guess who the workers were building the former series' in the us anyway

Regardless, Fender's MIM division is no slouch (plus in Ed's own history of being associated with products bearing his affiliation, he's usually always become displeased with quality that is not up to his expectations, thus usually terminating his association), and it's not fair to place biased stereotypes on their quality, or employees. It is North American Made if one want's to get that picky about it (and you're a 3rd of N. Amer. too. ). Fender's golden years history is strewn with excellent work of people from Mexico to begin with.

Regardless, I'm not pointing this out to be a 'Point-to-Point' Amp Snob. Though I really do prefer amps of that build. PCB amps can be extremely good, and well built too. Simply look at THD, Soldano, and Bogner as just a few examples to tout superior efforts to improve PCB's. As Kosh said initially...

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I saw one on Craig's for 1450

That's about the price in the local store, Canadian funds too.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I've bought the latest Guitar World Issue a few days ago... it has EVH on the cover with his new signature amp and guitar - and an interview with him about the new amp...
I stopped reading it after a short while... EVH just sounds like an aging salesman. :smack:

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: 5150 III - Head

I've bought the latest Guitar World Issue a few days ago... it has EVH on the cover with his new signature amp and guitar - and an interview with him about the new amp...
I stopped reading it after a short while... EVH just sounds like an aging salesman. :smack:

Yeah, I really didn't dig how he just didn't want to talk about his old amps. It was all about the big sell.

As for the amp itself, I've already passed on owning a Splawn as I tend to get all Ed when I plug into one. The III may well be a great amp, but I'd never use it in either of my bands, so that would relegate it to being a fun toy for occasional home use, which it is patently not designed for.