Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

[Vimz]

Hey Guys,

New to this forum hoping I can get some decent information about an issue I'm having,
I bought an EVH 5150 III 100W Head and 4x12 EVH Cab about a year ago, Have probably used it 15 times in that time, Have recently joined a Band as Lead Guitarist we mostly play Post Hardcore Punky stuff, I have several guitars but the current one I am using at rehearsals is an ESP LTD H-401QM. Is fitted with 2 EMG Pickups but I only ever play on the Bridge.

It's been slowly coming and going the last few months but I found at last nights rehearsal it was TERRIBLE. I'm getting an incredibly bad feedback. I play on the Blue channel (Middle Crunchy Channel) for riffing as red chan to much gain. And sometimes the green clean channel. For example I have a lead part where I play a sustained 10th fret note on the B string and after about a second It just goes into crazy feedback screech. If I'm not playing anything at all it'll just sit there and there'll be a really minor feedback then it'll just keep building up until it's going full banshee scream. I can't even seem to run a mini analog delay pedal in the effects loop because I just get so much feedback it's insane.

Current Pedal Chain
Guitar -> Ibanez Bigmini True Bypass Tuner -> Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini -> MXR Smart Gate -> Amp

Funnily enough I have the MXR Smart gate up Full clockwise Max setting and on the Full range and the feedback still makes it through if I put it on high trigger range I lose all tone so that's not an option, I stand about 1M In front of the Cab and it ****ing screeches, I've stood over near the Drummer about 3.5M Away and it doesn't feedback AS bad but it's still there, Could this be an issue with Volume to high with the EMG's catching the sound from the Cab? Just weird I've never had the issue before. I've let the feedback kick in and tried lowering the gain on the amp, Playing around with Tubescreamer settings, Lowering the volume slightly on amp (Can barely hear over the drums if it goes any lower) I've done copious amounts of research on these issues and this amp and I just can't find a definitive answer. My next rehearsal is on Tuesday and it's kind of embarassing when the other guitarist has absolutely beautiful clear cut tone and I have terrible feedback issues. He's using a PRS with Passive Pickups and he tried his guitar on my setup and he gets basically no feedback so just about leads me to believe EMG's are to hot for this amp? How do other people get around this as we want to be playing live in the next 6 months I need to get this issue sorted, Any ideas you guys could throw my way would be epic!

My Amp Settings + Guitar for Reference
www.imgur.com/a/2vfBsRc
www.imgur.com/a/WqhHjuQ

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Your signal is too hot.

You don't need any of those pedals except the tuner. Turn the amp's gain down. Stand away from the speakers.

That amp can do everything you need for punky post hardcore by itself.

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

I understand that much, But I feel like the TS gives it a bit of extra Low end / Mid punch and Tightens it up and I really like the sound, I'm going to be switching my whole pedal setup around soon for a Boss Chromatic Tuner > Horizon Precision Drive > MXR Carbon copy > Boss NS-2. How do bands like Parkway run an OD-808 into Peaveys before they got kempers?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Sure. Tubescreamers do that. But you're running too much gain and getting annoying feedback.

It's like you're complaining that it's too spicy but you're insisting on using hot sauce. If you want less feedback, run the amp straight up.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Many people boost the blue channel, but the channel's gain must be set no higher than 1:00.
I would also look at V1, V5 & V6 preamp tubes because one of those might be microphonic.
Also, use the amps Resonance knobs if you require more lows. That amp should be able to do everything you need without much coaxing at all.

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Mine doesn't come with resonance knobs on the back. Thanks for the info, Im getting the tubes tested monday by the shop i bought it from, I never run the gain higher then 10oclock on blue channel. And ive tried it with both knobs on my TS completely turned down and it doesnt affect the feedback at all

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Does it feedback with other guitars? You have any thing in the loop goofed up? On the OD pedal, no gain, just volume? Just grasping for straws

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Does it feedback with other guitars? You have any thing in the loop goofed up? On the OD pedal, no gain, just volume? Just grasping for straws

My Rhythm guitarist who has a PRS and passives tried it out standing same distance and no feedback. Nothing is run through the effects loops, 1 single chain into front amp . guitar > tuner > ts > Gate . OD pedal is a TS mini,
On a scale of 1-10 Overdrive set to about 4.5/10 , Tone and level are about at about 4.5/10

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Actually so annoying

 

[Cynical]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Sure. Tubescreamers do that. But you're running too much gain and getting annoying feedback.

It's like you're complaining that it's too spicy but you're insisting on using hot sauce. If you want less feedback, run the amp straight up.

Not really true at all; running a TS and lower gain on the amp gives a very different texture and response than running just the gain on the amp. Most amps that don't have heavy low-end filtering in the pre-amp benefit from a TS-style boost, and even those that do a good job filtering the low end tend to benefit from the compression and the fact that the distortion is spread out over more gain stages by hitting V1 harder.

@OP, I mentioned this in your SSO thread, but get the wiring of your guitar checked by a tech. Active pickups should have less feedback than passives, not more. That said, you're not really using the TS-9 the way that the bands you're referencing do it. Try running Drive 0, Level 10, Tone 5.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Not really true at all; running a TS and lower gain on the amp gives a very different texture and response than running just the gain on the amp. Most amps that don't have heavy low-end filtering in the pre-amp benefit from a TS-style boost, and even those that do a good job filtering the low end tend to benefit from the compression and the fact that the distortion is spread out over more gain stages by hitting V1 harder.

@OP, I mentioned this in your SSO thread, but get the wiring of your guitar checked by a tech. Active pickups should have less feedback than passives, not more. That said, you're not really using the TS-9 the way that the bands you're referencing do it. Try running Drive 0, Level 10, Tone 5.

Nothing in my post is inaccurate. Dude is experiencing feedback from too much gain. A highgain amp boosted with an OD pedal is going to feedback despite any 'lowend filtering.'

The trick is to dial in the heaviest tone possible with the littlest gain possible, not 4 different gain stages with a noisegate

 

[Cynical]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

His other guitarist can plug in with a guitar with passive pickups (which always have more noise and feedback than EMGs) and not get the feedback. The blue channel of a 5153 with the gain at 10'o clock, like he has in his screenshotted settings, isn't going to feedback city because it has a TS-9 in front of it.

Low-end filtering isn't to get rid of feedback; it's because a guitar amp does a **** job at amplifying low-end frequencies (there's a reason why bass amps are always ridiculously high-wattage, and most bassists switched to solid state decades ago...), and so hitting the front end of an amp with the signal generated from a typical guitar pickup without something that shelves the lows and highs to create a mid-humped signal (something, like... OH, A TS-9!!) is going to be mud-city if there's no circuitry in the amp cutting the lows before V1. There's a very good reason why TS-9 into Recto, 5150, Uberschall, SLO, Fortin, etc. has been the standard signal chain for high-gain sounds for over twenty years. It really does work, you don't need to be scared of a bit of signal gain.

 

[blearyeyes]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Feedback like pickups are not wax potted correctly feedback?

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Not really true at all; running a TS and lower gain on the amp gives a very different texture and response than running just the gain on the amp. Most amps that don't have heavy low-end filtering in the pre-amp benefit from a TS-style boost, and even those that do a good job filtering the low end tend to benefit from the compression and the fact that the distortion is spread out over more gain stages by hitting V1 harder.

@OP, I mentioned this in your SSO thread, but get the wiring of your guitar checked by a tech. Active pickups should have less feedback than passives, not more. That said, you're not really using the TS-9 the way that the bands you're referencing do it. Try running Drive 0, Level 10, Tone 5.

Yes! This is exactly the reason i run one, Just gives that extra punch but you put it into a better term haha, Awesome I had no clue as im still new to the pedal game appreciate it will give it a shot.

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Feedback like pickups are not wax potted correctly feedback?

When I head into the shop today to test my tubes ill take my guitar and lift the pickups aswell and have a look, Do they generally come wax potted as a factory standard?

 

[Cynical]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

EMG's aren't wax potted; they're utterly encoffinated in epoxy. I'd be shocked if there's a potting/microphonic pickup issue.

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

EMG's aren't wax potted; they're utterly encoffinated in epoxy. I'd be shocked if there's a potting/microphonic pickup issue.

I thought that would be a pretty extreme one aswell seeing as they’re basically a year old and have hardly had much use in a high volume rehearsal environment, and I’m getting the same issue with my horizon

 

[blearyeyes]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

I thought that would be a pretty extreme one aswell seeing as they’re basically a year old and have hardly had much use in a high volume rehearsal environment, and I’m getting the same issue with my horizon

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread..

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Tubes checked out fine, Guitar also checked out fine. I did change my battery the other night so could’ve been that Didnt run my pedal chain at the store but the amp tech said my gate could be a dud. however as I was looking through all my gear I found the plug for my pedal daisy chain supply had a chunk taken out of it and the outer negative sheathing and inner active core where exposed maybe they couldve been arcing so not sure if that could’ve contributed to the issue. More results tommorow night at rehearsal I guess, Just relieved it’s not a tube/pickup issue.

 

[Vimz]

Re: Evh 5150iii 100w Head Help

Ok so had rehearsal again tonight , Still getting feedback. Managed to get it slightly under a little more control but its still ****in horrendous I cant even use my effects loop, I’m starting to think my bridge pickup is the issue I’ll grab a picture tommorow but the EMG in the bridge is sitting in such a way where it is angled to the point where the gap between the bottom string is say 10mm and the top string is like 3mm is that normal? So its like on a slant, I looked at my horizon and the neck and bridge emgs are both flush at the same height barely protruding from the guitar body.

I tried -
Test Amp Tubes
Effects loop Gate
Guitar -> Amp with no Pedals
Move pickups around while feedbackijg and check for noise - Not really any noises
Different Leads
Run TS at 0% Drive ,50% Tone ,
100% Level - Just made things louder and worse.

Honestly Starting to think about just buying a Line6 Helix and being done with this Amp head completely..