EVH New 50 watt head or Combo

[mantis]

hey guys,
I noticed that EVH has updated the 50 watt head and combo 6L6 model with a gain and volume on channel 1/2 shared. This is a huge deal as I use to own the original 50 watt head and cab and hated the fact that channel 1 and 2 was combined. I was never able to get both channels to sound exactly how I wanted. What would happen is I would dial in a killer clean tone and it was amazing sounding but it hurt the way channel 2 sounded. So I would dial in a killer channel 2 crunch and got that channel to sound killer but then when I went back to the clean channel, it ruined all my hard work.
I tried for a week straight to get those 2 channels to balance out but was never able to do so. So I got rid of it and went back to my Krank Revolution 1 combo.
Right now I'm way into the Triple Crown 50 from Mesa Boogie. I love that amp as it's basically perfect. But I always liked the way the EVH sounded only if I could get all the channels to sound the way I wanted.
EVH channel 3 was a easy no brainer. I could dial in a killer tone in seconds and it crushed.
I see now Fender is trying to address the combo channel issue and breaking up the gain and volume. Thats a huge leap forward IMO. I wish I had that on mine. I would have kept it as I really liked it. Midi is HUGE and so is having 50 watts. The Combo is pretty killer as it has a power soak but doesn't sound quite as good as the head and cab. I'm wondering if the new one sounds better and the channels are less annoying. Anyone own the combo or head cab setup? Have you compared the 2 to each other and to the original 50 watt?
Here is a shot when I owned the original 50 watt setup

 

[Ben1962]

Re: EVH New 50 watt head or Combo

I have the head myself. But I am just a newb so my opinion should be taken as so. I love it, but the biggest problem I feel is the massive volume dip between channels 2 and 1. I can see that bothering some, but its not a biggie to me. I dont really play cleans anyway. Sorry none of the great welcoming people on here didnt respond to your post

 

[mantis]

Re: EVH New 50 watt head or Combo

It's all good. I plan on playing the new 5150 III head and combo when they it the market. I'm excited to try them out as I did really like the older one but the volume jump and uncontrollable gain issues I had with 1 and 2 I got rid of it sadly.

 

[dr0]

Re: EVH New 50 watt head or Combo

There is a pretty strong consensus that head+cab is the way to go for something that is going to be a 2x12. I say this because I ran a poll on it not long ago on the forum, here it is:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?326520-The-2-x-12-How-do-like-it-served-Combo-Combo-Extension-or-Head-Cab

The Head + 2x12 cab absolutely CRUSHED every other option, 22 votes. The combo amp got 2. I will admit this surprised me a lot. It might be an age thing. I started playing in the 1970s and the Twin Reverb was everywhere, all the time. So I always thought of it as "normal". The downsides of the combo setup are substantial compared to separates: weight can be ridiculous. 85lbs is not unheard of. It's not as useful for swapping cabs (cause you still have to carry the combo) as a head, where you can alternate between 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 depending on situation. Some believe that there is more wear and tear on the amp from vibration of speakers vibrating the tubes and guts in the combo configuration. Some mentioned the flexibility of putting the cabinet where it fits or sounds best, and the head where it's easy to adjust. Finally you are going to get "open back" sound with a combo. With a 2x12 cab you can get either open or closed depending on cab (and with some cabs like Dr. Z you easily configure it either way.

Like I said, not too many people stood up for the plain old twin combo amp, despite me littering the thread with pictures of Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry and other legends using them.
One advantage no one mentioned: when you practice they are the right height to substitute for a coffee table to hold your beer or other beverage of choice. Especially if you practice in a folding chair or something similar.

 

[mantis]

Re: EVH New 50 watt head or Combo

I also grew up in the 70's playing guitar. I had 2 Fender Twin reverbs. I had an actual original 65 and a re issue. I even had a Fender Twin amp which was pretty awesome. But I'm a metal guy so back then Marshall was the move.
The Combo from EVH is a solid sealed box . It's build like my Krank Revolution 1 2 x 12 combo as it's also sealed back.
The advantages of the combo is reverb and power soak. The Head doesn't have either of those. It's what makes the combo attractive to me. But I will tell you I played the older combo vs the head and 2 12 cab and you can see by the pictures what one came home with me.
The Combo did not sound as good as the head and cab. It damn sounded out of phase to me. I questioned the way the one I tried out as I felt the speakers where wired wrong which they could have been out of phase as it sounded like that compared to the 2 x 12. I wish EVH made a vertical 2 x 12 like Mesa does. That cab is SICK!!!!!! I love that thing. I would love to try out the EVH cab vs the Mesa cab with the new 50 watt EVH head and see what one sounds better.