NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

[Jeff5]

I found a 1X12 combo new in box for $800. I couldn't resist. Really fun amp so far. I basically use this for my study/upstairs at lower volumes and the power scaling feature is what attracted me to it. However, even without the power scaling, it's great at low volumes.

A lot has been said about the volume jump between channel 1 and 2. However, with the gain past noon (which I always have anyway because channel 2 is awesome), it's not that noticeable. Channel 1 is a bit gritty with that much gain, but this is more than compensated by rolling back the volume. It cleans up great. And sometimes I want gritty.....

All channels are really good. 1 goes from crystal clean to nice and gritty. Channel 2 is great for any kind of music up to and including some metal. Channel 3 is a face melter! Great on its own for any kind of metal or as a lead channel to go with channel 2.

A note about the gain on the amp....there is a lot of it. I don't really need to go much past noon on either channel.

I may be selling my Mini Rectifier and cabinets.....

 

[Surgeon]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

Wow, I knew it'd be different from the mini recto but what makes it THAT much better? Is it just that you like the tone better or is there a lot more to it? Just curious, I own neither so...

 

[jmh151]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

Congrats!

I have the 50 watt head and run it into the EVH 1x12 or 2 EVH 1x12's. Nice to have built in reverb on it as I'm always plugging in a delay to thicken it up. I tried the 1x12 out a while ago and didn't see a big difference in tone with the power scaling feature- I wanted to trade in my head just for that feature, but didn't see any difference- how about you? Do you find it noticeable?

 

[Jeff5]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

I don't know if it's that much better than the Mini Rec. The Mini rec definitely has a more pristine clean channel. (Wonderful actually) Actually I have less options with the 5150III because 3 channels/options versus the Mini rec 4 modes. (But 2 per channel) For me, I have a Dual Rec and a Triaxis/2:90, so I have my Mesa tones/bases covered. I think I just want something in a different tonal family and the 5150III fits the bill.

I will say that Channel 3 on the 5150 is more aggressive, tighter and crunchier than the Mini Recto Red channel. I can get there with Mini Red and a boost, but the 5150 needs no boost what so ever. The downside is that the 5150 channel 3 is quite noisy. Mini red is noisy too, especially with the effects loop engaged, but not as much as the 5150. For a gain comparison, I would have to run Mini Red at about 3 o'clock, and maybe with a boost, to equal the 5150 III at about noon or 1 o'clock.

With regards to the power scaling, the other night I had it low, maybe 1-3 watts, and channel volumes low too. Wife couldn't even hear me in the other room but the amp still sounded amazing. I haven't played it at very quiet volume yet in full 50 watt mode. I suspect it sounds great that way too, as many have said it does and the resonance control adds bass back in that you need. The combo was a nice plus for me because I got it for almost the same price as the head itself. If I had the head already, or found it for a great deal, I probably wouldn't sell it/trade it for the combo.

The combo is BIG, and the speaker cabinet almost reminds me of an oversized/thiele cabinet. (Although not quite) It definitely has a lot of thunk and low end.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

I don't know if it's that much better than the Mini Rec. The Mini rec definitely has a more pristine clean channel. (Wonderful actually) Actually I have less options with the 5150III because 3 channels/options versus the Mini rec 4 modes. (But 2 per channel) For me, I have a Dual Rec and a Triaxis/2:90, so I have my Mesa tones/bases covered. I think I just want something in a different tonal family and the 5150III fits the bill.

I will say that Channel 3 on the 5150 is more aggressive, tighter and crunchier than the Mini Recto Red channel. I can get there with Mini Red and a boost, but the 5150 needs no boost what so ever. The downside is that the 5150 channel 3 is quite noisy. Mini red is noisy too, especially with the effects loop engaged, but not as much as the 5150. For a gain comparison, I would have to run Mini Red at about 3 o'clock, and maybe with a boost, to equal the 5150 III at about noon or 1 o'clock.

With regards to the power scaling, the other night I had it low, maybe 1-3 watts, and channel volumes low too. Wife couldn't even hear me in the other room but the amp still sounded amazing. I haven't played it at very quiet volume yet in full 50 watt mode. I suspect it sounds great that way too, as many have said it does and the resonance control adds bass back in that you need. The combo was a nice plus for me because I got it for almost the same price as the head itself. If I had the head already, or found it for a great deal, I probably wouldn't sell it/trade it for the combo.

The combo is BIG, and the speaker cabinet almost reminds me of an oversized/thiele cabinet. (Although not quite) It definitely has a lot of thunk and low end.

Some tube swapping might mitigate that noise in the 5150 red channel.

How are you loving the blue channel?

 

[Jeff5]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

The blue channel is awesome =).

 

[Archer250]

Re: NAD EVH 5150 III 50 Watt1X12 Combo

The blue channel is awesome =).

Blue channel is the best channel. Seriously. Nails ANY 80s metal tone.