Small "EVH" Rig on a budget

[nobozos]

I made a discovery quite by accident that I wanted to share. First, a little background:

I've got a 5150III LBXII with a 2x12 cabinet already, so I have my EVH sound covered. I wanted to focus more on a clean amp that had some good breakup for a more classic rock sound. I've been experimenting more with tone lately with single coils, and wanted to get an amp to match that. I had it in my head that I wanted a Deluxe Reverb for a long time, but when I played a couple, I couldn't deal with the lack of tone controls, and the VOLUME of the thing. Sitting next to it in the store was a Blues Junior IV. I've tried them in the past and didn't care for them. Just for fun, I plugged into it, and I wasn't prepared for the sound. They really did some work to those, and it sounded really good. The boxy sound that I hated was gone, and the reverb wasn't stupid overpowering like before. I actually got some really good usable tones out of it. Found out that they fixed a lot of things from previous editions that were issues, like the Reverb being overpowering and the volume jump from zero to really loud between 1 and 2. They also switched out the speakers to a Celestion A Type.

Anyway, I pulled the trigger and got it home with my pedalboard, which has a 5150 overdrive on it. I was messing around with different pedals into it, and the 5150 Overdrive sounds great! I had tried it in front of an older model Blues Junior before, and it sounded like ass. Whatever they did to the version IV really made a big difference. I mean, if I put you in a room with it blindfolded with the 5150 Overdrive in front of it, you wouldn't believe you were listening to a small cab, 1x12 combo amp.

The other effects into the front of the amp, after the 5150 Overdrive pedal actually sounds surprisingly good, and in this configuration, you don't really need the effects loop that the amp doesn't have.

Anyway, you could potentially walk into a gig with your guitar in one hand, a Blues Junior IV in the other, and a pedalboard under your arm, and still be able to pull off what I consider to be a pretty convincing EVH tone that you will be pleased with. As a side note, you will have a very sweet classic Fender clean tone as well, so throw a Tube Screamer in front of it, and you can pull off some SRV too.

[MF5150]

Can’t go wrong with a Fender combo (Blues Deluxe, Blues Junior, Deville, Deluxe, etc).

In my opinion, any amp that provides a good, dynamic clean sound with a good amount of head room will be an excellent pedal platform in producing a legitimate overdriven
sound.

Give me a combo over a stack, any day.


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[Jedi McFly]

That's a great rig. My friend got me the 5150 OD as a gift. I don't really need it as I have a 5150iii, but it stays on my pedalboard for when I'm using house amps.

It's also my secret weapon when going direct. The 5150 OD into a clean Fender amp sim in Logic sounds pretty damn convincing. I've also used it into a Joyo American Sound at gigs and it's gotten the job done.

Example of the direct into Logic setup using the 5150 OD:

[Brett]

I’ve done the same thing Jedi with Logic and using the Friedman BE-OD.

[Jedi McFly]

I’ve done the same thing Jedi with Logic and using the Friedman BE-OD.

The BE-OD sounds sick. I'm thinking of going down to a single size distortion pedal for this purpose because I need more board real estate. Considering the BE-OD and the MXR Super Badass.

[Brett]

The only time I ever use a distortion pedal is when I’m doing something at home like recording something. If I’m playing in my band I’m playing through my 5150 half stack, so the last thing I need is a distortion pedal.

[nobozos]

That's a great rig. My friend got me the 5150 OD as a gift. I don't really need it as I have a 5150iii, but it stays on my pedalboard for when I'm using house amps.

It's also my secret weapon when going direct. The 5150 OD into a clean Fender amp sim in Logic sounds pretty damn convincing. I've also used it into a Joyo American Sound at gigs and it's gotten the job done.

Example of the direct into Logic setup using the 5150 OD:

I was curious about how it would sound in front of the American Sound pedal. I have one that doesn't live on my pedalboard right now. I keep it around in case my amp dies at a gig to go direct into from my pedalboard. I haven't tried it with the 5150 overdrive in front of it. I'll have to check it out.

[Jedi McFly]

I was curious about how it would sound in front of the American Sound pedal. I have one that doesn't live on my pedalboard right now. I keep it around in case my amp dies at a gig to go direct into from my pedalboard. I haven't tried it with the 5150 overdrive in front of it. I'll have to check it out.

This is just a friend's cell phone recording, but here's a clip of me using the 5150 OD into the Joyo American Sound at a kinda-chill lounge gig I used to do. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpuWfFYhcPC/

[</vh>]

I just picked up a 5150iii 50-watt head and 112 cab about a week ago. LOVE this amp and cab combo!!

However....

I am running my 5150 Overdrive into the clean channel for a bit of dirt - if needed. It’s an awesome addition to the already Uber-usable tones you can get out of this amp! Really gives me a pseudo 4-channel amp: crispy cleans, slight overdrive, killer crunch, and lead!

I almost sold the 5150 Overdrive... glad I hung on to it!

[rvk5150]

I just picked up a 5150iii 50-watt head and 112 cab about a week ago. LOVE this amp and cab combo!!

However....

I am running my 5150 Overdrive into the clean channel for a bit of dirt - if needed. It’s an awesome addition to the already Uber-usable tones you can get out of this amp! Really gives me a pseudo 4-channel amp: crispy cleans, slight overdrive, killer crunch, and lead!

I almost sold the 5150 Overdrive... glad I hung on to it!

I have mine set-up similar....what are your settings on the OD?

[</vh>]

I have mine set-up similar....what are your settings on the OD?

This gives me a nice, warm, basic drive for the green channel, which cleans up pretty good with rolling off the volume (boost button is off):



If I need cleaner I just kick the 5150 Overdrive off, if I need more... it’s straight to the BLUE channel!!

Also, I’m using the Boss ES-8 digital switcher, so I have a patch setup to switch to the green channel and it also kicks in the 5150 OD, then if I switch to the blue channel the 5150 OD is off

[rvk5150]

This gives me a nice, warm, basic drive for the green channel, which cleans up pretty good with rolling off the volume (boost button is off):



If I need cleaner I just kick the 5150 Overdrive off, if I need more... it’s straight to the BLUE channel!!

Also, I’m using the Boss ES-8 digital switcher, so I have a patch setup to switch to the green channel and it also kicks in the 5150 OD, then if I switch to the blue channel the 5150 OD is off

Thanks..I am not far off and use it on the green channel of my EL34 the same way.

[nobozos]

I know it seems useless to have the 5150 Overdrive when I already have a 5150 amp, but I found it extremely useful for this reason:

I have a Tele, a Strat, and a Les Paul, now along with my Frankie. When using the Humbucker equipped Frankie and Les Paul, I will use the Blue channel on the amp for my higher gain sounds. When using my Single Coil equipped Tele and Strat, I set the pedal up to sound good with those guitars. It also acts as a virtual Red channel with my Humbucker equipped guitars. It works out pretty well. That's my normal setup, however, if you wanted to use that rig in front of the Blues Junior, it's pretty damn good.