# EVH 5150 III 50W : should I buy an EQ and TS pedal ?



## Strat (Feb 11, 2014)

Hi Folk,

I use a PRS SE Paul Allender equiped with active pickup SD Dave Mustaine and an EVH 5150 III 50W with this 2*12" EVH cab and I'll like to know if I need to buy, or not, a good EQ and TS pedal.

The reason is that I play some death melodic metal from the 90's, specially from Sweden, so band like the first In Flames album or Arch Enemy.

The 5150 is quit good for a lot of different rythmique but I'm not able to get an "organic and warm" sound like some solo into the band described before.

Here are some sound example which I'll to get :


or 

(lead guitar which start at 0:43sec)
and for the solo
 (at 2:26min )

I tested in a past a TS9 and I was quite impressed.
Regarding the EQ some people told me that a good EQ, like the 10 band EQ from MXR 108, or the Source Audio Programmable EQ should be able to help me.

I know that Jesper Stromblad and Mickael Amott use also a 5150 so I think I have a good start.

Do you think that I should go for this new pedal, with a reverb as well ?

Thank.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Feb 11, 2014)

The EVH doesn't _need_ either to get a good sound IMO, but adding a TS9 (since you mentioned you liked it) would help get a bit more push and cut, and an EQ in the FX loop could really help warm it up for solos or cleans. 

The MXR EQ's are good, as well as the Boss GE-7. Haven't used any other pedal eq's though.


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## Sleazy_D (Feb 11, 2014)

Those are two things one should just keep around anyway. MXR-10, and Maxon OD9 (or Pro +) are my vote.


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## TeeWX (Feb 11, 2014)

Sleazy_D said:


> Those are two things one should just keep around anyway. MXR-10, and Maxon OD9 (or Pro +) are my vote.



Agreed. Although I'm partial to the sd1 but I like my mxr 10 band


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## MikeSweeney (Feb 12, 2014)

Green Rhino and a MXR 10band EQ


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## Strat (Feb 12, 2014)

Thank for your reply.
However, why should I add an OD pedal ?
I mean the 5150 III seem to have enough gain for what I play, therefore I trully do not understand.
Beside that I have also an AMT R2 at home, does it mean that I should place it before ?

As told, everything is allright for the rythmique, my only concern is about the lead / solo where the sound is too "dry" in general.
I love Septic Flesh as well, and as well the lead guitar has this "warm sound" and even if the post prod change a lot I believe that I can get this sound from the amp, maye with some other settings, or maybe with an EQ / TS pedals.


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## TeeWX (Feb 12, 2014)

Strat said:


> Thank for your reply.
> However, why should I add an OD pedal ?
> I mean the 5150 III seem to have enough gain for what I play, therefore I trully do not understand.
> Beside that I have also an AMT R2 at home, does it mean that I should place it before ?
> ...



An overdrive pedal tightens up the sound. It's really popular in metalcore and djent because of the percussive rhythm guitar. If you are going for a muddy tone like In Flames maybe it's not what you want. It's not a matter of gain.


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## Strat (Feb 12, 2014)

Yeah that's the point, IMO I have enough gain with my 5150 III, the only thing missing is to "sharp" the sound, maybe with a TS, or with an EQ.

The solo/lead use many time a reverb as well (as far as I can hear), therefore I guess it will also help to improve the sound for this part.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Feb 12, 2014)

Strat said:


> Yeah that's the point, IMO I have enough gain with my 5150 III, the only thing missing is to "sharp" the sound, maybe with a TS, or with an EQ.
> 
> The solo/lead use many time a reverb as well (as far as I can hear), therefore I guess it will also help to improve the sound for this part.



Adding an OD isn't to give the sound more gain or to make up for a lack of gain on the head; it's so that you can dial back the gain on the head slightly then run it as a clean boost (gain on 0, tone around 5, volume 10) so that it "feels" like there's more gain, but you're really just hitting the front of the amp harder, and the result is a more defined, clearer, sharper sound that helps the guitar cut through a mix and be generally awesome. 

And yeah, adding a reverb would be good if you like the solo tone from those videos  I like adding a ton of reverb over my clean, solo, and not-as-tight sounds, as well as delay depending on the situation. Like I said earlier, an EQ would also help shape your solo sound to be more musical than an aggressive rhythm sound.


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## TeeWX (Feb 12, 2014)

Strat said:


> Yeah that's the point, IMO I have enough gain with my 5150 III, the only thing missing is to "sharp" the sound, maybe with a TS, or with an EQ.
> 
> The solo/lead use many time a reverb as well (as far as I can hear), therefore I guess it will also help to improve the sound for this part.



I'm not sure what you mean by sharp the sound. A tube screamer will tighten it up, and make your tone clearer. It does add some distortion on it's own (even with the gain control on zero), so whatever gain you use now you would turn it down just a bit to get the same overall saturation but with more clarity. An EQ is just a general shaping tool. Once you get the best possible tone out of your amp you can use it to make some refinements by placing it in the loop. It can drastically alter things, but I suggest you get what you want out of your amp, and then use the EQ to refine things if you want.

EDIT: TheWarAgainstTime beat me to it


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## Wookieslayer (Feb 12, 2014)

Get a reverb and/or delay pedal.


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## Strat (Feb 12, 2014)

Good info, thanks guys !

Well so if I understand well I have, by example, to place my R2 front on the amp in order to be able to better "design" my sound.

But how can I do that ?

I've never place any pedals, so I do not know if I have to put the pedal in the loop, return, and as well if I have to place the jack on preout/driveout on the pedal.

The pedal :

AMT Electronics USA, LLC - R2 MESA Legend Amp Series II

By the way, here is somewhere a good video in about to compare an OD pedal with a disto and with a TS pedal ?

It's sometime hard to understand the difference without any "sample".


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## guy in latvia (Feb 12, 2014)

To be completely honest, I actually stopped using an OD pedal in front of my 5153, because it just sounds more raw and dynamic that way. 

The really interesting thing that I found was that switching to a K-100 speaker loaded cab the 5153 just came to life in a completely different way, its never sounded this good before! 
I suppose since its not voiced for V30s, it benefits from having speakers without such an intesne high mid range.


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## capoeiraesp (Feb 12, 2014)

Getting rid of the Mustain actives would be my first piece of advice. Those things are like actives with an OD built into them.


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## Russbuss777 (Feb 12, 2014)

Strat said:


> Hi Folk,
> 
> I use a PRS SE Paul Allender equiped with active pickup SD Dave Mustaine and an EVH 5150 III 50W with this 2*12" EVH cab and I'll like to know if I need to buy, or not, a good EQ and TS pedal.
> 
> ...



In My Opinion, the two pedals in my rig that i could not live without is 1. My Ibanez Tube Screamer, and 2. my MXR 10 band EQ.

the TS just tightens everything up and giving you a great sound that will cut through a mix, and the EQ to mold your tone, the EVH 5150ii is an amazing amp, but any amp will benefit. put it this way:
Amp = 3 eq controls, Bass, Mid and treble. whereas an EQ (Such as the MXR 10 band) has 10 eq controls. meaning you can dial in your own tone that stands out from the rest.

my vote you cannot go wrong!!!!


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## GreatWhiteYeti (Feb 12, 2014)

I always go TS9-NS2-AMP. I think the EQ pedal will help, but I can't get over the tones I get going this way. I know you don't need it, but in the mix, it sounds ....ing bad ass this way for sure. Do it!


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## HighGain510 (Feb 12, 2014)

I've tried running a TS in front of an EVH 5150 III 50w (several different variants of a tube screamer in fact) and while it can add a cool coloration to the tone, I ultimately found I really didn't NEED it, the amp's standalone tone was awesome enough on it's own. The only pedal I found myself wanting/preferring to use with the 5153 was a reverb in the loop, beyond that it didn't need a thing!  One of the best amps ever, IMO.


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## feraledge (Feb 12, 2014)

I have a green rhino, mxr 10 band eq, and sonic stomp in the loop on my 5153, I swore by an OD in front, but I only use a touch of the sonic maximizer. 
5153 hardly needs help IMO.


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## mniel8195 (Feb 12, 2014)

I own the evh and i have a ceramic warpig bridge. The thrid ch needs nothing. The blue ch needs a overdrive with lower gain on the head to get it to sound really metal.


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## Strat (Feb 13, 2014)

Fine, seem that maybe I only need to change my mic if I really want to change the sound, and of course, to try more settings on the amp and on the note attack.


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## SkullCrusher (Feb 13, 2014)

does the green rhino work week with the 5153 50watt?

how does it compare to other ODs?

cheers


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Feb 13, 2014)

SkullCrusher said:


> does the green rhino work week with the 5153 50watt?
> 
> how does it compare to other ODs?
> 
> cheers



It's a tubescreamer clone with a couple extra features for if you don't like something about what the TS circuit does to the tone.

I'm not going to lie though, I don't really see the point with this amp. Turning the gain below 4 gets me as much tightness as I could want while maintaining a very heavy sound. I'm not even sure that knob even controls the gain, I think it just controls the amount of "squish" in the tone. Dear lord this amp is brutal.


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## TRENCHLORD (Feb 14, 2014)

For the 5150III an od808 or a regular od9 would be the way to go IMO, used with 0 gain and maximum level.
IMO the ts9 adds a little too much treble and sizzle and not enough fatness for that particular amp model.
Unless you were running a weaker output darker sounding guitar, but that doesn't sound like the case at all.

If you decide to stay with the D.M. actives you might really like the MXR 6-bandEQ out front with a slight boost to whatever frequencies you're needing to hear more of and leaving the rest at flat 0 (no boost or cut).That pedal is a great way to juice the amp without adding as much compression as a screamer type.


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## mniel8195 (Feb 14, 2014)

you can turn the gain up past noon on this amp on ch3. I find you can get a really tight sound by turning the bass below noon. by not using a boost you dont have to tamp dance when switching channels! all i use is a buffer and my isp decimator g string.


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