5150 III 50 watt and 100 watt comparison clips

[nwright]

Very unscientific, but here are some clips:

First, all the controls on both amps were set the same on the lead channel. Here are the pics:

Here are the raw, non-EQ'd clips. these are straight from the 57 on my Diezel 4x12 into the DAW. I lowered the waveform volume of the 100 watt to closely match the 50. At the same volume knob setting, the 50 was quieter (obviously).

Limiter is added on the master buss to get proper levels.

50 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 mini mix.mp3

100 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 100 mix.mp3

The 50 watt is definitely brighter comparatively.

Now,

here they are with a little bit of EQ in my DAW...Still the same miked tones. These to me sound pretty much the same:

50 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 50 eq mix.mp3

100 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 100 eq mix.mp3


Mic was placed with using the 50 watt, so I'm sure that plays into it some, but overall I love both amps. the 50 watt's brightness makes it sit easier with less EQ overall. It also gets just as thick, but doesn't quite have the bark in the mids that the 100 watt has.

 

[drew_drummer]

WOW! The 50watt sounds miles better than the 100watt! I wasn't expecting that. Of course micing, volume, tubes... everything has its part to play.

 

[DeclanWhite]

Ima get me a mini evh.

 

[midget donkeys]

I like the 50 watt clips better too. Your a lucky guy if you have both the 50 watt and the 100 watt.

 

[TonyS.]

I love my 5150 mini...did not test against the big one, but it burns the 6505+ !

 

[Derpsicle]

Damn! The 100w doesn't really sound like double the price.

 

[TomMartin]

Hmmmm,

None eq'd clips...I prefer 50 watts

But eq'd clips.. I prefer 100 watts.

I kinda have a feeling that if you adjusted the settings on the 100 watt amp to be a bit brighter, I would prefer it without eq as well.

 

[Ensi]

Only like a month or so before I can get my hands on one of dem sweet sweet 50w 5153's! Going to be my first "real" amp and all!

 

[akbeda]

i like the 50 watts better. it sits better in the mix.
and - no it has got nothing to do with the fakt that i own one.

 

[sprack]

Anyone tried the 100W running at 50W?

 

[dr.distortion]

Very unscientific, but here are some clips:

First, all the controls on both amps were set the same on the lead channel. Here are the pics:

Here are the raw, non-EQ'd clips. these are straight from the 57 on my Diezel 4x12 into the DAW. I lowered the waveform volume of the 100 watt to closely match the 50. At the same volume knob setting, the 50 was quieter (obviously).

Limiter is added on the master buss to get proper levels.

50 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 mini mix.mp3

100 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 100 mix.mp3

The 50 watt is definitely brighter comparatively.

Now,

here they are with a little bit of EQ in my DAW...Still the same miked tones. These to me sound pretty much the same:

50 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 50 eq mix.mp3

100 watt:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1160146/5150 100 eq mix.mp3


Mic was placed with using the 50 watt, so I'm sure that plays into it some, but overall I love both amps. the 50 watt's brightness makes it sit easier with less EQ overall. It also gets just as thick, but doesn't quite have the bark in the mids that the 100 watt has.

Wait a minute! Did you EQed only the 100 watt clip, or the 50 watt one too? Why there is such a big difference between first clips and almost no difference between second mixes?

 

[Tommy Evans]

Hmmmm,

None eq'd clips...I prefer 50 watts

But eq'd clips.. I prefer 100 watts.

I kinda have a feeling that if you adjusted the settings on the 100 watt amp to be a bit brighter, I would prefer it without eq as well.

This

 

[Robert W]

The 50 watt clips do sound noticeably better.

Often times when people post clips the difference between the tones is negligible, but in this case, the difference is clearly perceivable.

 

[Torgal]

Interesting comparison!

Here's the big question:
Would you have gotten the sound of clip "50 mix" if you had started with the 100W Version?

My guess is yes! You would have placed the mic more to the center to get the desired clear and bridght tone. This would have had the result that the 50W Version would have sounded too bright and you would have eq'd that sample down to the 100W versions tone.

So both amps are great, have the same tonestacks and can be tweaked to get the almost exact same sound, aren't they?

Could you please tell us the position of your resonance control on the 50W Version?

 

[GuitarHack]

I prefer the 50W Raw and EQ'd. The 100W EQ'd clip has some High-mid honk that I don't like in many of the 5153 100W recordings I have heard. The 50W clip has the mids focussed lower and sounds tighter in the low-end also, so to me sounds better overall. Great tone Nate!

 

[MatrixClaw]

I didn't really like either of the tones, but the 50w was definitely better. The 100w sounds like it has a blanket over it.

 

[006]

Wow, same thing here, the 50w wins IMO. I had said before they wouldn't sound the same, which they don't, but I didn't expect that I would prefer the 50w Very interesting...

 

[nwright]

The EQ'd settings are this:

and yes, I'd imagine if I had used the 100 watt to get the tone the 50 would have been brighter. Also, the volume knobs on both amps were set at the same point. Perhaps if the 100 watt was louder and more in the sweet spot it would have been brighter.

The point of the clips from the outset wasn't to try and get them sound as best they could, it was to set up a mic and run both amps to see how they are different. From that aspect, the differences are noticeable and would still be
"universal" regardless of mic position.

The EQ'd clips were then to illustrate that they can still be "made" to sound the same.

Resonance was at 3:00. You can run it full on and the amp still stays tight, and IMO as thick if not more so in the lows and low mids as the 100 watt. the 100 watt has more congested mids which makes it sound a bit fuller.

I've written on other boards that to me the 50 watt sounds more ripping while the 100 watt has more bark, if that makes sense. For people who have never liked the "known" 5150 type tones, the 100 watt would probably be more appealing since it's darker and would be perceived as being less fizzy. For 5150 "purists", it seems to me the 50 watt would be preferable.

Running both together is awesome, though, lol.

 

[nwright]

Damn! The 100w doesn't really sound like double the price.

There is no doubt that for some the added headroom will be preferred.

Also, the completely seperate channels would be desired by some as well.

The green channels are quite different in the gain department.

the 50 stays a LOT LOT cleaner across the gain knobs sweep. On the 100, you are into overdrive territory pretty much past 9:00 on the gain knob IMO, especially with anything above single coils. The 50 watt can stay pretty clean up past the halfway point on the gain knob, and with nuanced picking can stay clean with the gain almost cranked using single coils or low output HB's. Digging it will pull it into nice overdrive.

To me, if the changes made for the 50 watt were now ported over to the 100 watt, it would be VERY welcomed.

 

[SwambA]

I ordered my 50 watt last week, its on back order. After hearing these clips I'm even more excited to get it! I like the 50 watt better in both clips! I really didn't like my 6505+, so hope this amp doesn't disappoint.