Best cab to go for with an EVH 5150III 50w?

Punkyskunky

Punkyskunky

Engineer at Brett Brothers Studio
Mar 8, 2014
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Turkey
www.thomasbrettmixing.com
Hey guys, just discovered the forum this week and it's AMAZING how many golden tips i've found here :D

I play drums as well as doing the audio engineering/recording for my band, I'm fairly new to audio engineering (just under a year) so I am still trying to figure out the best amp/cab combination to go for...

I'm looking for a Machine head/lamb of god kind of sound rather than a Joey Sturgis/hardcore type of guitar sound, also our guitarist plays alot of clean guitar too. Since i'm on a limited budget the EVH 5150iii 50w seems like the best choice for an amp head that can also produce a good "clean" sound . Now I'm wondering what the best cab would be if I was to go for the EVH amp. I've checked out some mesa, orange, engl cabs and The matching EVH 2x12 Cab and honestly I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the choices available...

I've also been checking out the peavey 5150's and the 6505+ but have read that they aren't that great for clean guitar.

What do you guys recommend? Is the EVH 5150 the right choice for me? and if so what cab should I go for?

Sorry for my lack of technical speak :( and thanks for any replies in advance!
 
I don't think you can go wrong with a 5150 and a cab with V30 on it, that's the tried and true metal tone.
The 5150 III has a different tone compared to the original 5150/6505 but it should sound awesome either way.
 
Thanks NecroDM, I've been looking at all the different Peavey and EVH options and they all seem like great choices, but as I said the main reason I was thinking of the EVH is for it's clean sound as well as it's distorted sound...

Would i be better off going with a peavey 5150 - 6505 amp just for heavy guitar and get a completely different amp for clean?

Also more suggestions for cab choice are welcome!
 
+1 to Arthurs list!
Might want to add a Marshall 1960 with V30s too there.

Also I might want to add, that you don't really need to get the EVH just for the cleans. Don't get me wrong it's a great amp, but maybe you can use the funds more if you can get your hands on a used 5150/6505.
The cleans on those really are shitty, but you don't really need to mic up the cab and use the amps for them. lots of free ampsims do a really really good job for that.

EVH vs 5150/6505 vs 5150 II/6505+, think of it like:
Modern vs Brutal vs in between

generally and IMO at least.
EVH is by far the most versatile out of the bunch tho.
The LoG tone is a totally different beast too (Mesa Mark IV...or V? or III...no idea which one they used when exactly)
 
I have an Orange 2x12 with V30s and a Mesa OS 4x12 with V30s. Totally different sounding cabs. Close miking one speaker, it's night and day. Always hands down, the Mesa sounds better. You can find them cheap if you look hard enough. Welcome to the forums.
 
Thanks for the awesome replies guys! I've never really had much experience with real amps since I've always lived in an apartment so we've been using amp sims for all of our guitars (currently using the TSE x50 v2). The only amp we have is a small marshall Combo with a blown speaker (sounds terrible) and to be honest ANYTHING would be an improvement over it.

For the amp it's currently between the EVH and the 6506+ for me. Seems like for the cab all of you are recommending something with V30's but still not sure which one.

I have a few more questions: Do i really need a 4x12 if I'm not going to be using the amp for Loud gigs? and when it comes to recording is there much of a difference in sound between recording a 2x12 and a 4x12, is either one a better choice for recording guitars?

Still some research and deciding to do... but I think I'm getting close to choosing the right combination :D
 
Cabwise the Mesa 4x12 Oversize (=Mesa Boogie Rectifier Standard Cab -> http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Guitar Cabinets/RECTOcabs/Recto4x12SDst-LG.htm)
is hard to beat with those amps. Marshall 1960AV is nice with them too, but sounds totally different.
If you're not going to play live with it you can just get a straight one, no need for slant in that case (for all 4x12s)

2x12 sound a lot different under the mic than 4x12. They are smaller, so the bass response is a lot higher. They sound more direct and tighter, but also "smaller", because of the lower frequency range.
If you wanna go the really cheap cab route, try this one (if you can order from thomann)
https://www.thomann.de/at/harley_benton_g212_vintage.htm

it's ridiculous how nice that cab sounds (both in the room and under the mic),considering the price.
 
The reason i've been using amp sims is out of necessity rather than choice, I currently live in an apartment so can't make much noise :( but I will be moving soon!

I was actually considering getting an Axe Fx or a Kemper before I discovered how awesome real 5150's sound :D and although I love the idea of an Axe Fx or a Kemper I think i'd rather have the real thing, all the versions of the 5150 look so awesome!!!

Extra question: what's the difference between a slanted 4x12 and a straight one? Sorry... I know these are total NOOB questions but there's so much I need to learn!!
 
Ah, so there's no difference in the actual sound between the slanted and straight versions? Also I understand that the 4x12 sounds "bigger" and the 2x12 sounds "tighter", but if I was to choose between them based on which would be better from a recording aspect then which one do you guys think would be the better choice for me? or is it all dependant on the music that I plan to use them for? I can post some of our song demos if that would help...

Thanks for all the great advice btw, it's very helpful :D
 
I havent compared side by side. But i can imagine the 2 x 12 sounding different in the room, but close mic'd at proper recording volumes shouldn't yield drastically different results. Especially after the eq is rolled off. I would get the 2 x 12 just based on cost savings.
 
^by that logic all v30 cabs would have to sound the same, which they clearly don't.

I'd take a 4x12 for most metal type of stuff.


One thing to keep in mind tho, if you've never had a real amp plus cab and only started out Audio Engineering, then chances are your mic'ed tones will be worse than the ones you pulled out of x50 and impulses...not saying they have to be sucky from the start, but usually it takes a healthy amount of time to develop the right ear to be able to tell where the mic sounds good on a cab....

So after considering this I'd strongly recommend you a Kemper. It does sound insanly close to the real deal, and you won't have to choose between the 5150s, cause you can have all of them ^^

if you're not also wanting the amp and cab play through a cranked setup, that is.
 
Thanks for the reply Mago. I'm aware that anything I attempt to record initially will probably sound like crap, but I also think I would gain a lot of experience with mics and ear training by going through the process of trying to improve my guitar sounds. I'd rather jump in at the deep end and try to learn how to get a decent tone out of a real cab sooner than later, or 5 years from now I might STILL be relying on presets for my tones.
 
Mago said:
^by that logic all v30 cabs would have to sound the same, which they clearly don't.

I'd take a 4x12 for most metal type of stuff.


One thing to keep in mind tho, if you've never had a real amp plus cab and only started out Audio Engineering, then chances are your mic'ed tones will be worse than the ones you pulled out of x50 and impulses...not saying they have to be sucky from the start, but usually it takes a healthy amount of time to develop the right ear to be able to tell where the mic sounds good on a cab....

So after considering this I'd strongly recommend you a Kemper. It does sound insanly close to the real deal, and you won't have to choose between the 5150s, cause you can have all of them ^^

if you're not also wanting the amp and cab play through a cranked setup, that is.
Click to expand...

By what logic??? I've used a mesa 4 x 12 and 2 x 12 and found they sounded very similar. Almost identical mic'd with a 57. Perhaps your experience was different, i don't think questioning my logic was necessary. And i stick to my opinion. If i was looking to record a great cab at a good price, the mesa 2 x 12 has my vote.
 
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