EVH 5150 Iconic Series 40-watt 1 x 12-inch Tube Combo Amp - Ivory Reviews

I looked into this amp for many months and I don't regret my decision to buy it at all. No matter what tone you are looking for, it is going to produce an amazing sound. It gets unbelievably loud and I couldn't ask for a better, more versatile amp. If you are thinking about purchasing, do it!

Title says it all, this amp is an absolute beast. You won't even need any pedals with the built in gain channels, they turn this thing into a chug machine without being dialed much past 6. The noise gate cancels out most of the hiss you might get with single coil pickups, and the EQ is excellent. The only thing that isn't my favorite is the reverb, but the good outweigh the bad on that small complaint. I don't think I'll ever have the desire for anything else.

This amp rips and wide variety of tones! Great for home/stage/recording. Super solid and sturdy. Very well built. Highly recommend
Dan in CA

Extremely harmonic distortion that will please anyone from dirty blues to classic rock. Powerful tone controls that dial in your sound easily plus a nice reverb. If clean is what you want it can do that too with a gain control to bring it into a blues breakup !!! Channel one does have an overdrive button to give you classic rock and foot switch to channel two for lead work and a higher or lesser sound. Don't worry it's 40 watts of tube power is loud enough for anything live plus XLR speaker emulator out for the big stuff. Again, the hybrid preamp section has been well engineered and I have to restate how harmonic the distortion is in either channel. Here is a nice little secret and that is if you have a favorite speaker it will happily trade out the stock say with your favorite 12 inch Celestion !!!!! There is a speaker select switch for 4, 8, and 16 Ohm impedance. With a speaker change you can change the amp's flavor as tube power sections react beautifully with different speakers. There is a 1/4 power or full power selector switch which is nice for a softer blues feel or practice volume. Ed would be really happy with this addition to his legacy. I love the damned thing !!!!

I love it! I feel like I'm Eddie van Halen. Kinda misleading with the combo amp thing though. I was thinking it had multiple effects. but it's still awesome!

This is my first tube amp. I wanted a quality amp with big distortion and the 5150 iconic delivered. Even at 1/4 per this thing gets loud and nasty. Or dial it back and get some really good classic rock tones. A big thanks to Zack for his recommendation. He always steers me in the right direction for what I want.

I know that no one buys a 5150 for the cleans. But this amp just handles it all including the cleans. James brown knocked it out of the park with this one. Great amp!!!!!

Purchased from Sweetwater in February 2022. VERY happy with this amp. Admittedly, I've purchased and sold several amplifiers over the years. What can I say? I plan on keeping this one. Clean surf sounds - check. Boost for grit on the clean channel - no problem. Switch channels for a warm and beautiful overdrive. Endless sustain drifting into rock and roll feedback - check. Bottom line, I've never been happier to plug up and play!

My husband has used this company on many occasions and spoke very highly of them. I chose to order something for his Birthday through them and was completely amazed at how well the customer service was. They even kept the order a secret when they called to see how pleased I was with the purchase. The EVH 5150 Iconic Series 40-watt amp more than meets his expectations and absolutely loves his new toy. :) Thank you Sweetwater for bringing back one on one personal customer service.

My amp was delivered fast.
The amp sounds amazing. My first tube amp. I waited along time be able to buy a tube amp....Thank you Sweetwater and thank you EVH and Mr. Brown for designing a great amp.

This amp, what more can one say except to try one out and let the sonic bliss begin! I have had mine now for about 6 months and can say it is built like a tank and is endless range, from country licks to bluesy things on the green channel to just sick low end and it handles my pedals(An EHX expression pedal into an EHX Pitch Fork into a Grand Canyon) This amp just begs to be pushed and is addictive, you will find yourself playing a lot with this one. I have wanted a 5150 since childhood seeing them in magazines and things, just never could afford one until now. I can say it will stay with me and would be rescued in a house fire!

The 5150 Iconic is incredible but take your time adjusting to it. It has a wonderful Vox AC30/Fender Deluxe Reverb tone in the clean channel which also sounds amazing with my EVH 5150 chorus. But when you go into overdrive in either the green or red setting, you enter a cornucopia of gain! Both Green and Red have more than enough gain (7-9 o'clock for both red and green for me) using a minimal amount of boost. In the Green setting, with the help of my 5150 chorus, I can get similar tones with like Panama, Pretty Woman, Humans Being, Black and Blue and Runaround! And of course, the Red setting with my EVH Flanger and Phaser takes me in the classic VH1 through Fair Warning territory. The reverb is amazing, and I would describe it as like a clipped echoplex delay. The "burn" setting I am still working out and I am okay if I never really use it. The amp far exceeded my expectations and sits nicely alongside my Marshall DSL40CR, Vox AC30C1, Orange Rocker 32 and my Tweed Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Hot Rod. If I were asked to pick the best new amp of 2022, the 5150 Iconic would be my pick. Get it today!

Nothing could have prepared me for the absolute unit this turned out to be. The available gain in this amp is amazing. I've used it at four shows and I actually needed to turn it down. I usually have it at 3 for practice. The 1/4 output is also a nice option but still too loud to use it to practice at home.

Overall one of the best investments I've made for my music career.

It'll scream! Sweet tone versatility.. nice cleans.. and then..it's nasty capabilities are sugar toppings for the palate of taste buds for Distortion! My first tube amp.. it's responsiveness is nice.. good chugging response..nice low end.
thanks to Nolan Dye, my rep.. continued easy ordering and quick shipping from sweetwater

After owning more amps than I care to list over the years this one has nothing to compare to. You can easily get the most beautiful clean sounds as you can on its parent companies amps. The distortion channel is second to none. This amp gives the sounds it is supposed to. If you are looking for a great all around amp this is it.

This amp replaced a Marshall DSL40CR which I loved but I was seeking higher gain tones without having to depend on pedals. The Iconic 5150 looks sharp, its white enclosure really stands out yet blends in too. At first, I wasn't interested due to the initial bad rap it got from some YouTubers who poo-poo'd it for whatever reasons (country of manufacture, less tubes, who knows?), but I gave it a shot having tried the EVH 6L6 combo in the past that I didn't like.

The Iconic has a nice clean channel that, when pushed, goes into from a light to wild crunch. Then you get to that red channel and OMG, it's everything I need. Super high gain that can be pushed into higher gain with "burn" and "boost" controls too. Women will throw themselves at you, men will bow to you, your boss will finally give you that promotion that you deserve :)

What I love:
• Tone is insane
• Flexibility, yet simplicity
• Build quality seems solid, had my amp tech check it out too

What I don't like:
• Noise gate is lacking. You can activate it but expect to put another in the loop too
• Speaker was meh, I changed it for a Neo Creamback which did wonders and made the amp lighter too

Big thanks to Bob Furlong who is more than a sales engineer - he's my sherpa guiding me on my tone journey, my Yoda of tone, and he sends me candy in the mail too, so you gotta love him and Sweetwater :)

I bought this before people got smart raised the price on this thing. Absolute monster. Scan easily make anyones ears bleed. At 1/4 output and volume at a 3 it's loud enough to keep up with my band. Every feature on this is amazing. I am now an EVH fan for life.

I like this better than my 5153 2x12 combo. Great sound at low volume too. Of course, Sweetwater service is second than none. Every transaction with Evan has been positive.

First and foremost, this is an incredibly fun combo amp. Is got some heavy heavy gain and crunch, but also a surprisingly warm smooth clean channel. I've got a pile of other tube Amplifiers in this class, (Magnatone, Fender, Marshall, Blackstar), that cost roughly 2 or three times the amount of this unit. Let me tell you…This one holds its own and surpasses them in some ways. It handles pedals and the effects loop much better than some of its competitors.
You can really feel Edwards DNA here, and hats off to James Brown the amp crew really nailed this closed cabinet little beast!!
These 5150s are packed with features that you will actually use too, including the 1/4 volume switch, for small space practicing. I was blown away at how this completely retained my tone at a fraction of the volume.
Check it out for yourself, what have you got to lose on Sweetwater? If you don't love it send it back. I'm guessing you'll keep it.

This is an exceptionally fun & affordable tube amplifier with noticeable Edward DNA!!
Right out of the gate I was surprised at how much personality the clean channel exhibited. Every one of my guitars kept its voice...& the overdrive on this "green" channel is super duper expressive.
Channel 2 (red channel) is a tone monster resurrected from 1988, but with 2022 technology.
I can't get the gain past 7 without melting my eardrums. NICE!!
I live in an apartment, and so the 1/4 power switch in the back is a huge huge advantage for someone like myself. I was amazed at how it preserved the attack & nuanced tones when engaged.
The foot switch is flawless and quiet. Another surprising and delightful aspect of the sample fire, is it ability to work with pedals. Just exceptional!
Although I can sometimes hear the "closed cabinet" affect on its custom Celestion, this is also part of its sound aesthetic. And I truly dig that.
Besides there's NO way I can fault it's sturdiness and quality of build. This sucker is built like a tank and ready to gig.
James Brown has ABSOLUTELY succeeded here!! He truly injected this little beast with an unmistakable amount of Edward's DNA and tone legacy.
Get one...soon!!!

And long live the lord of the fretboard.

Where do I even begin?! This combo is absolutely massive sounding. I received a replacement because the first one has some issues which I won't get into…but the replacement sweetwater sent me is by far the best amp I've ever owned. Dont listen to any of the hate this amp has gotten. The green channel with the gain at about 1-2 o'clock is brutal sounding while still being clear and articulate. The red channel with the burn is just down right disrespectfull. And with being a bedroom shredder I LOVE that this amp has a 1/4 power switch so I can play all through the night without waking up the wife and kids. I haven't stopped playing this beast since I got it and I know if you buy one you won't be able to stop either. I give it a solid 9.5/10. My ONLY gripe with this amp is that my combo has a squeal sometimes but it does not affect its tone or anything else. I actually run my EHX Metal Muff in the front of it and it takes that squeal completely away and gives it nice little shove into sonic mayhem territory. This amp doesn't just do metal tones either. You can clean it up nicely and get a jazzy tone all the way to crystal clear clean tones. This will be a life long amp for me that will never leave my arsenal. Great job Eddie and EVH/Fender! Knocked it out of the park with this beauty!

This 5150 sounds beautiful. The spring reverb and clean is amazing. Put an OD in front of it to really make it sing.

The green channel is extremely versatile. The red channel chugs at all times.

This amp is heavy and well constructed. Top notch quality even if made in China.

Had a hate love thing going on with this amp, I was about to give up and decided to switch the speaker out with a creamback now I can't stop playing it. Get it and switch out the speaker you won't be disappointed.

I really like this amp for the styles I currently play. It has plenty of head room and nice crunchy gain. I've used and own Fender, Ampeg, Carvin, Blackstar, Peavey and Traynor Tube amps as well. This Iconic 5150 holds its own, and in the hard rock to metal genre, in my opinion, is as good or better than any of the amps I've listed with or without pedals. I play it straight with a wah and a separate boost pedal and I'm good to go for most covers. I use the green channel mostly with gain around 3-4 and roll the volume back for the cleans. If the gain is at 1 the cleans are much better but I like more gain, especially for solos. I'll keep the internal amp boost on most of the time and get some really good rock and blues tone. The red channel is really heavy and the Burn switch kicks it up some; has tons of low end too. Some of the tube purists don't like the ss circuit for the internal boost but it works for me with no issues. Great Amp!
Slam

The amp, sounds incredible but can not keep up with a drummer. It distorts a lot once volume is in 7but lower than that, it is such great amp.

I bought this amp a couple months ago. With less than 10 hours played on this amp I lost all sound right before a show. It did sound great when it was working, but you shouldn't have to repair an amp that quickly after buying it. The tubes also do not come with the Sweetwater service plan either.