EVH 5150 Series Standard Electric Guitar - Neon Pink with Maple Fingerboard Reviews

One String thickness these pickups rock. Simple and elegant. Its like a Ferrari that is a Guitar!
I love this guitar so much. I dream about it when I leave and wake to play it. Eddie did all the work(RIP) and it came set up perfectly. Fat frets easy to maneuver up and down the fretboard. The sexiest eye catching pink color! Floyd Rose is nice on this Guitar and that was my biggest worry. Again, Eddie (RIP) dialed it in and its so very well engineered. Made in Mexico with Quality! This is the Guitar from Heaven!

I have now had this wonderful instrument for four months and one week, and I can tell you that this guitar is truly *almost* perfect.

First, the good.

The color is great, unexpectedly more of a neon hot pink than what my eyes saw in the pictures. So it may not be quite as "pink" as you might expect, the neck feels fantastic, thanks to the satin finish. The pickups sound excellent either with distortion or clean tones, and I've been able to get a wide range of sounds out of this surprisingly versatile guitar. The kill switch is a fun novelty, but not exactly as useful as I'd thought (from listening to way too much buckethead). The tremolo is a beautiful polished chrome, and it really stands out on the pink body, astride the light maple neck. This guitar is very pleasant to look at, and the pink is just unusual enough to be fun/annoying depending on where you play it, if it's not mistaken for red, which does happen surprisingly frequently. I had some trepidation about the top-mount tremolo system, but after using it, this is the absolute BEST way to have a Floyd rose - the tuning stability is rock solid, and the d-tuna wouldn't work otherwise. Speaking of the d-tuna, what an awesome little invention! Being able to swap between tunings instantly is extremely handy, and really allows for an impressive range of sounds - and not just metal! This also compensates more than adequately for the 22 frets, for those of us more accustomed to 24 fret guitars. The volume and tone knobs are excellent, as are the functions of said knobs. Very high quality, the volume in particular rolls effortlessly. I don't know that I've played another guitar that had such an impactful tone knob, if that makes sense. It really can radically change the sound, particularly on the neck pickup. Speaking of tone, this guitar really does sound as good as it looks.

Now, the bad.

The pickup selector switch is kind of crap. Occasionally, the switching will result in a "dead" pickup, and just like a toilet, you'll need to jiggle the handle (switch) to get it working again. I know this is fixable, but it's something to be aware of. Also, in my personal opinion, the places occupied by the kill switch and pickup selector should be inverted. It is very, very easy to accidentally bump the selector switch and unexpectedly change your entire sound. The fasteners that hold the strap are also kind of garbage, and the screws tend to slip out without too much abuse. A bit of wood glue can fix this, but it's still annoying, and surprising, considering how good the instrument is otherwise. I suppose your mileage may vary on these gripes.

Bottom line: this guitar looks great, sounds great, is versatile, and it's a great value, but be aware of some potential slight issues with design choices and quality.

I started playing guitar in the early 80s, and like a lot of guys from my generation Eddie was the undisputed king and will always have a special place in our hearts. While both the red and white striped Frankie and 5150 push my buttons, they are a little too "fan boy" for my taste. Over the years I had personally become more of a Les Paul guy. When I came across a mint conditioned used 2019 model primer grey 5150 Standard at a pawn shop I had to have it. In short, this guitar has blown my mind. I own a lot of high end guitars, and I gig for a living, but the EVH 5150 Standard has become my weapon of choice. Many a night I have brought a Les Paul to a gig, though it sits in the stand while I play the 5150 Standard all night.

These are the exemplary merits of the 5150 Standard:

*The neck is ultra comfortable. It does not fight you whatsoever. The fretwork is impeccable. The action can go as low as you would possibly want to set it with fretting out on bends.
*The pickups are strong but tonefull. Very clear, yet never shrill, brittle, or harsh.
*The pups are extremely responsive to backing off the volume knob, going from fat saturated sustain to spanky, clear, cleanish tones with ease.
*The tone knob allows varied voices, including a wicked "woman tone."
*Tuning is rock solid.
*Light as a feather (for a guy used to hoisting a Les Paul for 3+ hours a night).

My original review was much more favorable, but now that I've had the opportunity to try something comparable, it certainly has lost some of its luster. In this case, I'd recommend a Kramer '84 - and that's what I'm comparing this to. The 84 is basically better in every way, the electronics are better, the neck is better, the frets are better, even the Floyd is better. I don't abuse my instruments -- I even play with a light touch hahah. A couple of days ago though, the top strap button just popped out of this guitar, and the hole is totally stripped. Fixed it with some gorilla glue, but still. Also, and probably my biggest complaint is the switching and the neck pickup. There's clearly something loose in there, and I'll probably need to resolder some connections, which isn't a big deal, however I only have one other guitar that gives me any problems, so it stands out to me.

Don't get me wrong, this guitar looks great, and the pickups sound good when they're not crapping out. On its own, this is a pretty good guitar. However, for...less money, actually, you can get a guitar that is vastly superior. It's possible I got one that just slipped through the cracks on QC, but this is my updated 2 cents.