MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive Pedal Reviews

I've tried so many different overdrive and distortion pedals over the years. Never really found one I was crazy about. Well not anymore. Cranked this through my 40 watt 12" Blues Deluxe. So good. Runs the gamut from dirty blues, to hard rock crunch, to very heavy. Built-in noise gate is a nice added feature. It is a dial, so adjustable. The Boost button is nice as well. You can get it with your foot. Nice if you need a tiny bump for a solo, rather than playing with your guitar volume on 8'ish and dialing up for a solo. Personal preference, of course. Always nice to have options.

I've had so many different OD pedals going in and out of my rig, but this one will forever stay. The smart noise gate is an awesome feature that I think every rock/metal guitarist needs to get rid of that unwanted hiss.

If you are looking for a great distortion pedal here it is. I have a lot of pedals and this one stands out in a great way. You have so much control over the sound it makes this pedal very versatile.

I actually sent this back, not because it was bad, it's amazing, but when I was playing last gig and clicking between this and the dirt channel on my mesa with the settings I had, it was so close I'm like......why do I have this pedal haha, I just basically didn't need it. Definitely an amazing pedal, would highly recommend if your amp doesn't have the gain you are looking for

I run my 5150 pedal though a 40 Fender deluxe on the clean channel cranked to about 7. Volume controlled with a Bugera power soak. Can't beat it! Just FYI, check out a hand wired TS9. It is also a nice addition. I feel the Fender deluxe 40 is an excellent amp for pedals or, just cranking the tubes. Sounds awesome either way.

I love the blue channel in my EVH 5150III 6L6. When I found out this was modeled after it I was too interested not to take the chance. I ran it through a couple different clean Fender amps and found it to be a very usable gain pedal. I'm a classic rock guy for the most part and with the gain around 9oclock its very good overdrive and cleans nicely when volume is brought down on the guitar. Is it the exact same as my amp? No. But it's very close. And it isn't apples to apples as I tried it with 2x12 and 2x10 combos and my EVH head is through a 4x12 cab. All said and done the only change I would have on it is to have the boost button be a foot button to put on and off. But that's it. I like it so much I just ordered the EVH Chorus as well. My advise to you is if your looking this close at it buy it.

Eddie Van Halen, in a tiny little box. Guaranteed. Truly amazing.
But it's more than just EVH in a box. Boost gives me extra dynamics and volume where I want it, and the noise gate works as well as a stand alone pedal. It is also super responsive to my picking attack, which I love. And when I was able to easily dial in those dirty electric blues tones that I've loved for decades, I knew it was a keeper.
Thank you to my Sales Engineer Ryan Arteaga, who not only helped me with my power concerns, but also gave me an unexpected weekend with it because he got it shipped out so fast. Thanks, Ryan! Sweetwater Customer For Life.

Great pedal, pretty versatile imo

Achieved the tone I had been looking for. Using on a Fender 68 Custom, as "Death on the Pedalboard", my lowly opinion only. Can and Will, call up "The Old Ones", in a moment notice! Minuscule settings on the Bogner Uberschall pedal and EQ, will take you where you want to go with this pedal.

I've been tone chasing for a while now. I have 4 overdrive pedals, and each serve a different purpose. However, I haven't been able to find the perfect "blow the roof off" distortion that sounded good to my ear. I was looking for something that was crunchy, but clean and defined (both on the upper end lead runs, as well as when palm muting). This pedal does exactly that. I'm using a PRS SE Zach Myers into a Fender Champion 100 on the clean channel. Hit it with a little chorus, and it has a perfect early EVH sound. I've played some other 80's/90's metal (think GNR, Scorpions, etc.) through it, and it sounds awesome!! SO glad I found this pedal. Really nice to get that full cranked stack sound out of a $ purchase.

This EVH pedal allows me to dial in tones I cannot get from other overdrive pedals. Honestly, this overdrive is more like a high-gain amp! The EVH brand is known for Eds "sound". This pedal can get you there if you want it. Try one out. You won't be disappointed.

I purchased the EVH 5150 pedal a few weeks ago. It has a great sound with great features. I love the adjustable noise gate. It allows use of heavy overdrive with a limit on noise overrun.
Thank you to Joe Shafer for all of the help, as usual, he has come through for me, as always.

Many great tones from a single pedal. I run my amp clean channel and this pedal serves up all the metal gain and tone I need!

Nice tone. Can tap without volume increase
Rugged for the road.

This is my first try at using any pedals and I'm glad. The EVH 5150 overdrive is awesome!
Was not looking to find EVH's tone just my own and I found it! Still playing with different settings
but if you're thinking about one get out! I'm running mine in the front and not using the loop.
EVH R.I.P another great product from the world's greatest guitarist.

This is my first try at using pedals and it was a bit of trial & error but once I got it right
I was amazed! I ran my delay & reverb thru send and return and the EVH overdrive up front and I'm
thrilled! Still trying different settings on the EVH Overdrive but I'm having a blast. So many more
tones to choose from. The built in noise gate really helps. Thank You Edward R.I.P.

MXR makes some great pedals that you'll find on many pedal boards and this 5150 is no exception great OD tones from crunch to growl and noise gate works as advertised and the boost gives it a little gain all in all a good pedal to me but a bit costly if your a big EVH fan then this pedal is for you to me there's a lot of OD pedals out there that will cost less and sound just as good as this stomp box and as always thru out the years of doing business with Sweetwater there the best in the business thanks Larry and the shipping team they are the best

I have been chasing the EVH tone for as long as I can remember, but I have never had the money to assemble his entire rig. Also, I play small clubs with limited space for the band to set up, therefore I have used many different modeling pedals, distortion pedals, modeling amps, etc. to approximate Eddie's sound with limited success. I recently purchased the MXR EVH 5150 and it is really amazing. I use an early '90s G&L Legacy with Lace sensors and a Fender Hotrod Deluxe as my platform because my band plays many styles of music. The EVH 5150 along with a delay pedal turns my relatively clean bright tone into that thick, rich EVH tone that I have loved since 1977. I use an MXR Microamp to make my guitar signal a bit hotter than standard single coil pickups. I have never been so impressed with a pedal delivering exactly what it promises. You can dial in anything from VAN Halen I and II to OU812 with this pedal. I think Mr. Van Halen put his stamp of approval on it because it is the closest thing to his tone you could ever get in a stomp box. Get one, you'll be glad you did.

Leave it to the master to put his sounds into a little black box!! Simply awesome!!!...

Harmonically rich creamy noise free distortion at bedroom volume. Only sound I've ever wanted. Gain barely at 10 o'clock, always on. Brings out the dark soul in my tele's Nocaster coils without sacrificing any of the shine. And zero buzz!

One of the most versatile distortion pedal out there
Dial in classic crunch or get close to Evh or blast into modern metal — place eq after this pedal and boom it's heaven

I put this pedal off my super clean channel & it just cranks. Great sustain and it actually opened up my playing where I took chances I normally would not go!

I'm not as much of a pedal junkie I mainly like the pedals that make a difference and this does. I will never need another Overdrive/Distortion ( unless I attempt ( keyword attempt ) to build my own based on this with a couple of extra features ) Eddie deserves his wings for this alone ( among other things he was a hero and an angel for this ) a total difference maker . The first track I ever recorded with it .

Great sounds

I love this and I have been searching for something user friendly. This will give you the drive you need and still have clarity.

The 5150 blue channel in a box!!

As it is a preamp circuit I found that it really runs very well feed into the return of the effects loop of my Katana Mk2 100 watt amp.

When feed into the frount of the amp; you have to experiment with the clean or acoustic channels on the Katana.

Running the pedal into a power amp with other pedals seems to be the best way to my ears, with the gear that I have at this time.

Eddie gave me his amp tech's phone number to modify my Marshalls and HiWatts. I had them ALL modded, so I am very familiar with that sound, and responsive "feel."

This pedal comes very close to that signature sound. The EQ let's you use this in front of any decent amp, tube or Solid state. Noise gate is very simple yet effective. Tone controls are intuitive and sound "right."

It's my favorite "go-to" pedal for sessions and jams because it makes ANY amp / guitar combination sound GREAT, and takes only seconds to adjust.

If your looking for a pedal that can give you a your about to get rocked sound this pedal is for you. Even if your not a big EVH fan this pedal is a great tool to have in your tool kit. The demo videos do not do it any justice. Sounds great, regardless if your playing VH to Band Maid!!

I have the 5150IIIs 50w amp with analog pedals to play with, my issue is that in order to sound really nice needs to be played a bit loud, and use it in the house with a new born is difficult, so bought this overdrive to give it a try with a solid state marshall, and it is so nice, so great! EVH gear is really the best!!

I am saying this is the Best Overdrive pedal out there hands down. Eddie really made his stuff with the heart and soul. I never heard any better out there on the market or even custom. On top of the fact that Sweetwater is amazing and didn't make me wait a month for it. Love to both. R.I.P Mr Edward Van Halen.

Wow!!! Thanks Chris Kress & Sweetwaterr again for a great deal that most importantly has made me very happy. Lifelong hard rock guitarist with a Les Paul and a few Charvel guitars (Demartini snakeskin) and using this pedal with my Marshall DSL40 like a few other reviewers. And it's all true!!! Amazing instant sound & tone. This "tone chasing" for me has pretty much ended here.It puts the Marshall's own gain/distortion sound to shame. From playing Van Halen, Ratt and Judas Priest to Scorpions, this 5150 Overdrive is just fantastic. It solved my problem of wanting to find a more "metal" creamy sizzling sound with this amplifier. Buy one before they are out of production. Enjoy... BW

This can do a nice old school Slayer or Anthrax sound, if that's your thing.

If you have ever been into the "Brown Sound" then this is a must have in your effects. Thanks Sweetwater. Thanks Brian Hughes. Thanks MXR. Crank it to 11. Peace to my brothers and sisters of tone.

I put this directly through the clean channel on my Marshall and all I can say is that is everything I expected and more. MXR and EVH have crafted something excellent.

I have always played tube amps that have plenty of gain on tap. I am 54 years old and had not owned, used or needed an overdrive or distortion pedal since I was in my teens!
I decided to experiment with the concept of running an OD into a clean amp because I see so many players doing that.
Long story short I chose the MXR EVH 5150 pedal, set everything at noon with the extra boost disengaged and ran it into a solid state amp set clean. I have not changed anything on the pedal since that first moment!
Maybe I'm just lucky but this sounds exactly the same as my Peavey 6505 heads that I have been using for years...and I am a Peavey endorser!

Awesome pedal. Instant satisfaction. The added eq is veey interactive and makes it easy to dial in a great tone. The gate is also very versatile and doesnt get in the way of the player. Very quiet even wheb cranked. The only suggestion I would have is relocating the in/out jacks to the side instead of front. Makes it difficult to bend cables around when placed on a pedal board.

Great sounds, very flexible. EVH Rocks

This isn't a subtle pedal, it will take over your rig but it does it tonefully (I don't think that's a real word but maybe it should be).

Seriously though, you can't dial this thing down to make it sound like a Tube Screamer or get slight grit, it starts off at a JTM 45 on the verge of a meltdown then when turned up, it powers through modded JCM 800 territory and goes into full on 90s compressed Djent.

It's a great pedal with a bright top end sheen and tight bass so it cuts through great. The built-in adjustable noise gate works better than my outboard noise gate does.

If you like the Eddie Marshall/Peavey/EVH amp sounds then this pedal should make you happy. However, if you want to add a little grit to your rockabilly solo, I'd suggest you look elsewhere.

This overdrive pedal is just absolutely amazing!!! Love everything about it and sounds killer through my Marshall DSL amp!!! Highly recommend!!!

I’ve been a fan of Brown Sound chasing for years and years. This isn’t really vintage Brown. It’s a muscle car of smooth yet giant distortion. The boost is more subtle than I thought it would be, but it’s an addictive glue.

The demos I’ve heard were enough to convince me to try it, but I didn’t expect to like it this much.

This is one bad*** pedal. Running through a Marshall DSL40 and is super responsive. This is the real deal. This is the best overdrive to come out in years. I've used several overdrive pedals over the years, most of them get muddy as you raise the gain this one is really clean and articulate no matter how hard you push it. Thumbs up to Matthew he went the extra mile for me on this one.

This the second time i bought this pedal , so imagine how much it hurt to realize my mistake when i sold it the first time. This pedal sounds good anywhere! Loves and Impulse responses straight to a DAW or P.A. It has its own noise gate and boost function , both extremely usable and worth having . Its truly a must have in any pedal collection.

This pedal is the last distortion I will be buying for a while. I use it for punk, thrash metal, and just general riffage. It is tight, chunky, and has plenty of gain available. The three band eq is very responsive and just about every setting sounds good. I can't make this thing sound bad. It is truly an amp in a box. It also has creamy lead sound on my PRS SE 245. It has replaced the need for most of my dirt boxes. The price is hefty but I promise it's a worthwhile investment. The boost and noise gate are also useful features. The noise gate kills the noise after you stop playing and disengages while you are playing. The boost is not a volume boost but saturates the gain in a beautiful way. This is worth the money.

I just got mine last week, and might I add my sales rep Dan Robinson is the best! I've never actually played through a 5150 amp but being a fan of Eddie's for years and knowing his tone I can say this get's you there surprisingly well. No bad settings at all on this thing and the built in Smart Gate is a great feature. Thanks Eddie!

This pedal is simply awesome. I'm a noob on guitar but I've played drums and bass for many years in metal bands. So I have heard MANY different 5150's. Different brands, different models, etc. This pedal does a great job nailing that distorted sound. I do not use it on lower gain settings. It comes very close to the beloved high gain of the EVH and Peavey amps I've been playing beside for so long. I've been using it on the clean channel of a 10 inch practice amp and it sounds great on ALL settings. The EQ section is nice, the noise gate is nice and smooth, and the boost switch is really unique. Rather than really boosting volume, it adds some extra gain and compression which I find makes all that dirt sound cleaner or perhaps clearer. Overall this pedal is everything I wanted it to be.

This pedal did not disappoint, very good quality distortion, articulate, useful, and a really nice gate that works well with the pedal circuit. Just downright fun to play. I have never been a mimic of EVH, or anyone outside of maybe Pagey, but this puppy will have you goofing on those old riffs that smoked our brains when we first heard them.

Wow!!!!! All the OD I could possibly need! Thanks Again to my friend TY at Sweetwater!

Lead solo tone=yes

Wow! This pedal definitely gets you into Van Halen territory! This pedal has tons of overdrive! I use this with a Mesa Boogie tube amp and it pushes this amp over the top! If you want the "Brown" sound it's in this little Black box! I've tried this pedal thru a couple of other rigs and you do need to experiment with it to get it dialed in, but it's pretty easy to dial in. If you're into Eddie Van Halen and want to get as close as possible to his sound then I would give this pedal a shot!

This pedal is so much more than overdrive. I can dial in any distortion im looking for. I love huge gain with a lot of thickness and cranked up, the gate stops any noise between palm muting and thick heavy chugging. I can also get a beautiful crisp, compressed, lead boost with it. I cant recommend this enough, no matter what drive u are looking for.

Don't look anywhere else. The best distorion pedal ever. Goes from vintage to the hardest modern metal sounds anywhere. Sounds better than even most built in distorions in many tube amps. Puts them all to shame including the VH4, except VH4 is in a completely different sound and merrits its own category. The only better sounding distorion would be from a Diezel Herbert but if you have money for that then you should not be looking at dist pedals. Otherwise, this is the end of all distortion pedals.

First and foremost, Sweetwater sales rep, Clint is outstanding ! Killer customer service and excellent communication. Thank you Clint!!!

The EVH 5150 overdrive is a must have for guitar players, EVH heads, and tone hunting! This pedal delivers !! It is Truly an EVH amp in a pedal. And is does an outstanding job of coming close to replicating a couple of my Marshall heads!

Love it!!!
Thanks Sweetwater

Amazing unique sound, definitely as close as you can get to Eddie’s tone

Everyone, but most importantly Lindsey Becker makes sure your purchase is full of care and respect never treating you like you business doesn't matter. I live in California and pass GC everyday on my way home but chose Sweetwater because they always treat me like I am Edward Van Halen himself. Customer for life!!!

I love this pedal.noisegate is Awseme

This OD pedal is a high gain, tone monster! I absolutely LOVE this pedal! The gain, bass, mid, and treble controls are extremely sensitive.... one small adjustment changes the tone dramatically so the pedal is highly adaptable to whatever style music you play. I run this pedal through my Bugera 120w tube head as well as my 30 year old Peavey Bandit 65 and it sounds amazing through either one. You can easily dial in Eddie's tone within minutes of plugging into this thing. The built in boost and noise gates work flawlessly and are like icing on the cake. It looks cool with the iconic EVH stripes and is extremely well built as MXR pedals always have been. I highly recommend this pedal! Buy one and you'll be amazed at how good it sounds!

This pedal is a high gain tone beast! I use it through my Bugera 1990 Infinium head through a Marshall 4×12 and it gives me that intense metal tone I've been searching for for a long long time! This thing is worth every penny I paid for it..... BUY ONE NOW!

This thing is rock solid, sounds incredible. I've paired it with a Mesa TA-15 head, and my EVH Wolfgang, and it sounds incredible!! Love the "Gate" feature which silences everything when not playing at loud volumes. Being able to dial in the EQ adds functionality to your amp if you only have a "tone" knob.
Killer gain!

I don't write reviews but had to for this pedal. If you use pedals or can only afford 1 this is a must have. It does just about everything and the sound combinations are brilliant. Worth every penny and then some.

This is the very best effects pedal I have ever purchased in my life!! It really does so much and gives you the most for your money!!

So my Sweetwater guy talked me into buying this pedal because he was listening to me and got what I was going for ... he basically said, "This is the pedal you want to try. I promise, you won't send it back." So, I bought it a few months back.

First impression: Wow, this thing is really great. I hope the love doesn't wear off after a while.

A few months in: This thing is still really great. I should put it on my gig rig.

Tonight: This thing is still SO freakin' impressive. I need write a review for those who are wondering. Put down the guitar and start typing.

I recommend that you play with the knobs; it does so many tones well. I'm sure I'll chase more distortion/drive pedals in the future, but this one is special. It does its job really, really well.

FWIW, I use it with my Fender and VOX, not my EVH 50W head. The head doesn't need this pedal. It's best suited for a clean (or on the edge of dirt) amp when you want to add a "gainy" tone.

Okay, I feel better now that I've shared my thoughts. Time to go back to playing (and using the pedal).

I hope you find this helpful. If lost or stolen, I'd go out and buy another without hesitation. Oh, one last thing; my Sweetwater guy was right and thanks Mike!

well I loved it so much this will be my second one...my first was stolen...LOVE IT!!!

This is it ! The one pedal that truly does all that it is supposed to do to recreate Eddie's tone, especially from the first two albums but also just a liitle more suble/refined in reference to the rest of their albums. The two most important things to remember about this pedal is to use use a "TOTALLY CLEAN CHANNEL ONLY" on your amp with Volume at about 2 o'clock and Low to Mid Gain if you have that setting.The sound from your amp with the guitar volume all the way up must sound totally clean with NO distortion at all; then add your additioanal effects pedals from there; Reverb, Delay, Phaser, Flanger Wah etc. A tube amp with spring reverb added or already on board works best. But it still sounds great on non-tube amps. 5150 Pedal EQ settings - BASS at 2 O'clock, Mids at 12, Treble at between 1 and 4 depending on the pickup you are using. The Frankenstein pickup will be brighter and by nature more "trebly" than the Wolfgang Bridge pickup and so you will need to back off on that to about 12 or 1 o'clock. The Gain settings are very responsive - anything between 11 and 1 o'clock should work just fine and the Output control is incredible. I just can't picture anyone needing it past 12 or 1 o'clock as it would be just insane after that. The Boost button also works exactly like it's supposed to and really makes harmonics and sustain sparkle.The noise gate works great - I found it works best between 9 and 12 o'clock but I use little or none of it as I like my tone very raw and untamed. But it works great if you need it to tame hiss etc.I really wish this pedal existed a long time ago - This IS THE ONE folks. You will not be dissappointed and remember; everything is about "Adjustment, Adjustment, Adjustment" !!! If it doesn't sound right to you , then SOMETHING needs to be adjusted. I am a Huge Die Hard Fan !!! Happy Van Halen-ing

I don't know how they did it, but they managed to make this pedal sound exactly like the blue channel on the 5150. The gate works fantastically and is very natural-sounding, and the boost adds just the right amount of compression to the overall signal.

I buy "boutique-like" pedals according to the quality of their sound.

Nuff said.

There are a million pedals out there that claim to be EVH in a box but somewhere they always lack. Others claim to be the amp in a box and again fall short somewhere. This is not an overdrive. While it can overdrive its really a high gain amp in a box. This is as close to if not better than a marshall in a box. Nothing on the market comes close to this thing it sings it breathes. Noise gate, boost, and the distortion its literally 3 pedals in one. This is the secret weapon you have been looking for. Take this and play any clean amp and have the pure clean tone and when everyone is relaxed throw this baby on and scare them all without needing a stack.

Play it through a blackstar ht40.....has pushed my zoom hyperlead off the board (not a small feat lol ). Great overdrive and distortion sounds. Well voiced eq. ...gets the van Halen sound but not a 1 trick pony. ....

This MXR EVH 5150 OVERDRIVE /BOOST IS INSANE!

THANK YOU RYAN CLAPPER!!!!

Great pedal. It hits the newer VH Tones or more modern tones if that Makes sense. I've never played through a VH amp so I cant compare the gain. Ive played several other pedals....wampler...JHS....Caitlinbread....ALL put out great gear. Tone is subjective to each of us , our ears may hear things a little different. The BOOST button gives you a slight bump , not overly dramatic causing feed back etc....The noise gate is a nice subtle feature to take away some feedback you may get.
I am a hobbyist...no band...no studio....just really like trying different pedals. I played this pedal through a Jimmy Vaugh n Strat loaded with Frailin Blues Special Pick-ups. Also used A Reverend Kingbolt.
I use A Dr Z Z28. The quality is awesome. The tone and controls can give you various tones.
The Gain is really quite good but not much different when pushed past 3 o'clock. The pedal is quite good even with the gain set very low. I am impressed. My Strat really likes this pedal and comes alive.
The Reverend also sounds great. The note definition in my set up sounds really really good even at hi gain. Nice Clear and punchy chords without any fuzz or to much compression or mushiness. I like it. I'll keep it.
SWEETWATER SERVICE......SECOND TO NONE! Great Communication. Ty was very helpful and professional in following up on the order and delivery was fast.....Thanks

Ever since I got this beauty I don't even bother with my Gain channel. You can get all the Eddie squeals and harmonics easily with this. It beefs my statocaster's sound 3 fold but yet the soundgate prevents the crazy feedback you get with single coils. This is no gimmick-this is the real deal and worth it!!

I actually use this pedal with a 50 watt evh head. Because of the volume jump from channel 1 to channel 2 I was having a hard time switching. This pedal does an amazing job of replicating the exact tone of channel 2 and I am very pleased with it!

So i bought this pedal both out of wanting to treat myself after my first paycheck and the necessity an upcoming show where i didn't want to have to play tapdance with my amp and the overdrive to get the high gain to clean tones. I heard a buch of different reviews and decided I might as well. Once i got the pedal, i quickly plugged it into a friends amp because i wasn't staying at home at the time, and he said "If it can make that amp sound good, it's worth it." So we plugged it all up, and wow. It roars. He was blown away that his solid state Ibanez head had this ballsy of a sound. so i eventually get to plug it up with my rig, a Peavey Valveking 100 watt tube head, and quickly found some of the best tones coming from that amp. not only that, but the built-in noise is really great and blew my expectations out of the water. i have to turn it all the way up, but it does work much better than i expected. It's really easy to get a good tone out of this thing no matter what amp/guitar you're using (I used both standard tuned 6 strings to 7 strings in drop F#), and it's for sure the best distortion pedal i've heard. and yes, it does djent.

After many pedals, and gimmicks, FINALLY, we have a bonafide distortion pedal that delivers the goods. EVH 5150 Overdrive in short is pure TNT dynamite. Put this pedal in front of a tube amp: magic! Put this pedal in front of a solid state amp: incredible! EVH 5150 Overdrive! Nothing more need be said: buy it, get it, use it, and enjoy the mojo - it's for real folks!

If you have searched for the "brown sound" of Mr. Van Halen, heard numerous promises only to be disappointed after purchase, spent tireless hours spinning knobs in a fury of frustration, sunk precious coin into "mods" conducted by snake oil salesman, then you are likely a member of a large club of sad musicians who are then infuriated by pretentious posers who claim: "Well I told you so - it is all in the fingers." Well boys and girls your quest for the grail is over! This, as the heading states, is the real deal! After reading recent reviews in Guitar Player and Guitar World, I was still skeptical. However, after setting this monster of a box at high noon (as directed in GP) and the gain at 11:00, I too lost my mind. This is simply the sound of Mr. Van Halen on record. Every nuance, every subtle characteristic, every ethereal mojo of the brown is in this little box. Set your amp to the cleanest setting, add the delay, and Van Halen nirvana awaits. I am not kidding - it is that good. Do yourself a favor and buy it now. You will not be disappointed. If you wish a longer review, then please see the Guitar Player account as it is spot on. Now where the heck is my singer?

I was a lil underwhelmed when this pedal first came out. Eddie has contributed greatly to guitar and guitar gear, but I was skeptical because I thought it was just Eddie's tone in a box. A few days ago, I decided to demo this pedal at my local music store in Omaha just for kicks. Turns out it was A LOT better than I expected. Like the Flanger from MXR, it does take some experimentation to find the right sound for you. What that means, however, is that this pedal can adapt to any player's rig, whether you like Eddie Van Halen or not.

I was originally going to buy the GT-OD, but for the tone I was using on it in conjunction with the amp settings I was using it sounded to shrill in the high end. On the amp, I had the gain at 3:00, the bass at 2:00, and the mid and treble maxed out. At first, the pedal almost sounded too gainy, even with the built in noise gate (which is a smart touch). I then tried backing down the gain to 2:00, the bass to 1:00, and the mid and treble to 3:00. I learned from Collin of CS Guitars to tune your tone and gain to where it just starts to cut through or reach the level you want (check out his YouTube channel of you have not, it's full of great tips and tricks for guitar players). I was then able to get a great tone from this pedal that literally fit me like a glove, giving me just the amount of drive and tone control I needed. Plus, the boost added just the right kind and amount of harmonics without piercing my ears.

MXR has once again blown me away with their simplistic, no nonsense approach. This overdrive can adapt to anything you throw at it. Plus, it just needs 9 volts. If you expect that magic pill to cure your tone, this ain't it. However, if you spend some time with this you will not be disappointed.

Van Halen 1&2 in a box!!!. I couldn't be happier. Thanks Sweetwater for this rockin' pedal.

I had hoped this new EVH 5150 Overdrive pedal would be at least decent, but it went along with all the other EVH gear I have, (5150III, Wolfgang, Stripe, phaser, etc.), so when it was released, I was getting it either way. After receiving it, and playing it through a lesser amp, I could not stop smiling. There is a ton of great, usable gain in this thing. I play a lot of VH, modern Swedish metal style riffs, 80's thrash, and NWOBHM tunes, and this worked brilliantly for all of it. There was plenty of gain for any of the above, without even needing to engage the TubeScreamer that resides before it in my chain. And the gain itself is aggressive, but retains clarity amazingly well. The incorporation of the noise gate is great. It worked perfectly with minimal tweaking to let through what I needed and silence what I did not.

I compared it to my Wampler Pinnacle (which I really like) for EVH tones, hoping I would like it at least half as much. This pedal seems brighter, clearer, and the controls are more straightforward/traditional. Overall, I might actually like it better.

This sounds so good that I actually think releasing this pedal will cut into EVH amp sales. I'm playing it through a vox ac15 of all things and it nails the tones from vh1 and fair warning if you're an Eddie fan. Even if you're not, the sustain and clarity is uncanny for such a massive -actually, egregious - amount of gain. Overdrive is an understatement. Yet it's not a fuzz or distortion- single note lines sing out brilliantly and chords retain individual note definition and clarity. Harmonics just drip out. I sort of can't believe this is a pedal. It feels like an amp. Anyway, go for it. Play it through a supro or a vox then try and convince yourself that you need a high gain amp at all. It's that good

I`ve been searching for a distortion/overdrive pedal for a while. I`m used to the amp`s distortion and always feel that distortion pedals sound small, boxy… I`ve been a EVH fan since I was a teenager.
This pedal is in my board now and I`m a pro musician. Always need to adapt my tone to every gig and I can`t be `VanHalenish` all the time. But this pedal HAS the Van Halen sound but is also VERY versatile. Don`t think twice. Buy it !!!!

If you want EVH tone, this is your overdrive! Per my 15 yr old son's request, I sold one of his other pedals for him so he could buy the new 5150 Overdrive. It is awesome and he loves it. He's only about 7 months into playing and is modeling his style after Eddie Van Halen. So obviously he wants that EVH tone. With this 5150 Overdrive, that's exactly what you get. Fantastic gain and the gate dial is a very nice feature that cuts down on the noise sometimes associated with high gain. Very, very nice effects pedal. You won't be disappointed.

This thing is a serious fire-breathing monster! Love the full EQ for tone shaping. The boost button is great, but I take away a 1/2 star since it is just a tiny push button and not a full-on stomp button. That is my only complaint! Using with a Fender Hot Rod deluxe and HX Stomp XL found this combo sounds best plugged directly into the power amp with a the 5150 pedal going through FX send/return on the Stomp. If you want a high gain pedal that sound like an actual amp the MXR 5150 pedal is the way to go! Thanks to Sweetwater and my sales engineer Nick Pasquino for years of excellent customer service!

Great pedal, great tone from the circuitry. Use it to drive my high gain channels adding some depth to the sound as well as using the great gate it has built in..., and when used with classic gain I can crank her up and get some real great 80's VH/Hard Rock tones... Adds versatility to my main Marshall sound (Dual DSL100's running in stereo).

Great sounding overdrive. Was impressed from the moment I turned it on. I really like the intelligent Noise Gate. Would recommend this pedal.

Read about the pedal in GP magazine, bought it based on that, I Was not disappointed! Plenty of gain, but note are clear, tone of pedal is voiced very nicely. All knobs a 12 noon is a great starting point, and a very nice sound. The noise gate works nicely. does not cut off notes I am very happy with my purchase, and at $199 it"s a GREAT DEAL !.I received my order in 2 days! Great job Sweetwater!

ok.. so here is my "official" review of the EVH 5150 Overdrive pedal!!

Settings are 11am, 3pm, 2pm, 10am, and 2pm - with the noise filter set and boost on.

Remember, (this is important) .. I am only using this pedal for band practice (smaller practice amp) and never for gigs, since my large rig - amps etc.. are set up for a good Brown sound.

It's not so much an overdrive pedal though, it's really a distortion pedal.

First, you have to set up the amp correctly with a good clean channel, I did that, with the usual VH-like Reverb and the slap Delay added.

I used my Franky that has the EVH 'Franky' - pickup installed (as apposed to the EVH Wolfgang Pickup).

First thing I noticed is that it has an incredible amount of treble/presence by default. So I had to adjust the mid and bass settings and turn down the treble.

Not a lot of adjustments needed here, once you have the Brown Sound dialed in.. you are good to go and let me reiterate this once again.... this is a BROWN SOUND pedal, I have used many overdrives and distortion pedals over the years.. nothing comes anywhere near close to sounding like Eddie with ease. (Unless use a big rig, tube amps etc for gigs).

Therefore for practice or using a practice amp, I have to disagree with those that say the high gain on a practice amp itself is good enough, this pedal if you're playing VH stuff does it all!!.. and more! It simply sounds better than any high gain on a smaller practice amp.

All of the controls knobs on the pedal are very sensitive which is a good thing.. lots of variance when playing around with them.

With the boost button on, it adds some compression but nothing like I could notice (since I don't like compression). Once the boost is pressed in, the harmonics, squeals tap-on's etc.. can be done with great ease!!! The noise gate is a good thing too, because yes, it does hiss, but setting the noise gate button makes it 100% perfect!

Not much more I can say about this pedal really, it delivers what it is advertised for, an EXACT clone of Eddies Brown Sound.

If there is one time slight criticism, it would be that I wished the boost button could be used with your foot, with another light, much like the big off/on switch , this way you would only need to use the boost for solo's and not rhythm. Its because of this wish that I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Great pedal and I am glad I got it! - Thanks Sweetwater!

I purchased this based on the reviews and video's I've watched on it. After getting it and playing with it on all different types of settings, I'm not as impressed as other customers have been. I've been using distortion and overdrive pedals for almost 40 years, and while this pedal is good, it's really not any better than most on the market. This pedal is listed as a Overdrive pedal, but honestly, it's more of a distortion pedal. The positives I like about this pedal are that it has a built-in noise gate, which I love. It's very responsive. I have it setup next to my Boss Metal Zone (Waza Craft) on my pedal board and even with both on the same settings, the EVH 5150 overdrive pedal sounds hollow and doesn't really have much guts to it. My Metal Zone has a more rounded tone to it, and I can also you it as an overdrive pedal as well and it still sounds better than this EVH pedal. Overall, it's an OK pedal. I'll use it on my pedal board but if you have a lot of experience with overdrives and distortion pedals like I do, you will hear that it's not really any different than most pedals on the market.

I've seen so many demos of this pedal that it seemed to be the Holy Grail of effects pedals. It's not all that, but if you're looking for that God of
Thunder sound, this pedal is for you.
One feature I was anxious to try out was the noise gate. It went from 0 to 180 with little in between, so I was a bit disappointed, hoping for a much more gradual response than that. I was a little puzzled by the boost feature: it seemed unnecessary because the gain feature provided way more distortion than anyone could possibly need. So,it's a decent pedal, four stars as indicated above, but not as much as it was advertised.
It did sound a little bit like Eddie.

A great OD that double as a distortion pedal for all of your brown sound needs! Pretty good range when adjusting all of the knobs. Noise gate works great. Depth button is subtle, but a nice feature for just that little extra. Works great at tightening up your tone as an OD, or use it on a clean channel & get that 5150 distortion tone.

I HAVE MANY DISTORTION PEDALS INCLUDING ZAKK'S,ALL EVH PEDALS, BOSS PEDALS AND MORE I CANT EVEN THINK OF. THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST DISTOPRTION PEDALS BUT MY FAVORITE STILL UNBEATEN IN MY ESTIMATION IS BOSSE'S METAL ZONE PEDAL.IM PLAYING THESE PEDALS ALL THROUGH THE SAME SIMPLE AMP SETUP. I HAVE A 15WATT HAND BUILT AMP MADE BY A GREAT FRIEND OF MINE PIGGYBACKED TO A 60WATT SUPERSONIC JUST FOR MORE POWER.THE CIRCUITRY IN MY15WATT CHANDLER HAND BUILT AMP IS MADE UP OF THE MOST SIMPL BASIC ALL TUBE CIRCUITRY' MODELED AFTER THE EARLY FENDER AMPS.THIS SET UP IS ACTUALLY THEE BEST SETUP TO TRY ALL DISTORTION PEDALS CAUSE U GET THE FULL SOUND OF THE PEDAL NOT HAMPERED OR DAMPERED BY ANY THING THAT COULD TAKE AWAY LIKE ALL THESE PHONY AMPS OUT THERE THAT LOOK LIKE THE COCKPIT OF AN AIRPLANE. ALL THOSE BUTTONS AND EFFECTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT EFFECT THE PURE TONE OF GUITARS AND CERTAIN PEDALS IS NON EXISTENT IN MY SIMPLE BUT TRUE 100 PERCENT UNABASHED SOUND. THE EVH PEDAL IS TRULY AWESOME BUT THE METAL ZONE IS A BIT BETTER. MY OPINION GUYS. I DO HAVE A 5150 III HALF STACK THAT BLOWS MY TWO MARSHALL HALF STACKS AWAY EVEN THOUGH THE TWO HEADS ARE TOTTALLY WORKED. I COULDNT LIVE WITHOUT EITHER PEDAL. HAVE A NICE DAY!!!

Yes, it is Ed-In-A-Box for the most part. Gets real close to the described channel of the EVH 5150 III. Most of Ed's tone is in his hands anyway.... but it'll get you close. Sometimes seems a bit too gainy but that's preference. Good stompbox.

I have written this review twice in the past two weeks. Both times the review was going to be negative. I just could not dial in the OD sound I was looking for. My aging GNX4 and GNX3K were much more convincing in regards to the EVH sound.

Turns out the amp you plug in to makes a huge difference. With the exception of one great review, all of the "excellent sounding" online reviews of the pedal were recording using great amps. For heaven's sake it does not take a $200 pedal to push those amps into great sounding distortion.

Anyway, I plugged into several amps and found that a good clean tube amp works best. For grins I tried the pedal to drive a powered speaker and later a keyboard amp, both sounded terrible.

I setup the pedal by setting all knobs to 12 o'clock, then adjusted the output to the desired level. The "EQ" section is a bit mis-leading...it is not an "active" EQ section, so you are not boosting the signal, which is probably a good thing. However, things get muddy quick depending on where you set the Bass and Mid...I have pretty much super glued them in the 10-12 position. The Gain does a great job of altering the distortion level. You can go from a typical vintage OD pedal sound to mass death metal. The Boost button supposedly adds 6db of boost, but I see little difference. One reviewer thought the purpose of the Boost button is to compensate for low power pickups (i.e., Strat) and I agree.

Overall construction seems to be great. I have always liked MXR pedals, and lately they seem to be even better constructed, finished, etc. I was surprised by how small it is...unlike some of the boutiques out there...

This pedal would be a great value at $129, but at $200, it is an extravagantly priced pedal entering the hallowed boutique ground. And I thought of returning it, but frankly nothing I have comes close to it, given that it is connected to a decent amp or preamp...after all, this is just an overdrive pedal!!!!!

Home run on this one. HOWEVER!!! I'm only using this in a studio application. I've never found high gain pedals to function well at loud amp settings. Compared to my tube amp (peavey valve king) this pedal has more awesome tone than any amp I've owned, tube and solid state. I don't see a need for the boost feature, with gain on ten there's not much difference. The gate does a great job when playing my various guitars with different pickups. ONE MORE HOWEVER!!!!! I have an evh guitar with Wolfgang pickups, and I have to back the gain down to noon or crank the gate all the way, the gate starts to get sketchy. I like the battery access even tho I'm using a power supply. The best Classic Eddie tone and distortion yet.

I downgraded my review from 4 stars to 3 stars because this is a very overrated pedal in my opinion. I used it for about 2 months, and I ended up selling it because I wasn't going to continue to use it. Yes, the pedal is OK as a overdrive pedal but there are a ton of other pedals on the market that are just as good and better than this pedal. It has a very hollow tone to it which is not what I like. A lot of hype surrounding this pedal because EVH on the front. But if it was placed next to other overdrive pedals, and you didn't know it is a EVH pedal, I'm guessing it wouldn't be picked. So, check around and get a better pedal for less money.

I was absolutely not able to make a 5150 1x12 combo sound better with this pedal. To my ear, the blue channel is much better than the pedal through the clean channel. But if you can't afford a 1x12 combo, go right ahead and give this a try!

This is a great pedal, a lot of tonal diversity, but there is a ton of fuzz in the higher frequencies. Not my cup of tea, may be yours.

well , I had one of these for a while and thought it was somewhat decent,but when I bought my amt p-drive which emulates the same amp,it is three times the pedal the mxr is !

While the sound of this pedal is great , the noise is a pain in the a-- . It messes shuts off and on at lower levels. Not for me.

Not Sweetwater fault this pedal really blows sounds like **** but looks nice in my arsenal