5150 Iconic....Wow!

[Moony]

James Brown also designed the MXR 5150 Overdrive iirc - that's a good pedal!

 

[Rocktane]

No me neither.

Honestly from all the videos I've seen I think the Iconic sounds quite bad.
Smeared and fizzy, dry without the "depth" and some strange, weird midrange. I recognize some "recording tricks" but they just can't completely hide the character of the gain structure.

I usually like the EVH stuff a lot and of course I will try it out if I get a chance to.
But my expectations are very low.

I heard the same things and had the same expectations prior to playing through a couple of them.

 

[Moony]

I heard the same things and had the same expectations prior to playing through a couple of them.

So you changed your mind then?

 

[Rocktane]

James Brown also designed the MXR 5150 Overdrive iirc - that's a good pedal!

+ all his Amptweaker pedals and Peavey 5150 amps

 

[Rocktane]

So you changed your mind then?

Yes, it was better than I thought it would be. Especially the 2nd time, with lower output pickups in a Les Paul.

Thinking more on this, on how to relate what it reminded me of...... ADA MP-1 through the effects loop of a 50W 5150 III (6L6). Yep, I used to do this lol!

 

[PowerTube44]

Well, I finally got to try the Iconic head. I went to my local GC because their website said that they had it in stock now. I couldn't find it on the floor, so I asked an employee. He checked in the back and sure enough, they had a brand spanking new one in the box. He unboxed it and hooked it to a 5150 2x12 cab.

I really like it. I'm amazed at the clarity for such a high gain structure. It was clear as a bell, even with burning hot saturation. And the best part was that I heard almost ZERO compression. The Resonance control is very effective. The Reverb didn't just blow me away, but that's something I prefer to have provided by the GT-100 anyway. I don't care much for or need the Burn mode. I REALLY like the onboard noise gate.

Is it better than my JCM 2000 DSL 100 with GT-100 and Rev G3? For native high gain, yes it is, especially at low volumes. Clarity is about a match. For warmth, I'll give the Marshall a slight edge. But that might not be a fair statement because the Iconic is a very nice amp and I can only imagine how it would sound at home with my own effects.

I also want to hear it with the matching 4x12 instead of a 2x12. Not an earth-shattering difference, I'm sure, but the 4x12 would have a bit more depth.

So I'm still on the fence. I really do like it, but if it impresses me once I get it home, will the JCM 2000 go away? And/or possibly the Carvin X100B reissue half stack?

Stay tuned...

 

[solarburn]

No me neither.

Honestly from all the videos I've seen I think the Iconic sounds quite bad.
Smeared and fizzy, dry without the "depth" and some strange, weird midrange. I recognize some "recording tricks" but they just can't completely hide the character of the gain structure.

I usually like the EVH stuff a lot and of course I will try it out if I get a chance to.
But my expectations are very low.

Nah. Vids have been bad but no different than some saying Marshall is fizzy which I've seen many.

My ears have no issue with this ripper. To be accurate my ears may be buggered.

However i haven't had this much fun in a long time. It rips.

All the chugging vids using an abundance of saturation sound the same to me. Regardless of amp. Not to offend chuggers. Again my ears. Maybe all that volume ruined me...tone wise.

In playing my JMP, which is above so many, I really like the Iconic. It won't replace my rebuilt Marshall but it puts a smile on my face. Whether playing rhythm or soloing? Fun.

Helps having a killer 412. With all my stable.

 

[Rocktane]

However i haven't had this much fun in a long time. It rips.

This alone makes it a winner!

 

[solarburn]

This alone makes it a winner!

After the time I've had it? Fun stays.

 

[solarburn]

Oh. To James and any others that built this fucker? Thanks!

 

[Tatzmann]

For the interested techy guys:

There are informations about the
ampdesign available at another
known guitarpage.

Straight from the horses mouth J.B.

I'll keep my opinion about this to myself
until i either played this amp (wont happen) or have seen a valid schematic.

 

[Moony]

So first gain stage is solid state as well as the phase inverter.
It has 2 12AX7.
The 6505MH has 3 12AX7 - and also a mosfet phase inverter.

So the EVH Iconic eems to be kind of a stripped down 6505MH if you like to look at it that way - but with a 6L6 power amp instead of EL84s.
And I'm curious if there's any further op amp drive involved since you get 2 gain stages out of one 12AX7 (which is missing).

 

[ibmorjamn]

Got an iconic this week and all iconic say is wow! I've owned at least 15 Marshalls over thr years, as well as several of the EVH branded amps. The jubilee an 800 have always been my favorite marshall circuits. I found the other EVH amps over gained,fizzy, too squishy, or a combination of things I just didn't like being a long time marshall fan. The iconic comes with a stock speaker that appears to be based on the v-type but was obviously voiced for the old school VH tones. Using this speaker I got some pretty good VH tones from the amp. Then I popped in my favorite V30... Holy shart! I will say that WITHOUT A DOUBT this Amp is based on a Marshall circuit! Not a Soldano, old 5150, current EVH. Or any of those things Ed used. This is a tweaked Marshall circuit and is easily one of the best ones I've ever played. It comes across as a near perfect hot rodded JCM800 on channel one with the boost on. Channel 2 adds bass and gain while shifting the mid frequency to a more modern metal EQ. Both channels stay tight AF no matter how much gain and all the EQ controls are very interactive. I have to honestly say to me this amp sounds almost exactly like my dream modded Marshall would. The JVM I had was not even close in terms of tone. And that's the marshall flagship. Its even better than the Ceriatones I've owned. Kudos to EVH, they've finally built one of the Marshalls we've all been wanting for years...

@Bloodrock
After a month has the honeymoon phase
ended ?
Just wondering, this looks like a good option.

 

[mmrizio]

So first gain stage is solid state as well as the phase inverter.
It has 2 12AX7.
The 6505MH has 3 12AX7 - and also a mosfet phase inverter.

So the EVH Iconic eems to be kind of a stripped down 6505MH if you like to look at it that way - but with a 6L6 power amp instead of EL84s.
And I'm curious if there's any further op amp drive involved since you get 2 gain stages out of one 12AX7 (which is missing).

This is an interesting development. With solide state distortion (e.g. JB's MXR5150 or the AmpTweaker pedals) coming so close to the real thing, you only need tubes as the sauce on top, for the final 10% of the the sound *.
No need to use tubes for the 'easy work', only use them where it really matters for the sound and the feel.

*: Writing this, I had to think of the JMP1 preamp; I guess they thought the same 30 years ago, but the result was different.

 

[ibmorjamn]

This is an interesting development. With solide state distortion (e.g. JB's MXR5150 or the AmpTweaker pedals) coming so close to the real thing, you only need tubes as the sauce on top, for the final 10% of the the sound *.
No need to use tubes for the 'easy work', only use them where it really matters for the sound and the feel.

*: Writing this, I had to think of the JMP1 preamp; I guess they thought the same 30 years ago, but the result was different.

It’s not uncommon to use a mosfet source follower for the tone stack.
No sweat.
That doesn’t mean you get solid state tone.
Some fenders only use one preamp tube.
Check this schematic “not an iconic so don’t get excited”

http://www.ppwatt.com/files/ppwatt/uPCB_18watt_6V6-Superlite_Sveta.pdf

 

[casaofpain]

I bought the 1x12 combo version. I really like this amp as well. I was skeptical about it but saw some vids on youtube. I figured since they got ok tones on there, i could probably do better lol. Anyway, great amp for the money. I also use a 1x12 ext cab and it just kills!!

 

[Dean Swindell]

Got an iconic this week and all iconic say is wow! I've owned at least 15 Marshalls over thr years, as well as several of the EVH branded amps. The jubilee an 800 have always been my favorite marshall circuits. I found the other EVH amps over gained,fizzy, too squishy, or a combination of things I just didn't like being a long time marshall fan. The iconic comes with a stock speaker that appears to be based on the v-type but was obviously voiced for the old school VH tones. Using this speaker I got some pretty good VH tones from the amp. Then I popped in my favorite V30... Holy shart! I will say that WITHOUT A DOUBT this Amp is based on a Marshall circuit! Not a Soldano, old 5150, current EVH. Or any of those things Ed used. This is a tweaked Marshall circuit and is easily one of the best ones I've ever played. It comes across as a near perfect hot rodded JCM800 on channel one with the boost on. Channel 2 adds bass and gain while shifting the mid frequency to a more modern metal EQ. Both channels stay tight AF no matter how much gain and all the EQ controls are very interactive. I have to honestly say to me this amp sounds almost exactly like my dream modded Marshall would. The JVM I had was not even close in terms of tone. And that's the marshall flagship. Its even better than the Ceriatones I've owned. Kudos to EVH, they've finally built one of the Marshalls we've all been wanting for years...

How are the clean and crunch tones, like if you want to use it like a 2204?

 

[Edgar Frog]

Mmmmmmmm..... all the chugs....

This is cool, reminds of some old-school Sepultura!

 

[daftman]

James Brown is one of the best designers and tweakers in the business imho. He is largely unknown except to his followers and industry people.

I own a 3120 aka xxx and a 6534+ aka 6505+ with EL 34 tubes factory built. They are incarnations of the Peavey Ultra Plus/VTM designs he tweaked iirc.

JB is the father of the 5150>> look him up on ytube.

He was about to launch his own amp line then Fender said no no no come with us sir we need the real master in our camp.

The Iconic is built to a price point so his design tweaks are really cool to get that sound with untraditional methods.

He has a working prototype of his amp so check it out on ytube in an interview he does.

 

[solarburn]

How are the clean and crunch tones, like if you want to use it like a 2204?

That's how I use it. Green channel OD mode is right in that lane.