EVH Iconic 60watt 2x12 or JCM 900 4102 or 4502?

[solarburn]

Ok. I found a clip going through the EVH 5153 412. Warning the playing is all over the place. Was a couple months sober back then and I played like I felt. Scattered and out of tune. I'm Always sloppy though. Gives an idea what the speakers sound like which is the point. Fishman Fluent Classic pick ups aren't my preference either.

 

[MantraSky]

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[Filipe Soares]

I cannot say anything regarding the Iconic, but I own a 5150iii 50w head and I gotta say the blue channel is the purest judas priest tone you will ever need. The iconic seens to be more in line witht the 5150iii than with the 900 series. you can´t go wrong with that amp.

 

[MantraSky]

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[SingleMalt]

Well, apparently the Iconic has more votes so...How about the 50w Stealth over the Iconic?

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Started on some bad notes but this old clip gets livelier as it goes. Straight in increasing guitar volume to full. Amp is at 11am gain wise. Charvel San Deemy, Iconic, 212 with Redbacks, stoopid phone clip. Sounds ok when I crank it on my blue tooth speakers otherwise phone mic got ran over. I'll get some greenback action in soon.

Hmmm nice. So that is 11 am gain (around 4) on the green channel? Still has red channel ? That's lots of room for the rhythm channel.
But why not footswitch the crunch and burn modes? Seems like oversight.
The boost is front end loaded so not necessarily a huge volume boost but adds more gain?

 

[solarburn]

Hmmm nice. So that is 11 am gain (around 4) on the green channel? Still has red channel ? That's lots of room for the rhythm channel.

Quarter power volume at 10am or 3. Full 80 watts at volume at noon is quite satisfying. Really opens up. Like a 900 does with volume. I do get to play on full power most of the time. Me down hallway, into living room with my wireless. Standing with the cabs are killing my ears. Wireless was my solution at home. Still get all that big sound, without the vertigo.

This amp on both channels has more gain than I know how to use. I bought it just for the green OD channel. The red side has some interesting low gain tones too. The Fucking price/performance ratio is well worth it. I haven't got bored with it yet. In fact I bought the 40 watt combo too and stuck a Cream 90 speaker in it and smile my ass off.

 

[solarburn]

Well, apparently the Iconic has more votes so...How about the 50w Stealth over the Iconic?

Stealth is one of the meanest amps I've ever heard. Bad ass.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Quarter power volume at 10am or 3. Full 80 watts at volume at noon is quite satisfying. Really opens up. Like a 900 does with volume. I do get to play on full power most of the time. Me down hallway, into living room with my wireless. Standing with the cabs are killing my ears. Wireless was my solution at home. Still get all that big sound, without the vertigo.

This amp on both channels has more gain than I know how to use. I bought it just for the green OD channel. The red side has some interesting low gain tones too. The Fucking price/performance ratio is well worth it. I haven't got bored with it yet. In fact I bought the 40 watt combo too and stuck a Cream 90 speaker in it and smile my ass off.

Shit.
Cause I sure don't NEED one....

 

[solarburn]

Shit.
Cause I sure don't NEED one....

I could feel you think'n.

 

[kysrsoze]

I have both the 5153 50w 6L6 combo and the Iconic 40w combo. The 5153 sounds great now that I’ve done some different type preamp tubes to tame the gain of the blue and red channels. But the Iconic still sounds better right out of the box. It’s an absolutely killer amp… more classic Marshall -sounding, IMO, and does everything well. Even on low power, it sounds excellent. James Brown created a masterpiece.

I haven’t heard the 60w Iconic in person, but I really like 2x12 configurations. Although the 40w Iconic has some serious low-end if you want it.

BTW - not that I’m itching to replace the stock 40w Iconic speaker , but @solarburn, how does the 90w creamback sound vs stock? That one seems very different than the 65 watt creamback.

 

[solarburn]

I have both the 5153 50w 6L6 combo and the Iconic 40w combo. The 5153 sounds great now that I’ve done some different type preamp tubes to tame the gain of the blue and red channels. But the Iconic still sounds better right out of the box. It’s an absolutely killer amp… more classic Marshall -sounding, IMO, and does everything well. Even on low power, it sounds excellent. James Brown created a masterpiece.

I haven’t heard the 60w Iconic in person, but I really like 2x12 configurations. Although the 40w Iconic has some serious low-end if you want it.

BTW - not that I’m itching to replace the stock 40w Iconic speaker , but @solarburn, how does the 90w creamback sound vs stock? That one seems very different than the 65 watt creamback.

The Cream 90 is quite different than the 65. The CB 65 sits back more in most amp/speaker demos I’ve heard. I think a lot of ears like that. Seems less harsh a tad smoother.

I use the Iconic as another Marshall flavor and the Alnico Cream 90 excels as a more vintage flavor. It’ll do heavy but it does rock/hard rock nicely. I like the 90 with the Iconic over my SC800. It also paired up well with a H30 or V30 in my 212.

So it has plenty of bite without being harsh, mids a bit less kerang, smoother, and the bottom tight enuff and plenty there. Tracks well when soloing.

So far it has sounded best out of a redback and Gold. Best for what my ears hear. The redback was a bit too stiff and the Gold a tad fizzy up top. Nice bottom though. Only con is the cost new. Alnicos are expensive.

 

[Crikey]

those who like the Iconic. what settings are you using for teh OD channel? channel 2

with gain down low- 3, that channel is still noisy as hell.
for gigging I would recommend teh 900s as they are quite and still rock as well or better than the iconic

 

[SingleMalt]

Stealth is one of the meanest amps I've ever heard. Bad ass.

That actually appeals to me.

 

[solarburn]

those who like the Iconic. what settings are you using for teh OD channel? channel 2

with gain down low- 3, that channel is still noisy as hell.
for gigging I would recommend teh 900s as they are quite and still rock as well or better than the iconic

7025’s in the preamp slots. Quiets the hiss. I don’t notice either of mine being overly noisy. Later I’ll fire them up and pay attention.

I use noise gate in the loop for the cheap wireless system on the combo. Buzzes like mad unlike my Shure wireless on my other amps.





Bedroom light burned out so hard to see with little lamp.

 

[solarburn]

those who like the Iconic. what settings are you using for teh OD channel? channel 2

with gain down low- 3, that channel is still noisy as hell.
for gigging I would recommend teh 900s as they are quite and still rock as well or better than the iconic

A mild noise gate pretty much silences. Absolutely if I’m cabled. I always ran my gigging amps with a gate in loop. Quieter is always a plus. I’m talking Marshall’s, Peavey, Randall’s. I didn’t have the Iconic’s back then.

I’ll have to check mine later. Too early to play yet.

 

[solarburn]

Nope. Not noticing any extraneous noise or feedback at idle or while playing. If I get right next to the combo? Then yes. Move about 3 to 5 ft away? No. Click on cheap ass noise gate in loop? Silent. Just like all my other amps. And all my other amps have low noise preamp tubes as well.

I think for the combo, changing the speaker helped with proximity feedback. Tubes can lower idle and feedback noise. Changing bias? I did bias the combo up to 33mv from a cold 25 or 27 mv I think it was. Higher gain settings than I use make it noisy. That's true with my other amps too. I just don't play high, modern gain settings much. I'd use a noise gate for that as I always did in the past. Channel 2 is noisy without gating. I'd even use a gate in loop as the built in one for this channel barely works. For high gain.lol

 

[chiliphil1]

Sounds like a lot of votes for the Iconic! Some of you have mentioned replacing the original speakers and it makes me wonder which ones you decided on. How would you compare the EVH speakers to the ones you eventually chose?

BTW, thanks to all of you for your help and advice in this thread. Your thoughts have brought up some great suggestions for me to consider which I couldn’t have done without you.

I went with an early 90’s G12T75 purely because that’s what I had lying around. It was truly like having a new amp. Everything I disliked about the iconic was gone the instant the 75 went in there.

The stock speaker was super harsh with a TON of brittle nasty top end.

Well, apparently the Iconic has more votes so...How about the 50w Stealth over the Iconic?

That’s a question you’ll have to answer by playing them. I played the 50 watters back to back with the iconic and preferred the iconic. You may feel differently.

The best way I can sum it up is to say that the 5153 amps are smooth and the iconic is raw.

 

[SingleMalt]

I cannot say anything regarding the Iconic, but I own a 5150iii 50w head and I gotta say the blue channel is the purest judas priest tone you will ever need. The iconic seens to be more in line witht the 5150iii than with the 900 series. you can´t go wrong with that amp.

I'm definitely after the British Steel/Screaming for Vengeance tones. I've heard some unprocessed clips of the 5150III that had the British Steel tone. Still, the Stealth makes me wonder if, in the long run, it might give me all of the JP tones plus a lot more. I have to say that the external bias controls really appeal to me. I'm sick of draining caps, pulling chassis, etc.

 

[Dgd73]

Hmmm nice. So that is 11 am gain (around 4) on the green channel? Still has red channel ? That's lots of room for the rhythm channel.
But why not footswitch the crunch and burn modes? Seems like oversight.
The boost is front end loaded so not necessarily a huge volume boost but adds more gain?

The footswitchable boost adds a set amount of gain and the volume is controlled by the boost knob on the amp. I don’t play very loud, but on low volumes it adds a decent volume boost with the knob on 10. I agree it would have been cool if the overdrive and burn modes were footswitchable as well.