Metropoulos Forum

actually I dont care if this wrecks my tubes

this is the best sound I've ever got out of an amp for EVH

Here is a clip of a new EVH 5150 w the EL34 with same brand Red Variac
that Roy Blankenship uses

something about the response is hard to put into words / springier ???

oh well here is a clip SMGD with it Variaced down to 75-80 volts/ yep it still played that low

Lexicon Plate reverb ( from a MX400)

http://picosong.com/wFm67


enjoy

I like it. Is that the 5150iii 100W EL34 or the new 50W? I actually have been considering the 50W since it has a decent enough clean channel on it now and can pass good enough for EVH sounds in a bar with the blue channel from what I gather from limited reviews out there.

What channel and settings did you use with the Variac and what load box - reactive or non?

it is the 100 watt version of the new el34 5150
bought it last year when they first came out / finally have a lot of free time during Holidays to tweak / experiment / record

Blue channel or 2nd channel is all I use / just sounds more VH / the foot switching is seamless and clean channel is awesome / I personally have just been stuck on channel 2 for last couple months

the loadbox is a new model Load box from Radial Enginering / Headlong Prodigy ( reactive / ceramic resistors )

I do not have the amp on full bore / volume 7-8 any thing more I get some oscillations in the headphones while recording

red variac - between 70 -80

Using a 2x12 Laney Ironheart Cabinet but, did not mic on the clip

‘Sounds real good, TJ.

Sounds really good TJ. I was missing the low E bounce in the verse of that song. You should enjoy that a little more. That has always been a stand out, signature thing with Ed's tone on that particular song but yes, the lowering of AC Voltage using a variac is what gets a plexi into that "SPECIAL" place. It's exciting to see that it does a lot of the same on other amps.

jnew wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:34 pm

I was missing the low E bounce in the verse of that song. You should enjoy that a little more. That has always been a stand out, signature thing with Ed's tone on that particular song

hmmmmm ... you are right , no Bounce no Beef / seems im a little focused on the hi end with the chords

I'm still using this rig set up ( love it ) / but I've acquired some new recording gear / instead of recording direct ( like on this clip )

I'm going to mess with using an SM 57 and this Variac set up / as my tone tends to be bright as it is

might get a little more lower freqs/ midrange in there

I will try and put some bounce in the beat .......

No no. That’s not what I meant. What I meant was the way you were playing the verse. I think that killer low end is there and has the bounce as is, but you weren’t riding it like we’re used to hearing on the album. In other words, riding on that Low E string for four notes in between the cords. I like what I’m hearing in that tone as is.

T.J
I just put my el34 on a variac at 75 volts holy shit man it is the tone man
Im gonna hook up my sm57 n seinheiser and do a recording with my 2 roland sde3000 delays in my stereo set up
I cannot believe it man it sounds just like a marshall it has the sag n chew and it looses that crazy mid honk u normally hear gone i mean gone
Thanks bro for the idea
I also ripped out the jjel34 tubes and put in el34 electroharmonics tubes made a huge difference in the tone
Im a excited s.o.b right now

Tj what settings u running on front
And were is ur resonance knob
Man mine is killer on the variac at 75 volts just killer i talked to dave friedman and he said it wont hurt these amps at all unless u go to low lol

I will look at settings tonight / I left them same as where I left off a month ago / I know im stuck on channel 2 fo sho

Somebody did private message me about if the Variac messed with the footswitching ( which is awesome on the EVH gear )

But, I never tried that - I hope that wouldn't jack anything up

It was Rueben Hoeke's clips and videos running variac that pushed me to buy one / I never gave much thought to using one
with what seems a little more complex amp than a vintage Marshall

but, his leads seemed really cool from the Variac'd clips

myself, I Just started dialing down till nothing and then bringing back up to that 75-80 volt range

So I'm glad it is working for you too ! - I do want to make some recordings with cabinet micd / which I have a free weekend this weekend to do

I know certain VH tunes just pop using this set up / I'm the One ,, Romeo Delight ,,, Mean Street etc.

Im at 75 volts and switch channels just fine friedman said it wont hurt it n well we no he is the guy
Harmonics n stuff just fly off the guitar effortlessly
Running it with my evh 4x12 n bray line out into my rane am26 with my eventide and then my 2 roland sde 3000s into my lexicon pcm into my crown amp out to 2 4x12s is just lwan tone too a T
Or shut effects off and its early evh tone just crazy i cant wait to make a recording with my sm57

Looking forward to clips.

jnew wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:04 am

Looking forward to clips.

This 5:00 CLIP is an all out assault on your ears jnew
felt like firing up the fret board ....

This sounds so much better mic;d with an SM57 than direct recording / can't say my neighbors love me but wtf ....

Gain 12 o clock / volume high 1:00 /mic'd 1 inch from edge of speaker then angled towards cone

So Beefed up SGMD w/ lead solo / went into bottoms up like record to show how cleans up / into Ripley / Fire and Ice
transistioned into Feel your love tonight w/ solo

5:00 one take ! LOL

http://picosong.com/wqwVC

Yikes, easy on all the jewelry bro. I love what you got going on TJ. Your first clip does it GREAT justice even if it's direct without a cab and speaker/s. Nice playing too.

So your setup here is pretty much a stock 100 watt EVH 5150III on the blue channel and variac'd to about 75 with two tubes pulled? That's good stuff. Makes me appreciate 6L6's a little more.

EDIT: I just realized you are using the EL-34 amps. No 6L6's. And all 4 tubes as well.

yep / a matte army green EVH wolfgang / maple neck ( pup 13.1 ??? ) . no pedals > EVH el34 100watt head / volume 6-7 / blue channel / gain 12 o clock / bass 12 o clock / mid 1 o clock / treble 1 o clock / resonance and presence noon
into a Laney 2x12 Lionheart cabinet > sm57 > Universal Audio interface > into UAD 1176 w/ andy johns setting for guitar
>daw / added reverb later