Peavey JSX or EVH 5150 III

[danielevh]

Hello guys!

I am a new user from Italy.
I need a suggestion from all the people around here.

I am currently looking for a new head to run through my Marshall cab 1922.
I play classic hard rock, and VH is my favorite, but I also like Vai, Satriani, Dream Theater and so on.
Moreover, I play mostly at home, so here we go.
Ah, I own a JMP1 which is powered by an old GK series II…yeah totally crap sound, so meybe I am splitting hairs here, since anything will sound better than this rig.

What I need is a very versatile amp, which can help me nail almost any sound I like (specially VH), that sounds good at home and sounds good through the cab I have, without distortion pedals.

I have heard nothing but very good opinions on the JSX from many users, specially Darin , whom I thank so much for all the great info and great playing shared here and another very nice guy from HC reviews who kind of biased me towards it.

But I have also heard good opinions on the new EVH 5150 III.
Choices now are narrowed between them.

I had the opportunity to play them side by side, only for a few minutes, plugged through the 1922 cab and to be honest when I finished I was more bewildered than before…
The JSX sounded not so bad but I had a hard time in tweaking a sound that I really dug and the 5150 III didn’t have enough gain on CH2.
So, my thoughts, after surfing the forums a lot, are:
1) I need more powerful pick ups (I have the old PAF PRO Vai used 16 years ago)
2) Surely enough, I am not able to correctly eq both amps at all!

The JSX costs in Italy around 1550€ and the EVH around 1780€ (in $ I would save around 300$ going for the JSX) .
You might say, want a VH sound? Buy the 5150 III, but what I want more is a very versatile amp with the things I said at the beginning of the post.

I really need some help from you guys, which are very expert, surely more than I will ever be!

Thanks a lot
Cheers

[markg5150]

I'd rather line Joe's pocket rather than Ed's - go for the JSX!

[jb4674]

I have a JSX and I can tell you that the amp is more versatile than a 5150, especially if you're going to venture into obtaining different tones.

Jimmy

[danielevh]

Thank you guys for the suggestions.

I don't know what you think, but IMHO while the JSX sounded creamy and "butter", the 5150 III was drier and harsh if I explain myself correctly.
At least this is what I remember from playing a few riffs and notes out of both.
Of course I am a hack at tweaking the eq but again this is what I felt.

Judging by the demos I see on youtube it seems so anyway to me.

Comments are always welcome.
Thanks

[gtrstar]

I have the JSX with a TC electronics Gforce in the effects loop. I can get nearly any sound I want. I do not care for the JSX all that much dry however. If you want a straight ahead no effects sound you need to broaden your search to include the likes of Elmwood, Bogner, etc. these amps sound great with a guitar and a cord.

If you want to sound like Ed then you need to plan on getting some effects and of course his 4 left hand digits wouldn't hurt things either.

Also I have found that your pick attack has alot to do with the tone of an amp, my friends play my rig and sound totally different than I do. I play fairly light with my left hand and vary my pick attack and can sound alot like Joe with my JSX and some delay.

[rockguitar4ever]

ive had 2 5150's over the many years, combo and then head ,amazing for metal probably none better for metal but for classic and hard rock generally i ended up finding them little on the harsh side for my ears(but still a brill amp with amazing gain), but i would say go for the JSX theyre amazing :-)

[OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S]

I'd go with the JSX! I have two of them, a half stack for giging and rehearsals and a combo to practice at home, they give me all the tones I need.

[SimpleMind]

I havn`t played the JSX but heard a lot of good things about it. But if i were you i would go for a Diezel Einstein which costs 300-400 Euro more.

Here are 3 examples of the Diezel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw1kv36iHOc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0uYQa20Eao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJXxMbWhg_k

I played and tested it against Bogners, Elmwood, Mesas, Cornford etc, and have ordered it.

Best of luck and fun to you

[SimpleMind]

I forgot to mention that the master on the amp is excellent so its excelling also at lower volumes compared to other amps i tested!!

[SimpleMind]

Sorry was wrong with regard to the price difference which is just 100 for the 50 Watt head or 200 Euro for the 100 Watt head.

[The Rossness]

Here's a little riff of mine, using my 5153. Its on channel 2 and sounds pretty good.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPGKPRVLdWQ

[danielevh]

Thank you all for the precious info.

I will check all the links out as I am able to connect to a fast line (at home I don’t have it).
SimpleMind: thank you for the tip.
I have made a quick search on the net for the D.E. head but the only prices I saw were on the official site which, converted in €, were 1860€ for the 50W and 2080€ for the 100W head.
Maybe in Norway you can have them for less.
The problem is that the Diezel’s are not an easy find around here, while I can go and try the JSX and the 5150 III with my guitar and cab at some local stores around here.
Anyway I will make some other search. All the reviews say it sounds HUGE!

Honestly I cannot afford a Bogner and the like; I would like to use the amp w/out any distortion pedal for sure, but with some small unit like the usual suspects: chorus, delay to open up and widen the sound a bit.
I have an old Korg A3 which sucks the life out of my JMP1 so I am considering to go for something different.

Thanks
Later
Daniele

[SimpleMind]

Hallo Daniele,
i live in Norway but i would never buy it here. Too expensive. For some month ago i had to travel to Frankfurt attending a congress and i used the opportunity to visit Musik Schmidt to try out all the amps:
So the price for the Head is 1750 (50 Watt) and 1850 (100 Watt) (inclusive VAT).
Homepage:
http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-schm...alog/index.php
(Musik Schmidt sold out all the Diezel Einsteins)

You can also get it here:
http://www.musik-produktiv.de/

or here:
http://www.thomann.de/de/ibanez_s2170_fb_ntf.htm

But the easisest thing for you would be to call Peter Stapfer at Diezel and talk to him or send him a mail at: peterstapfer@diezelamplification.com

Don`t get me wrong i am not affiliated to Diezel etc. i am just sharing the experience i made. I play a lot of different stuff on the electric guitar like Blues, Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai, Timmons, EVH. The amp is extremely versatile and you have alongside with the Bogner Shiva the best clean sound i ever heard and at the same time it can get really mean and everything in between. It was the only amp at Schmidt who could give me the Vai/Satriani tone right out of the box with no pedals and even at low volumes. I played at pretty high volumes too (came out with a Tinnitus) and the amps is a really monster at high volumes too.
As i understood do you come from Italy- really beautiful country with last but not least maybe the best guitar player alive. ( I hate to say best guitar player but i don`t now of any other guitar player alive who makes such fine music combined with unbelievable technique). After hearing his music i bought me the Jose Ramirez Elite. I am talking of :
http://www.mauriziocolonna.com/

Best wishes and luck to you Andreas

[SimpleMind]

And last but not least: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZytP...eature=related

[Darin]

I recently played a 5150 for the first time. I REALLY liked it. I would have no problem owning one. If I had demo'd them side by side, it would have been a tough choice. The 5150 has gobs of usable gain than can be rolled off for nice crunch. The "clean" on the 5150 seems a bit more punchy to me than the JSX. Still, I play a JSX.