EVH 5150 Iconic Series 15W review

Eddie Van Halen wasn’t just one of the greatest guitarists of all time; his quest for the perfect tone drove him to become an expert tweaker of guitar amps, pedals and electric guitars, all of which were brought together under the EVH brand, currently curated by Fender. 

EVH’s popular and affordable Iconic series of 5150 amplifiers evolved from the mighty 5150 III head, a go-to powerhouse of tones used by many top metal and rock professionals, and the range has recently been expanded to include this new 1x10 combo. 

Designed with assistance from amp guru James Brown, the Iconic 1x10 is a smartly-presented available in black or ivory vinyl, with a brushed aluminium control panel that’s easy to read in low light. It’s a two-channel design with separate gain and master volume controls for clean and lead, expanded with clean/overdrive and lead/burn boost preset switches. 

There’s a shared EQ with global controls for reverb, resonance and presence, these last two working to fine-tune the output stage’s response. A clever baffle arrangement inside the cabinet pumps up the bass from the specially designed 10” EVH/Celestion driver.

The Iconic’s two channels produce the full range of EVH sounds, from sparkling cleans and toothsome crunch on the clean channel to the responsive, touch-sensitive dynamics of the lead and burn channel voices. 

Both channels are a delight to play using single coils or humbuckers, with a ton of low end, balanced mids and sparkling highs giving the impression you’re using a much bigger cabinet.

The pure class A single-ended 6L6 power stage adds a gentle compression which emphasises the lead channel’s vocal quality, with controlled feedback and ‘edge of the pick’ harmonics appearing just when you want them, almost as if by magic.

The Iconic’s buffered effect loop is quiet and well-suited to delay pedals and modulation effects, while the speaker-emulated DI output is also noise-free and does a good job of sounding like the 5150 4x12 cab.

It’s a carefully tuned analogue filter, so you won’t run into latency issues, meanwhile microphone enthusiasts can also make use of the useful 1/4 power option for quiet recording or home practice.

There are smaller and lighter 1x10 combos, although for us the Iconic’s superb sounds more than make up for the generous cabinet size. The single-ended class A output stage helps with maintenance costs as there’s only one power valve to replace, however because it’s continuously conducting 100% current you’ll need to replace it more frequently – not a quick job due to the fully-enclosed cabinet. 

Overall, though, the new EVH Iconic 1x10 combo is an excellent solution for amateurs and semi-pros, delivering the big sounds of the legendary 5150 in a relatively portable and affordable package.

• More of the best tube amps under $1,000

Specs

• PRICE: $899 / £639
• TYPE: Hybrid valve/solid-state preamp and valve power amp. 
• OUTPUT: 15 watts RMS
• VALVES: 2 x 12AX7, 1 x 6L6
• DIMENSIONS: 500mm (w) x 260mm (d) x 470mm (h) 
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 17.3/38.2
• LOUDSPEAKERS: 1 x 10” Celestion EVH Custom Design
• CHANNELS: Two, with clean/overdrive and lead/burn voice selection
• CONTROLS: Channel 1 gain, Channel 2 gain, low, mid, high, Channel 1 master volume, Channel 2 master volume, reverb level, resonance, presence. Overdrive, burn and channel select switches
• CONTACT: EVH Gear