The new EVH 5150III Hypersonic 6L6 2x12 is a digital combo amp built to replicate the sound, feel and dynamics of the beloved all-tube 5150III at a significantly lighter weight.
The 5150III is one of the most recognisable high-gain amp platforms in rock and metal, and EVH has now built a digital version of it. The 5150III Hypersonic 6L6 2×12 uses high-performance digital processing to model the EVH 5150III 6L6 tube combo, with the goal of getting as close to the original’s tone, headroom and dynamic response as possible – without a tube in sight.
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To get there, EVH has paired the digital power amp with two 12″ Celestion EVH G12H 30W Anniversary Series speakers in an 11-ply plywood closed-back cabinet. The speaker and cabinet combination does a lot of the heavy lifting in making a digital amp feel and sound like the real thing, and EVH has clearly leaned into that rather than cutting corners.
The practical upside is its weight. At 25.5 kg, the Hypersonic combo is substantially lighter than its all-tube counterpart, which your back will thank you for.
Three channels – Clean, Crunch and Lead – each come with independent gain, low, mid, high, noise gate trim and volume controls. Channels one and two now feature concentric EQ controls, and independent noise gate controls per channel are a welcome addition for anyone who’s grappled with shared gates across high-gain rigs. The included five-button footswitch has been updated to handle both reverb and effects loop selection.
Other features worth noting are a power selector which offers full power and five attenuated settings, a balanced XLR line output with impulse response cabinet simulations built in, a mute switch for silent stage or recording use, a headphone output and USB-C for firmware updates. MIDI is also on board via the rear panel.
The 5150III Hypersonic 6L6 2×12 is available in black or ivory vinyl and runs at 50 watts.
For players who want the 5150III experience without the weight or maintenance of a tube amp, this is your answer.
Learn more here.
