Last Sunday was quiet and relaxed. It was hot outside — around 87°F.
My AC was battling the heat off my MW Dual Recto while I was having an absolute blast.
Then, it happened. I opened Reverb, and there it was in my feed: a 5150 Block Letter. The one I had been eyeing for the past week. Located in Arizona. Local pickup only — 365 miles away, just over five hours of driving.
I’d been leaning toward local options anyway, mostly out of concern for what could happen to a such heavy and old amp. This one looked OK, and may by? thanks to the desert climate, there was no visible rust. Aside from some small tolex chips here and there and a small scratch on the faceplate, it looked good.
Listing picture:
My GAS spiked. I messaged the seller with a few questions and completed the transaction.
The next morning, Monday, I woke up at 6 a.m., jumped in the car, and hit the road.
Sometimes it really is a blessing to work remotely.
Twelve hours and over 720+ miles later… it’s finally home.
I cleaned every inch of it and took a look inside. The PCB is pristine. No mods, no visible repairs. No scratchy pots, no popping. It's in amazing shape for a 33-year-old amp. The serial number puts it at 1992, and some PCB markings show 1991.
Power tubes are a mix: two inner Sovtek 5881/6L6WGC and two outer Sovtek 6L6WXT. I don't have a strong opinion on those yet — they sound good so far. I might grab a matched quad with a low rating just to see if it makes a difference. From what I understand, this is a fixed cold-biased amp, so maybe it won’t matter too much for my needs.
As for the preamp, most of the 12AX7s are unbranded with just a vertical red "12AX7" marking, along with a couple JJs.
It sounds glorious!
I still need time to explore all the classic settings and see what sticks. First thing I did was dial in the "666" settings — and I was surprised. It actually sounded a lot like my Dual Rectifier, but with a very noticeable midrange honk. That was interesting.
Compared to the EVH 5150III I used to have — which I quickly A/B’d by re-recording some of the same riffs — this OG 5150 has less gain, more body, and a different kind of sizzle. It doesn't sound the same — and that’s what I was expecting.
So far, I’m loving it. This amp is a keeper for sure.
Now I need to replace my shelving to fit 3 amps.
