MXR EVH5150 5150 Overdrive

About the MXR EVH5150 5150 Overdrive

The MXR EVH5150 Overdrive is a high-gain preamp-in-a-box voiced after Eddie Van Halen's 5150 amplifier. Despite the overdrive in the name it is really a high-gain distortion, with a full three-band EQ, a boost, and a built-in noise gate. It works in front of an amp or, as a preamp, in the effects loop.

In one paragraph

The page's figures as one paragraph, assembled for quoting; not written by hand.

Listings of the MXR EVH5150 5150 Overdrive we watched from listing to sale typically went in 17 days (30 watched), a steady; it sells for a median of €110 over the last 90 days across 31 recorded sales, with most examples landing between €100 and €120. There are 171 listings live right now across Reverb, from €94 asking, a median ask 85% over the sale median. Figures computed 19 October 2026 by Doirado from cross-platform listing data.

What owners have said elsewhere

Paraphrased from 277 discussion threads among 11 owners, 2024-2025. No names, nothing quoted.

High-gain players are enthusiastic about the 5150: owners call it awesome with great tone, and one who has owned a pile of high-gain drives says it is his favorite by far, the sound he had been searching for. Two features get singled out again and again, the excellent three-band EQ, which owners liken to a real preamp, and the built-in noise gate, which more than one calls absolute perfection. It is very high gain and does everything from a bit of crunch to full metal depending on the gain knob. A few tips owners share: it is bass-heavy, so back the Low control off to around forty percent, it often sounds even better run in the effects loop as a preamp than in front of the amp, and a Tube Screamer or SD-1 in front tightens it for heavy work. The honest caveats: it leans toward EVH's later, hyperdriven tones rather than the early brown sound (reach for a Marshall-in-a-box for that), some owners found it hard to cut through a band mix even with the mids up, and a couple ran into quality-control trouble, so buy from a reputable dealer.