Love it

EDIT TO BELOW OK. Let's make two things perfectly clear: 1) This is an AMAZING PEDAL; it is a true amp in a box. 2) This is NOT an overdrive pedal; this is a distortion pedal. This is a full dirt pedal for anyone looking to "replicate" Eddie's legendary brown sound. HOWEVER; it is just a pedal. It is not capable of truly replicating the tube-driven tone that Eddie was famous for.

Very similar to my prior purchases, I bought this thing before I understood anything about how tone is truly carved. I bought it on a recommendation from a gentleman at Guitar Center as a replacement for my Boss Metal Zone and my MXR Fullbore Metal. I noticed right away that it was different than the other pedals I had been using up until then; it had a warmth and clarity to it that the others didn't have, and it didn't have that same horrible hiss that those other pedals had when the gain was increased. It was then that I began to hear the difference between overdrive and distortion. Mind you; at this point, I was still doing the "clean channel/cheap drive pedal/all the gain/no mids/SLAYER!!!" approach on a little 8" practice amp. Not long after that, I bought my first mini stack and my first tube head, and began to educate myself on how overdrive is used properly in conjunction with a tube-driven amplifier and a proper effects loop. I learned about the importance of midrange frequencies, and how to use them correctly. Having a three band passive EQ at the very front of the amp is very useful; just don’t scoop out your midrange at this stage (or any stage for that matter). The gain boost is cool, but I personally don't use it; this pedal delivers more than enough gain without it. The coolest feature is the amazingly user-friendly adjustable noise gate. All these controls give you endless tone shaping abilities; from the clean Malcolm Young style overdrive all the way to the face melting gain of a 5150. *DISCLAIMER: NO PEDAL ON EARTH can fully replicate or substitute the gain from a true EVH 5150 tube amplifier (or JVM, Dual Rec, you get the idea) That being said however, this pedal can at least get you in the ballpark. Great for boosting as well. Today, I have the EVH5150OD placed at the front of my Orange Micro Dark in a similar fashion to a tube screamer with a seven band EQ pedal placed first in my effects loop, and it works wonderfully. Definitely different from the golden standard tones from TS9's and OD808's, however it is a great option for folks who are looking for a little more dirt and grit while still retaining warmth and articulation.

To sum up: You'd be doing yourself a disservice by not at trying it out at the very least.

From Gear Setup

A great way to get the 5150 sound on the cheap

First thing: as other reviewers have stated, this is NOT an overdrive pedal how most people think of it (TS, Klon, Bluesbreaker, etc). Eddie Van Halen referred to guitar dirt in general as "overdrive", hence the name. This is a full-blown high gain beast that can function as both a distortion pedal and a pre-amp.

The aim of this pedal is to emulate the 5150's blue channel, and this puppy does what it does very well. Tight with throaty mids and plenty of gain on tap. The built in noise gate is also very helpful. I haven't found much used for the boost as a rhythm player, but you can likely get use out of it for leads.

Will it sound exactly like a real 5150 tube amp? Of course not, but it certainly gets as close as a guitar pedal using JFETs can get. If you need something compact that will get you in modern metal or hardcore territory, or if you want a pedal to help with the classic Eddie "brown sound", this will definitely do the job.

Awesome pedal, one of the best ever.

Awesome pedal, much more than an "Eddie in a box", it can go from extremely light breakup (i.e. 60's British Blues) all the way to raging distortion and everything in between. Typical MXR solid construction and the built in Noise Gate, something I've never personally been very fond of, is actually very good and, used judiciously, it kills the noise with no side effects. It'd be nice to have the Boost function switchable, but I can happily live with this pedal as it is. Highly recommended.

Good Solid Stuff

If you can't afford the 5150 head, or already have an amp you love but just want to toss in a little old VH, then this is a really good choice. EHV has not always had the "cleanest tones" MXR pedals are not known for their quiet operation, but they do effect sound strongly.... fortunately it has a handy noise filter right on the box!

I often use a Kemper or other direct recording device... but always use a real overdrive pedal, always. It seems to eliminate the argument about "digital sounding overdrives & distortions". Problem solved. ...If you rely on this newer direct to disc recording. It couldn't hurt to have a good dozen tried & true overdrive pedals in your treasure chest.

Great Overdrive

Since I'm new to guitar, it took my awhile to unlock the possibilities that can come from this beast, but it is a great overdrive pedal that gives you a very strong fuzzy distortion. I wouldn't use this as the main distortion pedal necessarily, but it will come in handy more times than you would think, especially with the built in gate on the left side of the pedal.

Closer to brown sound than the 5150 iiis

This pedal sounds like a frickin tube amp. Can nail almost anything, very versatile. Able to play Van Halen (duh), Guns N Roses, Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch, Green Day, Nirvana, REM and even country. This pedal has it all, and is completely worth the price

Versatile Distortion

This is hands down my favorite distortion. I'm a huge EVH fan but even if you're not, the EQ makes it easky to dial in anything from a high-gain mid-scooped tone to a lightly overdriven treble boost. Highly recommend.

mxr's best pedal for metal

this pedal is a 5150 amp simulator. i suggest looking up 5150 amp comparison videos to get an idea of this pedals tone. last time i checked, 5150 amps are expensive. this pedal is a steal, and has a built in noise gate. you may want to check out the wampler pinnacle pedal, if you're looking for other pedals with van halen, metal lead goodness.

Brown sound in a box.

I plugged one of these into a Supro Black Magick amp and it sounded like an EVH stack. I was obviously amazed, so I got one.

Engineered by a musician genius.

Engineered by a musician, that's why it is the perfect pick. If you listened Van Halen before, this is the go to pedal.