peavey 5150 combo amp

rxQueen

rxQueen

New member
i've heard that this amp has one of the more crisp and smooth distortions in the industry. is this true? I'm thinking about ditching my peavey bandit 112 for it. how's the disortion on it? I'm really into Opeth and Mikael Akerfeldt used this amp for previous records, like Still Life, and I dig the tone the amp produces.

thanks
 
Although I'm not into metal, I have played on both a 5150 combo and a Bandit 112. You might fall in love with the 5150. Then again, you might not. Tone is mostly preference so just go play one. I can say that I think the 5150 is a very good sounding combo. There are older and newer versions so you might look into the pro's and con's of each.
 
I have a 5150 head and I love it! Be aware that the combo is a little different than the head.

1. The bias is set slightly higher in stock form
2. They give off a constant "shhhhh" sound, unlike the head

I've know some people that hate the combo, but love the head version. Just something to consider.

Unfortunately, since the 5150 has been discontinued, prices have shot up on ebay. I got mine used for $500 about a year ago--now they go for about $700. Peavey replaced the 5150/5150II models with the 6505/6505+ They're exactly the same other than a few cosmetic variations.
 
i tried playing on a used 5150 combo at a music store once, and the first thing i noticed was that its really noisy. theres like a constant hissy sound from the moment you turn the power on. i havent tried playing on the head before, but according to guy above me, i guess it doesnt make that sound. when i cranked up the volume the thing sounded pretty good. the clean channel wasn't that great, but the distortion sounded awesome. trying to play it at low volumes, the noise takes over and it doesnt sound so good. so its a good choice if you like to play with lots of distortion and high volumes. i heard theres some mods that can be done to the 5150 to improve the clean channel sound and to help get rid of the noise.
 
so would I notice a huge improvement when I move up to a 5150 from my bandit 112? i mean my bandit 112's distortion is pretty awesome, but now I'm in search of the tube tone. and I never crank my amp unless I jam, because I live in a university dorm. i'm also concerned about weight and size

one of the main reasons I want a tube amp is to replicate the tone in Opeth's Damnation album. how do I get that kind of godly clean tone? it's played on a PRS through a Laney I believe, but I'm not completely sure of what amp they use to record. but it does sound pretty godly to me.

the track is called Windowpane.
 
Having never played through a bandit 112 I couldn't tell you much about an improvement but I can tell you this. The 5150 combo is probably the heaviest amp for its size weighing in at roughly 90 lbs. Another bad thing is that it has no casters on it so you have to carry it every where (or drag it). I took an old set of casters form a busted 412 cab. Works fine for me.
 
I owned a 5150 for about four years. It was noisy, it was heavy, it was loud, and it was the most dependable, mean amp I've ever owned. I cannot recommend them much higher. Get an older one if you can.

Go to eurotubes.com and ask Bob anything at all about 5150's. He's a great guy and can tell you anything you need to know (not to mention he's a great tech in case you end up getting one).
 
rxQueen said:
so would I notice a huge improvement when I move up to a 5150 from my bandit 112? i mean my bandit 112's distortion is pretty awesome, but now I'm in search of the tube tone. and I never crank my amp unless I jam, because I live in a university dorm. i'm also concerned about weight and size

one of the main reasons I want a tube amp is to replicate the tone in Opeth's Damnation album. how do I get that kind of godly clean tone? it's played on a PRS through a Laney I believe, but I'm not completely sure of what amp they use to record. but it does sound pretty godly to me.

the track is called Windowpane.
Click to expand...


If you're looking for a clean tone like that, stay away from the 5150. The 5150 will give you the tube distortion you're looking for, but it is not a clean amp whatsoever. You should look into a Mesa Mark IV--they're much more versatile.
 
Toolsound said:
If you're looking for a clean tone like that, stay away from the 5150. The 5150 will give you the tube distortion you're looking for, but it is not a clean amp whatsoever. You should look into a Mesa Mark IV--they're much more versatile.
Click to expand...

can laneys produce clean tones with a nice amount of gain or jazzy bluesy clean tones?
 
Another thing about the 5150 and the 6505, which are the same is that if you plug the speakers into the extension rather than the main output it will drop to 30 watts. It is designed that way.
Yes they are noisey but if you are playing live you won't notice over the noise of the audience anyway.
 
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