How to get more presence w/ 5150

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productive

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i have a peavey 5150 and just put new JJ tubes in it. The amp sounds like it needs more presence or just better sound in general (The other guitarist in the band have a triple rectifier, and i am outdone with both volume and tone) I am playing through a fender 4X12 and want to know how to make my amp sound better. What will help the most with this - will modding my amp to adjust the bias going to make a big difference, am i better off getting a more expensive amp, a different cab, or is there another factor i am not seeing? thanks.

-kyle-
 
What kind of speakers are in your fender cabinet? That head should be extremely loud. That might also be dulling your sound. I was in a band with someone who had a 5150 head and that thing would make your ears bleed it was so loud and it also had alot of midrange presence.
 
yeah

yeah, i dont know what kinda speakers are in the cab, i guess ill open er up next time im at the studio. Also.. I am playing with an active EMG 81, in a decent ESP guitar (MH300). As far as distortion goes, i am playing through the low gain input and have the pregain lead channel set at around 6.5 or 7. Ill try playing through one of my friend's marshalls and see how that goes. thanks alot.
-k
 
I just sold my Fender GE412 cab. If thats the one you have, it's the cab doing the presence cut. The speakers in it aren't great, and the cab is voiced kinda wierd, really different from a Marshall. I had a Marshall 1960 and the Fender right next to each other and the Marshall was alot more in your face, as well as more effecient at the same amp volume level. You might try some different speakers in it...check out the new Eminence line which are Celestion clones sort of. They are the Red Fang, Tonker, Guvenor, and a few others. Theyre all getting good reviews. Thats what I was about to put in mine if I was going to keep it.

H2H
 
hmmm...

i have a sovtek mig-60 (also w/ JJs) ... and altough a totally different beast than your 5150 ...when i put the master vol. beyond "3-4" paint is being stripped off the door ... a very gritty, fat and big tone :-) ... - running it into a Laney 4x12 box.

your 5150 should do AT LEAST as well as my rig...

re-biasing will not really alter the sound ... check for the obvious ... do th output-resistances (ohm) match? Is your cab. mono o stereo?, etc... are the tubes "broken in"...? I seem to remember some info on bob's eurotube page concerning the 5150 - but cant recall - you might check there ... or just drop him a mail - he is both very helpful and knowledgable

Also a thing that I would advise you ... once you crack open your 4x12, replace all the cr@ppy-@ss wiring w/ some GOOD speaker cable (i pulled out some 15 ft. of telephone-type cable :-) ... I would describe this as pulling a thick curtain away from the cabinet (sound-wise).

best of luck
alfred
 
thanks guys. lets see, i just put in the new tubes, but i had the same problem with the old tubes as well, so i dont think the tubes are the issue. I have to crank op the master volume on the lead to around 6-7 to really compete with my bandmates mesa triple rect. (we play really loud). All the ohm setings are setup correctly, mono cab, i have never opened up the cab, so i definitly will do that to check out the speakers and wiring.

I think trying out different cabs is a really good step for me. I do not know the model # for my fender cab, but it is quite large/full size, has a silver colored grill cloth, and the speakers are angled out left and right at maybe 15 degrees. If anyone knows what cab model this is that would be great. i have been wondering for quite a while.
-k
 
That sounds like an old Tonemaster cabinet, maybe. If so, they are nice vintage cabs. There's no info on the jackplate? Probably the same cheap Fender speakers in it, though. All those stock Fender no label speakers are very inefficient...which is the reason you have to turn your guitar amp up more to get the same volume. Check abother cab. Then maybe look at getting rid of yours. If it's a tonemaster, you can get a good amount on the used market.

H2H
 
And the Recto probably has Vintage 30's in the cab, which are pretty efficient and also voiced for cutting through in the mids. I believe the Eminence Governor is the one they say sounds very much like the V30, and the old Eminence V12 is similar but with less/smoother top end. A friend of mine tried a 212 with one Tonker and one Governor and said it sounds pretty good.
 
productive said:
thanks guys. lets see, i just put in the new tubes, but i had the same problem with the old tubes as well, so i dont think the tubes are the issue. I have to crank op the master volume on the lead to around 6-7 to really compete with my bandmates mesa triple rect.
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The Triple Rectifier has six power tubes, probably 6L6. Your 5150 , while rated at 120 watts, only has four 6L6 power tubes. If they have RECTO cabs 4x12, you'll never keep up and if they really crank their rectifier, especially with the treble and presence, the 5150 will have a hard time. The 5150 and Dual Rectifier are much more similar.

I have a Dual Rectifier and a 5150-II. The Rectifier has a lot more bite than the 5150-II.

There's three places to get gain: 1) the pickup; 2) the amp; 3) the cab/speakers. Sounds like you haven't tried their cab with your 5150? Try it and compare against yours.

(we play really loud)
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No shit...
 
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The Fender cabinet is killing you. Get the 5150 cab to get the Van Halen sound or a marshall ot Laney with celestions. The higher the speaker wattage the more high end bite you will end up with. (with Celestions)
 
ok

ok fellas, so i plugged into a marshall cab, and eh, it sounded a little better. then i turned down the gain to around five and it made a big difference. My gain even at around seven was way too much and made my guitar sound muddy. now my amp is sounding a lot better. i will invest in a new speaker cab, but for now, a bigger part of my problem has been solved. thanks everyone.

Also, who had done a bias mod on a 5150? how much does it really affect your sound. from reading about the amp on eurotubes.com, the 5150 is biased very cold from the factory. Is the sound difference after putting in a variable bias and adjusting it a drastic one, or just a slight tonal improvement?
-kyle-
 
Don't know if you've visited there before, but you can generally get the best answers to any Peavey related equipment over at the Peavey forums.

http://forums.peavey.com:8080

There is a specific forum for guitar amps, and the guys there really know their stuff. Also, guys from Peavey will regularly browse the board and answer questions about the amps...even about how to modify them or what a problem with a cabinet might be. Give it a look and I think you won't regret it.
 
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