Poll - Best Version Of The 5150 Series Amps?

  • Thread starter Thread starter angelspade
  • Start date Start date

What Is The Overall Best Version Of The 5150 Series Amps?

  • Peavey EVH Block Letter

    Votes: 20 20.4%

  • Peavey 5150 / 6506

    Votes: 11 11.2%

  • Peavey 5150 II / 6505 +

    Votes: 17 17.3%

  • EVH 5150 III

    Votes: 3 3.1%

  • EVH 5150 III Stealth 6L6

    Votes: 19 19.4%

  • EVH 5150 III Stealth EL34

    Votes: 6 6.1%

  • EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6

    Votes: 12 12.2%

  • EVH 5150 III 50W EL34

    Votes: 2 2.0%

  • EVH Iconic 6L6

    Votes: 3 3.1%

  • EVH Iconic EL34

    Votes: 5 5.1%
  • Total voters
    98
angelspade

angelspade

RT Kimg
What is the overall best version of this series amplifiers and Why?

Or do you just pass on them all together and Why?
 
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angelspade said:
Actually owned one for a few years...Great amp.
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I’d buy one just to cut it down to a head and run it through an oversized 2x12. Would literally wipe the floor of everything in the list IMO. Engage the onboard tube buffered reverb but keep it low or off and it cleans up the gain level and makes it feel absolutely effortless to play. Tons of headroom and just a killer sleeper amp. One of the best I’ve ever played hands down.
 
loved the original 5150 and II. Picked up a 6505 II last year, but had gas for another amp. Sold it to a friend, who still hasn't paid me, lol. I get to play it at his house though, and he cooks me dinner.. He also had a 5153, and that thing ripped in my limited experience. I think if there was only one high gain channel I could have, the 5150 variants would rank in the top 5. For me this is metal though, anything else and I am looking elsewhere. :dunno:
 
Curious if any boutique amps do the 5150thing- most seem to be based on Marshall, Mesa, soldano,bogner or diezel
 
the 6505+ is the only amp i have that ive never bonded with in any way, it just does not respond to my playing at all, just feels slow and dumpy. my 5153 EL34 50w i did the c137 mod to i really dig though. ive actually never played a regular 5150 as crazy as that seems, i kind of avoided them just cause there were so many in the metal and hardcore scene back in the day that i just had to have something different.
 
RaceU4her said:
the 6505+ is the only amp i have that ive never bonded with in any way, it just does not respond to my playing at all, just feels slow and dumpy. my 5153 EL34 50w i did the c137 mod to i really dig though. ive actually never played a regular 5150 as crazy as that seems, i kind of avoided them just cause there were so many in the metal and hardcore scene back in the day that i just had to have something different.
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if you didn't like the +, I don't think you would like the original either. It had more of that sag, and a fatter bottom IMO. YMMV.
 
Erock said:
if you didn't like the +, I don't think you would like the original either. It had more of that sag, and a fatter bottom IMO. YMMV.
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Yeah the II is tighter than the original and not as tubby. I own my 6505+ that I modded years ago with the basics and it helped a lot. Proper bias, a choke, Mercury magnetics OT, choice preamp tube selection. It doesn’t take much to get these into super amp territory but they’ll always have underdog vibes to them because that’s what Eddie wanted when he made them. The only amp my 6505+ couldn’t touch years ago was a Bogner Uber rev 2 and it wasnt much effort I put into it to improve the amp. I was impressed it could hold its own at all. It’s a 6505+ 😂
 
glpg80 said:
Yeah the II is tighter than the original and not as tubby. I own my 6505+ that I modded years ago with the basics and it helped a lot. Proper bias, a choke, Mercury magnetics OT, choice preamp tube selection. It doesn’t take much to get these into super amp territory but they’ll always have underdog vibes to them because that’s what Eddie wanted when he made them. The only amp my 6505+ couldn’t touch years ago was a Bogner Uber rev 2 and it wasnt much effort I put into it to improve the amp.
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that is exactly what I would do if I owned one. Maybe I need to confiscate it back! :LOL:

I can't though, he's gone through health issues in the last couple years, so I have to let it slide. It's one of the only amps I can plug straight into and feel like I'm playing a boosted amps, without diodes.
 
I've only owned a 5150 III, and I loved the blue channel. Ended up selling and buying an Orange.

I'd like to try the Stealth 6L6, and/or EL34 some time down the road.
 
Erock said:
if you didn't like the +, I don't think you would like the original either. It had more of that sag, and a fatter bottom IMO. YMMV.
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interesting, ive actually heard the opposite from a few guys. i thought about maybe trading it in for a new 1992, id like to have an OG just cause its a classic, but im in no rush.

glpg80 said:
Yeah the II is tighter than the original and not as tubby. I own my 6505+ that I modded years ago with the basics and it helped a lot. Proper bias, a choke, Mercury magnetics OT, choice preamp tube selection. It doesn’t take much to get these into super amp territory but they’ll always have underdog vibes to them because that’s what Eddie wanted when he made them. The only amp my 6505+ couldn’t touch years ago was a Bogner Uber rev 2 and it wasnt much effort I put into it to improve the amp so I was impressed it could hold its own at all. It’s a 6505+ 😂
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we did a gearfest years ago with all sorts of shit, and riffraffs 6505+ and his mexican tele was the best sounding of everything, it was like how can that be? it was though lol. i think i have a schematic somewhere for cameron 5150 mods i thought maybe ill try and find a broken one and have someone do them as they fix it
 
Owned tons of 5150s… block letter was my favorite, then the II. Peaveys always seemed to break for me unfortunately…. So, moved onto the IIIs and have a stealth 100 now. They’re killer amps. Not the most reliable. I do want to try the 1992 iteration.

I know guys like a lot of boutique stuff around here, myself included, and a lot of those amps are unique sounding but 5150s sound good. There’s a reason they’ve been used on so many damn albums.
 
RaceU4her said:
interesting, ive actually heard the opposite from a few guys. i thought about maybe trading it in for a new 1992, id like to have an OG just cause its a classic, but im in no rush.



we did a gearfest years ago with all sorts of shit, and riffraffs 6505+ and his mexican tele was the best sounding of everything, it was like how can that be? it was though lol. i think i have a schematic somewhere for cameron 5150 mods i thought maybe ill try and find a broken one and have someone do them as they fix it
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with the price range, I think it would be a fun investment. I've been thinking the same for a while.
 
I own:
5153 100w Stealth
5153 100w EL34
5153 50w 6L6
Peavey 5150

I’ve played but don’t own:
5153 50w EL34
5153 50w Stealth
5150 Iconic 6L6
Peavey 5150 II

I have two answers.

If you can only have one amp, no post processing, no boosts, just an amp for playing in a band setting, I’d pick the 5150 III 100w Stealth.

If you have all the pre and post EQ tools you want so you can shape both the character of the distortion and the overall EQ signature however you like, I’d pick the OG Peavey 5150.

The 5150 III 100w Stealth sounds like an OG 5150 but more modern with an internally hardwired low cut before gain for some extra tightness and in my opinion a much better tonestack than the OG. However, the less filtered nature of the OG 5150’s preamp means it has a guttural kind of low end thump and a fullness or richness I don’t really hear in any of the other amps in the series and prefer over the other versions. However, if you use your own pre-EQ, you can blend anywhere between that low end thump and the tighter, more “modern” sounding 5150’s with built in low cuts. As for the extra post-EQ either in the loop or actually in post, I just think the OG’s tonestack isn’t as good as the 5150 III tonestack, but the OG’s preamp is good enough that i think it’s worth messing with another extra EQ in the loop to compensate.
 
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RaceU4her said:
interesting, ive actually heard the opposite from a few guys. i thought about maybe trading it in for a new 1992, id like to have an OG just cause its a classic, but im in no rush.
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The original is one of my favorite amps to play, but I thought the II/+ was tighter. I also want to try a 1992 RI though, as I LOVE how different boosts sound in front of amps. The 5150 takes them nicely IME.
 
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