What's the best version/model of the 5150? Peavey, Fender?

[D-Rock]

I was playing my 6505 all afternoon today and really love that amp. Straight in, Lead channel with the gain at 5/10 and through a Mesa 4x12 is just plain awesome.
I like how the original 5150/6505 is kind of like a wild animal, that is hard to tame. It has that feeling under your fingers. A little mangy, and rabid sounding.
The EVH is great too, I think where it differs mainly is that it lacks that wild feel/sound that I mentioned. The EVH is more refined sounding. I would gladly take either. I just so happen to own the 6505. It hangs with, and crushes just as hard as my other high gainers. Which is great for amp that is 1K new and $400-$600 used.

 

[angelspade]

It really depends on what you are looking for. That being said: I've owned all three...Peavey 5150 II / 6505+.

 

[James Lugo]

I started recording a band today in Australia and the guitar player has 6505+, man I think it sounds great with a recto cab and a Les Paul.

 

[rbasaria]

I've owned all the peaveys and have played the EVH one extensively. Most people probably like the EVH the best, but I think the peavey 212 combo is the best sounding out of all of them.

peavey 6505/5150 = most aggressive and simplest of the series. Shared EQ, 2 channels with a crunch boost on the rhythm channel. Huge low end that can be hard to dial. Great with a boost. Very big sound.
peavey 6505+/5150II = tighter than the original on the lead channel, doesnt need a boost. No shared EQ. 2 channels with crunch boost on the rhythm channel. Sounds huge and tight and aggressive.
peavey 6505+ 112 = 112 combo, made in china, sounds as you would expect a 6505+ to sound through a 112 cab.
peavey 6505/5150 212 combo = IMO, best sounding out of all 5150 amps. 2 channel, built in reverb, shared EQ. I treat mine as a single channel amp and live on the crunch channel. Crunch boost on the crunch channel acts more like a TS type boost. Tighter than the rest of the series. My favorite by FAR!!
EVH 5150III 50 watt = 50 watt mini head. 3 channels, shared EQ between clean and crunch. Sounds great. Smoother than the peaveys. Clean channel is pretty good, but I agree that its not better than the 6505+ clean channel.
EVH 5150III 100 watt = 100 watt full size head. crunch channel has less gain than 50 watt head. Lead channel is aggressive yet smooth. Not as aggressive as the peaveys. More refined sounding. Clean channel is great. Crunch can get you almost anywhere you wanna go (would make a great single channel head with a boost).

Havent had a chance to play the EVH 212s, yet, but Im VERY interested...not even sure if theyve been released yet.

 

[fluff191]

The original Peavey 5150 head is still king of them all IMO.

I really liked the EVH, and was expecting a fire breathing monster. Instead it was a sonic Hugh Hefner: more refined, wore PJs and a smoking jacket all the time and had a pension. Which is cool too.

 

[5150clone]

Another vote for Peavey. The EVH doesnt have the grind or aggression the Peaveys have and thats why ive been playing them for 20 years.

 

[fuzzyguitars]

My vote is for an old block logo 5150 without mods.

That amp through a mesa 4x12 loaded with v30 and a guitar with emgs will give sneap tone with ease.

Provided that is what you are looking for.

 

[Norton666]

i've owned all incarnations of this amp... I think the Fender version is the best... by far... FARRRRRRR!!!!

This x 10000000000000

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

The 6505 heads and 6505+ heads often go for relatively cheap compared to old 800's or other amps. I guess they don't look cool enough. They def. have my attention from the clips I've heard though. I'd probably just live on the crunch channel with a boost as well. The one question i have is about the high end. You guys have said that the EVH 5153 is the smoothest of the bunch, is there a perceived taming of the highs on the 6505 series? I've been watching demos and they seem not to have that kerrang in the top end that MArshalls have. Is that me or was it simply dialed out by the user?

 

[jwhitman]

The original Peavey 5150 head is still king of them all IMO.

I really liked the EVH, and was expecting a fire breathing monster. Instead it was a sonic Hugh Hefner: more refined, wore PJs and a smoking jacket all the time and had a pension. Which is cool too.

Best Description FTW...

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

there's also the overlooked 6534+ which has EL34's...brutal amp. I doubt you could go wrong with either variation.

Maxon OD808 + a good Noise Gate. Bang for buck the regular version 6505 is cool. Or just use an Uberschall

 

[nwright]

Ive had them all... I currently have the Fender EVH and a Peavey 6505+ ........The lead channels sound almost the same. The EVH is a little darker, smoother yet not as clear as the peavey.. The original peavey 5150(6505) non plus model is the meanest sounding of the bunch, most aggressive and has more lowend than the other two. If you want the most brutal metalz tone go with the original non plus version.

The clean channel on the Fender EVH isnt any better than the clean channel on the 6505+ IMO, the 6505 clean channel is not really a clean channel, if you are looking for clean cleans stay away from the original 5150(65605)..

I would say the best crunch tones come from the blue channel on the EVH. If you need most versatilely go with the Fender.

All 3 of them are prob my favorite line of amps of all time and Ive owned Diezel, Soldano, Bogner, Fryette, Engl, Mesa etc etc .. They can hang !

Could not disagree more with some of this but every set of ears are different. With my playing style, everything about the fender EVH's is better. Ive owned a script letter and block letter 5150, a 6505 and a 6505+, and everything about the evh iii is better to me. The cleans on both the 100 and 50 just obliterate the peaveys. The biggest asset to the peavey series is it gets you into the tonal area all of these amps reside at a great used price point.

 

[JerryP]

Peavey all the way IMO. The EVH clean sucks worse than the original 5150, lead channel is buzzy and compressed because of clipping diodes, crunch isn't bad. EVH head box is too big and it has a ridiculous amount of preamp tubes which means extra money when it's time to re-tube. I prefer Peavey's build quality over Fender. Peavey customer service is awesome too.
Jerry

 

[wIsEbLooD]

They are all very similar. I like the 5152 the best though.

 

[Anonymous]

Ive had them all... I currently have the Fender EVH and a Peavey 6505+ ........The lead channels sound almost the same. The EVH is a little darker, smoother yet not as clear as the peavey.. The original peavey 5150(6505) non plus model is the meanest sounding of the bunch, most aggressive and has more lowend than the other two. If you want the most brutal metalz tone go with the original non plus version.

The clean channel on the Fender EVH isnt any better than the clean channel on the 6505+ IMO, the 6505 clean channel is not really a clean channel, if you are looking for clean cleans stay away from the original 5150(65605)..

I would say the best crunch tones come from the blue channel on the EVH. If you need most versatilely go with the Fender.

All 3 of them are prob my favorite line of amps of all time and Ive owned Diezel, Soldano, Bogner, Fryette, Engl, Mesa etc etc .. They can hang !

Thanks, I see a couple of old Peavey's a 5150 and a 5150II. Are they the same?

no
the 5150 is a 2 channel amp.. the 5150II is a 3 channel amp (a dedicated clean channel).

im pretty sure the 5150's are all made in the US too, if that means anything to you.

not sure about the 6505s, and i believe the fenders are all made in mexico.

the combo versions of the peavey's are voiced differently than the heads.

as with any 100 watt amp, they need played at gig volume to open up and get the monster out from under the bed.....around 2 usually on the post gains starts.

 

[nevusofota]

Peavey all the way IMO. The EVH clean sucks worse than the original 5150

This proves why I would never buy (or even try) an amp based on opinion.

 

[D-Rock]

Ive had them all... I currently have the Fender EVH and a Peavey 6505+ ........The lead channels sound almost the same. The EVH is a little darker, smoother yet not as clear as the peavey.. The original peavey 5150(6505) non plus model is the meanest sounding of the bunch, most aggressive and has more lowend than the other two. If you want the most brutal metalz tone go with the original non plus version.

The clean channel on the Fender EVH isnt any better than the clean channel on the 6505+ IMO, the 6505 clean channel is not really a clean channel, if you are looking for clean cleans stay away from the original 5150(65605)..

I would say the best crunch tones come from the blue channel on the EVH. If you need most versatilely go with the Fender.

All 3 of them are prob my favorite line of amps of all time and Ive owned Diezel, Soldano, Bogner, Fryette, Engl, Mesa etc etc .. They can hang !

Thanks, I see a couple of old Peavey's a 5150 and a 5150II. Are they the same?

no
the 5150 is a 2 channel amp.. the 5150II is a 3 channel amp (a dedicated clean channel).

im pretty sure the 5150's are all made in the US too, if that means anything to you.

not sure about the 6505s, and i believe the fenders are all made in mexico.

5150/6505 and 5150 II/6505+ are all two channel amps. The II & + just have indepedant eq sections. The 5150/6505 has a shared eq.
The 5150 III is a three channel amp with three independent eq's. The 5150 III 50 watt has three channels too except has a shared eq for the clean and crunch channels.
All the Peavey 5150's are made in the U.S.A.
The 5150 III is made in Mexico.

 

[JerryP]

Peavey all the way IMO. The EVH clean sucks worse than the original 5150

This proves why I would never buy (or even try) an amp based on opinion.

Because it's not the same as your opinion.
Jerry

 

[Code001]

I like the 5153 the most. For me, it's more versatile than the other ones when comparing stock for stock. That's a big deal considering I only have one amp at the moment. Cleans are average, solid crunch channel and great lead channel -- especially for lead tones. I tend to play more leads anyway, so the 5153 suited me a bit more. For all out brutal mayhem, I'd probably choose the regular 5150. FWIW, I've also owned the 5150, 5150 II and 5150 III. All three are solid amps, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. It's just a matter of choosing one to suit your needs. The amps are fairly inexpensive, anyway. Might as well try them all out and see which one you personally like the best.

 

[D-Rock]

So are there clipping diodes providing gain in the preamp of the EVH 5150 III ?