5150

I'm having a hard time deciding what type of amp I want to get for this band I'm getting in. The former guitarist had a lot of low end in his tone and he used a Hughes&Kettner tube amp. I've played the 5150 and know I like that "bite" it has on it's rythm channel, but my question is; Does anyone know if it would be suitable for a metal band? And how is the low end on it? The reason I ask is because I've only played it at a small shop and the owner is about 70 and won't let me turn the d@mn thing up. Thanks guys.

I think it sounds great for metal. I play in a metal band myself, and am very happy about it's sound.
I'm using it with a BBE Sonic Maximizer though, wich makes it even sound better(specially the low end).
But it sounds great without it too.

Only thing I don't really like about it is it's "clean" tones, tend to distort pretty quickly.


Greetz, TK


[Edited by trendkillah on 01-27-2001 at 04:59 AM]

BUMP! Thanks Trendkillah, but out of 1,000 members on this site there's got to be more than just one opinion on this amp.

Maybe check out the reviews on http://www.harmonycentral.com ?

Always a big help when I'm looking for new gear.



Greetz, TK

The 5150 is a great amp, no doubt.
For heavymetal, try the Boss HM-2 or HM-3. But really, any dirty distortionbox and an EQ, can do the job, just blow up the treble and bass and cut the middle to near zero.

Fiddles

Trolle

peavey 5150?

Originally posted by JoeyLibby
peavey 5150?

It's EVH's signature amp.
As for what I think about it, I've never played through one, so I really can't say what I think.

*Uhhhmmmm, I'm a new member here and I DEFINATLY don't want to piss ANYBODY off, But here goes my 5150 experience: I was at the local guitar store here in Albany, NY (Drome Sound) and I see that this guy and his girl are there tryin' out different ampz and it was CLEAR that the girl wanted to buy her man an amp for X-mas and he, pretty much, had his choice in the store to get :D (I wish my Ol' lady would do that for me :) )...Well, here is this slick-ass salesman tryin' to shove this 5150 (Full rack) in his face and wheelz it over and cranx it up...YUK.....So, when the salesman turns his back, I whisper to him that the low-end "just ain't there" and before he chooses the 5150, to try just (1) Marshall 1/2 cabinet with a Marshall JCM Head....The salesman overheard me and was THOROUGHLY pissed.....Tee-hee (Apperantly, the commission he woulda gotten from the 5150 was more...screw 'em ) ....I went about my business buying a DBX for the rack and next thing I know, I turn around and Heard "THAT SOUND"....Yup, you got it....The Marshall was kickin'....Next thing ya know, the Marshall is bein' pushed over to the Check-out counter and the man comes over and shakes my hand thanx the V, BIG TIME.....The salesman also saw this and wasn't impressed...Bummer :D:D:D

The 5150 definitely has a lot of "bite", but not much else. They're VERY dry & thin sounding. They almost sound like scraping sheet metal to my ears after the novelty of it being a "5150" wears off. One of my friends bought one about 2 years ago, he tried everything he could to get a good sound out of the distortion channel, it just wouldn't do it. He still has it, but he uses distortion pedals instead of that thin lead channel. He just recently bought a 50 watt single channel Marshall JCM (800, I think), he's much happier with it (but he's still jealous of my Blue Voodoo's tone, hehe). Those Shefield speakers suck, too.
Try a Marshall head or Mesa triaxis preamp w/ a tube poweramp with a marshall Celestion cab.

This thread is seriously killin' me guys! All I've heard is negative comments about the 5150 from this site. But on the other hand, I know people who have talked to the owner of Soldano and said that "He thinks it's flattering that the 5150 is almost an exact replication of one of his higher end Soldano tube amps. It's just made w/ cheaper parts and won't last as long as a Soldano,". I've talked to all kind of guitar and amp techs and they tell me that I can get a great tone out of it if I just play around with it. And as far as the no "low end" goes. They all said that it has a great "low end". What to do, what to do??????

Originally posted by Trolle
just blow up the treble and bass and cut the middle to near zero.

Thanks, I know about scooping the mids' I just don't like that kind of tone. Oh, and for all you "metal heads" out there here's an interesting quote from a well known tech out here in southern Cali.
"Did you know that most of the distortion actually takes place in the midrange? So by scooping your mids out you're just taking away the tone that you're trying to achieve in the first place,".

Bad Horsie, I have to make an update about my previous reply.

I've been playing around with the amp alot lately, and discovered that using the normal input of the amp makes the clean channel sound pretty good. I actually like it now.
And it makes the lead channel sound alot better too, I was smiling when I found out, hehe.
I was always using the high gain input, cause I thought it would give me the extra dist. I needed, lol, but this amp just has more then plenty of it.

As for scooping mids, that will totally make your tone sound like doggy poo, especially when playing louder then at bedroom-volume levels.(check the equal loudness curves, or Fletcher-Munson curves for that; it's sweet knowing some sound theory)


Of course you don't have to believe me, I know I'm the only one onhere that actually likes the amp. But I'm not a dummy when it comes to guitar-tone either.


Greetz, TK

[Edited by trendkillah on 02-08-2001 at 03:38 PM]

Well that's makes two of us who like it now. Because I went back and played around with it some more today and have now decided that will be my new toy for a while. Granted it has a lot of background noise, but that's easy to control as long as you keep your distance from the amp. And that's no problem with me, I'll just use my Nady wireless system just to make sure.

I'll never cut my mids either, I was just trying to give advice to a met-head. My settings for my dirty sound(from 0 to 10) are usually bass around 6 or 7, mids at 5 and treble at 6, all depending on wich situation I'm in - playing gigs, rehearsing or recording.

I you're having noise problems, try running a Boss NS-2 through the effects loop, they're one of the better noise supressors out there today.
If you do end up noticing a lack of low-end, try a BBE Sonic Maximizer & an EQ box to get more tonal control.

ALL I KNOW IS THAT EVH HAS SWEET TONE AND IF IT DIDNT SOUND GOOD WHY WOULD HE ENDORSE IT JUST THROW SOME DISTORTION IN THE LINE AND IT WILL SOUND AWESOME!

Originally posted by strat7785
ALL I KNOW IS THAT EVH HAS SWEET TONE

*Yes, his PRIMARY rigs are re-worked Marshall 50 watt heads and Celestion "Greenbacks"....BELIEVE IT !!!

AND IF IT DIDNT SOUND GOOD WHY WOULD HE ENDORSE IT

*UHHHMMMM, I dunno,,,,,MAYBE it's the SCHIT-LOAD of $$$$$ that Peavey iz paying him to put his name on it !!! (STRANGER things have been done for a buck or TENS OF THOUSANDS !!) *Jeesh*sigh* ........

JUST THROW SOME DISTORTION IN THE LINE AND IT WILL SOUND AWESOME!

*Oh Yeah, sure.....Throw some MORE distortion onto an Amp that already has enuff gain to pull a locomotive....Are you for REAL ?

*Chuckle, chuckle......(To each his own......:) )