Bought a 5150

So i bought a 5150 I am running mesa tubes and a cab and i gotta say its blowing away my triple and the 2 channel :mrgreen:

How are the cleans?


IMO, the 5150s are fantastic for metal but they don't do much else well; it is simply a different flavour of Ice Cream. In my experience I found the Peavey to be quite buzzy and harsh sounding, almost like a stomp box. I prefer the creamy quality of a Mesa, although I can see where it annoys someone who wants a heavier tone.

Well i stiill believe the money tone is a 5150 and a rectifier for recording lol

That would definitely sound awesome. I'll have to try the Electra Dyne + Recto for recording

5150 was my 1st tube amp. It rocked my socks, but it's a bit unrefined IMO (this was the old block letter 5150). I didn't notice it until I sold it towards my 1st boogie (DR). Cool amp for sure, just lacks the finesse that boogies have.

I just traded my 6505+ for a Triple. I like them both but the Triple just has a much, and I mean MUCH more massive sound. It's not as tight as the Peavey but that what I have a Mark for. The clean channel was just awful though. If they'd fix that then it would be a great amp.... I'm not sure why they left the clean channel so... Awful

SonVolt said:

It's not as tight as the Peavey

Click to expand...

lolwut?

I felt that way about the peavey when comparing it to the dual. I felt the 5150 was all 'woof'. Great for low ends, anything else was mediocre at best.

ChrisRocksUSA said:

SonVolt said:

It's not as tight as the Peavey

Click to expand...

lolwut?

I felt that way about the peavey when comparing it to the dual. I felt the 5150 was all 'woof'. Great for low ends, anything else was mediocre at best.

Click to expand...

It think it's pretty well common knowledge that the 5150/6505 is about the tightest metal there is. It doesn't get flubby/muddy like a dual will at high volumes, especially with 7/8 string down tuned guitars.

All depends if it is a 2 Ch dual or a 3... 2 Ch duals/triples are way tighter than 3 ch (including the reborns IME)
And the earlier the revision, the tighter it was, pre 500, tightest out of the bunch.

See inliked the massive yone of the triple but i also am in a aband with 2 other guitar players

SonVolt said:

ChrisRocksUSA said:

SonVolt said:

It's not as tight as the Peavey

Click to expand...

lolwut?

I felt that way about the peavey when comparing it to the dual. I felt the 5150 was all 'woof'. Great for low ends, anything else was mediocre at best.

Click to expand...

It think it's pretty well common knowledge that the 5150/6505 is about the tightest metal there is. It doesn't get flubby/muddy like a dual will at high volumes, especially with 7/8 string down tuned guitars.

Click to expand...

Yes, "common knowledge" on the internet. A friend of mine plays metal and at shows, you'd always hear his 3 channel recto and 2 x 12 over two ENGL halfstacks. I spoke with him and he said that he had never heard another amp cut like a Boogie. When I asked him what his secret was, he said he turned the treble down, the mids up, bass down, and presence up. I have tried this myself and the Recto gets much tighter and more focused. It has such a scooped sound to begin with that the extra mids really add the kick necessary to project.

I would submit that the flubby muddy tone is at least partially a user problem =-p

5150s are fantastic amps for metal though. They're very gainy, crisp, and aggressive. I think the 'mud' problem on a 5150 is also a user error. Gotta EQ the amp for the tone you need. The extra lows are there for thin sounding guitars, not for replacing a bassist.

(It is just my own personal taste that I prefer a more organic and 'tube' like tone quality with my amps)

BrentSSL said:

See inliked the massive yone of the triple but i also am in a aband with 2 other guitar players

Click to expand...

YUCK!

YellowJacket said:

How are the cleans?

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: I LOL'ed

YellowJacket said:

Yes, "common knowledge" on the internet. A friend of mine plays metal and at shows, you'd always hear his 3 channel recto and 2 x 12 over two ENGL halfstacks. I spoke with him and he said that he had never heard another amp cut like a Boogie. When I asked him what his secret was, he said he turned the treble down, the mids up, bass down, and presence up. I have tried this myself and the Recto gets much tighter and more focused. It has such a scooped sound to begin with that the extra mids really add the kick necessary to project.

Click to expand...

Believe me, I'm much happier with my Triple... i don't regret the trade. The 6505 was tight but it didn't punch me in the chest the same way the Boogie does. When cranked and I'm standing right in front of it, it actually gives me that funny "climbing the ropes in gym class" feeling.

rocknroll9225 said:

YellowJacket said:

How are the cleans?

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: I LOL'ed

Click to expand...

Ya, :lol: :lol:

In all seriousness, I bristle a bit when anyone suggests any one amp is categorically better than another. Different strokes for different folks. The tone is much more in the player than the amp and guitar.
Speaking of guitasr, most often it is the guitar / amp / speaker combination that is more important than the amp itself. I find that getting all the pieces of the rig right are what creates that mojo that guitarists want. It is entirely possible that a 5150 will work better with one guitar than a Triple with another. I recall a band who was gigging with a 5150 and a Triple side by side. The guy who owned the Triple derided the fellow with the 5150 and I joined in. What we did not realize is that the 5150 had a tone that complemented the triple which made them sound SICK on stage. Two triples would have been a big mudfest with one guy never hearing the other.
In my old band, my brother ran a Tele / Red Bear combination next to my Dual / Les Paul. We understood the value of EQing out gear to sound good TOGETHER!

SonVolt said:

Believe me, I'm much happier with my Triple... i don't regret the trade. The 6505 was tight but it didn't punch me in the chest the same way the Boogie does. When cranked and I'm standing right in front of it, it actually gives me that funny "climbing the ropes in gym class" feeling.

Click to expand...

Triples are insane when they get turned up. They just have a bit more fizz at low volumes =-(

See i am wondering if I should keep my triple and run both together love them equally i just like the hotrod sound of the 5150 better. But thats 4 guitar amps at once 5 if you count the bassist. Does anyone know what kind of A/B switcher i shouls use?

I'm all for running two amps for a bigger sound in a 3 piece but with two other guitarists, I don't know that it would make an appreciable -or beneficial- difference. Maybe grab one or the other, depending on your mood

Haha i like that i dont know i might sell the triple and use the 5150 till i can get a reborn dual

BrentSSL said:

Haha i like that i dont know i might sell the triple and use the 5150 till i can get a reborn dual

Click to expand...

Ya. The Reborn heads are fantastic. Greater clarity and high end definition. Probably the best course of action.

YellowJacket said:

In my experience I found the Peavey to be quite buzzy and harsh sounding, almost like a stomp box. I prefer the creamy quality of a Mesa, although I can see where it annoys someone who wants a heavier tone.

Click to expand...

Put a 50 cent 10pf silver mica cap across pins 6 and 7 (or 7 and 8 )of the PI tube and watch the buzzy/fizzy tone disappear. The amp sounds a lot more Mesa like doing this simple mod. This trick was told to me by Mark Cameron. I know a few other very simple tricks to tighten up the amp, yet keep that "5150" sound.

Well after more abing and experimenting I prefer thetriple lol