Anyone else prefer the Peavey 5150 to the evh 5150?

[iamnoah262]

In my experience this is kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I have played just about every model of these and my overall favorite is the 5150 II. The plain 6505 was my least favorite (not totally sure why) but when I played the EVH 5150 III I felt like it was a completely different amp category. I'm sure with the right EQ settings it could be really good for just about anything, but the 5150/6505 are incredible for just about one thing. It'd be like comparing the John Petrucci Ibanez line to the brand new Majesty. Sure, they were made for the same person. However, what he is looking for now is completely different than what he wanted way back in the Ibanez days. The JPM will still do its job the same great way it always has, but the Majesty will do things very differently.

 

[DanielLunardi]

Guys, i have a 5150ii with EH 6L6 power and JJ + jj high gain + Sovtek LPS in pre, can someone explain to me what is BLOCK LETTER 5150 ?

Here in Brazil we don't have this kind of knowledge, i am selling my 5150ii to get a 5150 1 , is there just one version of the 5150 first edition? i have seen many guys talking about block letter but i really don't know what it is.

Any help will be really aprecciate !

thanks

Daniel

 

[DanielLunardi]

Guys, i have a 5150ii with EH 6L6 power and JJ + jj high gain + Sovtek LPS in pre, can someone explain to me what is BLOCK LETTER 5150 ?

Here in Brazil we don't have this kind of knowledge, i am selling my 5150ii to get a 5150 1 , is there just one version of the 5150 first edition? i have seen many guys talking about block letter but i really don't know what it is.

Any help will be really aprecciate !

thanks

Daniel

I think i find it ! the difference is in the front pannel.. One has EVH letters and othe have Eddie's Signature... anyone knows if they have any difference inside?

 

[JoshuaKaroshi]

I used to own a 5150; I sold it because I was moving into an apartment. Incredibly loud amp. Once I started missing it badly, I picked up a 5150III 50w because it better suits my new living space. I think the 5150III kills it. The fender inspired clean green channel is wonderful to my ears. It gets pretty buttery when I play through neck pickups; it's basically pristine clean if you keep the gain under 9 o'clock. It also crunches nicely if you roll the gain up slightly around 10 or 11 o'clock. This is something that I find the peavey series heads don't do as well, but I understand most people in the market for these amps are more interested in the higher gain channels. The blue channel gets really balls to the wall while maintaining "tightness" and "clarity" that a lot of modern players will be searching for to pull off djent tones. It's probably my favorite channel. Finally, I find that the red channel stays fairly true to the characteristics of the blue channel but adds a bit of hair and has a rounder bass frequency. I think it's better suited for less processed sounding metal because it's a bit looser sounding. If you up the bass you can get some surprisingly nice doom and sludge metal tones.

I don't even run the bitch with any pedals at the moment, and it's just unreal. No boost pedal really needed, probably just a gate and that's not even necessary at lower volumes.

Then again, a lot of what i'm hearing can be attributed to the matching EVH 212 cab with the 30th anni G12 speakers... a nice change from v30's...

 

[Shimme]

Guys, i have a 5150ii with EH 6L6 power and JJ + jj high gain + Sovtek LPS in pre, can someone explain to me what is BLOCK LETTER 5150 ?

Here in Brazil we don't have this kind of knowledge, i am selling my 5150ii to get a 5150 1 , is there just one version of the 5150 first edition? i have seen many guys talking about block letter but i really don't know what it is.

Any help will be really aprecciate !

thanks

Daniel

The only difference between a regular 5150 and a block letter is the looks and that it shipped with a different set of tubes. Since those tubes should be long gone, go with whichever is the better price.

 

[BillNephew]

I've tried the 5150III before, and honestly, I wasn't impressed. Sure, it has more bells and whistles than the Peavey original, but it doesn't sound quite as pissed off (for lack of a better term) as the Peavey 5150. I've played through the 5150II/6505+ and didn't like it as much as my original Peavey 5150. Something about it just makes it sit perfectly in the mix.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I think i find it ! the difference is in the front pannel.. One has EVH letters and othe have Eddie's Signature... anyone knows if they have any difference inside?

No difference on the inside other than stock tubes. As stated above, those should have been changed long ago anyway.

 

[craigny]

I could have just bought either and was contemplating the evh head or a mint Peavey 5150 half stack. If I went for the evh I'd have no complaints as I did really like it I Went with the Peavey and couldn't be happier for the deal I got.

 

[Leuchty]

The 5150 is just MY sound, both clean and heavy.

I just LOVE gritty cleans. The 5150 is perfect for me.

 

[Krucifixtion]

I had a 5150 II for years. I liked it. It wasn't quite as raw and thick as the original 5150's, but it had a slightly more manageable and better clean channel.

From what I have heard with the EVH heads the new 100 watt Stealth one sounds awesome and is probably more versatile than the older 5150's and 6505's.

and in terms of 5150 vs 6505 I know they are technically the same, but when I brought my 5150 II to a tech years ago he told me that the wiring and parts were better than original 5150's he had worked on. So, I can't imagine the parts and everything were all the same to the newer 6505's. So, even if the diagrams are the same depending on the parts Peavey used and what tubes you put in them I guarantee there will be differences still. They might be close though.

Never really played the EVH ones. Seems to depend on how you like your Mids.

 

[jc986]

I prefer the 5150 II / 6505+ to both the 5150 & 5150 III.

Granted I haven't had a ton of time with the III, but have spent tons of time with the original 5150 and own a 6505+. A clean channel is important to me, and the 6505+ has a great clean channel. Any time I say this I get flak...but I've never had any issue getting sparkly cleans that don't break up. I had a V1 Powerball prior to getting my 6505+ and the cleans are much better on my Peavey.

I prefer the lead channel on the II/+ also. It is a bit less gritty, which I think translates better when recording and sits more cleanly in a mix.

 

[bazguitarman]

I also like the 5150 II/6505+ more than either the 5150/6505 or EVH 5153. Not because those amps aren't great pieces of gear. I think at this point no one would bother to argue that you couldn't do great tone on any of the 5150 amps. They are all killers in their own way.

I just like the set up on the 5150 II/6505+. It suits my needs at this time and I get great, super heavy tones out of it. It's easy to set up to a room and is a road proven piece.

 

[rectifryer]

In the new machinehead production log they stated that they double track with a 5150 and a 6505 for added flavor. There must be something there? I would assume it's just a difference in tubes.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Robb's one of those guys that thinks there a difference between the block-letter 5150 and the signature 5150/6505.

 

[rectifryer]

Robb's one of those guys that thinks there a difference between the block-letter 5150 and the signature 5150/6505.

Yeah, that is true which is kind of what I wanted to point out. Changes in amps occur all the time with no outward indication on the amp, but change a font and people freak out! lololol

 

[Steinmetzify]

Yup. I know I'm in the minority here but I hated the 5150 III. It sounded like a distortion pedal to me. Very one dimensional, none of the grind or chunk that I've come to expect from those amps. Nicer and smoother are words that come to mind; like even though it could be a gained out monster dial wise, it's nowhere as mean or nasty as the originals.

Like someone said above, more sounds like it was designed for a one guitarist band, which makes sense. Even way back when EVH didn't run nearly the gain we do on the 5150s/6505s. It's a sound developed over thousands of albums and thousands of hours in my own hands. I couldn't get rid of the 5150 III fast enough.

 

[jase]

I own a block letter 5150, my band member had a 6505+, and I've tried a 5150III

I think the 5150 is the most raw and brutal of the three. The gain structure is thicker and cuts better than the other two and there is more mid range grind. The 5150III seems much smoother and mellower.

The 5150 is a drunken teen, and the 5150III is whiskey drinking gentleman hahah!

 

[BeyondDan]

It's always a matter of taste. I've owned a peavey 6505+ for years and I'm now a proud owner of the EVH 50 watts and I can acheive tones that I had with my 6505+ or can get close enough (even with gain at 3 and no boost on channel 3).

But here's 3 good reasons to get the EVH 50 watts(besides the fact that it sounds awesome):
-Size
-Weight
-Midi switchable channels

The last one makes the most versatile setup I could get with the amp and the pod HD500 with the 4 cables method.

 

[Sepultorture]

the whole thing with either of the three is that it's all going to boil down to preference no matter how you wanna look at it

even though the 5150/II share a lot of circuitry similarities they are def different sounding, and the 5150III is a completely different sounding beast all together. i tried both the 5150III and it's 50w watt brother and even though i tested it out on the usual plethora of cabs with and without different boosts i just couldn't make myself like it

as for the 5150II i def liked it worlds better but it's still not the brutal rawness and lower midrange grind that it's original brother is the king off. i could def see the II/+ with the original in a mix of live or recorded and it will def work amazingly well

but for stand alone and even paired with another the 5150/6505 just can't be beat for those palm muted chugs and single note rhythm sections that i just can't get enough of in death metal. it's obviously not a death metal only amp, it's just more aggressive and has a great sound alone or with another amp and almost never do i ever hear that amp lost in a mix.

that and the amp takes mods, different boost and different cabs so well you can almost always find the sound you like so much as you like the core of the 5150's sound

will always be my go to amp, and i don't give a shit if it's one dimensional