NAD: Peavey 6505 MH! It's pretty brutal!

Guitarjon

Guitarjon

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Hey guys!

So I got a 6505 MH a few days ago so I thought I'd share some thoughts on it.
I've been eyeballing these for quite a while but I kept reading stories about these having heat problems.
Then someone assured me that Peavey had solved this issue so I caved an ordered one.

It looks very cool and it is pretty tiny.
It's about the same size as some of my smaller Orange amps like the Jim Root etc.
The knobs and controls are also very small, kind cute lol.
I dig all the extra functionality and stuff but I'll never use the cab sim because it sounded horrid in some of the demo's I checked.
Kudos to Peavey for trying but...neh.
Anyway, I will mainly be using this amp with my loadbox and IR's, I just love the functionality of that.

So it sounds very good!
People who claim that EL84's 'always sound bad' just aren't right.
Sure, these tubes have less headroom and for live performances (especially without PA or monitors) they may not be perfectly suited but at lower/moderate levels EL84 amps can have plenty of low end.
The low end on this amp is pretty tight, as I'd imagine every 6505/5150 to sound (with the exception of my 5150III because that one has HUGE lows when needed) but there is definitely enough low-end.
Especially when paired with a big sounding cab.
This amp does NOT need a boost as long as it's paired with a good set of pickups.

I made a short demo with my Schecter KM6 MKII.
Sounds so sweet, check it out:



So does anyone else here own one?
How do you like it?
 

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op1e

op1e

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I've been running mine thru a loop switcher as a preamp into my bigger heads. I love this thing! My crutch amp is my Peavey Ultra 120. Going back and forth between the 2 preamps I just can't not use the 6505. It cuts so well. Unfortunately my speaker defeat got bumped and I think the power section is dead, no sound thru a cab last I checked. Entertaining the idea of a ClassicTone transformer and different power tubes this year, maybe rehousing it in a rack enclosure. I actually love the clean channel on it too, more than my other amps.
 
Guitarjon

Guitarjon

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op1e said:
I've been running mine thru a loop switcher as a preamp into my bigger heads. I love this thing! My crutch amp is my Peavey Ultra 120. Going back and forth between the 2 preamps I just can't not use the 6505. It cuts so well. Unfortunately my speaker defeat got bumped and I think the power section is dead, no sound thru a cab last I checked. Entertaining the idea of a ClassicTone transformer and different power tubes this year, maybe rehousing it in a rack enclosure. I actually love the clean channel on it too, more than my other amps.
Click to expand...

Very cool!
Can you do that all yourself?
It would be interesting to hear how it sounds with different tubes etc.
Please post a clip here if you decide to go that route!
 
op1e

op1e

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I'll do something this weekend in reaper with one of our songs. I normally run mine thru my Randall RM100 with KT88/el34 power tubes. Gives me a 4th channel to my amps I can activate on any patch I'm on with my gsp1101. I need to dig into my loop settings and I can run both at the same time by hard panning the left/right loops.

As for the repair and mod, that would go to my tech Curran Murphy at Custom Audio Mutation. He wired my Fluence moderns and builds amps.
 
AkiraSpectrum

AkiraSpectrum

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Great video!
I've heard this sound amazing on recordings but I'm curious as to how these do for gigging.
I know Phil McKnight did a mini head 'live' video (2 parts) and rated it pretty low in comparison to the other amps, but I'd like to see/hear more examples of it.
 
op1e

op1e

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It's tighter I think than the big heads. With the right pickups or an eq out front you could get by without a boost. I had to throw a low gain tube in v1 cause I was having squeel or feedback problems.
 
Rollandbeast

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Sweet demo dude ! I own one and I love it , ive never had any heat related issues with it and I think I have one of the first models that came out.. I did remove the big wooden block in the front , not sure if it helps with heat but I think it looks way better !! My only issue is that the lead channel is super loud compared to the rythm one .. maybe a tube issue ? It sounds super good with my agile(crunchlab) but not quite with my ormsby goliath, I have to roll down the gain somewhere between 1 and 2 or it's just a gain mess lol
 
Grooven

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Yeah this beast is my first tube amp ever so it's special and it melts faces. Have yet to make a flawless demo for it yet tho. Running it in a silent recording way using IRs also using a od sounds killer.
 
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satchisgod

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I got the 6505MH due to the price and the convenience of its size. Glad I went for it now. Had my first band practice with it yesterday and it really held up. Was delighted with the tone for rhythm and lead and kept up with the drummer and the other guitarist, who was using a 5150II through a 4 x 12 (I only had the use of a 1 x 12 V30). I ended up using the rhythm channel for more punch and clarity. I find at home I use the Lead channel as it sound the best on it's own, but in the mix of a band setting the lower gain of the rhythm seemed to work. Also the rhythm channel is a lot quieter, which I prefer.

I made the ventilation modification by removing the wood block at the front and the safety plate at the back. Did this mainly for the looks but also for added benefit of more ventilation. Over 2 and a half hours practice and no bother at all.
 
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Willyjacksonjs22-7

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Guitarjon said:
Never had issues with mine. Besides, I heard that Peavey has fixed this issue a couple years ago.
Click to expand...
Got mine yesterday :) yeah I reached customer service and they said it’s been fixed.
Hey dude one question, my plugins sound better than the amp but they lose on dynamics and response ( love that lol). Could it be the blue marvel speakers? Also I was using an instrument cable for like for 2 hours ( I didn’t know about speaker cables)
 
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Azarea

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Willyjacksonjs22-7 said:
Do you thing returning it and getting an evh 5150 50w is worth it? more versatile?
Click to expand...
If you can afford it, yes, the difference is pretty big between the 6505MH and the 5153 50W.
You'll get a third channel (clean, modded Marshall, high gain), but the most difference IMO comes from the bigger glass (6L6 or EL34 depending on which version of the 5153 you go for).
Higher headroom also means your cleans can stay clean at much higher volumes and your gainy channels will stay tighter even playing at loud rehearsals/gigs volumes
 
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