If you've owned 5152/6505+ AND 5153 heads... Come in!

PhloridaMan

PhloridaMan

Active member
Lately I have been beating my head against the wall trying to figure out what's missing from my 5153 that my past 5152/6505+ amps gave me.

I bought the 5153 thinking it would be better, and I have now given these amps 2 attempts after selling my first one to try a Splawn and then going back to the 5153 a year ago and just something seems to be missing.

I almost feel like the 5152/6505+ cuts better, has more present mids and has more clarity. Does anyone get that feel too?

The 5153 sounds great, don't get me wrong, but it's almost too refined for me and what I do I think.

I guess I am just looking for someone to tell me I'm not completely crazy in what I am hearing and feeling from the 5153 vs the 5152/6505+ amps.
 
I prefer the 6505+ to both the 5150 III 50 watt and 5150 III 100 watt I owned. I'd give the 5150 III another go if I hadn't been through so many amps this last 6 months. I do want a 6505+ or 6534+ at some point though.
 
I owned the 5153 50 watt and I felt it was more a rock amp than anything, also being 50 Watts I felt it lacked the girth and power I typically like, I got rid of it almost as soon as I got it lol

I’d love to get a 6505+ though
 
my take on this is that the EVHs are better rock amps and the Peaveys are better metal amps even though they're all able to do both. I don't play metal so the EVH fits me better but I could use either brand with no issues.
 
DeathbyButterslax":1d34jssk said:
Have you tried an EVH stealth 6L6? I find for metal I prefer them over the others mentioned. Also what speakers are you using?
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I have tried one, and it still felt really compressed to me and was lacking something for me.

I currently have an Orange PPC412 with V30s and K85s in an X.
 
The comparisons to Rock vs Metal amp is interesting to me.

95% of what I play is Metal. I do branch into stuff like Alice in Chains or Soundgarden at times, but most of the time it's The Acacia Strain, Unearth, August Burns Red etc.
 
It's been a while, but I remember liking the blue ch boosted on both EVh 5150 amps, but I didn't like the red ch at all. Way to compressed for me.
 
Phil Jacques":1gyt5a8m said:
The comparisons to Rock vs Metal amp is interesting to me.

95% of what I play is Metal. I do branch into stuff like Alice in Chains or Soundgarden at times, but most of the time it's The Acacia Strain, Unearth, August Burns Red etc.
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The "rock amp" statement makes me pretty skeptical, considering how ubiquitous the 5153 is in metal.
 
I’ve had 5150/voodoo modded 5150/6505+/evh combo & evh Stealth. all i own now is the combo. features and tone is what’s perfect for me. 6505+ was good, but i bought a Quickrod, and loved that for years and years.

stealth was cool, but way more bass/presence than other evh stuff. it was loud as fuck...and i like the feel of the combo way more. so here i am. and here i’ll stay.
 
I’ve owned the block, sig, II, and now the Evh 50 watt and I greatly prefer it for metal. I use a little unusual settings I guess, but it’s much clearer, and I can get to about 4 on the master for live use, where I couldn’t on the 120 watters.
Plus it’s small, fits in my rack, midi, switchable loop, and doesn’t need a boost. May be the minority, but it was an improvement across the board for me. The big differences for me dialing it in was the presence had to be low, and the gain super low for my liking. Where the peaveys I could run the presence high, and the gain on 5 or 6.
 
Own a 6505+ converted to a 6534+.

I never could jive with the 5150 III's long-term. I'm just left uninspired by them. Played one recently at band volumes and get the hype - but it doesn't outdo what mine does not by a long mile. My 5150 is also made in USA which is no contest for roadworthiness compared to the 5150 III's.
 
The Peaveys sound superior. I've owned them all, multiple times, and the Peaveys just eat 'em up. I find the EVH's "uninspiring", just like a few posts above. My JSX and Triple XXX both demolish the EVH's as well.
 
I tried all the EVH and Peavey amps that I could get my hands on and went with the 6505+...Head and combo. I have tried and owned a TON of amps and I have to say that the 6505+ is incredible, so much that I cannot believe it took me this long to actually own one. Call me a gear whore (and like most around here) I am always looking. I have to say that the Peavey can do about 90% of what is out there just by dialing it in or throwing a boost in front. You never hear this much but the clean is awesome.
 
1meanplexi":1m7blg88 said:
I tried all the EVH and Peavey amps that I could get my hands on and went with the 6505+...Head and combo. I have tried and owned a TON of amps and I have to say that the 6505+ is incredible, so much that I cannot believe it took me this long to actually own one. Call me a gear whore (and like most around here) I am always looking. I have to say that the Peavey can do about 90% of what is out there just by dialing it in or throwing a boost in front. You never hear this much but the clean is awesome.
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Played the 6505+ recently for the first time, right off the bat I thought the feel was much better than the 5150iii I owned.

And as stated by several above, I thought the EVH was far too compressed and very uninspiring
 
godgrinder":35ni4w21 said:
Try dial back the gain on the red channel, it has way more gain than the previous generations.
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I actually only run the gain at about 3-3.5 and boost it with my Maxon OD808. Even that low it seems very processed or compressed to me for some reason and really lacks the midrange I like even with my mids set at 12.

I use to run my peaveys at 5.5-6 on the Gain, 7 on Highs, 4 on Mids and 8 on lows and that thing sounded mint.

I am leaning more and more towards stepping away from the EVH. Also strongly debating stepping to a 2x12 Mesa cab as well and purchasing a live in road case for my entire rig.
 
Zachalou":x13qb95o said:
1meanplexi":x13qb95o said:
I tried all the EVH and Peavey amps that I could get my hands on and went with the 6505+...Head and combo. I have tried and owned a TON of amps and I have to say that the 6505+ is incredible, so much that I cannot believe it took me this long to actually own one. Call me a gear whore (and like most around here) I am always looking. I have to say that the Peavey can do about 90% of what is out there just by dialing it in or throwing a boost in front. You never hear this much but the clean is awesome.
Click to expand...


Played the 6505+ recently for the first time, right off the bat I thought the feel was much better than the 5150iii I owned.

And as stated by several above, I thought the EVH was far too compressed and very uninspiring
Click to expand...

100%^^^^^. I owned the stealth and no matter what, I could not get past that fact.
 
I played the original 5150 a bunch. Owned 2 of the 5150 IIs and now just recently got an EL34 Stealth. I love the Stealth, but its Kruse modded so its probably not fair. I will say though if anyone likes their EVH enough but wants less compression and would consider a mod, the Kruse Supersonic is the way to go. When I dial it back to stock settings I dont like it nearly as much so it's a must for me.
 
I like my 50w III. Sure it's compressed, but I like that I guess. I lowered the gain on the red Channel and increased it on the blue with tube swaps, makes for a better sounding amp in my opinion.

I had a 6505. Has a certain aggression that the III doesn't. I see that as the III having a more mature sounding gain. Some don't like that though.
When I had my 6505, it just sounded like a cloudy, untethered mess without a boost. Sure I could reign it in, but it wasn't effortless to do like it is with the III.
I don't play live or with a group anymore but if I was playing with/against drums I would want a 6505 boosted. If I was on stage with monitors I'd take the III for sure.
 
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