5150 vs 3120 vs XXX vs Ultra+ vs Other Peaveys

[Tawlks]

So, XXXSIVE has inspired me to make this thread as I'm tempted to trade my 5150 for something a little better and seeing as I love it and have heard pretty awesome things about other Peavey amps I thought I'd ask.

Can the 3120 do what a 5150 does?

How does it compare to the XXX?

Haven't heard much about the Butcher, is it any good at all?

Should I just buy an Ultra+?

What do you guys think is the best of the Peavey line and why?

 

[jlbaxe]

I played the JSX and was surprised how good it sounded with a Jem. Im not sure what flavor it is or remember much more than being surprised. Not a big Peavey fan but it was my first amp, Bandit 65 They do sound good now a days.

 

[Tawlks]

I played the JSX and was surprised how good it sounded with a Jem. Im not sure what flavor it is or remember much more than being surprised. Not a big Peavey fan but it was my first amp, Bandit 65 They do sound good now a days.

The school I attended before college had a Peavey Bandit and it was really cool, it was about 15 years old and beaten to shit, front pannel just hanging off, they got these 110 Ashton shit amps with a ton of gain that were new and beautiful but I always rocked the Peavey.

 

[CaseyCor]

The Butcher is cool. The poor mans JCM80. Good modding platform too.

 

[roadifier]

I love my Ultra plus! Its great with My roadster. A great buy. Its like a warmer 5150 with more useable gain. Btw, What cab do you have right now?

 

[troublehead]

I've owned the xxx, 6505, and JSX. I have also owned many of the flavor of the week high gainers around here. And when it comes to "metal" the XXX is one of my favorites. Just needs EL34's and some lower gain pre-amp tubes in certain positions. I'm seriously considering picking up a 3120 to have around even though I don't play much "metal" anymore. At least not the modern kind.

 

[XSSIVE]

I owned an Ultra + for years, sold it (bad idea) bought a powerball (blah), sold it bought a dual recto (buzzzz), sold it bought a 3120, really liked it, loaded it with 6L6s and flat out love it! i also now have the 5150 (which i've played many times in the past but finally own my own) which has a bias mod and choke added. so i guess i really know these amps. i've also played the JSX but it was a bit too brief and years ago to honestly comment on it. from what i remember it was like a mild version of the XXX in simplest terms.

anyway, the Ultra +, XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same with the Ultra not having separate EQ controls for crunch and lead, but it does have built in spring reverb which is cool. the XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same aside from looks and the XXX shipping with 6L6s and the 3120 shipping with El34s.

the 5150 and 3120 are quite different. the 5150 clean is hardly passable while the 3120 actually has a pretty great clean channel for a high gain amp it's even better with 6L6s over the EL34s IMO. the 3120 rhythm channel has way more gain than anyone could need yet it doesn't have the top end sizzle or fizz the 5150 has. the lead channel gets even crazier but i honestly don't remember the last time i needed to use it, that's how happy i am with the rhythm channel alone. i always say it's a bit more refined high gain when you compare it to the 5150 or dual recto for example. it's mean and aggressive for sure but just not as harsh in simplest terms. the addition of the tight, mid, loose switch on the 3120 to control the low end is killer, you can make it crazy tight if you want or nice big and fat (mine is always on loose for a huge low end).

both the 3120 and 5150 really come alive with some form of screamer in front of them with the gain down, level up and tone knob to taste. it really helps shape their tone even more. that seems to be the case with all high gain amps though, my powerball liked it, so did the ultra + and dual recto.

given the choice to only have one i'd keep my 3120 over the 5150 for sure. it just does a lot more and does it all just a bit better and smoother without the harshness so it can cover more ground than just tearing your face off . not that the brash harsh nature of the 5150 is bad, it kills, it's just different. i'm really having fun with the 5150 and am glad i bought it since it's more than enough difference between it and the 3120 to justify both.

 

[Tawlks]

I love my Ultra plus! Its great with My roadster. A great buy. Its like a warmer 5150 with more useable gain. Btw, What cab do you have right now?

Marshall, t75s. I prefer v30s. It's more the 5150's clean channel that I'm not gelling with, I've lately got into playing lots of jazz and RHCP etc style rock with loads of cleans so it's become more important to me, honestly, despite playing in a metal band I play clean more when I'm messing about. Plus the amount of gain I use for metal is getting less and less by the week, it's on about 4 now, no boost.

 

[Tawlks]

I owned an Ultra + for years, sold it (bad idea) bought a powerball (blah), sold it bought a dual recto (buzzzz), sold it bought a 3120, really liked it, loaded it with 6L6s and flat out love it! i also now have the 5150 (which i've played many times in the past but finally own my own) which has a bias mod and choke added. so i guess i really know these amps. i've also played the JSX but it was a bit too brief and years ago to honestly comment on it. from what i remember it was like a mild version of the XXX in simplest terms.

anyway, the Ultra +, XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same with the Ultra not having separate EQ controls for crunch and lead, but it does have built in spring reverb which is cool. the XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same aside from looks and the XXX shipping with 6L6s and the 3120 shipping with El34s.

the 5150 and 3120 are quite different. the 5150 clean is hardly passable while the 3120 actually has a pretty great clean channel for a high gain amp it's even better with 6L6s over the EL34s IMO. the 3120 rhythm channel has way more gain than anyone could need yet it doesn't have the top end sizzle or fizz the 5150 has. the lead channel gets even crazier but i honestly don't remember the last time i needed to use it, that's how happy i am with the rhythm channel alone. i always say it's a bit more refined high gain when you compare it to the 5150 or dual recto for example. it's mean and aggressive for sure but just not as harsh in simplest terms. the addition of the tight, mid, loose switch on the 3120 to control the low end is killer, you can make it crazy tight if you want or nice big and fat (mine is always on loose for a huge low end).

both the 3120 and 5150 really come alive with some form of screamer in front of them with the gain down, level up and tone knob to taste. it really helps shape their tone even more. that seems to be the case with all high gain amps though, my powerball liked it, so did the ultra + and dual recto.

given the choice to only have one i'd keep my 3120 over the 5150 for sure. it just does a lot more and does it all just a bit better and smoother without the harshness so it can cover more ground than just tearing your face off . not that the brash harsh nature of the 5150 is bad, it kills, it's just different. i'm really having fun with the 5150 and am glad i bought it since it's more than enough difference between it and the 3120 to justify both.

Ahh dude.. you're really making me want a XXX, 3120 or Ultra+, which would you reccomend? I could sell my 5150 II for £600, buy an Ultra+ for £300 and save the other half for a used Mesa cab or something.

 

[bubbastain]

At one point I had a 6505+, 3120 and XXX(with EL34s) at the same time. I really liked them all. Sold the XXX because I didn't need it. When it came time to go back to a more Marshall type of tone, I had to sell either the 3120 or the 6505+. It was tough but I sold the 3120. I would take a 3120 over a XXX even though they sound the same just because I hated the way the triple X looked. I just hated it. I recorded a few digital camera vids of the 6505 and 3120. Not sure if I still have them. I'll look.

 

[jabps]

Okay guys...quick once over on the JSX...if you already know this then great but if you don't it might be helpful.

First the the JSX's Crunch channel is based of the Classic 50 with a bit more gain. For low volume playing it's fantastic...really fun channel. And some guy's actually preferred than channel over the High gain channel. I liked it for recording and low volumes...stage volumes it was just ok.

Second...the JSX's Ultra channel is actually a slightly reduced gain version of the XXX's crunch channel....which IMO was the best thing about the XXX. I loved that channel. I thought that with the slight gain reduction it would miss something...I'm a gainiac and frankly couldn't really tell the difference other than the JSX's Ultra was a fantastic. Maybe a hair smoother than the XXX's crunch but i loved it.

With the rotary Resonance and Presence knobs...the noise reduction, the traditional mid, bass, treble plus the fat switches (which are subtle to say the least) the JSX is a fantastic amp IMO. Alot more tonal control than the XXX.

Of the Peavey line I've owned:

5150 Block
5150 Signature
5150 Combo
5150 II w/ FJA mod
Ultra
2 XXX's
JSX

Of all of them...I loved my first 5150 and the JSX the best. I think the JSX is one of the best bang for your buck amps out there. I did prefer the JSX with 6L6's hands down...just more meaty and thick sounding. And it sounded fantastic with my Marshall cabs. I always preferred the 5150's with the stock 5150 cabs but alot of people think those stink...not me.

The Ultra is a nice amp as well...really they are all good amps.

Peavey's do have a certain inherent compression but I always got along with them great.

Wouldn't mine owning any of the above again but I'd prefer the JSX or 5150.

 

[glpg80]

5150 combo through two small block splawn speakers was my favorite overall 5150 tone. sounded great.

JSX's do sound great too - not my cup of tea though.

my favorite amplifier to play though were the 5150 III's - just an all around more friendly 5150 tone to me. no amplifier fighting and lead playing was easy

 

[tweed]

Man my XXX is due for a retube soon. Haven't tried 34's in it the 5 years I've had it, always used 6l6's. Hmmmm....

 

[XSSIVE]

Ahh dude.. you're really making me want a XXX, 3120 or Ultra+, which would you reccomend? I could sell my 5150 II for £600, buy an Ultra+ for £300 and save the other half for a used Mesa cab or something.

if you like built in spring reverb and don't think you'll need the separate EQ for lead channel (it shares the EQ with the crunch) then the Ultra + is the one to go with. if you don't care about the reverb but want a separate EQ for the clean, crunch and lead channels then the XXX or 3120 is the choice. as for XXX vs 3120, that you can base on price and looks really since under the hood (tubes aside since XXX shipped with 6L6 and 3120 with EL34) they're the same.

my ultra + is the only piece of gear i regret selling. now that i have the 3120 i don't really miss it but if i knew i would have went full circle from + to powerball to recto to 3120 i would have just kept the + and saved time and money

oh and the other bonus on the + is the cool color changing peavey logo. clear when off, green for clean, orange for crunch and red for lead. i always liked that silly thing. slightly tacky but still pretty cool.

 

[glassjaw7]

Nothing to contribute, just want to say that the JSX crunch channel is amazing! One of my favorite sounds from any amp.

 

[NinjaRaf]

I owned an Ultra + for years, sold it (bad idea) bought a powerball (blah), sold it bought a dual recto (buzzzz), sold it bought a 3120, really liked it, loaded it with 6L6s and flat out love it! i also now have the 5150 (which i've played many times in the past but finally own my own) which has a bias mod and choke added. so i guess i really know these amps. i've also played the JSX but it was a bit too brief and years ago to honestly comment on it. from what i remember it was like a mild version of the XXX in simplest terms.

anyway, the Ultra +, XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same with the Ultra not having separate EQ controls for crunch and lead, but it does have built in spring reverb which is cool. the XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same aside from looks and the XXX shipping with 6L6s and the 3120 shipping with El34s.

the 5150 and 3120 are quite different. the 5150 clean is hardly passable while the 3120 actually has a pretty great clean channel for a high gain amp it's even better with 6L6s over the EL34s IMO. the 3120 rhythm channel has way more gain than anyone could need yet it doesn't have the top end sizzle or fizz the 5150 has. the lead channel gets even crazier but i honestly don't remember the last time i needed to use it, that's how happy i am with the rhythm channel alone. i always say it's a bit more refined high gain when you compare it to the 5150 or dual recto for example. it's mean and aggressive for sure but just not as harsh in simplest terms. the addition of the tight, mid, loose switch on the 3120 to control the low end is killer, you can make it crazy tight if you want or nice big and fat (mine is always on loose for a huge low end).

both the 3120 and 5150 really come alive with some form of screamer in front of them with the gain down, level up and tone knob to taste. it really helps shape their tone even more. that seems to be the case with all high gain amps though, my powerball liked it, so did the ultra + and dual recto.

given the choice to only have one i'd keep my 3120 over the 5150 for sure. it just does a lot more and does it all just a bit better and smoother without the harshness so it can cover more ground than just tearing your face off . not that the brash harsh nature of the 5150 is bad, it kills, it's just different. i'm really having fun with the 5150 and am glad i bought it since it's more than enough difference between it and the 3120 to justify both.

Ahh dude.. you're really making me want a XXX, 3120 or Ultra+, which would you reccomend? I could sell my 5150 II for £600, buy an Ultra+ for £300 and save the other half for a used Mesa cab or something.

The 3120 and the XXX are the same amp. The differences are cosmetic, and 3120 ships with EL34s...My recommendation would be whichever you like the looks of better, or whichever is cheaper lol. The JSX, IMO, is a more mature sounding XXX. A little less gain, but still PLENTY to do metal with, and a significantly better clean channel. The other guitarist in my band uses one, and we play metal. I had one for a while, but I like the harshness and aggression that the 5150 provides, though the JSX can get really close. The Ultra+ is the precurser to the XXX and JSX. I tried to buy one of those before I got my JSX because it was cheaper. IMO, you will get VERY SIMILAR sounds out of all 3 of these amps, so my recommendation would be to get the one that you can find for the lowest price. This is honestly how I tried to make the decision when I was looking at the ultra series. I only ended up with the JSX cuz GC wouldnt ship the ultra+. They are all great amps, though.

 

[Shask]

I would basically agree. The XXX and 3120 are the same thing, just come with different tubes. The JSX to me is a less extreme version of the XXX. The XXX was originally made to compete with the Rectifier, so it is sort of slanted towards heavier tones. The JSX was slanted more towards clean/rock.

The Ultra+ was tweaked to sound more modern and fizzy, like a Rectifier. That tweaked version became the XXX. So, the Ultra+ is basically a less modern sounding member of the family. Clearer, and and more thrashy. You could always think about picking up a Rockmaster preamp also for this type of sound.

 

[jabps]

I owned an Ultra + for years, sold it (bad idea) bought a powerball (blah), sold it bought a dual recto (buzzzz), sold it bought a 3120, really liked it, loaded it with 6L6s and flat out love it! i also now have the 5150 (which i've played many times in the past but finally own my own) which has a bias mod and choke added. so i guess i really know these amps. i've also played the JSX but it was a bit too brief and years ago to honestly comment on it. from what i remember it was like a mild version of the XXX in simplest terms.

anyway, the Ultra +, XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same with the Ultra not having separate EQ controls for crunch and lead, but it does have built in spring reverb which is cool. the XXX and 3120 are pretty much the same aside from looks and the XXX shipping with 6L6s and the 3120 shipping with El34s.

the 5150 and 3120 are quite different. the 5150 clean is hardly passable while the 3120 actually has a pretty great clean channel for a high gain amp it's even better with 6L6s over the EL34s IMO. the 3120 rhythm channel has way more gain than anyone could need yet it doesn't have the top end sizzle or fizz the 5150 has. the lead channel gets even crazier but i honestly don't remember the last time i needed to use it, that's how happy i am with the rhythm channel alone. i always say it's a bit more refined high gain when you compare it to the 5150 or dual recto for example. it's mean and aggressive for sure but just not as harsh in simplest terms. the addition of the tight, mid, loose switch on the 3120 to control the low end is killer, you can make it crazy tight if you want or nice big and fat (mine is always on loose for a huge low end).

both the 3120 and 5150 really come alive with some form of screamer in front of them with the gain down, level up and tone knob to taste. it really helps shape their tone even more. that seems to be the case with all high gain amps though, my powerball liked it, so did the ultra + and dual recto.

given the choice to only have one i'd keep my 3120 over the 5150 for sure. it just does a lot more and does it all just a bit better and smoother without the harshness so it can cover more ground than just tearing your face off . not that the brash harsh nature of the 5150 is bad, it kills, it's just different. i'm really having fun with the 5150 and am glad i bought it since it's more than enough difference between it and the 3120 to justify both.

Ahh dude.. you're really making me want a XXX, 3120 or Ultra+, which would you reccomend? I could sell my 5150 II for £600, buy an Ultra+ for £300 and save the other half for a used Mesa cab or something.

The 3120 and the XXX are the same amp. The differences are cosmetic, and 3120 ships with EL34s...My recommendation would be whichever you like the looks of better, or whichever is cheaper lol. The JSX, IMO, is a more mature sounding XXX. A little less gain, but still PLENTY to do metal with, and a significantly better clean channel. The other guitarist in my band uses one, and we play metal. I had one for a while, but I like the harshness and aggression that the 5150 provides, though the JSX can get really close. The Ultra+ is the precurser to the XXX and JSX. I tried to buy one of those before I got my JSX because it was cheaper. IMO, you will get VERY SIMILAR sounds out of all 3 of these amps, so my recommendation would be to get the one that you can find for the lowest price. This is honestly how I tried to make the decision when I was looking at the ultra series. I only ended up with the JSX cuz GC wouldnt ship the ultra+. They are all great amps, though.

Agree. Also the JSX handles gain boxes as well...even on the clean which is obviously how Joe used it. The reason I personally liked the JSX was that is was the most refined version of the Ultra and the XXX. Along with your standard eq sweep of bass, mid and treble...along with the seperate Resonance and Presence...you don't get that on the Ultra or XXX. Just alot more control over your tonal options. And it's got tons of gain enough for whatever you need.

Personally i still wished I owned mine for a backup. Great amp.

 

[Tawlks]

I think I'm wavering towards the Ultra +

Does it do what the 5150 does though?

How are the cleans?

 

[roadifier]

I think I'm wavering towards the Ultra +

Does it do what the 5150 does though?

How are the cleans?

The Cleans are great! so much more useable than the 5150. The gain channels are great, they are just a warmer 5150, and it likes celection G12 T 75s