6505 - how far removed from its parentage?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aidanspaghetti
  • Start date Start date
Aidanspaghetti

Aidanspaghetti

Member
Hey all -
Im currently on the lookout for a high gainer/rock amp amp..
I'd my heart set on a Cornford RK100 but they're hard to come across so ive decided to look at the lower budget end of things..
Im keeping the old block 5150 iin mind and that got me onto thinking about Peavey's latest interpretation.
How far removed from the SLO is the latest (or indeed any of the earlier) version?
I'd love an SLO but cant afford one!
I could pick up a Marshall 6100 cheapish locally (I had one for about 10 years so know what theyre like).Should I consider the Jet City route and get Dan Gower to mod the shit out of it??!! :lol: :LOL:

Anyway, just curious about the Peavey and indeed please throw up some suggestions of your own for a relatively low budget gainer..

Thanks all....
 
Slo and 6505 do not sound very similar for a myriad of reasons. I would go with the Jet City, and have it tweaked / modded to taste. You may also want to consider the Egnater Renegade...Surprisingly good for the money, and in the ballpark with some of the amps you mentioned.
 
The 6505/5150 is a grat amp. The Jet City isn't bad either.

What type of high gain are you after? Low mid? High mid? Anything you are after in particular?
 
Ideally a ballsy plexi type . . I know thats not exactly what the 6505 etc is.. (just that theyre cheap!).
Part of me thinks I should just hold tight til an RK100 comes along.
Expensive but well built and exactly what i want.... ie very simple - few knobs etc...
I think Ive just talked myself into waiting lol...
Thanks for the responses guys ;)
 
Here's my two cents:

If you are after the SLO sound and are on the cheap, get a Jet City instead of the 5150/6505. The circuit on the JCA50/100H is 95% the same as the Soldano Hot Rod +, and with a few component changes, you are at SLO specs (I have to use that term loosely because it's just bringing resistor and capacitor values to the same as what you'd find on the SLO schematic). No, it does not transform it into an SLO, but it is a very noticeable improvement in sound - more clarity, more bite, more open sounding, and not adding any gain but making the gain control much more usable. The "SLO mod" can cost around $250, or if you know how to work on amps with lethal amounts of voltage, it'll cost you $20 in parts shipped to your door.

Here's a crappy phone clip of my JCA100H fresh off doing the "SLO mod" with an added Depth control. Playing at bedroom volumes through a stock Gflex cabinet and a PRS SE 245 guitar. A hell of a lot more girth than stock.






As far as similarity between 5150/6505 and the SLO, check this out. I know YouTube can degrade sound a TON, but I was a little surprised at this, and SgtThump has some killer vids.






I've read that a few people have nightmares with the 6100 when it comes to repair (I think that's why Satch stopped using them?), and even a few years back when I was trying to trade my XXX for one, the guy backed out because of a wierd noise he said his tech couldn't figure out.
 
I've played a few SLO's and owned many 5150's.

They sound very similar - only difference being the SLO has more usable ranges on all tone knobs compared to 5150's. It was not possible to get a bad sound out of the SLO.

You're paying for the build quality of Soldano's - not the features.

If you want SLO tone but on the cheap get a 5150 and be done. Tube buffered effects loop and resonance/presence controls. You wont get that in the SLO without serious modifications and the Jetcity is no closer to the SLO tone than a 5150 is.

James brown designed the 5150 off of the SLO. Having played one back to back i prefer a 5150. Killed my SLO desires.
 
Having previously owned a 5150, and also my Jet City and a 6505+ at the same time, I can say from my experience they (6505/5150) are different mostly in the gain and noise department. Other than that I agree they can be pretty close.

The 5150 amps are quite noisy if you crank the gain, but sound can still be really thick and meaty if you dial it down a bit. There's a certain buzziness to it that was hard to dial out but I still love those amps. They can bring the high-gain thunder which my Jet City can't quite compete with.


SLO has presence and tube buffered effects loop standard (although the FX loop on Soldanos are Line level (?) and not typical of what most amps have), and a Depth control is seriously a very easy mod to do - splice a variable resistor (500k or 1M pot) into the NFB wire and that's about it.

If you look at schematics, the Jet City is really close to the SLO. The overdrive circuit from even Mike Soldano himself says they are pretty much the same thing. What differs is the value of 8 or 9 resistors and capacitors, and the overall quality of parts (economy vs top quality).

The build quality of the Jet City, although made in China, is very good. It's easier to take the board out of the chassis, where on the 5150 amps the boards are riveted to the chassis.

gplg80 is right that you are paying for quality and not features when buying an SLO. Nature of the beast - 5150s aren't hand wired like SLOs are. If you want to save a little money there are some sacrifices to be made.

Play both. Honestly you can't go wrong. You might cover more ground with the 5150, and it's a proven workhorse.

Here's one of my favorite 5150 vids - this alone might seal the deal for you lol:

 
Most people prefer the 6505 to the SLO. The 6505 is tighter and has a more transparent loop. Buy one new for $999 and use the coupon at musiciansfriend.com and have a great amp with a warranty for years.

If it makes your decision easier, the 6505 gets used on nearly 8/10 metal projects at my studio for either rhythms, overdubs, or leads.
 
sahlomonic":34g3r58n said:
SLO has [...] tube buffered effects loop standard (although the FX loop on Soldanos are Line level (?) and not typical of what most amps have), and a Depth control is seriously a very easy mod to do - splice a variable resistor (500k or 1M pot) into the NFB wire and that's about it.
Click to expand...

An SLO does not have a tube buffered effects loop. It is a series bypassed effects loop. No switchable tube stage dedicated to just effects. The loop placement on an SLO is also questionable - there are much better ways these days. Hands down better options for effects loops out there.
 
sahlomonic":1qwhlmwl said:
Having previously owned a 5150, and also my Jet City and a 6505+ at the same time, I can say from my experience they (6505/5150) are different mostly in the gain and noise department. Other than that I agree they can be pretty close.

The 5150 amps are quite noisy if you crank the gain, but sound can still be really thick and meaty if you dial it down a bit. There's a certain buzziness to it that was hard to dial out but I still love those amps. They can bring the high-gain thunder which my Jet City can't quite compete with.


SLO has presence and tube buffered effects loop standard (although the FX loop on Soldanos are Line level (?) and not typical of what most amps have), and a Depth control is seriously a very easy mod to do - splice a variable resistor (500k or 1M pot) into the NFB wire and that's about it.

If you look at schematics, the Jet City is really close to the SLO. The overdrive circuit from even Mike Soldano himself says they are pretty much the same thing. What differs is the value of 8 or 9 resistors and capacitors, and the overall quality of parts (economy vs top quality).

The build quality of the Jet City, although made in China, is very good. It's easier to take the board out of the chassis, where on the 5150 amps the boards are riveted to the chassis.

gplg80 is right that you are paying for quality and not features when buying an SLO. Nature of the beast - 5150s aren't hand wired like SLOs are. If you want to save a little money there are some sacrifices to be made.

Play both. Honestly you can't go wrong. You might cover more ground with the 5150, and it's a proven workhorse.

Here's one of my favorite 5150 vids - this alone might seal the deal for you lol:

Click to expand...

the power section board in the 5150 is the only board that's riveted which can make replacing the screen grid resistors a pain. even though the main pcb can be a also be a pain to get out for a novice, it's pretty easy once you know what to do.
 
Do you have any stores around that you can go to and try them out?

From your description, my suggestion would be a DSL. Great amps. Good cleans, can do the ballsy plexi thing all day and the high gain. Depending on the area you're in, they can be had for $500-$600. Can't beat the DSL for that price IMO.
 
^ Yeah, "ballsy plexi type" sounds like a JCM amp (other than a ballsy plexi, of course). DSLs are great, as are some 900s and definitely the 800s.

SLO is a great sounding amp that has some bark kinda like a Marshall. SLO seems like a cross between a hot Marshall and a Mesa Mark somehow, to me at least. I don't have much experience with the 5150/6505 amps or the Jet City stuff.
 
Aidanspaghetti":2e1t8b1x said:
Ideally a ballsy plexi type . . I know thats not exactly what the 6505 etc is.. (just that theyre cheap!).
Part of me thinks I should just hold tight til an RK100 comes along.
Expensive but well built and exactly what i want.... ie very simple - few knobs etc...
I think Ive just talked myself into waiting lol...
Thanks for the responses guys ;)
Click to expand...
Lots of good answers in this thread but you say...plexi type. IMO if that's what your going for then stay in the Marshall family. I played 5150's for years...owned an SLO for a long time as well but they are different amps than Marshalls. I'm back and have been back to Marshalls for quite some time. Sometimes if your looking for a specific sound...start with that product...just my opinion.

As for the 5150, SLO thing...I preferred my 5150's over my SLO back in the day. As Thumps video shows...they are very similar as that's how James Brown designed the amp for Ed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top