6505 settings?

[MetalThrasher]

I'm getting my 6505 sometime this week! Can't wait! This will be running through an Orange PPC412. I'm pretty good at dialing in amps but I've never really played a Peavey so I'm looking for some starting settings to use for a thrash metal and Machine Head tone. Any help would be appreciated. I also have my Hellmouth OD ready as well as an NS2 and a GE7. I plan on running the GE7 through the loop. BTW this is a regular 6505 not the plus.

 

[cardinal]

Everything on 6 was kind of the classic setting to start from, I think.

 

[Spaceboy]

Yep, '666' is kinda the go to setting for a lot of people, then adjust to taste and to compensate pickups etc. I don't like the 6505/5150 for thrash tones, that itch is scratched more with Marshall style amps, but that's a matter of personal taste and such. The 6505 is a simple amp, you won't have any trouble getting usable and inspiring sounds right away.

 

[fusedbrain]

Yeah, great amps!!
A couple of things: the presence and depth are voiced a little different from your typical Marshall style amp, and depth @ 6 and presence @ 7-8 will actually sound great. Those settings would be a mess on a lot of other amps. Also, I find I run the mids lower than with other amps, but you may find that, for thrash, mids @ 6+ is killing it.
Don't sleep on the crunch channel!! There are some amazing tones in there with the gain cranked up. If you don't need a clean sound, you could live here.

Last thing: I can't stress enough what a bias mod can do for these amps. They are set SUPER COLD from the factory, and not adjustable. You may be able to work with a tube vendor to get a set of tubes that run in the right range, but for a bias mod, you don't even need to put in a pot. Change 1 resistor from 15k to 10k and you're done. Easy to do yourself, or cheap enough to get a tech to do it. Worth every penny. If you are finding that the amp generally sounds pretty good, but there's this fizzy sizzle that you wish you could dial out, that's what the bias mod fixes. Warms up the tone a ton!

Congrats on the new amp!!

 

[vultures]

5150/6505's are awesome amps. I've owned 3 5150's in the past, just kept coming back and forth between Mesa Mark series and 5150s. Something completely raw about them. I always referred to In Flames or Soilwork settings when playing them and tightened it up with a boost. I don't have exact number settings, just visual references:

Soilwork:

In Flames

 

[mchn13]

Imo you can put everything on 5 and it will be solid. I ran gain(red)at 2.5, boosted with a maxon, bass-4, mids-6-7, treb-4, res and pres pretty high, like 9 out of ten, and as much volume as I could get by with.
Unlike most, I don't like an eq in the loop except to boost a couple mids and cut lows and highs a little for solos. Cool thing with the loops are they are footswitchable, and make the amp pretty versatile.

 

[garey77]

I have a 6534. These amps are naturally bass heavy, so make sure to run the bass on both channels below 5-4 if playing at rehearsal volumes...oh yeah, and boost the front end on the dirt channels. That’s THE sound for these amps. You can actually run your bass a bit higher that way and it will actually sound good.

 

[napalmdeath]

These amps are so picky with speakers/cabs, and what works for some, sounds like shit to others. I liked it with Marshall cabs, some don't. Some like with V30's, some hate it. You have a nice cab, should be easy to dial in. The GE7 will help, should you need to shave some highs. Should sound massive! Congrats! I loved my old 5150, 6534, and 6505+ that I've owned. Grab you an MXR 10-band EQ. Blows the Boss away!

 

[MetalThrasher]

These amps are so picky with speakers/cabs, and what works for some, sounds like shit to others. I liked it with Marshall cabs, some don't. Some like with V30's, some hate it. You have a nice cab, should be easy to dial in. The GE7 will help, should you need to shave some highs. Should sound massive! Congrats! I loved my old 5150, 6534, and 6505+ that I've owned. Grab you an MXR 10-band EQ. Blows the Boss away!

I might do that down the road but for now what setting would you recommend for the GE7 in the loop?

 

[Badronald]

I love my 6505+.
Have had many amps and come back to that one.
Always sounds great.
I 2nd the crunch channel comment. GREAT rock tone there.

 

[napalmdeath]

These amps are so picky with speakers/cabs, and what works for some, sounds like shit to others. I liked it with Marshall cabs, some don't. Some like with V30's, some hate it. You have a nice cab, should be easy to dial in. The GE7 will help, should you need to shave some highs. Should sound massive! Congrats! I loved my old 5150, 6534, and 6505+ that I've owned. Grab you an MXR 10-band EQ. Blows the Boss away!

I might do that down the road but for now what setting would you recommend for the GE7 in the loop?

With that cab you shouldnt need one!

 

[sg guy]

Yeah, great amps!!
A couple of things: the presence and depth are voiced a little different from your typical Marshall style amp, and depth @ 6 and presence @ 7-8 will actually sound great. Those settings would be a mess on a lot of other amps. Also, I find I run the mids lower than with other amps, but you may find that, for thrash, mids @ 6+ is killing it.
Don't sleep on the crunch channel!! There are some amazing tones in there with the gain cranked up. If you don't need a clean sound, you could live here.

Last thing: I can't stress enough what a bias mod can do for these amps. They are set SUPER COLD from the factory, and not adjustable. You may be able to work with a tube vendor to get a set of tubes that run in the right range, but for a bias mod, you don't even need to put in a pot. Change 1 resistor from 15k to 10k and you're done. Easy to do yourself, or cheap enough to get a tech to do it. Worth every penny. If you are finding that the amp generally sounds pretty good, but there's this fizzy sizzle that you wish you could dial out, that's what the bias mod fixes. Warms up the tone a ton!

Congrats on the new amp!!

---+---not only the---<{···TRUTH··´}>---but the best advice yet---+---

-rock that bitch- One of the few, One of true, Hinge pins of the BROOTZ... and for mere pennies...

 

[MetalThrasher]

Yeah, great amps!!
A couple of things: the presence and depth are voiced a little different from your typical Marshall style amp, and depth @ 6 and presence @ 7-8 will actually sound great. Those settings would be a mess on a lot of other amps. Also, I find I run the mids lower than with other amps, but you may find that, for thrash, mids @ 6+ is killing it.
Don't sleep on the crunch channel!! There are some amazing tones in there with the gain cranked up. If you don't need a clean sound, you could live here.

Last thing: I can't stress enough what a bias mod can do for these amps. They are set SUPER COLD from the factory, and not adjustable. You may be able to work with a tube vendor to get a set of tubes that run in the right range, but for a bias mod, you don't even need to put in a pot. Change 1 resistor from 15k to 10k and you're done. Easy to do yourself, or cheap enough to get a tech to do it. Worth every penny. If you are finding that the amp generally sounds pretty good, but there's this fizzy sizzle that you wish you could dial out, that's what the bias mod fixes. Warms up the tone a ton!

Congrats on the new amp!!

Thanks! Can you please explain how to do this mod? It is simple that an idiot like me can do? Can't wait to get the amp! You guys rock!

 

[fusedbrain]

Thanks! Can you please explain how to do this mod?

*** standard disclaimer***If you haven't worked on amps before, just take it to a tech. There are LETHAL voltages present inside an amp, even when it's unplugged, and you could hurt yourself if you don't know what you are doing!!

You didn't say if you are getting one of the new 6505's that are made in China, or a used USA one.
I have a 1992, and just sold a 2012, both made in USA and they were identical on the inside, circuit-wise and layout-wise. I haven't seen inside a Chinese one, so they MAY be different.

The schematic is from 1992 for the original 5150, but like I said, they never changed. The 15k R68 circled is the resistor that you either swap out to a 10k , or you can replace it with a 10k pot, with a 5k on the wiper so you can swing the value from 5k - 15k.
The first pic shows my '92 5150, looking from the front to the back on the left side of the chassis. You can see 3 new, black 10uf bias caps hot-glued to the board, and the 10k resistor to the right of the caps just above the large cap can. That 10k is the resistor that was 15k originally.
The second pic is the 2012 6505, but on this amp, I put in a 10 turn, 10k pot with a 5k on the wiper. The 2 yellow wires, where the 15k was, go over to the blue pot in the upper left of the pic. I drilled the chassis so I could adjust the bias from the top without pulling the chassis. The big blue resistor from the first pic is not in the second pic because I installed a choke in this amp as well.
To do both of these, I lifted out the main PCB and soldered to the bottom of the board. The other possible way to do this would be to solder a 30k resistor in paralell with the 15k on the board from the top of the board. That will give you 10k, and it will work fine like that, but looks a little un-professional when you do this kinda stuff.

No matter what method you use, when you're done you still MUST check the bias with a meter to make sure you're not cooking the tubes, but using a 10k vs 15k puts you in a good range where the majority of 6L6's will be biased properly.
Hope that helps!!

 

[BTC]

6505/5150's need to be played through GT75's not V30's. Matter of opinion obviously... The one amp im most sorry I sold in my life was my fja modded 6505 (noise redux pot and mid sweep pot, tightened the gain structure", tung sol 6l6, mullard 12ax7 V1) played through a baltic birch cab with Eminence 75's and GT75 X patterned. Mahogany guitars and Duncan distortion pickups.
I actually have some ancient clips with all the above.
But I tried that head with orange 412 and Mesa 412 both with V30's and it wasn't even close to as good as 75's.

 

[BTC]

And if you're going for metal tones and you're in drop C, standard C, drop B ect.... you made the right amp choice.
My suggestion...if you're planning on keeping it... No one but no one makes a 6505 crush like Jerry @ FJA.

 

[vicknott]

When I had a 5150, I liked it much more with Greenbacks than with V30s.

 

[fusedbrain]

When I had a 5150, I liked it much more with Greenbacks than with V30s.

I've had good results dialling in my 5150 with BOTH a greenback 4x12 & a V30 4x12.
I don't feel like either one necessarily sounds better than the other, just different.
5150's / 6505's are fine sounding amps through just about any cab. They even sound OK through the newer Marshall 4x12's with the G12T-75's. You really gotta work at it to make these amps sound like ass.
I still marvel at the fact you can pick these things up all day, everyday for not a lot of $$.
Best used amp value there is

 

[MetalThrasher]

Just got the amp today and played it for about an hour. So far so good. I didn't even try the lead channel yet! Playing the rhythm channel boosted with a hell mouth OD and NS2 in front of the amp! My hell mouth has a TS9 mode or an 808 mode and to me it seems to like to TS9 mode! Here are the current settings that I have on the amp for the rhythm channel….. Pre gain between 6 and 7, low 4, mid between 5 and 6, high 6, post gain 7, resonance 7, presence between 6 and 7. How am I doing so far?

 

[fusedbrain]

Just got the amp today and played it for about an hour. So far so good. I didn't even try the lead channel yet! Playing the rhythm channel boosted with a hell mouth OD and NS2 in front of the amp! My hell mouth has a TS9 mode or an 808 mode and to me it seems to like to TS9 mode! Here are the current settings that I have on the amp for the rhythm channel….. Pre gain between 6 and 7, low 4, mid between 5 and 6, high 6, post gain 7, resonance 7, presence between 6 and 7. How am I doing so far?

Yup, crunch channel kills it
I gave ya the info for the bias mod, but don't get too bent outta shape about it. Play the amp, have fun, and see what ya think after givin' it a good while to get settled. Might be fine just the way it is!
Sounds like you already have it pretty much dialed in