Got Some Questions About Peavey 5150 II and 6505 Head

[Charvel1975]

Hi I got some questions about the Peavey 5150 II and 6505 Head. I have 2 people locally, one is selling for $700 firm a Peavey 5150 II Head & Footswitch, said no issues with the head and hasnt been biased to their knowledge, they're not the original owner, but they've done nothing to it and had it going on two years no issues tubes are good. Then I have another person for $750 thats got a Peavey 6505 head in excellent condition, not a scratch on it and they recently retubed it with a matched quad of TAD 6L6GC-STR power tubes: http://thetubestore.com/tad6l6gc.html and it comes with a footswitch that was never removed from the original packaging, never used. They were saying the 6505 / 5150 is a fixed-bias amp and the tubes are a matched quad that were tested and matched specifically the sound good with the plate voltages of the 6505. The preamp tubes are new too, they selected a mix of Tung Sol, Shanghai, and Sovtek for excellent tone and stability and they said the clean headroom seems to have improved and the tone is sweeter at high volume. They said the clean tones are definitely usable.

I'm getting ready to get one, just don't know if I should get the 5150 II or the 6505, our band plays modern metal and we do have some clean parts to our songs but I'd also be using the Peavey for other styles as well. Is the 6505 a better deal versus the 5150 II? I'd be using it with my Marshall 1960A with x pattern of celestion g12t75's and wgs retro 30's.

 

[bubbastain]

If they are local, go play them both.

 

[Charvel1975]

Forgot to mention it in the original post but I'm concerned about reliability, seeing as the 5150 II is older than the 6505 is there any pros or cons versus the 2, I thought I seen somewhere online something about screen grid resistors, etc?

 

[glpg80]

owned both extensively, gigged both extensively. at one time i owned both at the same time for little over a year.

as far as playability the 5150 II is tighter than the 6505. the clean and crunch are a whole different ballgame on the II compared to the I. the crunch on the 6505 is more gain than most high gain marshalls, and the lead channel is what they are known for.

Ill break this down into a synopsis of each:

6505:

- Tones change drastically between re-tubes, as the original owner saw - you really have to be picky about what and where, which tubes go and also why they go there. The 6505 bases its lead tone, crunch tone, and clean tone - all around the same design, so naturally a retube can change your tone from great to soso, or soso to great.

- i once saw a 5150 and a marshall cabinet fall over being transported together onto solid concrete. guy pickup up the dented chassis, connected it anyway - and it fired right up no problem. Build quality on the earlier models is much better than what it is now that Hartley Peavey sold the company - he did so a good while back when his wife died.

- as far as cleans are concerned with the 6505, you either know how to work the volume knob on your guitar to get it clean, or you dont. If you're one of those players that has no clue how to use the volume knob and pickup arrangement to get the most out of your tone, then the 6505 series is not a good amplifier to recommend in this department. They can do clean, but not without playing with preamp tube layout, volume knob resistance value, pickups being used, etc.

- need to have the amplifier biased out of crossover distortion for all types of tubes and to allow for tube drift biasing. they do not have this ability from the factory but it will wake up the resonance and presence knobs like night and day - huge difference when playing in a band setting.

5150 II

dedicated resonance and presence controls for each channel both clean/crunch and lead. the lead channel and clean channel do not share an EQ anymore - so you have even more control on getting awsome cleans out of it. Combined with a dedicated tube for the clean/crunch channel you can further tune the amp to your tastes.

it has bias capability, but not enough swing to do any good. still will need modification to provide best operation over time.

still dependent on preamp tube layout for the gain pattern, but not nearly as much as the 6505 to the point of cursing your amp every time it is time for a retube.

if anything the original 5150 II will be made with better components. I had an original block letter 5150 where the serial number dated all the way back to march of 1992 - 6 months after 5150's were released to the public. It had all orange drops from the factory. Definitely wont find that build quality in the newer models at all - guaranteed. FJA and myself stand differently on this point because i recall him mentioning he has not seen the same differences, but i have ran across two that i know of that have had this quality difference.

either one accepts pedals well. the II sounds more like a SLO to me, whereas the I has its own thing going on.

Tone for Tone each sound god like when you start cranking on the volume. I play my 5150 II at ~3.5-4 on the volume and that is the sweet spot. When i had my 5150 it sounded great at 6.5. Really moving some air at this point, but 5150's are not bedroom amplifiers at all

I am sure this will answer most if not all of your questions. Both are great in their own right, but i sold my block letter and kept my 5150 II - versatility and tonal stability mattered more to me.

 

[Charvel1975]

- i once saw a 5150 and a marshall cabinet fall over being transported together onto solid concrete. guy pickup up the dented chassis, connected it anyway - and it fired right up no problem. Build quality on the earlier models is much better than what it is now that Hartley Peavey sold the company - he did so a good while back when his wife died.

Wow, thank you for the information!! I didn't know Hartley sold the company??!! So as far as versatility and reliability sounds like the 5150 II is the way to go, I've been using my Mesa Tremoverb custom head (it was originally a combo) with the stock mesa rectifier tubes, JJ 6L6GC's and a mix of mesa labeled preamp tubes, groove tubes and I forget what else at shows and practices but everytime I hear my buddy's band, he uses a 6505+ head with his marshall 1960 bottom cab I love the sound!! Now he bought his 6505+ brand new from guitar center and he hasn't had any problems with his and he's just running the factory tubes. The Mesa is one of a kind cause my brother-in-law converted it to a head and built the custom oversized headshell so that's why I was looking at the peavey 5150 II/6505 series for a gigging amp cause our band has started doing shows more frequentely.

 

[JerryP]

owned both extensively, gigged both extensively. at one time i owned both at the same time for little over a year.

as far as playability the 5150 II is tighter than the 6505. the clean and crunch are a whole different ballgame on the II compared to the I. the crunch on the 6505 is more gain than most high gain marshalls, and the lead channel is what they are known for.

Ill break this down into a synopsis of each:

6505:

- Tones change drastically between re-tubes, as the original owner saw - you really have to be picky about what and where, which tubes go and also why they go there. The 6505 bases its lead tone, crunch tone, and clean tone - all around the same design, so naturally a retube can change your tone from great to soso, or soso to great.

- i once saw a 5150 and a marshall cabinet fall over being transported together onto solid concrete. guy pickup up the dented chassis, connected it anyway - and it fired right up no problem. Build quality on the earlier models is much better than what it is now that Hartley Peavey sold the company - he did so a good while back when his wife died.

- as far as cleans are concerned with the 6505, you either know how to work the volume knob on your guitar to get it clean, or you dont. If you're one of those players that has no clue how to use the volume knob and pickup arrangement to get the most out of your tone, then the 6505 series is not a good amplifier to recommend in this department. They can do clean, but not without playing with preamp tube layout, volume knob resistance value, pickups being used, etc.

- need to have the amplifier biased out of crossover distortion for all types of tubes and to allow for tube drift biasing. they do not have this ability from the factory but it will wake up the resonance and presence knobs like night and day - huge difference when playing in a band setting.

5150 II

dedicated resonance and presence controls for each channel both clean/crunch and lead. the lead channel and clean channel do not share an EQ anymore - so you have even more control on getting awsome cleans out of it. Combined with a dedicated tube for the clean/crunch channel you can further tune the amp to your tastes.

it has bias capability, but not enough swing to do any good. still will need modification to provide best operation over time.

still dependent on preamp tube layout for the gain pattern, but not nearly as much as the 6505 to the point of cursing your amp every time it is time for a retube.

if anything the original 5150 II will be made with better components. I had an original block letter 5150 where the serial number dated all the way back to march of 1992 - 6 months after 5150's were released to the public. It had all orange drops from the factory. Definitely wont find that build quality in the newer models at all - guaranteed. FJA and myself stand differently on this point because i recall him mentioning he has not seen the same differences, but i have ran across two that i know of that have had this quality difference.

either one accepts pedals well. the II sounds more like a SLO to me, whereas the I has its own thing going on.

Tone for Tone each sound god like when you start cranking on the volume. I play my 5150 II at ~3.5-4 on the volume and that is the sweet spot. When i had my 5150 it sounded great at 6.5. Really moving some air at this point, but 5150's are not bedroom amplifiers at all

I am sure this will answer most if not all of your questions. Both are great in their own right, but i sold my block letter and kept my 5150 II - versatility and tonal stability mattered more to me.

Sorry chief, Hartley didn't sell the company. Peavey never used orange drop caps, they've always used Illinios brand caps. They did used to be orange in color, but they weren't orange drops. Only the color changed. From what I see every part supplier is the same except for the output transformer, but it's still the same specs. I've talked to James Brown about earlier block logo amps being different and it's all bullshit. The build quality on the new amps is just as good as the originals. I do prefer the older amp a little to work on because the traces were a touch thicker.

I would play both amps and see what sounds best. The 6505 has a usable clean. I would prefer the amp with the new tubes over the amp with old tubes all else being equal if I could work with the 6505 cleans.
Jerry

 

[Charvel1975]

owned both extensively, gigged both extensively. at one time i owned both at the same time for little over a year.

as far as playability the 5150 II is tighter than the 6505. the clean and crunch are a whole different ballgame on the II compared to the I. the crunch on the 6505 is more gain than most high gain marshalls, and the lead channel is what they are known for.

Ill break this down into a synopsis of each:

6505:

- Tones change drastically between re-tubes, as the original owner saw - you really have to be picky about what and where, which tubes go and also why they go there. The 6505 bases its lead tone, crunch tone, and clean tone - all around the same design, so naturally a retube can change your tone from great to soso, or soso to great.

- i once saw a 5150 and a marshall cabinet fall over being transported together onto solid concrete. guy pickup up the dented chassis, connected it anyway - and it fired right up no problem. Build quality on the earlier models is much better than what it is now that Hartley Peavey sold the company - he did so a good while back when his wife died.

- as far as cleans are concerned with the 6505, you either know how to work the volume knob on your guitar to get it clean, or you dont. If you're one of those players that has no clue how to use the volume knob and pickup arrangement to get the most out of your tone, then the 6505 series is not a good amplifier to recommend in this department. They can do clean, but not without playing with preamp tube layout, volume knob resistance value, pickups being used, etc.

- need to have the amplifier biased out of crossover distortion for all types of tubes and to allow for tube drift biasing. they do not have this ability from the factory but it will wake up the resonance and presence knobs like night and day - huge difference when playing in a band setting.

5150 II

dedicated resonance and presence controls for each channel both clean/crunch and lead. the lead channel and clean channel do not share an EQ anymore - so you have even more control on getting awsome cleans out of it. Combined with a dedicated tube for the clean/crunch channel you can further tune the amp to your tastes.

it has bias capability, but not enough swing to do any good. still will need modification to provide best operation over time.

still dependent on preamp tube layout for the gain pattern, but not nearly as much as the 6505 to the point of cursing your amp every time it is time for a retube.

if anything the original 5150 II will be made with better components. I had an original block letter 5150 where the serial number dated all the way back to march of 1992 - 6 months after 5150's were released to the public. It had all orange drops from the factory. Definitely wont find that build quality in the newer models at all - guaranteed. FJA and myself stand differently on this point because i recall him mentioning he has not seen the same differences, but i have ran across two that i know of that have had this quality difference.

either one accepts pedals well. the II sounds more like a SLO to me, whereas the I has its own thing going on.

Tone for Tone each sound god like when you start cranking on the volume. I play my 5150 II at ~3.5-4 on the volume and that is the sweet spot. When i had my 5150 it sounded great at 6.5. Really moving some air at this point, but 5150's are not bedroom amplifiers at all

I am sure this will answer most if not all of your questions. Both are great in their own right, but i sold my block letter and kept my 5150 II - versatility and tonal stability mattered more to me.

Sorry chief, Hartley didn't sell the company. Peavey never used orange drop caps, they've always used Illinios brand caps. They did used to be orange in color, but they weren't orange drops. Only the color changed. From what I see every part supplier is the same except for the output transformer, but it's still the same specs. I've talked to James Brown about earlier block logo amps being different and it's all bullshit. The build quality on the new amps is just as good as the originals. I do prefer the older amp a little to work on because the traces were a touch thicker.

I would play both amps and see what sounds best. The 6505 has a usable clean. I would prefer the amp with the new tubes over the amp with old tubes all else being equal if I could work with the 6505 cleans.
Jerry

Hey Jerry thanks for chiming in here I talked to you via e-mail some time back about having you mod my Marshall artist 3203 head but I think you said you don't do mods on them anymore? I still have the Artist and the matching 1965A 4x10 cab, I have it up for sale locally right now but I don't know if I should hang on to it or not? I seen on EBay there's someone selling a FJA MODIFIED MARSHALL JCM2000 DSL 50 WATT head but he doesn't say what mods were done to it and the starting bid is $799? How are those for modern metal in Drop B and are they pretty versatile with good cleans and do they cut thru well with another guitar player, in the mix, etc? Do you have any modded amps for sale right now I've really dug your clips of the FJA Modded Marshall DSL50 Head!!

 

[glpg80]

Sorry chief, Hartley didn't sell the company. Peavey never used orange drop caps, they've always used Illinios brand caps. They did used to be orange in color, but they weren't orange drops. Only the color changed. From what I see every part supplier is the same except for the output transformer, but it's still the same specs. I've talked to James Brown about earlier block logo amps being different and it's all bullshit. The build quality on the new amps is just as good as the originals. I do prefer the older amp a little to work on because the traces were a touch thicker.
Jerry

The build quality on the newer amps are not as good as the older models. I am not disconcerning block logo versus first runs, i am talking earlier than that. As far as the newer amplifiers I've had many with cold solder joints, electro's in backwards on the cathodes, list goes on and on. Since James designed the circuit and was over all production during the early time period it is safe to say something is not right. I know orange drop date codes when i see them. We could go on and on here, but what is the use?

As far as Hartley not selling the company i read this in the news a few years back. Shocked that i am just now being corrected, but you are right

http://www.peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id ... ey%20Named

 

[alxdgr8]

Both are overpriced at $700 and $750.
I much preferred my 5150II for a hard rock setting. I could get away with using the clean channel, but when I could I would use my Classic 50 for cleans.

 

[JerryP]

Sorry chief, Hartley didn't sell the company. Peavey never used orange drop caps, they've always used Illinios brand caps. They did used to be orange in color, but they weren't orange drops. Only the color changed. From what I see every part supplier is the same except for the output transformer, but it's still the same specs. I've talked to James Brown about earlier block logo amps being different and it's all bullshit. The build quality on the new amps is just as good as the originals. I do prefer the older amp a little to work on because the traces were a touch thicker.
Jerry

The build quality on the newer amps are not as good as the older models. I am not disconcerning block logo versus first runs, i am talking earlier than that. As far as the newer amplifiers I've had many with cold solder joints, electro's in backwards on the cathodes, list goes on and on. Since James designed the circuit and was over all production during the early time period it is safe to say something is not right. I know orange drop date codes when i see them. We could go on and on here, but what is the use?

As far as Hartley not selling the company i read this in the news a few years back. Shocked that i am just now being corrected, but you are right

http://www.peavey.com/news/index.cfm/id ... ey%20Named

Cathode caps are non polar so they can go in either way. A solder connection has nothing to do with lesser quality components. The components on the board are the same stuff as day one. Show me an orange drop in a 5150, real easy to prove me wrong. Good luck with that. An orange colored cap made by Illinios capacitors is not an orange drop. I have pictures of hundreds of 5150's of every era. When you know what your talking about beyond some shit you read online or in a book let me know.
Jerry

 

[glpg80]

Cathode caps are non polar so they can go in either way. A solder connection has nothing to do with lesser quality components. The components on the board are the same stuff as day one. Show me an orange drop in a 5150, real easy to prove me wrong. Good luck with that. An orange colored cap made by Illinios capacitors is not an orange drop. I have pictures of hundreds of 5150's of every era. When you know what your talking about beyond some shit you read online or in a book let me know.
Jerry

Dont give me the 101 tech over a gear forum Jerry, i have meant no disrespect to you and i expect the same in return. We both know polarity is not a matter of concern for cathode caps but that still does not mean it is correct to polarize a + electro to reference ground. Get over yourself. Cold solder joints on a production made amplifier is a considerable problem when its intermittent. I'd say thats quite a QC issue on a 300+ part build. As far as proving you wrong? I said in my very first post we disagree. How many times do we have to go down this path?

I admit incorrectness on Hartley Peavey because i was wrong. The rest? Go take a vacation and relax, you're not changing my mind and i have no reason to change yours. Get over it.

 

[Anonymous]

just an FYI to the OP...i recently bought an all stock 5150 (not block letter though) from my buddy for 400$....
that was a pretty damned good price, and he needed to move it quick.

play one first. yes, there are some simple mods you can do or get done that will help with the overally amp tone and fine tune it pretty well, or you could send it to Jerry and have your monster woken up. either way, i'd say, first off, if you get one, play it stock for a while, and get to know it. figure out what tubes you like, and go from there....dont go into the tube thing blindly.

i can't offer much on the technical side, but there are a few tricks you can do with this amp beyond what most people write them off for as a one trick pony

 

[Inearthed]

I've paid $375, $400, and $450 for the last three 5150's I bought. None of them were in beat up condition.

 

[Charvel1975]

just an FYI to the OP...i recently bought an all stock 5150 (not block letter though) from my buddy for 400$....
that was a pretty damned good price, and he needed to move it quick.

play one first. yes, there are some simple mods you can do or get done that will help with the overally amp tone and fine tune it pretty well, or you could send it to Jerry and have your monster woken up. either way, i'd say, first off, if you get one, play it stock for a while, and get to know it. figure out what tubes you like, and go from there....dont go into the tube thing blindly.

i can't offer much on the technical side, but there are a few tricks you can do with this amp beyond what most people write them off for as a one trick pony

Hey Yeti, I played thru an original stock 5150 the first year they were out at Lentine's music store in akron, OH and then again in about 2009, the other guitar player in the band I was in at the time had a stock 5150 block letter and then he had it taken down to canton music in canton, OH and had it all cleaned up, checked over and retubed with all JJ tubes and it ripped!! The clean channel actually sounded better after the re-tube, come to find out he had the stock tubes in it from when he bought it the 1st year it came out, he still kept the original tubes for backup!! I've played thru my buddy's 6505+ as well some time back and his is completely stock with factory tubes. I do like the fact that the crunch is footswitchable on the 5150 II/6505+, you got a great deal on your 5150 yeti!

 

[Anonymous]

yeah man, they'r great amps....if you wait, you can score a decent deal....
i dont like JJ tubes really at all, though i do use one of the short plate ones in my egnater tourmaster (for a certain reason), and especially i dont like them for what i want out of a preamp tube in the 5150.

short version: i think chinese 12ax7b sound better in the 5150, but, ymmv. worth a try, since you can get them dirt cheap around here and on ebay.

i'm SOOOO glad i'm done chasing the tube dragon, literally, i've tried hundreds of different tubes and 12xxx types in my amps....and always keep coming back to the same 3. so i pretty much have settled on what my ear likes and stick with that.

 

[Stramm8]

Yeah those prices may be a little high. I just sold my near mint 5150 block logo for $525 on CL. I have seen 5150 IIs go for as high as $700 though. Personally, I would be willing to pay a little more for a 5150 or a 5150 II over the 6505 series just from a collect-ability/cool factor perspective. As for the quality/reliability of either series; it's a Peavey for crying out loud! Their built like tanks Chances are if you test it out thoroughly and it's in good condition, you won't have too much trouble with it.

 

[Charvel1975]

Yeah those prices may be a little high. I just sold my near mint 5150 block logo for $525 on CL. I have seen 5150 IIs go for as high as $700 though. Personally, I would be willing to pay a little more for a 5150 or a 5150 II over the 6505 series just from a collect-ability/cool factor perspective. As for the quality/reliability of either series; it's a Peavey for crying out loud! Their built like tanks Chances are if you test it out thoroughly and it's in good condition, you won't have too much trouble with it.

Yea the guy with the 5150 II & Footswitch for $700 firm said no issues with the head and hasnt been biased to their knowledge, they're not the original owner, but they've done nothing to it and had it going on two years no issues tubes are good. He didn't say what tubes were in it, I have a Marshall artist 3203 head I was gonna trade him + $300 but because there is an issue with the Master Volume control he didn't want to do the deal with the Marshall

 

[JerryP]

Cathode caps are non polar so they can go in either way. A solder connection has nothing to do with lesser quality components. The components on the board are the same stuff as day one. Show me an orange drop in a 5150, real easy to prove me wrong. Good luck with that. An orange colored cap made by Illinios capacitors is not an orange drop. I have pictures of hundreds of 5150's of every era. When you know what your talking about beyond some shit you read online or in a book let me know.
Jerry

Dont give me the 101 tech over a gear forum Jerry, i have meant no disrespect to you and i expect the same in return. We both know polarity is not a matter of concern for cathode caps but that still does not mean it is correct to polarize a + electro to reference ground. Get over yourself. Cold solder joints on a production made amplifier is a considerable problem when its intermittent. I'd say thats quite a QC issue on a 300+ part build. As far as proving you wrong? I said in my very first post we disagree. How many times do we have to go down this path?

I admit incorrectness on Hartley Peavey because i was wrong. The rest? Go take a vacation and relax, you're not changing my mind and i have no reason to change yours. Get over it.

I don't care about changing your mind, just trying to help the poor bastards you lead in the wrong direction eveytime you post some technical novel trying to help someone and you give them incorrect information.
Jerry

 

[JerryP]

Hey Jerry thanks for chiming in here I talked to you via e-mail some time back about having you mod my Marshall artist 3203 head but I think you said you don't do mods on them anymore? I still have the Artist and the matching 1965A 4x10 cab, I have it up for sale locally right now but I don't know if I should hang on to it or not? I seen on EBay there's someone selling a FJA MODIFIED MARSHALL JCM2000 DSL 50 WATT head but he doesn't say what mods were done to it and the starting bid is $799? How are those for modern metal in Drop B and are they pretty versatile with good cleans and do they cut thru well with another guitar player, in the mix, etc? Do you have any modded amps for sale right now I've really dug your clips of the FJA Modded Marshall DSL50 Head!!

The DSL can work great for metal. I'd have to have the serial number to know how that amp was modded. I do them all a little different depending on wha tthe owner needs.
Jerry

 

[Charvel1975]

Hey Jerry thanks for chiming in here I talked to you via e-mail some time back about having you mod my Marshall artist 3203 head but I think you said you don't do mods on them anymore? I still have the Artist and the matching 1965A 4x10 cab, I have it up for sale locally right now but I don't know if I should hang on to it or not? I seen on EBay there's someone selling a FJA MODIFIED MARSHALL JCM2000 DSL 50 WATT head but he doesn't say what mods were done to it and the starting bid is $799? How are those for modern metal in Drop B and are they pretty versatile with good cleans and do they cut thru well with another guitar player, in the mix, etc? Do you have any modded amps for sale right now I've really dug your clips of the FJA Modded Marshall DSL50 Head!!

The DSL can work great for metal. I'd have to have the serial number to know how that amp was modded. I do them all a little different depending on wha tthe owner needs.
Jerry

Even though it's a 50 watt head do you think it would be loud enough to compete with my other guitarist, he's running a boss gt6 processor to a b52 at100 tube head