heard/played a 5150 combo last night w/ splawn speakers

[glpg80]

first off the 5150.

good god what a badass amplifier. it doesnt have ANY of the fizzy/fuzzy trates (sp?) at low volumes that my buddies block letter has, or my 5150 II has.

its a whole different character. the tone is more defined and very solid sounding.

the effects loop was sub par to say the least, definate tone-sucker. we had a chorus and a timmy pedal we were messing around with.

a 5150 combo, if it didnt weigh so much, would definately be a cool amplifier to own if i had the cash for it

as for the speakers - they were small blocks - basically the greenback copy that splawn offers.

good fucking god the low end of those speakers. so sick - so well defined. they blew away the sheffield speakers i have in both my cabinets.

i have always loved greenbacks and wanted to get a set after playing them in a 1960TV cabinet at sam ash a year or so ago, but instead im going to spring for the splawn small blocks. those speakers handle headroom and 5150 low-end/high gain very easily. the bass was not boomy, but very well defined. the tone was great clean, boosted blues, or all out dokken.

i'd never played one and always wanted to. what an awsome amplifier

 

[Chubtone]

There are many, many people who have said the 5150 combo is the best sounding of any of the 5150 amps.
Something about the bias being hotter.

 

[glpg80]

There are many, many people who have said the 5150 combo is the best sounding of any of the 5150 amps.
Something about the bias being hotter.

isnt the bias dude.

ive done the bias modification on my 5150, 36mA.

its in the circuit simplicity i believe, less is more persay.

it definately sounds good

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Listen to these 5150 combo clips....sounds awesome! especially the jaime's cryin clip with greenbacks! That is tone baby!

http://www.vhoholic.com/

 

[glpg80]

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Bro, what album is that in your avatar?

 

[glpg80]

an amazing band called serenity. the album is called worlds untold; dreams unlived.

the band itself is a reincarnation of a band that was started in 1972. the album was released under napalm records in 2007.

youtube the song canopus for a decent demo

they have an older album out with a mask as the cover, very dark and timid looking. i dunno the year of that album though.

very underrated band imho, just pure awsome

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

Very rockin! Sounds like Amorphis meets Sonata Arctica!

 

[glpg80]

Very rockin! Sounds like Amorphis meets Sonata Arctica!

yeah i should have probably mentioned its more andromeda based. but they have a sinister roots to them like old metallica.

take the old metallica, iced earth, sonatica artica, and andromeda and put it in a blinder. thats serenity

 

[lolzgreg]

The 5150 combo is a beautiful amplifier.

 

[glassjaw7]

Damn skippy! Love the combo

 

[TheMagicEight]

My friend has a 5150 combo that was VERY fizzy until he retubed. I'm convinced that the Chinese preamp tubes are responsible; my Twin Jet sounded like a lit of fizz until I put some Russian tubes in.

Anyway, if you've got Chinese tubes in your 5150, I think it's worth hearing it with JJs or something. I don't believe the JJs are the best; they'll just get rid of that fizz from what I've found. If you wind up doing some testing, post back! I'm thinking of getting a 5150 since my Twin Jet takes care of my Rectifiers.

 

[glpg80]

My friend has a 5150 combo that was VERY fizzy until he retubed. I'm convinced that the Chinese preamp tubes are responsible; my Twin Jet sounded like a lit of fizz until I put some Russian tubes in.

Anyway, if you've got Chinese tubes in your 5150, I think it's worth hearing it with JJs or something. I don't believe the JJs are the best; they'll just get rid of that fizz from what I've found. If you wind up doing some testing, post back! I'm thinking of getting a 5150 since my Twin Jet takes care of my Rectifiers.

more tubes have gone through this amplifier than i care to mention. its not the tubes, the bias, or anything else. however the tubes will accentuate the problem or hide it all together. its in the circuit design. i know, because thats what im fixing at the moment, and its one complicated job without losing what makes a 5150, a 5150.

ive had this amplifier for almost 5 years, and its never left my hands once. it never will either, it delivers in areas other amplifiers cant. it just has qwirks that im trying to get rid of, or adding trates that i like.

if you are gonna bounce on one and have never played one before, you owe it to yourself to take a 5150, put it on 4, and just play. im sure alot of people here would love them more if they did. good luck

 

[TheMagicEight]

more tubes have gone through this amplifier than i care to mention. its not the tubes, the bias, or anything else. however the tubes will accentuate the problem or hide it all together. its in the circuit design. i know, because thats what im fixing at the moment, and its one complicated job without losing what makes a 5150, a 5150.

ive had this amplifier for almost 5 years, and its never left my hands once. it never will either, it delivers in areas other amplifiers cant. it just has qwirks that im trying to get rid of, or adding trates that i like.

if you are gonna bounce on one and have never played one before, you owe it to yourself to take a 5150, put it on 4, and just play. im sure alot of people here would love them more if they did. good luck

If you happen to mod it and it does what you're wanting, post back!

My friend has a 6505, and I've played through another friend's 5150 combo. I don't really want the 6505 because the 5150 is where the history is, and I'm not to worried about buying it without hearing it because they're such popular amps. I figure if I end up not liking it, there's either something wrong with the amp or I'm not setting it up right. Actually, I have yet to try a nice amp before buying it, and so far I think I've done okay!

 

[glpg80]

5150's quality have greatly decreased over the years.

i actually know which block letters to look for that sound the best. i told only 1 member here on the board what to look for in gut shots, it was a while ago.

but TBH i have played a few 5150's myself and thought i would have never bought it, if that had been the only 5150 i would have heard or played. they are hit and miss now, and even the older ones need a good eye to get the best out of them.

yeah the prototype lead channel is installed in the 5150's lead channel right now. im going through some revisions because of a few problems, but once its completed and trouble free, ill build a prototype amplifier off of it.

its a long way from being completed, ive been extremely busy with side projects and being flat broke. however i hope to get it finished soon, and ill post up a few recent video clips.

theres a few videos on the board of the amplifier after a few modifications, you can search around on my youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/users/evhgl87 and see a few of my vids.

it will definately be one of a kind. no ones built a circuit quite like this one. the fender 5150 III is surprisingly close, but still a whole different amplifier.

if you want some tips to look for let me know. ill see if i can find that old post and pick a few pointers out for you

 

[TheMagicEight]

5150's quality have greatly decreased over the years.

i actually know which block letters to look for that sound the best. i told only 1 member here on the board what to look for in gut shots, it was a while ago.

but TBH i have played a few 5150's myself and thought i would have never bought it, if that had been the only 5150 i would have heard or played. they are hit and miss now, and even the older ones need a good eye to get the best out of them.

yeah the prototype lead channel is installed in the 5150's lead channel right now. im going through some revisions because of a few problems, but once its completed and trouble free, ill build a prototype amplifier off of it.

its a long way from being completed, ive been extremely busy with side projects and being flat broke. however i hope to get it finished soon, and ill post up a few recent video clips.

theres a few videos on the board of the amplifier after a few modifications, you can search around on my youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/users/evhgl87 and see a few of my vids.

it will definately be one of a kind. no ones built a circuit quite like this one. the fender 5150 III is surprisingly close, but still a whole different amplifier.

if you want some tips to look for let me know. ill see if i can find that old post and pick a few pointers out for you

Great post! Yeah, I would love to know what to look for! What's your take on the 5150s vs 5150 IIs? Was hoping to pick up a 5150 II, assuming the lead channel was close enough to not really make a difference to me, but if there's more to it, I'd consider leaving out the extra EQ for better lead tone.

Thanks!

 

[glpg80]

5150's are moreso the history of peavey and what years to look for. 5150 II's are a less gain option of the 5150 series, and 5150 II's are actually closer to the real SLO design in terms of signal path versus circuit design. neither are spot on though.

5150's have an excellent crunch channel, but no clean channel that's "useable" by anyones standards. the crunch channel can be cleaned up using the volume pot and get better outcomes than the clean setting on the amplifier. 5150's arent made for a clean channel to begin with really, so i would keep that in mind.

5150's use what is called an earth inverter stage right before the tonestack, with a gain calculated at -1. what this means is, in its design, the amplifier becomes easier to play the higher you crank it up and also shapes the tone much more drastically than a cathode follower stage with a high impedance input and a low impedance output.

in logical terms - the volume of a cathode follower normal amplifier will "play" the same at all volumes, if not easier at higher volumes just because of how tubes work persay. but the 5150's actually get more "give" to them at higher volumes just due to the rare and complicated earth inverter stage. so the tone changes are really drastic (sp?) from any other amplifier out there.

throw in the difference in component values, and you get some amplifiers that sound like ass and terrible at low volumes, sound better at higher volumes, and sound purely amazing at all volumes.

5150 II's have a wierd history to them. the entire reason a 5150 II exists is because of consumer demand for a decent clean channel and less gain than the 5150 but with separate EQ's.

as far as what models to look for, ill PM you the information once i find that old PM post. if you need anything else or want any other hints let me know ill be glad to help

 

[TheMagicEight]

5150's are moreso the history of peavey and what years to look for. 5150 II's are a less gain option of the 5150 series, and 5150 II's are actually closer to the real SLO design in terms of signal path versus circuit design. neither are spot on though.

5150's have an excellent crunch channel, but no clean channel that's "useable" by anyones standards. the crunch channel can be cleaned up using the volume pot and get better outcomes than the clean setting on the amplifier. 5150's arent made for a clean channel to begin with really, so i would keep that in mind.

5150's use what is called an earth inverter stage right before the tonestack, with a gain calculated at -1. what this means is, in its design, the amplifier becomes easier to play the higher you crank it up and also shapes the tone much more drastically than a cathode follower stage with a high impedance input and a low impedance output.

in logical terms - the volume of a cathode follower normal amplifier will "play" the same at all volumes, if not easier at higher volumes just because of how tubes work persay. but the 5150's actually get more "give" to them at higher volumes just due to the rare and complicated earth inverter stage. so the tone changes are really drastic (sp?) from any other amplifier out there.

throw in the difference in component values, and you get some amplifiers that sound like ass and terrible at low volumes, sound better at higher volumes, and sound purely amazing at all volumes.

5150 II's have a wierd history to them. the entire reason a 5150 II exists is because of consumer demand for a decent clean channel and less gain than the 5150 but with separate EQ's.

as far as what models to look for, ill PM you the information once i find that old PM post. if you need anything else or want any other hints let me know ill be glad to help

Thanks again!

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

5150's are moreso the history of peavey and what years to look for. 5150 II's are a less gain option of the 5150 series, and 5150 II's are actually closer to the real SLO design in terms of signal path versus circuit design. neither are spot on though.

5150's have an excellent crunch channel, but no clean channel that's "useable" by anyones standards. the crunch channel can be cleaned up using the volume pot and get better outcomes than the clean setting on the amplifier. 5150's arent made for a clean channel to begin with really, so i would keep that in mind.

5150's use what is called an earth inverter stage right before the tonestack, with a gain calculated at -1. what this means is, in its design, the amplifier becomes easier to play the higher you crank it up and also shapes the tone much more drastically than a cathode follower stage with a high impedance input and a low impedance output.

in logical terms - the volume of a cathode follower normal amplifier will "play" the same at all volumes, if not easier at higher volumes just because of how tubes work persay. but the 5150's actually get more "give" to them at higher volumes just due to the rare and complicated earth inverter stage. so the tone changes are really drastic (sp?) from any other amplifier out there.

throw in the difference in component values, and you get some amplifiers that sound like ass and terrible at low volumes, sound better at higher volumes, and sound purely amazing at all volumes.

5150 II's have a wierd history to them. the entire reason a 5150 II exists is because of consumer demand for a decent clean channel and less gain than the 5150 but with separate EQ's.

as far as what models to look for, ill PM you the information once i find that old PM post. if you need anything else or want any other hints let me know ill be glad to help

I'd really like to try a combo through my weber mass 100.....I bet I would love it. Some guy has a combo for sale near me, but he wants $800....which is ridiculous!

 

[glpg80]

talk him down to $550

you really owe it to yourself to go try it out if its not too far, even if to just play it. i think you would love it!!