Nostalgia Strikes!

[skoora]

Fuck, was listening to some 90’s demos of a band I was in and got nostalgic for a 5150. Went on a lark to try one at a GC and it sounded a lot better than I expected, considering how my tastes have changed, but it was too beat up, so I went and bought another one that was a little more but looked like it was in better shape. Crossing fingers that it
A) gets here in one piece
B) works
C) sounds like the one I tried / hasn’t been modded
I went and checked another one before ordering this one that was priced too high, just to get a consensus on still liking the sound and some genius had replaced it’s power cord with a heavy duty, but two prong, replacement. Who the fuck does that? Plus GC had it labeled as a Block Letter when it wasn’t. Even though the odds were slim, I didn’t feel like getting zapped that day so didn’t plug it in.

I gave thought to the Syn 1 and a 6505 module but I just like having the actual head and haven’t been crazy about the two modules I’ve got to try in the past (Plexi and Bassman).

Shit, I might just play it for a few days and be yeah, it’s not really me anymore and return it, but fuck it. Curious if I will find new things about it now that my playing has evolved since then and I also know a lot more about pedals etc. Back then I just plugged into a tuner, a Bad Horsie and the amp. Never boosted.

 

[skoora]

Nice, so I ordered the head on Saturday and it still hasn’t shipped. GC says it’s in back waiting to be shipped but can’t give a reason as to why it hasn’t.
Usually when this happens the order gets mysteriously cancelled by them with no explanation other than it wasn’t available. Happened to me twice.

 

[cobrahead1030]

I bought a 1st gen 5150 a few years ago; found a good deal on it & got it for a “leave at the rehearsal space” kind of rig.

I also played one 20 years ago, and was surprised at how much I still love the sound of them. Green channel straight in delivers the goods all day for me.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Still one of my favorite amps all time is the OG. Can do killer crunch and of course metal. I always used channel one like an old Marshall in crunch mode and boosted and used channel 2 for leads. I haven't liked any other 5150 variant much except the recent Iconic series.

 

[BeZo]

Just played my Block Letter 5150 last night. It just rips.

 

[skoora]

Just played my Block Letter 5150 last night. It just rips.

Yeah, this is a mid 90’s signature one. If I actually get it, I just hope there’s nothing wrong with it. GC is constantly taking in messed up gear and selling it as 100% functional.
It cracks me up when they turn away something I’m selling or low ball me saying they have too many or would have trouble selling it and then turn around on the floor and see some similar stuff in just terrible condition. Rusted parts, missing knobs, poorly spliced power cords, chassis damage.
You can’t trust the photo’s on the website that they’re of the actual gear, as they often have a listing for a guitar or amp and the image will be DJ equipment, or have American instruments when the image is of imports, or the wrong model altogether.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate GC, I’ve had some good experiences. But they certainly do their best to frustrate and annoy customers when a little care and due diligence would make everything better.

 

[skoora]

Called them at 4:50pm because no shipping email. Yup it’s still in the back. Ok….order cancelled. Fuck it.

 

[RaceU4her]

ive actually never played a regular 5150, there were just so many of them around back in the day that i wanted something different. i should have grabbed a 1992 when they were still $1299 or whatever

 

[skoora]

I just ordered another one. Been looking for Strats and thought, let me check if there’s any other 5150’s, guess that itch isn’t going away… and I found one at a different GC for 350 less than the one they wouldn’t ship me. Let’s see what happens this time.

 

[alund]

I just ordered another one. Been looking for Strats and thought, let me check if there’s any other 5150’s, guess that itch isn’t going away… and I found one at a different GC for 350 less than the one they wouldn’t ship me. Let’s see what happens this time.

My guess is the item that one of the GC workers has to ship, like a heavy fucking amp, is looked at as a chore and not a job. Imagine what’s going on in the back of the store. Taking bets on what people will buy or return, hoping everyone leaves early so they fuck around on social media, smoking weed in the back, and flipping coins to see who packs up the amp and preps it for shipping. Kind of like “40 year old virgin” dudes working at the appliance store. Small carrot = Minimal care,

 

[marvcus]

I bought a 5150 combo from Hollywood GC in the 90s. They put it in a box, no packing material, and shipped it. It was beat to crap when I got it. GC paid $500 to fix it locally.

The OG 5150 is the benchmark of rhythm gain for me. Great amp. I played a block letter in Maryland that was the best sound I ever heard

 

[MYLILSS]

My BlockLetter 5150 is one of my “keeper” amps.

 

[SgtThump]

It's really hard to beat an OG Peavey 5150.