Peavey 5150 212

Very basic features. I wish the crunch was footswitchable.

Amazing. Much better than my old (block letter) 5150 head. In many ways better than my old Soldano Decatone too, which is very interesting... The lead channel is every bit as good as the Soldano but more brutal. The crunch channel is the big surprise - I found some ballsy classic rock sounds and even some twang with my strat and tele. Even the clean is underrated, just lay off the bright switch (too harsh) and use single coils.

Mine has just been retubed and properly biased with JJ power tubes, which probably helps a lot. I think the factory setup is poor. The stock speakers are quite good but they have a slight paper-tearing edge which doesn't go away even with the treble and presence on 0. I ran the combo through my Soldano 2x12 loaded with Celestion G12-75s and honestly, it sounded like heaven. Much better than my Decatone, even on cleans.

This amp sounds every bit the boutique amp, just needs better tubes and speakers. I also have a Bogner Ecstasy, which I adore, and this honestly sounds like similar money. Yes it's a different sounding amp, nowhere near as flexible, and not as well-built, but with a different badge (Soldano) they'd be charging a fortune for these sounds. And unlike a Soldano, the effects loop works properly. I don't mean to ***** about Soldanos, I love them. But for the money the loop should work properly. The 5150 combo's sounds are very similar, just angrier and grainier to the Soldano's polished razor edge.

Just change and bias the tubes and upgrade the speakers...

The build quality is lightweight compared to Soldano and Bogner, but that's where you save the money. Still a very solid amp. I never had a problem with my 5150 head.

Don't know.

If it came biased properly and had better speakers this amp would be a legend by now. As it is, it's probably the best ??550 I ever spent. If it had a footswitchable crunch I think it would see almost as many gigs as my Bogner Ecstasy.

I have no idea the year it was made. I think the features are mentioned somewhere below. If you see "It does not have a clean channel" in prior reviews, please read my Sound Quality section review, this is reason I am writing this review. The only thing I wish it had were another speaker jack and an ohm selector (4/8/16), so I added one. The cab is made of 7/8" thick plywood, but the baffle is particle board, with a center brace, from front to back.

I use strats, 3 of em, a VG, an American Deluxe, and an EC signature start with 25db boost circuit. So far the concensous on this amp, after about 13 years and 165+ reviews is: "extremely loud for 60 watts, the heaviest combo amp I have ever used/seen, the noisiest amp on the planet, but well worth the money" Most reviewers have swapped the Sovtek/EH tubes for JJ's from EuroTubes and swapped the Sheffied 1200's for a pair of Celestion Vinatge 30's, and added a Boss NS-2 or Decimator noise gate. First issue: noise. I get the top end hiss, low end hum, and for no additional charge, white noise, sort of wooshing noise that increase with volume. Swapping out the horrible, weak Sovteks helped here. I plug mine into a Furman power conditioner that my other amps use as well, maybe helps a little. I use Svetlana 6L6, increases the bottom end a tad also. I changed V1 to Amperex, may change again to GE 5157 though. I changed V2 - V4 to Mullard reissue 12AX7s and phase splitter to Phillips NOS 12AT7. Sounds much smoother and feedback is gone now. Rhythm channel can sound clear as a bell now, bright switch off. Crunch is also much tamer and smoother. I tried several speakers, including V30's abd GT100's, and even Celestion Neo Dogs. I ended up with a Celestion G12 H30 English-made speaker, and a EVM-12L from the 70's. Bass is noticably thicker, and much tighter, highs are clearer, and the ice-pick midrange can be dialed out completely. Much more clean headroom now. Gain on lead stays on 7, but can go to 10 with out feedback. I also use a Vox Tonelab ST in the low gain input, and use it's noise gate as well. I can get pristine-clean, even acoustic-like sounds now. I can still A/B to the high gain input and stomp on the footswitch and have the sweet smooth 5150 EVH tone in 2 seconds. I like the back on, sounds tighter and deeper with my speakers. The onboard reverb works fine for me. Tone controls are not the most responsive in the world, but my Vox ST will add EQ without coloring the voice of the amp as well. So don't believe it when you read that this amp can not do clean. Backing off the volume on your Axe will clean up as well, use the tone contols on your axe to tame the brittle top end, and use some addtional EQ to bring out the full spectrum of tone this beast can produce. Can't give it a 10 cuz of the noise, but you will not find a better hi-gain tone.

I am amazed by the quality build of this amp. I would love to gig with this, but now she weighs in at over 100 pounds with the EV speaker.

Never dealt with em. I have owned about 7 or 8 Peaveys, mostly solid state.

Has any one treed Eddie's new EVH speakers in this? Just wondering. I own a 67 blackface Super Reverb, a Genz Benz, and this. I love this amp because it is so versitile and powerful. I don't mind shared EQ, it takes 5 seconds to dial the tone in. I use the Vox VT for clean anyway. I added the Marshall 4/8/16 ohm speaker jack so this can be used with other amps. I have the 8 ohm wired to the EVM. I consider it a "feature" to have a nice wood 2x12 closed back cab as an option for all existing and future amps. No rattle or buzzes, no matter how loud I play it. I paid a lot for it, but well worth it.

60 watts - all tube
2 channels - Rhythm and Lead. Rhythm channel with bright switch and crunch switch.
Footswitch to activate onboard reverb and to switch between channels.
Effects loop - non switchable.
High and Low gain inputs.
Reverb (not bad but useable in moderation - at least is has it).
2 x 12" speakers.

With the stock Sheffield speakers it sounded quite harsh. Put a couple of V-30s in and that improved the sound (added some really nice mid tones). Also, I replaced the stock tubes with a set of high gain JJ's. This did increase the noise a little but the gain increase and sound improvement was dramatic.
My set-up is Guitar - Boss tuner - Dunlop wah - MXR Phase 90 - 5150 high gain input. In the effects loop, Boss Flanger - Boss Chorus - Danelectro Tremolo - Boss Noise Gate - Boss Digital Delay. Also using stock Peavey footswitch for channel switching and reverb on/off.

The Rhythm channel: sounded really good (surprisingly)using a Strat (with Lace Sensor Hot Golds) and a Tele. Clean when you wanted it clean (pre gain low) or nice and dirty with gain up. With B C Rich Mockingbird and Ibanez RGT42FX (both loaded with old EMG 81 + 85 combo) the clean was less impressive (for obvious reasons) but with the crunch switch engaged and gain up it transformed into a rock machine. This channel is underrated in my opinion and covers alot of musical territory - from usable cleans to heavy metal - with ease.

The Lead Channel: If you like metal or especially de-tuned hardcore (think bands like Terror, Madball, Sworn Enemy etc..) then this amp is the final word in musical thuggery. This channel really likes active pickups and sounds brutal. On it's own this amp(with no extension cab) is more than loud enough to play ANY gig. I also use a standard Marshall 1960 cab with this amp which brings out some added presence and low end thump to the V-30 sound, awesome combination.
At high gain settings it is a bit noisy but that's what noise gates are for. This is a raw sounding amp with an inherent mid tone. Can do the scooped death metal type sound but it's strong point is an all out aggressive type sound with the mids cutting through the mix. Don't max out the gain to achieve a brutal sound - 6 or 7 is more than enough (especially with active pickups) and if you are playing at loud volumes then back off the gain even more.

Never had a problem with it. Sounds good day in and day out.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing for about 25 years and can honestly say that this is a good honest amp that not only sounds great at home but even better in big venues at INSANE volumes. Sure, the clean ain't fender pristine and at high gain it is a bit noisy but in real world situations (gigging) it is more than adequate. Takes effects well when used correctly in the loop. I played the 6505 head recently and it sounded good but no where near as good as my 5150 combo.

The features have been covered here several time but needless to say it???s a two channel high gain 2x12??? all valve combo, 3 band eq, presence, reverb etc etc etc???.
This is amp heavy in ever sense of the word. If you want clean, then I wouldn???t recommend this amp as the clean ain???t great ??? but I never bought it for doing clean stuff. There???s a lead and a crunch channel, the lead being a slighter higher gain sounding channel than the crunch. There???s also ???crunch??? and ???bright??? buttons on the crunch channel which give extra tonal dimension. In a nutshell, this is a simple, two-channel, high gain amp. Made from marine ply (as far as I know) you simply have to put this on castors, its just too heavy to carry unaided! Its built like a tank as you would expect from Peavey and can survive some serious knocks.
Its no longer being made as the 5150 - they now called the 6505 so these may become collectable in the future.

Sound wise this amp for me, when I first got it was disappointing. I read so many articles about re-biasing and replacing tubes as well as power chokes etc. and considered doing this until an electronics wizard told me to ignore all this and replace the speakers which I did. The stock Sheffield speakers just didn???t do it for me, way too much mid-range and generally just not very warm sounding. I replaced them with Celestion Vintage Lead and a Celestion G12K100 which they claim is the ???undisputed king of metal???. Believe me ??? it is! The improvement in tone and bottom end was remarkable. I think I have created the perfect amp (as far as I am concerned). I can???t see me ever changing this amp. Its absolutely monstrous. I play a Washburn Custom Shop Idol with Bareknuckle Warpig pickups. The sound and tone when used for gigs and rehearsing is just huge especially on chugging rhythm parts. Lead parts are really articulate and full sounding with the Vintage Lead speaker ??? the perfect combination. The gain on this amp is for me, without doubt, the best gain of any amp I have ever tried, and I???ve tried Marshall TSLs, Mesa Dual and Triple Rectifiers, other Peaveys such as the Valveking and XXX amps. I also own a Marshall DSL 20 and being British I would love to fly the flag for British amps but on this occasion Marshal stake a back seat when compared to the 5150 Combo. I play punk and some metal and this amp suits these styles just fine, I???ve also played live and recorded with them and compared to the Marshalls, the sound is just warmer and fuller than anything Marshall can do. I always find Marshall gain dry and slightly brittle. Not so with the 5150, it can do a Marshall style crunch but with more warmth, depth and overall prescence and then with a turn of the pre-gain knob just go into warp fact gain. The reverb was slightly disappointing as its very subtle, sometimes when its on full, I have to check that the effect is actually switched on. Not a major problem for me, as my pedal board takes care of it, but some people might find this an annoyance.
As mentioned, a noise gate of some descrition is useful for this amp, I use an ISP Decimator and some sort of volume boost for use at low volumes but even then they???re not essential. All in all, I would recommend this amp to anyone playing out and out metal that needs a high gain amp, without too much emphasis on using clean tones.

Reliability wise, this is Peavey who have a great reputation on the reliability front. I???ve used other Peavey amps in the past and they???ve never let me down. This amp is well built and has survived several accidental knocks. Its sturdy and made from quality components. Footswitch could be a little better, seems a bit flimsy to me and could have been made from metal rather than plastic but this is a minor gripe. It works fine which is the main thing.

I have contacted Peavey a few times on occasion. Prompt responses so no complaints there. Website is good too.

Overall as I???ve said, this is the perfect amp for me. Sound and feature wise its perfect. No gimmicks or frills, just an honest high gain amp that does with its meant to. I would highly recommend changing the stock speakers, I didn???t like them but that???s just personal taste. The gain on this has to be heard to be believed and is very versatile ranging from overdrive to out and out high gain power. I???ve heard the combo version is a better option than the head alone ??? this may be true, but bear in mind the weight thing. ITS HEAVY. If you live in a tower block, you won???t want to be carting this up and down stairs believe me!

Made in 2003. Purchased used in 2004. Very versatile when dialed in properly. Used for Rock and Hard rock/metal styles. 2 channels, fx loop, verb. Has all that I could need for features. Used for gigging, jamming with friends, teaching and recording. Plenty of power. All tube, preamp and output.

Due to recent opportunities I felt another review of this amplifier was neccesary. This amp was retested and compared using a stock 1991 Musicman Van Halen guitar and a 1979 Gibson les Paul custom with a Suhr Doug Aldrich bridge pickup and a Duncan 59 in the neck position . Friends of mine have purchased two amps recently. A Soldano SLO-100 head and an EVH 5150 III. We tested all of the amps in a large rehearsal studio with a drummer at master volume levels of 5 and above. After this testing we have come to the conclusion that the Peavey 5150 combo is at the VERY LEAST equal to and in some cases better than the SLO or the EVH 5150 III for overall distorted tone, dynamics, and powertube saturation. All amps were run through a marshall 1960b 4-12 cab with 75 watt celestions. This amp on the lead channel actually produced the same amount of usable gain as the other amps with equal tone, pick articulation, and versatility for the number of different tones attainable on crunch and clean settings . There is very little difference other wise between the three amps over all other than the EVH head having a dedicated clean channel. The 5150 combo also having the added advantage of the low resonance control for more low end thump and an on board reverb as well. The other amps do not have these features. The 5150 combo is tubed with Mesa boogie preamp and output tubes. The internal speakers on the combo were not connected for testing purposes and only a 4-12 was used.

After a few years of abuse..... still no issues.

The best.

Between myself and my friends we have over 60 years of combined playing experience. I myself have used 5150's since the early 90's. The combo amp sounds like a 5150 should, and only a few 5150 heads that I have heard sound as good as any the 5150 Combo's. Some of the very early 1st year EVH block letters sounded as good, but after these they were never the same. The combo's however have remained consistant over the years with the same killer tone and distortion quality. The head amp tech at peavey( Roger) has told me that it is a very different amp than the head and he is right. I you feel that you absolutly must spend 2000.00 + dollars on the other mentioned amps go ahead. But if you cant, you can get essentially the same tone at 1/3 the price with a 5150 combo. These amps are gems that can get great tone at low cost.

The features here dont have all the unneeded bells and whisltes of a the mesa rec's or the new Marshall JCM's but you can dial in the same range of tones if you have half a brain and understand the function of each EQ. The key here is to balance the resonance and presence EQ's as well as the pregain and post gain. The possiblities are broad. Those that say it has a one dimensional sound arent using this amp right. Inputs are pretty standard with an in and out effects loop and a line out to extend into a cabinet.

OK i've had a mesa single rectifier (sounds thin with no warmth or color to its sound) and a triple rectifier (gain monster with no warmth or color to its sound), a mesa DC-5 (great head with tight high gain but, distortion isnt loose enough to play fast rythem), A mesa Caliber .50 ( great amp head with tight shredding distortion and bass but sounds a little dry) A marshall valvestate head (Great distortion but isnt saturated enough). Overall the 5150 presents the positive qualities of the amps I just mentioned without any of the negatives. THis amp is an untamed gain monster with the ballsy bass of a mesa, the treble presence of a marshall, fierce shredding cutting mids, and saturated warmth that makes you want to keep on playing. I dont know how the hell Eddie Van Halen influenced this amps design since its so over the top from what he plays. its the loudest 60 watts i've ever heard. This amp is suited for extreme metal but, if EQ'd right it can play all other styles. In fact the rythem channel can be turned into a distorted crunch channel by setting the post and pre gain to the correct settings. If your giggin this amp is ideal but for practice its a to loud. You'll need an attenuator or volume box to lower it to suitable practice volumes that wont get you evicted from your apartment. an attenuator also adds a dynamic presence that enriches the sound. I would also recommend a noise gate to tighten the distortion. This amp does tend to hiss a bit and a noise gate would elminate that entirely. I have a morley noise gate and it did wonders for my tone, i literally am able to get any metal tone I want by adding that pedal. A noise gate is pretty much all you need to shape this amps tone.

It seems to be built well with its wooden outter shell covered in black leather.

Seems corporate everytime I call. It takes a while to be directed to the right person who can really answer your question but, they are very attentive and available.

Been playing for 9 years. Have ibanez and jackson shredders. If it were stolen I would probably get the head version although I dont know how anyone could steal this big of a unit. I wish it had a true master volume so I can play at practice volumes. I play metal, metalcore, thrash, and this amp gets those sounds with attitude. This amp sounds unique, and most importantly this amp sounds Mean.

Features are 2 channels, reverb, 2x12, 60w. It has been described well enough on other reviews.
The only other feature I wish it had is a footswitch for the clean/crunch switch. Other than that it's good.

I use it with Gibson guitars and a strat with a HSS pickup configuration. It sounds great. I have been playing 1/2 stacks all my life and it's the first time I am able to get a decent heavy distortion out of a combo. I am happy to finally be able to downsize. The amp sounds really good but I had to swap the speakers (with Celestions) and the tubes to get it where I wanted it to be.
The stock speakers were too bright and harsh and the stock tubes were too noisy. I replaced the speakers with an old Celestion GH12-70M and a new Vintage 30. It sounds much better now. The tubes were repalced with JJ 6L6s and a combination of NOS RCA, JJ and GT tubes in the preamp. With this mods, I can give the amp a 7 in the tone department. Without them it would be a 3 and I would probably end up selling it, but I really like its tone now.

One good thing about this amp is that even though it has tons of gain, it still lets the character of the guitar shine through. My strat still sounds like a strat, the Gibsons sound like Gibsons etc.

It's really a shame that Peavey chose such crap speakers and tubes for this amp. A lot of people will pass on it because of it.

Well I bought it just a few weeks ago and just had my first band practice with it last week. So far so good. I have had good experience with Peaveys in the past as far as reliability goes so it should be ok. It looks like it was well built, very solid and bulky.
I wouldn't gig without a backup ever with any amp. I always carry a small POD for a emergency situation.

This is out of warranty so I would just take to a local tech. Peavey does have a good website and all the manuals are available for download, even for discontinued products.

I've been playing guitar for 26 years, I am 33 years old now. I played metal for a long time but now I lean more towards classic rock, funk, blues and hard rock. I'm just getting old, I guess.

I am very happy with this amp. I still have my Marshall stack at home but I will probably sell it at some point because this amp sounds just as good and it's a lot easier to carry around (as long as it's on casters, it is a very heavy amp). I got it used for a killer price, normally they sell for a little more than the 450 I paid for it. At this price, it's an absolute steal. This is really a pro grade amp that will deliver tones that are good enough for any rock band or situation. Many top pros use 5150s and for a good reason. They're really top-notch amps. The stock speakers don't do the amp justice and an upgrade is mandatory if you want to get the best out of the amp. New tubes will also improve the tone and reduce the noise level on the gain channel.

I always wanted to find a combo that gave me the same power and tightness I used to get from my stacks and that's the first amp that really delivers it. Also it's one of the few amps I could plug straight into it without any effects and play a whole gig with it. The clean channel sounds really good and the drive channel is really amazing. I have my gain set to 5 and that's all the gain I need for shred solos and chunky rhythm.

One complaint I have is about the effects loop: the channel master volumes will affect the signal level going into the loop, making it a pain to use rack processors to it, because you have to constantly keep adjusting the in/out level on the rack every time you turn the amp volume up or down. My Marshall has the channel volumes past the loop so the rack levels stay the same regardless of the amp volume. That's much better.

Other than that I have no complaints about the amp, I like its size, tone and versatility. This is a real good choice for anyone planning to downsize from a 1/2 stack.

Made in 2000
Hits my style just fine.(southern rock,i.e. Lynyrd Skynyrd,Molly Hatchet,etc.)Also will get a good classic rock sound (ac/dc)or over the top gain.
Very simple,2 channels,1 E.Q. high,low gain input.1 trick pony,and thats the way I like it.
I use all the features,dont leave any out.
I use it at home.Dont gig.
Has enough power (60 tube watts)to blow your head off,etc.

Hi gain,Low gain,Classic rock,Metal,etc.
Not much variety.Again thats o.k. with me.
Does not really have a clean channel.
Distortion will rip your face off if you want !!
Epi.Les Paul Standard,(burstbuckers,and all new electr.etc.)Epi.Shearton 2,(Seymour Duncan,and all new electr. etc.)Great Guitars,"Crap" electronics !!!!!!!!
Stated above,style etc.
Changed speakers out for Celestion Vintage 30s, and JJ low gain tube option.(Helps settle the gain and hiss down,just a bit)Thanks Bob P. at Eurotubes !!

Very dependable. No problems at all. Would use it with out a back-up.
Never broken down. This thing is a Mack Truck !!!
I do live 1 hr.south of Meridian Ms. So if any problems come up Peavey is some-what in the back yard. These guys are "great".

Stated above,Very,Very good !!!
Will e-mail you,or call back very quickly !!!

Been playing off & on for 31 years.Peavey Mace 212BW combo,Peavey Delta Blues 210.The Mace is 30 years old.1977 model.
I would buy again.
Change the tubes,and speakers if you want. Have Fun !!!

I believe this is a 2003 model (according to the back at least). I play metal mainly and the 5150 is made perfectly for that style. I dabble in a bit of clean spacey stuff and some old school hard rock as well and this combo keeps up nicely for both of those types as well.

It is a 2 channel combo with a rythm and lead channel with shared eq. The rythm side has a bright and crunch switch as well as a overall resonance and presence control as well as built in reverb (which is the worst sounding reverb I have ever heard.) It has an effects loop as well as external speaker out and footswitch jack. My combo has Fender tubes in it for what thats worth as does my 5150 head. I thought it was kind of strange that both 5150s I have bought used had the same power tubes in them. Interesting.

This amp has plenty of power and will keep up with every half stack I have put it up against.

I am using a Washburn V with emgs in it as well as a Schecter 006 beater guitar with the emg passive. Both guitars sound really good thru this amp. I can get a good variety of tones (esp compared to the 5150 head which I also own). A good clean sound can be had; just bring up the rythm channel master volume and keep the pregain down around 2 or so with crunch off. If you do engage the crunch you can also get some good mild hard rock tones (if you back off the bass and resonance knobs). It can pretty boomy otherwise. The lead channel is sizzle heaven (in a good way). Very chunky for a combo and tight as well. It doesnt quite have the gut punch of the head with a 4x12; buts it REALLY close. I have toyed with the idea of selling it; but I like it too much to part with.

The only con I can find is that the treble is very very icepicky witht stock speakers. Ihave it and the presence on like 2 tops and that is it. I keep the bright switch off and it works good. With a speaker swap I would give it 9.

I havent gigged with it yet but I have practiced multiple times and it is pretty solid like every other Peavey I have had. It is sturdy and heavy as hell!!!

I havent needed customer support yet...

Overall I would rate this amp a 9. I have had A Dual Rec.; various older Peaveys (VTMs etc) and Orange AD 140 (Loud as Hell also!!!) and lots of rack stuff. The only amp I regret selling over the years was my Hafler Triple Giant Preamp (the one by Bogner). I have been thinking of selling this amp to buy something a little different than the head I own; but it sounds so damn good I cant bring myself to do it. I know I would regret the sale just like the Triple Giant; so I am keeping it. The only thing I wish it had were better speakers which down the road I might replace anyways. If you're looking for a good metal tone out of a combo; this is it period.

I don't know what year this amp was made in.

It is a very versatile amp, I have played jazz, blues, death metal, and it has so much gain that I never turn the dial above 5. if you open the back of the cab, you can get decent cleans and get rid of that "thumpy" sound.

it has 2 channels, I wish it had a real clean channel, but if you turn the rythm gain to 3 and unclick the crunch switch there is a very sweet clean tone. the reverb is very sweet. I never use the effects loop but it is there. and it has an extension jack just in case you have an audience outside of a 5 mile radius that isn't quite deaf yet.

it was a very good deal on a tube amp (I got mine used). it has everything but a clean channel.

If you can't find a good tone on this amp, sell your guitars now...you dont deserve them, maybe try the drums.

The clean channel is the rythm channel, so it can distort, but the master volume never goes above 1 or 2 (and the tubes still sound good!!!)

I play metal on a strat with the gain between 5 and 6. if you need more distortion than this amp has... what the heck are you doing to your poor guitar?

I mostly play classic rock (5150...VAN HALEN), with some blues and metal when I feel like it.

It can be noisy, but I just put in some new tubes and it is very quiet now, so maybe it was just the old stock tubes.

It sounds superb now, but it was only ok before the tube change, so I give it a 9.

It weighs nearly 100 pounds!!!! This thing is built like a block of concrete.

It is a tube amp and you should change them ever year or so, but when I got it the old tubes had been in it for almost four years and the amps still sounded decent.

I have never had to deal with peavey directly... I have heard that they can be rude though.

I have been playing about 5 years I use a lp and a strat.

stolen or lost... HA, HAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAH, HO HO HAHAHA. ROFL.
I can only imagine someone trying to run down the streen with a 90 pound amp the size of a large television. And I hope I never get drunk enough to lose such a large piece of equipment. Even so, I probably would not buy another one, It is great and all.. but I would really like a nice bogner or a celtic.

For power tubes, I would recommend Eurotubes.com, the guy will pick through his stack and send you tubes to set the bias on the amp properly. and he sends the tubes the day you order with an e-mail from the owner himself.

I wouldn't recommend Electro Harmonix preamp tubes unless you like the icepick-in-the-ear feeling.