Peavey 5150 212

Peavey 5150 212 combo, 60 watts, 5 12AX7 Preamp and 2 6L6 Power Tubes. 2 Channels (lead/rhythm) shared EQ. Bright and Crunch controls on rhythm, resonance and presence on lead. FX loop. I do wish it had seperate EQ controls. Unfortunately peavey never made a 5150 II combo, only the head version. The combos are fixed bias and from my experience a little better on clean tone. Don't get me wrong, this is still no Fender Bassman or 65 Twin Reverb..Its not made for clean. Loud Loud Loud!!

The amp sounds ok at low volumes as long as you crank the presence control. The louder you turn the amp (post gain = volume) the less presence you need. With postgain on 1 i keep resonance at 8. With post gain at 3 I bump presence back to 4. (keeping resonance up for low end). I use Fender Atomic Humbuckers and Stock MIM single coils. The humbuckers sound great but the single coils are not so hot. I purchased this amp because Ross Childress used this amp when touring for Collective Soul and he has a very long sustain, hot lead tone. I later found out his lead tone came from his Fender 65 Twin Reverb with an Ibanez Tube King and/or an Ibanez PUE5 Tubescreamer and he just ran the 5150 dry along side of it to thicken up his sound.

The amp is fairly quiet on the rhythm channel..on lead with the pre-gain past 5 and it'll hum like the dickens. Doesn't really matter if your going to be riffing anyways. The clean channel is do-able. Raise the post gain to around 4 and drop the pre-gain on the rhythm channel to 1.5 bright switch in, crunch switch out and it has a very decent clean tone. The distortion on the amp is not very versatile..It has that Peaveyesque flavor to it that you can't shake (not necessarily a bad thing) off..... I did put JJ tubes in and it helped the sound a little.. Not sure if an untrained ear would be able to notice the difference but it did help the sound a bit. The louder the amp is, the less gain you need and the better it sounds. For this reason I'm trying to sell mine (if your interested email me). Because I have kids and I don't get a chance to explore the amps full potential..I would rather have something I can get nice hi-gain tones at low volumes (Tonelab SE, POD..something along those lines)

This weighs 85 lbs, very solid. Manufactured very well. Easy to replace tubes. Tubes are well protected..

Better than Fender but its not Robert Keeley/Dr. Z service...

I've been playing for 7 years. This is a good amp but I would get something else if stolen. The tone is great but its just not my tone..I'm still searching for my own unique sound..I'm going for a saturated (almost synth like) distortion that allows some chord work without completely fuzzing out. I'm leaning toward a Vox Tonelab SE in conjunction with some gear and an old Fender amp I have.

Overall If you like metal/rock and will be playing gigs and shows. Go for this. Csoul, 3 doors down..lots of bands use them (lets not forget EVH used them at some point..but not anymore) If your a bedroom player there is more practical gear that you can buy for $500 to $1000.

Everyone knows the features.
My only problem is the lack of 2 seperate EQ's for each channel.
But thats what the 5150II is for. Another thing...people complain about there not being a clean. If you want a clean amp, why are you even looking at this? You should know that the 5150 is a Hi-Gain amp. I play mainly a mix of grindcore, hardcore, metalcore, and doom metal...and this thing gets the job done.

Firstly, I plugged my Dimebucker-equiped LTD M-100 into it. Brutal. the Rhythm channel has a nice cutting crunch, and when you click the crunch switch off and roll the gain back a little, it gets a really nice, fat, ballsy blues sound. Now for the Lead channel. This thing gets waaaay more gain than I'll ever need!
Next was my 1964 single coil Jaguar. It had a lot of hum and feedback, but still retained some clarity and had a nice fat sound when i used just a little overdrive on the Rhythm channel.

This thing is built like a frickin' tank! It's all of 85 pounds, and it shows! The thing as almost as big as my Marshall cabinet. Other than a few cosmetic issues (that were there when i got it), this thing rocks!

Havn't had any problems yet.

I give it a 9, just because I wish that there was an extra EQ for both channels. But like stated above, that's what the 5150II is for.

All-tube, 2 channels: Rhythm & Lead. Rhythm has Bright and Crunch switches. Both channels share 3 band parametric EQ and Resonance and Presence functions. Also has reverb, FX loop (very handy). Fairly steamlined design--simple is good. Still, eminently tweakable given these features. 16 ohm extension cab jack. Insane amount of gain. 60W, louder than God.

I use several humbucker guitars--MIA Wolfgang Special FT, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Deluxe Fat Strat--and play mostly classic rock and metal. I have it hooked into a 16 ohm 5150 4-12 cab--holy shit, can that thing move air. You could die from the concussive force. (If you use an extension cab, WATCH YER OHMS!!) Now I know what those Al-Qaeda fuckers feel when one of those Daisy Cutter bombs go off overhead. I've Ebola-tized my brain many a night with this amp.

I usually just use the rhythm channel, pre-gain at 5-7, post-gain no more than 2. I have literally knocked shit off walls and shelves. I retubed the power section with JJ6l6s--HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, worth the price (which is modest), and Bob at Eurotubes is a helluva good guy. This amp does NOT like pedals in front of it, especially any OD/distortion. I run everything through the FX loop, but really don't need *any* distortion devices. If you think you need more gain, you're nuttier than a North Korean dictator.

It's a little noisy, and doesn't get Fender-clean. That's what they make Twin Reverbs for--but it's clean enough for me. Best of both worlds--TR for clean, 5150 for sonic mayhem. This amp is about as subtle as a horde of meth-stoked bikers kicking in your front door and crapping on your froo-froo Persian rug.


So, 3 words of advice: use an ext. cab, retube with JJs, and run pedals (if you think they are necessary at all) through the FX loop.

The fuse has gone out a coupla times, but no big deal. The original tubes got kinda flakey once, so I replaced 'em.

I have hit up the Peavey online amp forum a number of times, and Roger Crimm (Peavey tech dude) and other users have helped TREMENDOUSLY. Roger is Da Man! I've never had to look elsewhere for help. Those guys diagnosed problems online that my local tech could not identify by physically inspecting it. It's preternatural, and I suspect voodoo is involved. That said, the few problems I've had were minor.

I've been playing 8 years and have had tons of gear--most of which I dumped in Stalinesque purges. I've had the 5150 about 3 years, and no way will I part with it. This amp is all about RAWK, dudes. And it sounds killer without having to use any pedals to color it.

It would be nice if it had separate EQs for each channel, like the 5150 II head, but no biggie. It's a heavy mother, too--casters would be nice. You need an industrial grade floorjack to move this thing, unless Jason Giambi or some other MLB 'roid freak is yer friend. The reverb is kinda lame, but then again, it ain't a surf-amp.

This is a classic amp, right up there with Fender blackfaces, Marshall plexis and JCM 800s, Vox AC30, Mesa rectumfriers, and stuff like that--it's pro-level equipment. It's relatively cheap for what you're getting in terms of quality, too.

If it got ripped off, I'd follow the blood trail at a walk, as the perp will be dragging his bleeding entrails out his ass trying to carry this, slowly.

This, according to the Peavey rep, was the second last 5150 combo made for Canada in late 2004. You know the features by now, 2 channel, all tube, high gain, loud, etc... This amp is a rock and roll amp, pure and simple. It does not have a 'clean' channel. It has rhythm and lead. Very basic Pre/Post and EQ controls. Serial effects loop, footswitchable channels and reverb on/off. 60 Watts, can output to another speaker cab. This is amp is a very loud amplifier for 60 watts. Turn the post gain up to 2-3 is usually too loud for just practice level at home. At band rehearsals and the like, it is perfect. My only complaint about the amp, is its weight. It is easily 80 pounds or more, and is not very easy to move around. No casters or side handles. I'm knocking of a point or two for this only. This is not a very feature rich amplifier. It is very simple. Simple is good.

I'm playing through this amp with an Musicman Axis guitar usually. Combined with the 5150, it is a tone monster. The amp totally cooks for rock/hard rock styles. The amp does have a fair bit of hiss when idle, but this is more or less the norm for high gain amplifiers. Replacing the stock tubes really cut this down alot for me. I replaced the stock Electroharmonix 12ax7/Ruby 6l6 tubes, with JJ tubes. Trust me, you want to do this. Really improved the amp for me. I generally get a great tone from the amp, I can nail early Van Halen sounds as well as more modern tones as well, if I want to. As I said earlier, the amp doesn't have a clean channel, clean sounds can be coaxed out of the rhythm channel, but they're not the greatest. It's not what this amp is about. If you're looking for a sparkling clean sounds, buy a Fender amp. This amp will do just about any kind of rock/hard rock/metal sound, but it don't do clean well. The distortion on this thing is over the top, most people won't ever need to put it up to what it can do, I usually have my lead gain setting at about 4-5. The resonance/presence controls on this amp give it alot of control for high/low end sound. You can really tweak your exact tone with them. Tweaking the amp is a very tricky thing, for me anyway. It took me a while to figure out how to use it correctly. It seemed simple enough Bass, Mid, High, Resonance, Presence, but it seems that all these controls effect each other more than other amps I've tried. You really have to experiment to get them just right. So to sum up, this is a tone monster for rock players, clean players should look elsewhere, so a point or two off there.

Not much I can say about it. I only got it in December and haven't gigged it yet. I'd carry spare tubes and a fuse or two maybe if I were to gig with it. It is a Peavey, and they're pretty solid so I'm not too worried about it. The unit is built like a tank, and about half as heavy as one.

Peavey is Peavey, I'm sure you know of them. I've spoken to some of thier customer support people recently and in the past online. They seem helpful enough. They're usually quite informative as well. Authorized Peavey service centers are everywhere. The amp comes with a 2 year warranty, and if you register your amp with Peavey I think they extend it another 2 or three years.

I've been playing for almost twenty years and have had a few nice amps over the years. I've always had tube screamers or overdrive pedals in front of my amps, eqs in front and in the loop, etc.. Always trying to get that perfect rock guitar tone, I've been close, but since I bought the 5150 I'm closer than ever. Probably as close as I'm going to get until I cave and buy a Soldano or something of that caliber. I'm quite happy with the amp, other than the weight issue. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy another if possible. I love the sounds this thing can make, and the way it makes my guts move when cranked. I hate its cumbersome weight and dimensions. I compared this to a couple of Marshall combos and a Mesa Boogie. I picked this one because it sounded different than the Marshalls, and was much cheaper then the Mesa, I didn't really dig the sound of the Mesa either, I sounded like every other player with a Mesa, yawn. For the price, this amp cannot be beat as a kick ass rock guitar amp. I do wish it could do better clean sounds sometimes, but then I switch on the lead channel again and forget all about that.

Everyone knows.

SD JB Pickup in a Yammie AES620
CHANGED TUBES TO EUROTUBES JJ LOW GAIN OPTION
AND ALL RATINGS ARE BASED ON THIS. WE ALL KNOW WHAT A STOCK 5150 SOUNDS LIKE SO HERE IT IS WITH THE JJ LOW GAIN TUBES.
First, the gain is way more controlled and yes it is LESS but in a rich creamy smooth way with gobs of control and overtones. Pre gain at 10 is similar to what it was like on 5-6 in stock trim at lower volumes but crank the post with pre on 7-9 and drive the 6L6s and WOW! this thing is an even bigger more controllable MONSTER of tone. I've had Marshalls, Mesas, VHT to name a few and with a 5150 4X12 cab under it, this combo BLOWS EVERYTHING ELSE I'VE HAD AWAY!!! No shit! Get a cab under it and some JJ tubes from Bob at Eurotubes (which ever gain option you like) and it will be all you have been searching for.....low gain tubes gives creamy blues to rippin' metal....

Built like a tank.

No dealings yet.

Stock it works well for those who are working on finding their tone.
With JJ tubes, you'll wonder why you have spent so much looking for that sound up until now.

I recently bought a peavey 5150 2x12 combo and it is an all tube 60 watt combo amp with great distortion and reverb. This amp can play mostly any style of music but it surpasses good quality in music with distortion with low end. There is an effects loop and a speaker output. This thing totally blows away in power and i dont know why people buy the half stack this thing is so damn loud.

This thing is an absolute beast. I took a chance buying this amp because i play all styles of music from Clapton to Slayer, and im only 15 years old and i saved all summer for this so if it didnt work out i was screwed. Well im glad i bought this bad boy. It plays my styles and more. The distortion takes a while to find your sweet spot but once you find it it kicks some ass. For extral low end take off the back speaker cover. The clean is awesome with the pre gain rythm low and the post gain high. So sweet. With the distortion high it makes quite a hiss so put a noise gate in the effects loop to take most of the hiss out. I am actually still trying to find some good settrings for drop tuning songs like atreyu, killswitch engage, shadows fall and other shit like that. if someone could e-mail me i would love it.

I acually just got the amp a week ago and i got it used so apperantly it can hold up this long. Just use the standby switch before powering on and off for longer tube life. I would definatly take this thing lone ranger to a gig.

Havent contacted peavey although their site isn't very helpful since van halen and peavey's partnership bvroke up and this amp is now the 6505 but the manual is on the internet as well as a sweet site with some settings for this amp www.wolfgangregistry.com

I've been playing for about 7 years now and im fifteen so thats like 50% of my life. I run my gibson flying v with stock humbuckers even though im looking into a pair of emg 81's. i use a crybaby wah and the boss noise suppressor.I love this amp all around. although i do wish it had a clean channel by itself because the rythm sounds so good distorted and the lead channel cant get very clean. I still love this amp in every aspect. I fit were stolen i would have bno choice but to hunt the thief down force his head in front of the speakers and turn this all the way up and blaze out angel of death by slayer while i watch his brains splatter on the wall. I think i just found my new best friend and it is such a deal everyone should own one.

2 channels, "rhythm" and "lead". the rhythm (clean) channel has 2 extra switches, one is bright and the other is crunch. it has ya standard eq type setup plus reverb, resonance and presence. it also has a hi gain and low gain input. it is fitted with 12ax7's and 2 6L6 valves. I believe its a mid 90's amp.

I use a les paul special and i play metal and prog type stuff like incubus. to be honest if you are playing anything remotely heavy this amp is all you will need. get rid of ya distortion pedals too cuz this thing is PHAT. it is ridiculously loud. i used to play through a 100w laney head and 4x12 cab and this thing blows it to shit. if you value your ears you wont turn this thing up past half volume. now this thing doesn't get rave reviews for its clean channel but if you are thinking of buying this then im guessing you dont care too much about clean channels. if you want a clean channel go buy a fender or a vox. however i dont mind the clean channel that much on it, i think it is much better than most people give it credit for. also this thing is a little bit on the noisy side but it is such a high gain amp that i guess it is to be expected. good choice of valves should remedy that problem.

the only backup i would recommend on this thing is health insurance because it is stupidly loud and weighs the same as the eiffel tower. this thing is as sturdy as a tank and i have nearly given myself a hernia on several occasions trying to lift it. the simple answer would be to have handles fitted on the side but i aint got round to it yet. i cant see this thing breaking unless someone dropped a large planet on it.

well it hasnt broken on me so i havent had to deal with peavey yet.

ive been playin about 4 years now but i used to work in a guitar shop so i have fiddled with a hell of a lot of gear and i can honestly say i have never seen a combo like this. it dumps on jcm2000 combos and mesa combos. i actually chose it over a mesa rocket. if i had to replace it, i would only buy the same again. It looks sexy, it sounds sexy. Buy it.

i dunnno the exact year of my amp but it has the EVH signature. I play mostly metal and some blues. It has enough versatility for me in this regard, seeing as tho im not too keen on the classic blues tone.

i run it through an ibanez rg with active EMG pickups. Im really dsiapointed with the combo version of this amp overall. i bought it and tried and tried as much time and effort i put into it, i could never coax the right tone from this thing. I was very specifically looking for that brutal early In Flames/At The gates kind of distortion. it was always too.....clear. like the distortion was TOO tight. I guess i would attribute it to teh fact that the combos are biased hotter than the heads.

A few months later i just bit the bullet, sold the damn thing and put down the money for the half stack. The half stack had all the tone this combo was missing. If u want a 5150 and ur looking for a specific tone, go all out and get the head or dont even bother. The head blows this away in terms of tone, power and gain.

I am not sure exactly what the exact year of manufacture is. Sometime in the late 1990's. The amp is two channels, rhythm and lead. The rhythm channel has a bright switch for boosting the high end at low gain settings and a crunch switch for boosting the gain structure, giving you the option of a second drivin channel. Both channels share the same three band EQ. The amp has global reverb, presence and resonance. 60 Watts, enough power to carry most rooms and any stage. I like the lower watt tube amps. I like to be able to push the tubes without making everyones ears bleed. I rear controls are pretty straight forward. Effects send and return, footswitch jack and extention speaker jack. Over all most of what you need and nothing you don't.

My primay guitar is a 1998 Les Paul Studio with stock pickups. I also play a 1983 Carvin CM130 loaded with Seymour Duncan 59's. Setting this amp up as a dual gain amplifier, all I can say is that I love the amp. With the rhythm channel set up with the crunch switch engage gain set from 8 to 10 and the lead set up with the gain set to 6 or 8, this is the ultimate rock and roll amplifier. The drawback is that it is very difficult to get this amp to "clean up". If you play music requiring good clean work, especially chording, this amp won't do it. Believe me I have tried tirelessly. As far as noise, yeah it has some hiss. More gain, more hiss. Every high gain amp has hissing, there is no way to get around it.

It's a tube amp you need to be ready for maintance. I have gigged with it without a backup. Four or more hours of solid rockin. I been lucky in that I have never blown a tube during a gig. But I have blown them in practice. I always carry a full set of tubes with me at gigs and several spare fuses. I have never had anything other problems other than tubes. The amp is built like a rock. It weighs a ton and is constructed of heavy plywood. I believe this amp could last many years of hard use on the road. Peavey did a great job with the tubes also. The preamp tube are housed inside retainer tubes and the power tubes have good spring clips.

I have never had service done. So far in my career I have been able to take care of all of my problems. But I have sent many email to customer service. Customer service has always answered all of my questions promptly and completely.

I've been playing guitar for about 25 years. I played in several bar and club bands during that time. If it were lost or stolen I wouldn't replace it. Only because I would pursue a three channel tube amp without shared EQs. If Peavey would add seperate EQs to the channels this would be the ultimate rock and roll amp.

two channels, clean(called rhythm) and lead, has bright and crunch switches. reverb, resonance and presence control. 3 band EQ. pre and post gain controls for both channels. I wish it had more reverb. and an good clean channel would be a great additional feature...

This amp was designed for hardrock/metal. the main feature of this amp is the lead channel. rhythm channel is just an added feature which isnt anything that great. it sucks actually. peavey added it for cosmetic reasons, coz it would be more marketable. the lead gain channal has so much gain, its almost crazy. i'm not surprised coz eddie is crazy. lol. it sounds great though. sounds like a marshall to my ears thats really pushed to its limits like what you hear on van halen's first album. awesome tube saturation even at very low volumes. this amp works equally well for metal, it gave a fucking ballsy metal tone. very brutal i've ever heard. I havent tried the mesa rectifier but i've heard that the mesa recto is a muddy amp. th3 5150 aint muddy at all. most of the rhythm playing intricacies come through clearly. i think dimebag darrell should check out this amp, sounds fit for his style and not solid state (his amps sound like buzzsaw garbage). no cleans sounds here (it wasnt meant to do that)

great amp for metal/rock. its the best at what it does i think, which is hard rock and metal.