Peavey 5150 212

My 5150 combo was made in 1996. Bought new from a peavey dealer. Original power tubes blew in first month. Replaced with Groove Tubes and never touched for all the years since.

I play a Gibson LP with a 500T in the bridge and a Strat with a hot double humbucker. Our band plays a hard rock/hard blues mix of music from 60's to 00's.

The combo, by itself, has the right amount of power but lacks bass. I purchased a 4X12 5150 cabinet and set the combo on top for a total of 6 speakers. This helped to boost the bass output substantially and improved the overall sound. It also elevates the speakers so that they can be heard on stage at a closer to ear level. The 60 watt power output allows me to crank the amp to properly clip its output without blowing my head off and let the sound man do his job by micing the amp and properly bringing it into the mix.

The amp has built in reverb so i simply run direct from my guitar into the amp.

I adjust the controls: bass up, resonance up, mids scooped, treble halfway up and presence less than halfway up. This creates a great chunky sound. I play generally using the cleaner channel with the gain all the way up and adjust my desired sound with the volume control or pickup switch on the guitar. This gives me a dynamic range from very soft overdrive to strongly overdriven. I use the high gain channel for only about 20% of songs where super high gain/sustain are necessary like Van Halen songs. The high gain channel compresses the dynamic range so the clean channel turned up sounds better and give more flexibility. Two other guitar players I know have purchased 5150s as a result of hearing mine.

I love the amp: it is simple to use with great tone.

Downsides:

It is missing a second set of tone controls for the two channels, but you can buy a 5150 II if you want that. It is also very heavy. You'll be tired by the time you get it carted in to a gig.

Other than tube blowing early, it has been perfectly reliable. This was a blessing in disguise as the new tubes sound much better than stock. It has had probably a dozen beers spilled into it, sat in a flooded and moldy basement where it grew green mold, the top is covered with burns from smokes and it still works and sounds great but the adjustment knobs seem a little sticky from the beer spills. I couldn't ask for more.

Peavy dealer helped me install the new power tubes and properly biased the amp to run a bit hotter than factory. Other than that no contact with Peavey.

Overall a 9. I love this amp. I have been looking at triple rectos lately but not because I'm unhappy, just looking for a new toy.

I Play with an American Fender Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul Zakk Wylde Custom with EMG 81 and 85. The only effect I use is a Dunlop Cry Baby and thats it. This amp is the only amp I have ever played that I did not need a distortion box for and I like that a lot. I previously owned a Peavey rage 158 and then steped up to a Peavey Classic 50 Full Stack and with both of those I was not happy, I had too much shit on the floor. Finally I broke down and sold the Peavey Classic 50 and saved up for the 5150 combo and am very happy with it. Great Job Peavey

Its a Peavey and Van Halen Tours the world so what do you think???

Doubt I will ever need them

Excellent Rock amp with a lot of good tones to work with. Bought Brand new from Musicians Friend

Kep Rockin........

Rythm gain w/ crunch and bright switches,lead gain,treb,mid,bass rythm and lead master volumes,resonance and presance.High and low gain inputs FX loop.Haveing two seperate EQs is nice but thats what the 5150 II is for.

Well I playing in a metal band doing national club tours so I traded up another tube amp for this.I also play in a rock band for fun(and extra dough)in my down time.I was surprised the rythm channel kicks @ss w/ gain on 5.5 and crunch on w/ my Dimarzio super equiped strat it sounds very much lie a Marshall JCM 800 2210 for luesy rock tones,very nice.And ofcourse the lead channel will do the metal distortion thang.Gain to about 6.5 is insain and much past that gets to be to much.The resonance control reall helps the lowend thump for metal.

I have only had it a short time so I dunno yetPeavey is known for there reliabilitie though.

Dunno

I've been playing over 10yrs.I really like this amp will do the Marshall clean/crunch smooth bluesy rock tone with out the grainy buz you get from other amps.(Note the master must be atleast 4 for this amp to start sounding right,its a tube amp a know)The lead channel is waaaaaay to grungy for rock but I like it for metal.For those who complain about the cleans not being clean.Why did you buy a high gain amp??Thats kinna like complaining your fender twin don't do metal.Espcially the louder you get the output valves distort(Its just nature).Also for those who complain about the amp being thin,its a tube amp and tube amps need to be played fairly loud(at least 4) to get the output tubes cooking for decent tone(again nature),if its too loud get a attenuator.

It's one off the earlier models from 1998 I think.
Bought it new in 2001 here in Belgium for a very good price because the shop
wanted to get wrid of it because it didn't function well or not at all.
In general it has all the features I need.I've have owned a
line6 vetta and that has to mainy features and not good enough sound.

This is where it gets tricky.When people say that this amp doesn't sound good it is mostly because they have played it at a music store.
In the first months that I've owned the amp it sounded very valvestate,and had no punch or dynamics at all, I must say i was very disapointed. Then i brought the amp to a good amp tech here in Belgium. According to this man some series of the 5150's have flaws comming out of the factory witch can be easily solved by an experienced technician. He solved the flaws, putted new Sovtec tubes in it and it sounded very good. Instand Vanhalen and AC DC.
I use this amp with my fender strat, peavey wolfgang and gibson les paul, I also use a delay and chorus pedal and a marshall guv'ner2 pedal to boost the amp for my solo's.
The Rhythm channel is very much like a hotrodded plexi, and I can know this because I own a Jimmy hendrix plexi stack.
The lead channel is very good for 80's solo's, but like al pros do
when you want a more modern sound out of this channel you have to boost the mids with a eq.pedal.
Overall this is a very good sounding amp and also very versatile.

Before I took it to my amp tech it wasned very reliable.
But when the flaws are corrected it is very reliable.
Like others say, it is build like a tank, almost ways as much too.
If you buy it new and have one of the normal working models you have a very reliabel amp. When people say it's not reliabel it's because the tubes aren't reliabel. Those stock chinees tubes aren't worth shit and they make the amp sound bad.

Always good customer support.
Whenever I mailed them they responded the next day.
They are very helpfull and always know what the problem is
and how to solve it.

I've been playing for abour ten years now.
I've owned a marshall valvestate 8240 and a line6 vetta1 and not one of those amp can be compared to a good valve amp.
Know I own a marshall limited edition jimmi hendrix purple stack and this combo. Effects: Boss od1,ds1,ce3,dd3 ,Dod Ygm308, Dunlop cry baby, eh muff pi and at last a roger mayer classic fuzz.
In may oppinion it can sound as heavy as a mesa bougie rectifier and with good tubes it's in the same leage of the bougies,vht,soldano,bogner,brunetti and all those other high grade amps. If can't get stolen because it ways a ton. Overall it's one of the best amps I've heard and believe me I've heard a lot of amps.

Unsure of the year mine was but it has the cursive EVH signature. Not a very good clean amp, you can back off of the volume on your guitar and get some decent semi-clean tones from the rhythm channel. For this reason I use an ABY box to run one to the 5150 and one to a Fender M-80 for clean tones. I also use an az1000g in front of the m-80 so I can run distortion through both amps. Has effect loop and pretty good reverb built in. I give it a 7 due to lack of clean.

I'm using a Fender Toronado and a Fender Strat -->Dunlop Wah -->Ibanez TS7 Tubescreamer-->Morley ABY: A channel goes to an Korg AX1000G processor and then a dod grunge and a ibanez SM7 smashbox (which i'm thinking of trading for 535Q wah) into the fender. I run the B side straight into the 5150 after the tubescreamer. Sounds great with both guitars, can be very noise but thats what you get w/ an amp w/ so much gain. I put JJ tubes that are tweaked for a little more gain so that doesn't help the noise problem at all. I've been thinking of running a boss noise supressor in the fx loop just to see what that does. Distortion is the best amp distorion I've ever heard, you can get a nice crunchy rhythm sound and a searing lead. Main reason I bought this is Ross Childress plays a 5150 live and I could never get the response and the screams that he had. Now I can.

It weights 85 pounds, Its probably more reliable than most amps out there. HAven't had a problem yet, bought it used so the first thing I did was replace the tubes. HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY. If your gonna use this in your house get those moving men pads you put underneath and just slide it around. If you gig get some casters and some side handles, Its a beast.

Haven't had to deal w/ them. Purchased used, may contact them to get a footswitch.

I love this amp, I was always skeptical about tube amps until I played one. This amp is worth every cent. The amp can put out some serious low end or boost up the presense for the brown sound. The louder you crank the amp the less presense you need. Distortion is versitile (not the clean) I was getting sounds from skynard to Satch. Great Great amp...Buy it used, you can find it for half the price.

The is a nice little beast. Raw, simple balls out power. 212 Sheffields are better than I expected and handle the power this amp throws out well. The quater stack design is great and gives its a ballsier feel then a normal combo, plus the 60 watt head is frikkin great. Enough controls to tweak 2 very nice tones on each side of the switch.

Using 85 strat (emg89,sa,sa), 1988 kramer usa (duncan distortion tb, hot rails, hot rails) and 2002 Les Paul (emg85,89). Play mainly metal.

Dont get this amp if you play anything that doesnt demand a heavier guitar sound. There is no clean channel, the rythym channel is dirtier than most marshalls tube amps, the lead channel is off the page gain, ive never heard this much gain outta tubes before in my life, heeping slabs upon slabs of dirt. You really have to hear it to understand how filthy it can get.

When i first got it the stock tubes had been blown to bits and sounded like it, best thing to do with this amp is too have the tubes replaced immediately.....the rubys are terrible. I have the new Sovtek 6L6 WXT+ installed, for preamp one EH, for rythym side install cleaner sounding tubes! like sovtek 12ax7a's , and for lead ax7b's.....you want as contrasting tubes as you can get in these slots.

After tubes are done this way youll get much better tonal variety and power than you had off the floor. and thats when this amp is gonna kick your ass. it will still be hissy on the lead channel at high dirt but there is no way you can get that sweet assed gain without a little noise. use your footswitch and gain controls right and you wont have any problems.

this amp is great for anyone who plays metal, or real dirty blues...you will never get a truly clean sparkling sound out of it like you would with a laney tube head, but you can get some nice rich cleans.

as for volume....i jam with full bands with my post gains on 3. this thing will get you noise complaints and will cause hearing loss =-)


some people have commented than the reverb is weak...maybe but i like tight reverb so i think its great....nice to have control of it on the stomper too

would use it to record, but havent tried a mic on it yet so cant comment

you cant hurt it without resorting to power tools...same construction as a full size cabinet basically, weighs a ton and is a pain in the ass to lift around.
electronically its top notch, fixed bias.

havent had the need but ive easily found the schematic and owners manual online

ive used everything imaginable in my 20 years of playing and i know a good amp when i hear it, this amp is frikkin great, not for everyone but great in its own way. You wouldnt get a jcm900 to play with a church band so dont get this and expect to play george bensons greatest and then complain. this amp is loud and dirty.

for the price i got it at i couldnt have gotten anything better.
highly recomended if you play metal.

Purchased new in 1996. Everyone else has already listed the specs. No need to relist them. A versatile amp? For many people no, but for me yes. I play various types of rock-based music and can get get pretty much the tones I need. Some complain of having only one EQ for both channels, but I have a Boss GE-7 to take care of that. I wish it had a line out and/or a headphone jack. I also wish the crunch was footswitchable (like on the 5150 II) instead of the having a switch for the reverb (kinda useless if you ask me). Otherwise, it has pretty much what I need. I'll give it an 8.

By now, you probably know that this amp was designed for its distortion (LEAD channel) more than anything else. It has plenty of gain to give. Some players feel it has too much. A simple solution is just don't put the knob on 10 (I rarely go past 6 or 7). Like any amp, you need to keep making adjustments until you find what you like. The RHYTHM channel, or what some people mistakenly call the "clean" channel, is more versatile than most would realize. The clean sound is less desirable than the sound you'd get from most other amps. But with the right settings, you can get a decent clean sound. (But make no mistake, this amp is a high gain amp and will not do cleans like a Fender tweed or a Roland Jazz Chorus.) The RHYTHM channel has a crunch switch which give it very nice overdriven tones. Being a high gain amp, it has a tendency to be noisy. I changed the tubes (SEDS for power and c9's for preamp) and the amp cleaned up slighty. I recently started using a Boss NS-2 (Noise Suppressor) and the amp is a lot quieter now. (Try it out!) Right now there seems to be a trend of getting this amp modded, but since I'm able to get a lot of usable sounds, I give it a 9.

Never had a problem with it. Personally, I think people who can afford a backup amp would bring one. People who can't afford one, don't use one. Kind of a silly question to me.

Never used them.

I've playing for 16 years. I haven't played through a world of amps, but I'm pretty happy with mine. Seems like most people either love 'em or hate 'em. If it were lost, I may get another one. However, I've had it for 8 years now. I'd probably go see what else is out there. Yeh, and it's big and heavy. I don't have a problem with it, but if you think you would, find something else. It really excels at what it was designed to do, lots of volume and lots of gain. For it's price, it's a good purchase. Overall, I'd give it a 9.

Basic features. 2 channels, 3 band EQ, presence and resonance controls, spring reverb, and effects loop.

I really wish it had a line out. Recording with this amp is a real pain. It doesn't mic up well, and a line out would make things much easier.

My setup is my '88 Charvel Model 4 straight into the 5150. I don't use any effects, just my guitar and amp. Simpler is better.

I play in a couple bands. One is a punk-thrash type band. The other is a lighter rock band with some jazz and blues influences. I need an amp with a brutal distortion, as well as a sweet clean.

I don't see what everyone is talking about when they say the clean sucks. I actually like it a lot. It sounds just as good as my other guitarist's Classic 50. I keep the bright switch pushed in. With the crunch switch, you can drive the tubes into distortion.

The distortion can get extremely heavy. I usually keep my lead preamp at around 7, and it can handle the heaviest of metal. It's not quite as good at doing light distortions, but it definately can be done. Rolling back the volume on my guitar I can get a nice blues lead tone.

This amp is very noisy. When not playing on the lead channel, it's a constant hiss. When playing this isn't noticible, so it's not a big deal. A noise gate could probably help with this.

It doesn't mic up well for recording.

I've gigged with this amp many times in the months that I've had it, and I've never used a backup. It's built very well, and as a result is heavy.

Never dealt with.

This amp is very good. It would be great if it had the simple addition of a line out.

Brand new 2004. I think you know the features by now. No on board effects is what I needed. No use in paying for an overpriced amp I won't use. I gave the features a 5 because...well there aren't many. But it's a 10 for me.

I'm playing a Jackson Rhoades PS3T, with EMG's 81,85 with a Boss Metal Zone pedal. I play metal and that's all I play. Well, maybe a little blues. (You can actually get an overdriven blues tone out of this amp) With some tweaking, you can get a decent clean sound also. The distortion on this thing is sic! It can get very saturated. I find the lead tone to not be of much use for me. I like the tone I get for my rhythm and lead. I gave it a seven because I don't like the lead tone. Maybe I need to mess with it some more.

It seems tough! It is very heavy!! It's still new so I wouldn't know yet.

Warranty is 1 yr. I think

I sold my Marshall VS265R in search of tube tone. I tried a JCM900, TSL2000 and a Line 6. The line 6 just blew for me. The Marshalls were ok sounding but I didn't want to go through the reliability issues I've been hearing about them. I plugged into the 5150 and was blown away. This thing sounds badass if you play metal. The knobs are very touchy and you can get alot of sounds out of it. The footswitch is kinda cheap. It's plastic, definitely not as durable as a Boss pedal. Jamming in the room, I haven't had it much past 1. I cranked it for a second and it got disturbingly loud. I'm sure that this amp will get obscenely loud. At the music stored I played the 5150 half stack and the combo sounds identical if not better. If you need to, you could hook an external cab to it and just let it rip. Like i said though, I haven't had it that long, I like it so far though

You have clean and OD on the same EQ with pres and reso. Not a hell of alot you can do with this amp.

I play Jacksons and and Les Pauls with EMG 81s. This amp is good for playing riffs like "for whom the bell tolls" CHUG CHUG CHUG, CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. Very good for plam muting.

The closed back 2x12 cab has almost no low end responce.

The peavey speakers sound crackly and fullrange.

It does not mic up well.

The bias is very cold, have it hot roded.

The tubes are not very warm, Get new tubes.

The clean channel is bla.

Its good for weight lifting.

This was my first tube amp I ever owned and it was great to learn about tubes and how they sound. Befor I played BOSS GT-6s and PODs. After a few years with them, I was not liking the way my tracks sounded compared to studio records. It was then realized there is no way digital amps can create that type of full think sound. So I learned all about mic placments and recorded with this amp.

I know it is tuff finding the tone in your head. You will have to travel all over, play every amp, criticaly listen to recordings, Experimenting with mics, and stay up all night trying to figure out what it is your after. Its all part of being a musican. Gear is as important as your physical playing I think.

Good buy for the price though! Great amp under 1000. Loud as hell, good for playing out. But I think I am going to save up for amps like Bogner H&K Soldano and whatever else I can find that sounds like heaven and will make my bank account $0.

Build like a tank, but I bought it with the resonace control not working, so somethings still can go wrong.

Took them 30 days not to fix my broken control.

Good Amp! Not totally a peice of junk, it will sound better then PODs if you have a good mic preamp and a good mic. But Not what Im looking for. I am going to save up and get the best amp I can find. Screw it you only live once!

If anyone wants to talk amps, E-mail me. Id be glad to exchange information.