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.

The layout of the controls is like every other regular combo: Gain and master volume for both channels, low, mid and high controls, presence, and the resonance control which is less likely to be found on other amps. Both channels share the same eq, but the clean channel has a "bright" switch. If you prefer a dark sounding distortion, you can use this switch for your clean channel. Reverb and an effects loop is also included.

Three features on this combo that I don't like:
1. The effects loop cannot be operated with the footswitch, which is only possible with the 5150 head.
2. The amp weighs about 90 lbs / 45 kilo. You are supposed to lift this weight with a single plastic handle. Get yourself some extra handles and wheels and a roadie.
3. The footswitch that comes with this amp is horrible, the cable breaks too easily and is too short for big stages, it's made of plastic and the plug doesn't look too solid either. I'd replace this with a Boss footswitch and a 6 meter stereo cable.

I use this amp with an Ibanez Universe of an Ibanez RG7421 with Di Marzio Evolution 7 pickups. I mostly play metal and rock.

About five years ago, I had the 5150 head, and I really liked it. When I quit my previous band, it had to go because it was too big for my living room. Now I play in a band again, and I was looking for the same thing in a smaller package. Enter the 5150 combo...

This amp can make any sound you like, but it is built for high gain rock and metal tones. First of all, plug your guitar in the low gain input. The pre-amp produces more gain than you would ever want from a guitar amp.

For a good clean tone, turn gain up to about two or three and the volume as you desire. The clean channel can also be used for good overdrive tones especially with the "crunch" switch.

The lead channel provides high-gain distortion tones with lots of sizzle and rumble. I'm happy that the sizzling sound can be reduced by turning gain no further than 6, High at 3 and presence at 4-6. Use lots of mids and add lows as you see fit. This channel does produce some noise, but the signal to noise ratio is still quite good. The key to dialing in low end rumble is using the resonance control.

Don't worry about volume. This amp is L-O-U-D !!! The speakers that come with this combo match the amp better than anything I've heard before. I like to play this amp with resonance control set at 8, and when it is cranked at concert volume, it rumbles, growls and screams. If you want, you can have bandmates and sound engineers begging for mercy. You might even blow away people who play full stacks.

Compared with the 5150 head, this combo sounds much better. The 5150 head had a fixed bias set for very low current, and the combo runs at a higher current than the head, causing the power amp to perform way better. The head I owned had groove tubes in both the pre- and power amp, and the combo still has the original nameless chinese tubes. Go figure.

With the head I owned I played gigs with it every week. I expect the same from this combo. It is built like a tank.

However, the footswitch that comes with the amp needs to be replaced to make it an 100% dependable amp, but I still give it a 10.

I sent Peavey a mail once wit a simple question, and I got my answer within a day. But I don't know how they handle serious problems.

The lead channel provides excellent high gain tones, and it's the only amp I know that is both affordable and capable of handling deathmetal style riffing without using a distortion pedal. This makes the 5150 a unique amp.

There are a few flaws as mentioned in the "features" section, but I'll rate it top notch anyway. The reason I do this, is that there's nothing like it for this price, and this amp oozes attitude!

just purchased used a few weeks ago. Serial number indicates a manufacture date of 2002.All tube of course. The amplifier is versatile enough for my style which is classic hard rock and metal, blues, some clean jazzier type stuff, and some older country. I have a completly different rig for the clean tones. I use the 5150 only for dirty tones. Basically has two dirty channels. One a little brighter than the other. You can get a clean sound out of it but it is a nice "dirty" clean that has its own character and is very nice for straight up blues. Cool reverb, not too overbearing. The effects loop works well although I don't use alot of effects other than the built in reverb. I plan on gigging this amplifier heavily. I am in two different bands at the moment and needed a new powerhouse rock amp to go with my other dirty amps. Judging from what I have gotten out of it the past two weeks this amp should do fine. The amplifier has plenty of power. I run it through a marshall 4-12 cab and it gets loud enough for any situation. Compresses and smoothes out very nicely at higher volumes. This amp has great features for what it was designed to do, dirty tones.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Standard with Dimarzio super distortions, A stock fender american stratocaster, an old kramer Baretta, A peavey Wolfgang, and a musicman Axis stock. The amp suits hard rock and metal very well. It was a little hissy on the high gain lead channel with the gain set above six but this was mitigated by using higher quality preamp tubes. Nice and quiet now. The amp is one of the best amps for distorted tones that I have heard. My other amplifiers are a Mesa Rectifier-from the first year of production, Boogie mark III/w graphic eq, A Soldano SLO that I have had since 1993, and a Marshall Mk II 50 watt combo that I have owned since 1978, a Fender twin, and a Music Man HD-130 2-12 for clean stuff. The distortion that the amp produces could be called "brutal" ( I love these modern Nu Metal terms, they crack me up). I used my Marshall primarily from 1978 up until I purchased my Soldano in 1993. The 5150 sounds alot like the Soldano which is one of the reasons that I purchased it. They have almost the same tone but a little different at the same time. But they both are nice and smooth at higher volumes, nice and creamy. Good job Eddie. He and Peavey practically nailed the Soldano tone. ED still uses Soldano's by the way.

I have had this amplifier for just under 3 weeks now. I have played with the master volume above 3 most of that time with no problems. I am very impressed with the build quality. Very well made and solid. I believe that the amp should hold up very well for many years.

Have not used

I have been playing profesionally for 25 years, gigging, recording, jingles, etc.... If the amp were stolen, I might replace it due to the 5150 moniker; hopefully I won't deal with that situation. I have alot of other things that I could still use. I like the fact that it sounds very much like a Soldano but at a much lower cost. I have not found anything that I don't like about it yet. a nice solid amplifier and certainly one of the best sounding tube amplfiers out there in my experience. Very cool. Has a great vibe to it that just makes you want to play more and more and more..... One thing I have found from experimenting with the amp is that if you disconnect the internal speakers and run a 4-12 off of the amp it sounds awesome. The internals speakers are great for portability but the 4-12 really makes the amplifier thump and brings out the power of the amp. This is not to say the 2-12's don't sound great, they do. It's just that a 4-12 is a little more fun!

Dunno the year of manufacture. It has 60 watts, so it's enough for reharsal or live situations.

It has channel switching, effect loop, spring reverb, resonance control. Rhythm channel can be used as a clean channel or a crunch channel just by pressing one button.

There's also a bright switch to add more top end to clean tones too. This also leads me to understand that its design derives from a Soldano SLO infact when you set the distortion control way up, it add little extra low end just as the SLO.

One Hi gain input and one Low Gain input for clean tones. You can't ask for more in this price range.

It also can be used with a 4x12 external cabinet but there's no impedance control (16 Ohm min)

I use it with a lot of guitars but the Peavey Wolfgang and the Les Paul Custom are the ones I use the more with this baby. It works better (only?) for Heavy Metal and Hard Rock genres, maybe for a little blues music.

Little noisy: sometimes it starts to feedback even at low volumes. Anyway I said before that this amp to me sounds similar to a Soldano SLO (I own one) but the differences are that with the SLO you don't nearly have all that distortion but it's way more dynamic and you can really use the clean channel for clean tones.
I cannot use the Peavey 212 with the lead preamp pushed more than 5 because there's too much distortion and it become too much thick and harsh losing definition. Anyway it has a really good sound even at low volumes at home. Not really the first VH kind of tone, but you can work it out...

As I said before this babe doesn't have a good clean channel, but you can definitely get better clean tone by changing preamp tubes (I use JJ 12AX7 tubes to get rid of the harsh distortion from chinese tubes).

My amp has a little problem: sometimes more or less after an hour playing, it does a circle hum and the volume gets down to zero. I switch it off, and on again, and it works great for another hour or so...

Anyway I found it lying alone in dust in a guitar store and I paid few bucks for it, and I own 5 amps, so I'm happy with it.

Never dealt with.

I play guitar for 17 years, now. I'd buy it again but maybe, if stolen, I'd prefer the head because this amp is really, really, really heavy. I love it's lead tone beacuse it is just good right when you switch it on. I wish it had a impedance control and two handles and maybe 4 small wheels...

2 Channels (Rhytmn & Lead), with High and Low Inputs. Really doesn't have a "true" clean channel, but thats not what you're buying this amp for anyway. You only have one set of EQ knobs for both channels, which can be a problem depending on what kind of sound you want, but on the other hand, with the extra Resonance and Presence controls (ultra low and ultra high freq. controls) it more than makes up for it. It's listed at 60 watts, but is probably loud enough to blow the side of a building off. More than enough power for anyone not playing stadiums.

I use a Peavey Wolfgangs, and it seems like this guitar compliments the amp completely (which would make perfect sense, seeing as they were both used by the same artist) My band plays a variety of hard rock cover songs, and this amp can nail almost any of the sounds I need. Once again the clean channel isn't much to get excited about. It's there, and it works good enough. But the distortion kills. I use this on the Low Gain input with the Gain set on 3-4, and its still brutal. More distortion than anyone could ever possibly need. Many complain that it lacks bass, and at lower volumes, it does. But cranked up, it sounds awesome. It's only really noisy if its turned up past 4, but thats what noise gates are for. It does make a hissing noise while not being played, but supposedly new tubes fix this problem (I have yet to try).

It's a tube amp, so there's always the risk of tubes dying, but then again, with only 2 power tubes, theres not a lot to replace, which makes my wallet happy. It's built like an ox (weighing in at near 100 lbs.) No problems with it yet, and I don't anticipate any anytime soon.

Never dealt with Peavey, for the 5150 or my Wolfgangs, which says something for their reliability if nothing else.

I've been playing 5 years, and this is the best amp I've played yet. I know its not a boutique amp which seems like all the rage these days, but as a modern guitar player in a modern world, thats not what I want. If you're looking for a warm, overdriven sound, and pristine cleans, look elsewhere, but if you want a balls to the wall rock sound, the 5150 is your daddy.

This one was made in 2004. It's not versatile. This is a heavy metal amp. If you want clean sounds then you need to change the tubes and that kills the whole point of this amp. 2 channels. Rhythm and lead. The rhythm channel is pretty good. Lead channel lacks definition to me. The resonance dial combined with the closed back cab does generate a f**kin' heavy sound. This is not for someone who needs to play a multitude of styles. It's a metal amp. Don't run distotions or too many other effects thru it.It isn't designed for that. Trust me the amp distortion is amamzing. I see too many people spunking loads of money for a class valve amp and then they run a Boss GT6 thru it! * shrugs * Why?
I used it for reharsals and live venues in London.

I always use Sg's or Lp's. Suited what I was playing. i.e. metal.
Being a really high gain amp this thing is noisy! It's always a trade off. Invest in a quality noise gate like the ISP decimator especially if using stompboxes. If you're using a GT6 or some other bit of digital crap with this amp then shame on you.
Clean!? forget it. It's not what it's designed for!!!
The distortion is extremely brutal and just squashes any other combo I've tried. Whether that's good I don't know. Maybe too much power and no finesse?
I have sold it on as I'm now playing in a band with a "lighter" sound.

Seemed well built. All switches and dials are on top of the combo and not on the front panel. Simple footswitch works well but is plastic. Not sure how long this would last.
No problems with it while I owned it.

Never answered my e-mails. Thanks Peavey!

Great amp but a one trick horse. I now use a Marshall TSL 602 which I think is superior and suits the band I play in. But that is just my taste. Both great amps. The Marshall just has more tone and versatility.
The amp's bloody heavy but that's part of the sound and character. I used to think I Was going to snap my spine lugging this thing about!
Could do with castors and side handles! If you haven't got space or the transport for a stack then this is a good choice. It sounds like a 4x12!

Bought this amp in 2002 and has been able to play to my perfection. The features are great because of the resonance and presence mode. Plus this is Eddie Van Halen's model so you know it will kick ass cuz he is the best.

THIS AMP IS &^%$#!& LOUD, which is good for metal shredders. I am a guitar luthier (build guitars) I also have experience in building amps, I am still on a quest to find the perfect amp and this may not be it. but it is for the time being, what a lot of guitarist don't realize is that the hissing can be stopted with noise gates specifically the boss ns-2 and it will sound perfect, I know I know, why spend extra money on a pedal to hush hissing when I can buy some other amp such as a marshall or mesa boogie, because those two amps sound like $%^& compared tp the 5150 so stop your whining and if the amp hissing bothers you, buy a noise gate.

This has never let me down sound wise, although it does weigh areound 90 pounds which is heavier than most amps, also does not have handles on the side of the amp likes most but one on the top which is $%^&ty, personally it looks really goofy picking it up like a lunch box and can possibly damage your back if moving it up and down the stairs buy your self like I have, but I have never worked out a day in my life so what the &^%$! maybe I should.....

Sounds fantasic which is the most important part, but lugging this amp around on tour, on and off of a van, up and down stairs, and in and out of venues every night with no help will give you quite a workout. Plus the wheels will slide the amp around in the van killing every band mate so put it on it's side even though it only has one shitty handle on the top!!!

ITs a 2004 its got basic you know what it had when you got it so cant $%@^& about that

sounds great pretty much ,,the average guitar selection lil harsh buta few good guys mod them cheap

THIS is where it gets good preamp section whant south ,,music store had it for a month then they thought they let peavey fix it,,well peavey had it for like ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 5 months came back working with no reverb but it worked huh pretty good hell no,,looked like sumbody beat the $%^& out of the face plate all &^%$#@ up on top of it still didnt work right ,,mind you this still looked like a brand new amp mark free,, never ever will i get anything peavey again if thats what there about :O(

look up many times

sucks i got a $%^&!@ one and they made it $%^&!@# cause it does sound nice

Not sure on the year, but it is more than five years old.

Amp is perfect for everything I play. Normally this consists of brutal metal, but I also love playing simple clean music which I believe this amp to handle just fine! 2 channels that are switchable. No headphone jack. No real features I could ask for.

I use this amp in my apartment (much to my neighbors dismay...) and to play with my band. This amp w/o an extra cabinet holds it's ground against drums and the other musicians without even turning the volume as loud as it will go. I actually found that the 5150 combo got louder volumes than my close friend's marshall jcm 900 head.

I play through a Epiphone Les Paul with humbuckers. This amp suits all my needs and more. The various tones you can get out of the Rhythmn channel cover anything I could ever dream of playing, and the Lead channel is full on metal pretty much. This amp is noisy as hell, even with a noise suppressor, but that is why they gave us a clean channel so you can foot switch after the song is over. You simply have to live with noise, any hi gain amp is going to hiss. I keep my gain around 7 and it creates a great deal of noise.

The clean channel gets as loud as my buddy's jcm 900 before distorting. He has the full half stack with a marshall 1960 cabinet, so I am not fretting about the clean volume at all. If you are playing a decent venue, everything will be mic'ed anyway, so you shouldn't worry about this.

The distortion is a God send in my opinion. There is something about the mesa and marshall tones that I just really don't like when playing metal. I have heard so many recordings of bands that I love and read how they played 5150's. If it is good enough for unearth, it is good enough for me (though I believe they got endorsed by someone else recently...)

The sounds out of this amp are incredible, and I know of a number of people that favor the combos to the heads. There are problems with the biasing on the heads that gives crossover distortion as well as poor clean tone. This can be modded, but it is going to cost you a pretty penny. More can be read here: http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-k.htm

This thing is a tank. I have never dropped it, but you can read the other reviews where people have dropped em' down entire flights of stairs and the entire amp is fine. The last band I was in, knocked a dual rectifier off a cabinet, and a tube blew. Can't say I have been in these situations enough to say that the 5150 is built better, but I am willing to put my money on this amp outlasting tons of others.

Never had a problem!

I have had this amp for a year now, and only had one tube fail. If this amp was stolen or lost, I would look for another 5150 combo.

I love the overall tone, volume, and over the top distortion. This amp does EVERYTHING I could possibly dream of, and I don't plan on ever parting with it.

Only thing I could possibly dislike is the freaking hiss, but there is not a SINGLE thing you can do about this on ANY high gain amp.
I compared this amp to my friend's marshall jcm 900 half stack, 5150 half stack, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Half stack, and found that this amp had all the sounds I wanted for the price, and was still practical enough for me to jam with a drummer. Later on I plan on adding a cabinet to this amp for added volume, but mainly for stage presence. This amp does it all!

My amp was shipped out September 1993, I play mainly '80s style metal, and instrumental stuff(think Steve Vai). Lately, I've also been playing rock opera/broadway type stuff. Great sound through the amp, however if you play like $%^&, the amp will show it. Doesn't hide your tone. It is a tube/combo amb with two 12" speakers, hence the name 212 Combo. (Played a $3,000 Marshall half stack and this amp blows it away.)

Right now I have an ESP LTD KH-202(Kirk Hammett Sig.) and an ESP LTD EXP-200("Lawsuit Edition" Explorer) and both guitars sound great in it, the KH-202 has dual EMG HZ-4 passive pickups in it and the Explorer has dual duncan designed humbuckers, both sound great but I'm getting an EMG 81/60 or 85(neck) set up for the Explorer and I'm selling the KH-202 to get a ESP LTD Deluxe M-1000. The amp has great tone, pinch/natural harmonics are incredible sounding. Can get a good strat sound if you turn up the gain on the rythm channel and use it with destortion, but then again, who wants a strat sound? This amp wasn't made for Eric Clapton. The only problem with the amp is the noise the fuzzy "hiss" is constant on the rhythm channel and even louder on lead(less noticeable whilst playing on the lead, though). I think the tone is just friggin' killer, best amp I've played.

This amp is the definition of badass, weighs 84.5 pounds by itself, that by itself makes it strong as hell, built like a tank.

I did call Peavey at one time, whoever owned the amp before did not take care of the tubes, I got it used. It sounds great right now and will probably sound even better when I get new tubes/speakers in it, the post gain pot on the rhythm channel is dirty, (which obviously won't be the same on every 5150) so it makes a crackling noise when you turn it, but that's just with mine because the previous owner didn't take care of it. The company was very friendly/helpful and they helped me a lot, stayed on the phone with me for 20 minutes and helped me diagnose the problem, didn't get irate with me or anything. I definetely wouldn't mind dealing with them again, not sure on the warranty, got mine used, but I do know my local shop has a 1 year warranty on anything you buy from them.(Which has run out had it for 13 months now and still working great on old tubes/speakers/electronics.)

All you people need to stop !@#$%ing about not being able to find tones like Eddie Van Halen's or Zakk Wylde's or anything, any amp is made for you to find your own tone/sound, they just provide the sound and good electronics, playing guitar isn't about COPYING famous guitarists, play because you WANT to play, not for the money.

my amp is a 2000 and I like all the features. I put casters and handle (85 lbs) . The only bad point:The amp doesnt have crunch on/off on the footswich (footswitch cable lenght =20``--good-)

gibson lespaul classic 1960 (reissu),Boss GT6 ,Cry Baby Wha Pedal
5150 sound very good ... a truee tube sound, but dont abuse of pre amp gain, its a gain monster he can give a very very saturated sound ..BE CAREFUL!!

Heavy but very strong amp

5 years warranty are good but I didnt need it

a very versatile map to rock hard. try it and if its your amp you will know very fast. Its my amp.Is not very expensive and better tube give him a better sound

Built in 2002. Decent clean channel through low gain input, so that covers the clean. It is not a fender type clean but still very good. The amp is versatile enough for me. I play hard rock, metal and blues. Clean channel has the crunch switch which is very cool. Adds alot of gain and you can get alot of different tones on this channel alone with that switch. Good feature. Reverb is included. I only use it when playing clean. I gig every week with this amp. Plenty of power. Extremely loud and cuts through a full band well..

This is the best amp ever! Pure tube, sweet, warm, and nasty. I use a Peavey Wolfgang, Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Standard and gibson es-335. I can get any rock and roll sound you can think of.I have played for 22 years and have not heard a finer sounding piece of gear. I have the matching 5150 cabinet and a Marshall 1960B cabinet That I can use with it. Both cabs sound great through it though I like the sound of the 5150 cab slightly better. It does Vintage 30 better than the real thing. The thing I like the most about it is its ability to sound great at low volumes and then just explodes and sounds 10 times better when loud (master at 4-5)The volume just slams you in the chest like a sledge hammer. I never take the gain on the lead channel above 4, I just crank the volume and that does the rest. There is a misconception that the more gain you use the better. This is not true. You must drive the output tubes as well to get a truly great sound. I played for years using too much distortion and it just thins out your sound. Cleaner = fatter tone and better technique. You just can't hide behind alot of distortion although this amp has more gain than You could ever use if you want it. This amp is also unforgiving to sloppy technique. If you can't play this amp will show it.

Never had a problem. Nuff said.

never had to deal with them .

Like I said , the best amp ever. Why pay more for tone?

I am not sure what year the amp was made in. I bought the combo used on Ebay. It has new power and pre amp tubes with less than 5 hours on them.
It has 3 channels, effects loop and a foot switch option.
We all know the specs
The amp is loud

I can't get close to any VH type sound. Think has nasaly mids. The EQ, presence and bright swtich (on rythym channel) are useless. They hardly do anything. I thought the amp was broken but the local repair shop gave it a clean bill of health.
The clean channel isn't very clean
The distortion is brutal and sounds like shit. Lead channel is not needed rythm channel has enough gain that anything past 7 is unusable.

I was able to dial in a Zakk Wylde type sound but that was it.
I've heard several audio clips of this combo producing a really good tone. I am completely disappointed and I no longer believe the sound clips I head came out of a 5150 combo.

I haven't had it long enough.

Called Peavey to get a replacement panel, (yeah I wanted to make it at least look pretty since it sounded so bad). After navigating through the PBS the phone in the parts center just rang and rang for 6 minutes nad 14 seconds.

I have been playing for 12 years. I am just getting back into it now after a 12 year hiatus.

1996 block letter 2X12 combo 60 of the LOUDEST watts I've ever heard.
everyone knows what these amps are all about feature wise so I'll just move on. I give it a 6 because I wish It had separate eq's for the 2 channels and I wish the crunch was included in the foot pedal.
got it used on Ebay from the original owner and he took really good care of it. looks brand new!
I wish it had a line out and a headphone jack but no biggie.

I play a Jackson SL2H-Mah soloist and GMW Charvel strat clone and a San Dimas Jackson bolt on strat. All 3 have Seymour Duncans in them.
I play mostly old school 80's type of rock/metal- Van halen, Ratt, Dokken, Ozzy, Yngwie,Megadeth etc, but I also play alot of fusion and some Jazz. This amp is not for fusion or jazz, it is a kick ass rock/metal amp period and as far as that goes I have to give this amp a 9. when I got it it still had the original chineese tubes in it. I did a total retube with JJ's and it made a very noticable difference. the lead channel on this thing is really noisy, but the JJ's did eliminate a lot of the hiss ( an ISP Decimator in the loop kills the rest), and the overall tone greatly improved. It also cleaned up the rhythm channel nicely, now it actually sounds good clean.
As far as what this amp is supposed to do,it does it really well. I have a real good Megadeth "Rust in Peace" tone dialed in right now on the rhythm channel with the crunch in. It just sounds f'n amazing, even at low volume this thing sounds great but it really shines when you turn up the post gain past 4, then WHOAHHHHHHHH, freaking loud as hell but man what a great sound you can get out of this thing.
When I plug in my GMW (solid maple quilt body and maple neck) and adjust the EQ a little bit and add on the slap back delay think Ratt" Lay it Down", it's almost like Warren is in the room with you!
The lead channel is great for .......... ah leads, the tone is voiced just a little differently on the lead channel from the rhythm channel and it gives you a little range in tone. I wish the crunch was included in the foot pedal but no biggie. I don't really get a real "Early Van Halen" sound out of this amp but I can get close enough. With a marshal cab with a mix of V30s and g12h-75s I know I could get real close. VhAholic (check it out http://www.jasonjosephphotography.com/soundclips.html)
nails that VH tone with his 5150 combo and I think the difference is in the speakers.
Regardless I love this amp!
I have a B-52 AT-212 combo that I use for Jazz and fusion and more mesa sounding metal tones,but for old school metal, browner tone
this amp just Kicks Ass! I'd give it a 10 but you really only get one tone out of this thing albeit it is a killer tone, so you lose 1 for lack of versatility.

haven't had it long enough to tell but it certainly is built like a truck. I don't expect to have any problems with this thing at all.

I have not ever dealt with Peavey but I've never heard anything bad. The Peavey forum is certainly helpful enough.

I've been playing on and off since 1975, I wish I had this amp back in the early 80's when I was doing a lot of gigging and playing all that cool 80's metal in clubs.
If this thing dies on me I would probably get a JSX combo, only because it's more versatile, and it sounds a little better at lower volumes than this does, but I think 5150s are a kick ass amp.
If I was playing in a metal band that was gigging out a lot, this would probably be my amp of choice. I can't ever imagine having a hard time cutting through the mix using one of these amps. This is easily the loudest 60 watt combo I've ever heard. the guy I got this from on ebay was the original owner and installed wheels and included the manual and a cover, and took really good care of it. so I did really well on this one. SCORE!

I bought the amp used on Ebay - I was told it is from 2000 or so. Features are pretty basic - Rhythm and lead channels both with gain controlls but no seperate Eq. It it also has effects loop and reverb. Beyond that what else do you need - it's a tube amp! If you want an amp to be able to model a hundred different amps buy solid state. One very large plus for this amp is that, at least mine, has a great sound at low volume and obviously it is a world shaker at high volume. I give it an 8 because it would be nice to have separate EQ controls for the channels

I have had this amp for about 18 months and have been foolishly trying to scale down and get rid the 5150 since I bought it. It is a lot of amp! Here is what I have discovered - I can't get rid of it because is blows away everything I have tried to replace it with. Since I bought this amp I have played an '84 Kramer Focus 3000 (with a really beefy Dimarzio humbucker) and have been happy with the sound. I can get wicked thumping metal through the lead channel but also really nice bluesy sound in the rhythm channel - SRV like stuff with the bridge pick-up. Recently I switched to an Epi Les Paul (yes this is also and endorsement for the Epi Les Paul) and my feelings for this amp are set in stone now. This is a great amp that can do almost anything - I run from Metal to Blues to Punk to Cow Punk and Psychobilly - this amp can do it all. You just have to tweek the gain and reasonance. I have had no noise problems. I think my tube selection has a lot do to with the versatility - Groove Tube power tubes and JJ preamp tubes - a ying and yang tube philosopy that seems to be working. If you are looking for shimmering clean sound or twang this is not the amp for you.

I have had no problems - I live on a nice quiet street and do not drive the amp much but do play loud enough to really feel that I am playing. Tubes last me quite a long time - if you are out gigging a lot they will not last as long. The amp is very heavy and very well built! In transit the spring reverb is very rattly - does not affect the sound - it's just odd. I have had other spring reverb amps that did not make as much noise when moved.

I have dealt with them only in the 80's after I bought a Stereo Chorus 400. I had a problem and they replaced the amp. My only gripe with Peavey is that their warranty is non-transeferable. The warranty on mine ran out long before I bought it.

Epi Les Paul has become my main guitar - I cannot believe how long I played a strat copy. I will hold on to the Kramer for sentimental reasons. I have a pretty long row of Boss effects that work well through the effects loop.

Here is what I have tried to replace the 5150 with - a Mesa Boogie 50 Caliber Plus, Marshall JCM 600 and a Peavey Triple X. Of the three the Marshall was hardest to part with (traded it for the Les Paul). The Triple X was fun but a one trick pony and the Mesa...I do not understand the status Mesa enjoys.

One thing that would be a nice addition - Clean channel with no gain control and stronger reverb. If it were stolen I would certainly replace it!

Please read the other reviews for the feature list. I've modded mine for an external bias control pot (I mounted it near the power tubes). I also added a "master" volume pot, which I mounted underneath also. This allows me to turn the PRE and POST pots to my liking without meltdown. I wish it had an EQ on each channel, but I added an additional tone stack with sweepable mids for that also.

For the $1100 retail price, it's lacking features.

Excellent sounds. The harmonics that come from the lead channel are rich, high, and outright incredible. The distortion is heavier than any other amp I've played. It's also noisier than any amp I've played. A noise gate in the effects loop tames this. The rhythm channel can be clean, but it's not "chimey" like Fenders and Marshalls can be.

I rebuilt this amp from 50% up. It was destroyed when I got it. All pots broken, bias resistor burned, PCBs not even in the chassis, reverb not working, etc. Fortunately, I can fix these things myself. It's reliable now.

Mine has been out of warranty since before I owned it. Peavey's parts department is a freaking joke. Those people don't know what part goes where. They don't even have diagrams to look at. You'd better know the 11-digit part number when you call... which is hard to do when you need a "4 long screws that bolt the chassis to the cab", of which there are 10 different sizes. 6 out of the 8 orders I called in resulted in either the wrong parts or nothing at all. They never even bothered to call and tell me that they were out of a part... just took my credit card info and left me waiting. Amazing. If my company ran its business like this, we'd be finished. Yep, basically worthless.

I've been a fan of Peavey's amps for quite a while. But if they can't get their act together in the parts department, I'll videotape myself pushing my Peaveys in the swimming pool and share it with you all. Yeah, melodramatic, but today was another wrong parts shipment. The parts department is killing their rating here in my review.

I've got an XXL head and 5150 4x12 cab also. It's a great SS amp for the money.

just got my second 5150 combo. Made in late 2004 I believe. Identical in all ways to my first. I got another one so that I can run stereo. I also run an ADA MP-1 tube pre-amp, and a Digitech GNX4 digital modeler into the effects returns on both amps for a stereo sound. The 5150's make a great power amp too! Absolutly huge sound! Has all the features.

This is why I am writing a review again. Using the same Musicman EVH and Peavey Wolfgang guitars as before, This combo sounds way better than my other one. WAAAYYYYY better. I have never heard so much shredding gain from any amp I have ever heard, PERIOD! My friend has a FRAMUS COBRA head and it does not compare to the 5150. Tight, articulate, even ordered harmonic crunch. Almost violin like distortion. Just unbeleivable. I opened it up to check the tubes and guess what? The tubes are what is making all of the difference. My other 5150 has JJ tubes and the new one uses Sovtek wxt+ power tubes and Electro Harmonix 12ax7eh pre-amp tubes. I swapped them and the first combo sounded like the newer one. The JJ's sound good too, but the Sovtek-Electro Harmonix combination takes it for sheer gain and note definition. Overall better tone. No buzziness or harsh overtones. No noticable increase in background hiss. We will see how long they keep sounding that good. Good tubes mean everything boys and babes!

As before built like a tank. I fully expect this one to last for years

Good People. I had a pickup fail on a brand new Wolfgang and Steve Smith from peavey had another one out to me in two days. Very cool!

Been playing, sound teching and consulting for 25 years. This is one of the top 5 best Rock and Metal amps on the planet. I have heard others that only sounded slightly better for 3 times the price and there is a cut-off point where all that extra money does not get you that much more of an amp. I have compared it to Soldano, Marshalls of all types, Bogner, Framus, Engle, Boogie, Deizel, and Line 6 Vetta, It, and it's little brothers the the Triple XXX and the JS-X can hold their own with any of the high priced stuff for Overdriven distorted tones, especially with the right tubes. Spend that extra $1,500 dollars you will save on another guitar or a night of sin in Vegas. Peavey Rokkkkkkkkkks!

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.

This is a follow up to the review I posted earlier when I first received my 5150 combo. My issues with the amp to begin with were the thin low end and the harsh noise that the amp produces. Since then I have found a few things I would like to pass along to others.

The first thing I would suggest to do is to take the back off of the cabinet. I really do prefer the sound of the combo with the back off since it seems to help with the low end, or at least a lower volumes it does. The main improvement that I would suggest is to look up Eurotubes.com and check out the full retube kits that Bob has to offer. After reading a few other reviews about Eurotubes I thought I would check them out for myself and do some research and I'm extremely happy I did. After reading the entire site I decided to check out the tubes Bob had to offer and decided on purchasing the high gain retube kit for the 5150 combo (approximately $85 with S&H). After plugging these tubes in this amp really reaches it's full potential. The hiss from the amp is reduced to a hum, much much quieter than before, even on the lead channel. The tone is much more refined, less muddy and just awesome. Plus I did notice an increase in the gain of the amp, which is what I was after. Finally, with the balanced ECC83S in the phase inverter socket this amp truly sings out every note, before some where quieter than others. The power tubes are matched to tight tolerances and are the correct rating to get the bias just right, they sound excellent with great lows. Do yourself a favor and check this out, it's more than worth it.

Just fine so far, no problems

Haven't had to deal with them.

If something were to happen to this amp now, I would definitely get another one, or get the head version and modify it the way that Bob at Eurotubes did. I cannot get enough of this amp now and I think that it sounds as good as or better than it's much higher priced competitors.

Everybody knows this.

I have a jap strat with holygrails and a 91'prs ce24 fitted with seymoure duncans. This Amp Has alot of gain, abit too much in fact. With the strat as it has lower output ( noiseless as well ) clean sounds are average. nothing beats a twin reverb. Rythm channel provides a much tighter and focus chug gain at 7-8 w/the crunch switch on. Lead channel has a irritating hiss even at low volumes, present with single coil or humbucker guitars. Gain will never hold definition after 6-7.Could be the china tubes. EXTREMELY LOUD. EXTREMELY GOOD DISTORTION. PERFECT FOR METAL AND ROCK. you will need to noodle with the settings and eq abit. but once you're set . you will be killing most plant life and small animals within a 20m radius of your amp.

i enjoy playing various genres- speedmetal/neoclassical metal/bossa/funk/Rock/blues(who doesnt play blues..?)/jazz
i play as much clean as i do dirty. This amp's clean channel will satisfy most people. but if you really want the best of both worlds. Get a twin reverb and A/B it with your 5150. *drool*

its REAlly REALLY heavy.took 2 guys to carry it up a flight of stairs into my room. i will be installing casters to ease the movement of this amp. Lightning stuck my home the first day i played it. Could be Gods way of warning me about the destructive gain of this amp. I stuck a finger in the air , cursed loudly... and bought new fuses. Jammed a power chord and the tree infront of my house burst out in flames killing a few children.

never dealt with them. Not like "customer support" means anything nowadays. they dont "really" want to help you. they just want you to buy their stuff.

been playing for 6 years. my first tube amp. if it were stolen which is unlikely as this amp weighs like a cow. i would probably buy another amp. probably a lower wattage one. this one is abit loud. it would be cool if they came with Attenuators... then it would be perfect. i tried a marshall jcm900 , mesa dual rect and the line6 flextoneIII head. initially wanted the flextoneIII , but the 5150 is just too kickass not to have.

I won't go through the specs since they are all over. The amp is very versatile for me. I can get both good clean and over the top distortion sounds. I'm in to playing music similar to Tool and I get all the sounds necessary out of this amp. It could have a second set of controls to allow settings for each channel, but with an EQ it's not a very big deal. This amp is very powerful and loud. I accidently got to close and thought my ears weren't going to stop ringing.

I think the sounds on this amp are very good, and it's tremendously loud. I can get a really nice and warm clean sound (has a little to do with the EQ) by keeping the rhythm pre amp setting around 1.5 and then adjusting the post control to the desired level. I'm not sure why everyone says the channel cannot get clean. Could cause I like my hearing and don't play it at extreme volumes. Distortion is what this amp is known for and it delivers, it can really kick it out. However, I did think the amp sounded thin and really didn't have the low end response like I had heard about with the closed back cabinet. I ended up taking the back off and I think it helped the low end tremendously. The only reason I didn' give the amp a 10 is because it does have a whole hiss and noise. I haven't changed the tubes yet, but that's the next step. Then I'm planning on trying a MXR smart gate. I hear that the combos came from the factory with flaws, so I might try to have that fixed if the tubes don't improve it much. Just FYI, I use a ESP EC 1000 Deluxe with EMG 81's, through a morley wah, and a MXR Kerry King 10 band EQ.

Can't say a whole lot about this yet, haven't had the amp to long yet. Construction seems pretty rigorous, don't expect to have any problems.

Going to check in on the flaws and see if there's any help from them as to how to fix them. They've been good any other time I had to deal with them.

I've been playing for almost 10 years now, off and on. I've had a Laney half stack and a Hughes & Kettner Attax (great amp). I wanted a mesa (of course), but didn't think I could convince my wife of the price tag. I'm extremely happy with this purchase and would look to replace it if something happened to it. The sounds are great out of this amp, but I could really do without all the extra noise. It's a tremendous value, get a lot of sound for a lot less money.

The gain on this combo is definitley all that is needed if you are pursuing heavy music. Wouldn't recommend this amo to someone if they are looking for blues sounds at high volumes, yes this is amo very loud but for metal nothing else.

Clean channel is not very good, I have a fender deville, that is what clean is about !!!! I didn't buy this amp for clean though, I brought it to play loud metal solos, which it does fine
VERY IMPORTANT HERE.... THE LEADS WILL SOUND HARSH AND UNPLEASANT, I LEARNED THIS AS SOON AS I STARTED TO PLAY. THE STCK TUBES SUCK IN THING. I HAD THE TUBES CHANGED TO GIVE ME A WARM SOUND AND STILL RETAIN THAT LEVEL OF GAIN, NOW IT SOUNDS WAY WAY BETTER, SEE FOR YOURSELF, LEADS ARE NOT SMOOTH AT ALL CHANGE THE TUBES!! IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE SHIT TUBES I WOULD GIVE IT A TEN, BUT BECAUSE OF THIS REASON I AM GIVING A 8 NOTE.. THE PEAVEY XXX DOES HAVE A WARM TONE TO IT, SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME, AND GET A XXX BUT BE PREPARED TO HAVE AN AMP NOT AS LOUD AS THE 5150 THATS WHY I STAYED WITH THE 5150.... IT'S LOUD AND NOW ITS SMOOTH !!!!

VERY RELIABLE SO FAR

NEVER DELT WITH

GOOD AMP OVERALL
ONE MORE TIME FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T LISTEN
CHANGE THE TUBES
CHANGE THE TUBES
CHANGE THE TUBES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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.

Features are in the previous reviews.
TUBES TUBES TUBES.
MASSIVE SOUND.

My guitars:
Fender 57 Reissue Strat
Malmsteen Signature Strat
Gibson Les Paul standard
Effects:
Korg AX1500G, Boss DS1,NS2,GE7,Morley Bad horsie Wah,Fulltone FD2
Amps:
Fender Hotrod Deville,Line 6 Flextone 2
"NO MARSHALLS! Except for the JCM800, Marshall Amps sux bigtime!"
My playing style is diverse: blues, rock, heavy metal, some classical and some jazz.

I do not see the big fuzz about the clean/rhythm channel. It is good enough, you just need to take it easy on the "Pre" settings... The only complaint is the HISSing sound from the tubes. But nothing is perfect I guess. My dream amp would be: the power and distortion of the 5150, Clean channel of the Fender Deville and the weight of the Line 6.
I simply love this amp, that I am intending to sell my other 2 amps. I think my love affair with this amp will last for a long time!!

The amp looks indestructible...I might need to carry a screwdriver, extra fuses and a couple of tubes. But I aint carrying another AMP, as the 5150 alone is such a pain to move around.

The Peavey Forum is very helpful. Its really like a community where people help each other out.

Been playing guitars for almost 15 years now. Gigging half of that. Been around plenty of AMPs and I think the tone and sound really depends on the person. Reviews are helpful, but do not simply based your decision on what other people say. Sound,like beauty, is in the eye(EAR) of the beholder...But if you are looking for a MASSIVE sounding amp, GROUND-SHAKING distortion, then get this monster!!
Greatest advise of all is: DONT EVER GET A VALVESTATE/SOLIDSTATE MARSHALL!

60 watts all tube 6L6 powertubes, 12ax7 preamp.
effects loop, footswitchable channel and reverb.
presence and resonance controls.

I wouldn't say that this is a one trick pony, but it is definitely best suited for heavy metal...I was able to coax a bluesy tone out of it, but it took a while. This amp is CRAZY loud...i turn it up to 3 and the neighbors start getting pissed. The clean channel is only OK, it seems a bit brittle, but that may be the tubes. Also, the reverb is weak as hell. As others have described, the amp hisses like a snake. even the clean channel is pretty noisy. I've heard that changing tubes can help with the hissing, or a noise gate.

This amp is like an M1-A1 tank...it is indestructable. Consequently, it is heavy as hell. All you'd really need is some back up tubes to gig with...you never know when a tube will go.

N/A

I've been used to playing thru crappy modeling amps for a while, and to hear real tube distortion sure is nice. this amp is great for hard rock/metal sounds, but if you want crispy cleans, look somewhere else. I wish the effects loop were foot switchable. I would buy it again if i ever lost it...though i can't imagine how the hell one would lose this thing.

this amp is made only for hard rock and metal, nothing else. the amp has tons of power for only being sixty watts, i can shake my basement walls with this thing. i find the bright switch on the rythem channel to be useless, but i dont care i dosent even sound that good.

im using a gibson sg standard with the amp. i love swedish metal such as in flames, at the gates, arch enemy, ect.. so this amp is perfect. the amp is very noisy but you learn to controle it while playing, and you cant hear any hum or hiss while playing. the clean channel is alright, and the cruch channel does not sound good at low volumes because off all the cross over distortions. the lead channel sounds good at bedroom level, but once you get it pass four or so the sound will just punch you in the face and take your knee caps out with a crow bar.

i have only had the amp for a month, and it has not done anything funny yet. it took the company a month to ship the amp, so i was not happy about that.

good good

for the price/playability nothing else comes close. i personally think this amp could smoke a triple rect. in tone. dont let the sixty watts fool you this amp will make your ears ache.

It's a 60 watt 2x12 all tube combo with two footswitchable channels: rhythm and lead (see the Peavey site or some of the other reviews for full details). I mostly play hardcore/metal styles, though I occasionally like to play a little classic rock and blues too; and this amp handles practically all the tones you'd ever need for these styles and all the shades of grey in between. I get all my sounds out of the rhythm channel, the lead channel is just too high gain: great for solo playing and for thrash type sounds like early Metallica, but it lacks bottom end and definition. The rhythm channel won't do shimmering clean sounds, though I doubt this amp appeals to players who want that kind of sound. However, it will do is everything from a nice, mildly overdriven sound all the way up to that metallic 'chug' sound that so many players search high and low for, and this is where its resonance control really comes into it's own; crank that thing around two thirds of the way up and you'll have the heaviest sound in town, without sacraficing clarity. I was inspired to buy this amp when I read that Machine Head had used it for their first album, and that sound is precisely what I got. Very tight, clear distortion with loads of bottom end and power. I'm also a big Helmet fan, who're well known for playing some pretty big chords through lots of distortion. The 5150 handles it brilliantly, you get the benefit of all the harmonic richness you get when you distort complex chords, without losing definition and clarity and without having to crank the highs up to the point that it's taking your head off. I've used this amp at home, rehearsals, studio and live and it's never let me down. It IS a heavy bitch, and the carry handle is a joke - it's really a two man job to move the thing comfortably - but that's the only down side. It certainly isn't the most versatile amp ever made, but it isn't designed to be. If your main style falls into the metal/hardcore bracket, you'll love it and there's enough versatility in it to serve you well when you feel a bit more mellow - just learn to use your guitar's volume.

I use a late 90's Gibson Les Paul Studio straight into the amp. I keep the same settings all the time and get all the tonal variety I need by using my guitar's controls. As I said, I only ever use the rhythm channel, and that is very quiet. The lead channel seems much noisier but then the amount of gain on that is phenomenal, you can't have that without a bit of noise. It would be unfair to call this amp a one trick pony, because you can get a lot of quality overdriven and distorted sounds out of it. But, it lacks the versatility to switch between a lot of sounds. The lead channel is just that, it's not really up to playing rhythm parts for the styles I play. So, I have the rhythm channel cranked to almost full tilt and use the guitar's volume to back of the distortion a little. That's it. Again, it's all a matter of your own personal style, but if you play in a band that demands a lot of versatility - look elsewhere. For what I use it for, it's unbeatable and I would change anything about it.

Totally dependable. As with all tube amps though, have a few fuses in your kit bag and look after your valves. And don't switch in on and off all day, use the stand-by.

Never needed it, doubt I ever will.

I've been playing for 10 years and use a Gibson LP Studio and also a "frankenstein" Yamaha RGX (my first electric, now something of a mess but much loved). This amp is killer, there's no doubt. However, it is expensive if buying new and I've never seen one used as cheap as I got mine. I saw it, had the money and had to have it - it's that simple. If I lost it, I doubt I could afford to replace it at the moment but if money were no object - I wouldn't think twice. I give it an 8 overall simply because it isn't THAT versatile.

60 Watts RMS voiced to Edward Van Halen's specifications and identical to amps used by him for touring and recording
Five 12AX7 preamp tubes and two 6L6 power amp tubes
Footswitchable lead/rhythm channel select and reverb defeat
3-band EQ, resonance and presence controls
Rhythm channel: pre-/post-gain controls, bright/crunch switches
Lead channel: pre-/post-gain controls
Two Sheffield? 1200 12 inch speakers voiced to Edward Van Halen's specifications
Closed-back cabinet
Footswitch included

I have a highly modified strat, a USA Wolfgang, and a PRS santana se with seymour duncan 59s (have played Gibson Les Pauls and SGs and USA strats though this amp as well) and I play real music, unlike the no guitar solos, toneless, detuned, with dual rectified mesas with distortion pedals linkin biskit crap. I think this amp is perfect and obviously so does Ed. Eddie has TONE! I am putting in my two cents worth here because I want to explain some things here. I do not want ANYMORE reviewers here to say, This amp hisses too much, or don't say that it is too heavy, Please, if you have to have the music store guy take it out to your Subaru for you, go pick out a different amp, I would suggest maybe a Line 6 Spider or Tech 21 trademark 10. (Tech 21 rocks BTW) The sound this amp gets is because it is heavy and has big transfomers and big magnets on the speakers, you cannot make a lightweight amp sound like this does. It is the reason that a Lincoln Town Car rides alot better than a Toyota Corolla. They are both nice cars but fit different needs. When I played in bands I used to take my old Marshall half stack up and down stairs, back and forth to practice. I didn't grip. I had tone. Tone is heavy. It is part of the deal. Get a roadie. They will never figure away around this fact of physics. Big sound come from big speakers. Don't say this amp is too heavy. NO MORE!

My dear wife dropped one of her 7 pound workout dumbbells on top of it one day, after that the lead channel sounds very thin. I have taken it apart to look and can't see anything obvious wrong so I may get it fixed someday, but probably not because I never really used that channel much anyway.

No comment, no opinion.

I have played since 1975. I have had and still have too much gear really to list. I love this amp, did I mention that it is kind of heavy? This is the best kept secret in the guitar industry. Get one if you can carry it home!

we all know the features, and if you dont, look at the 80 other revuews

i use a Fernandes Vertigo Deluxe, with stock pickups, not the best pickups but still good, i play Death Metal like God dethroned, Arch Enemy, and Pantera. the reason i got the amp is cause it seems like every death metal show i go to, all the best bands use a 5150, and now i see why. For this kind of music the 5150 is the best amp, its unreal, my friend just spent $1500 on a Marshall half stack and some crappy marshal head, and my 2X12 blows it away, not just in sound, but also in volume, this thing is LOUD, i was thinking about getting a 4X10, and am i glad i didnt. i put some JJ's in it from EUROTUBES.COM (by the way, the nicest guy your ever gonna meet) the distortion is not compareable, its too good, all the gain your ever gonna need, now for the down sides, it is NOISY NOISY NOISY, anything over 3 on the master volume and there is major noise and feedback, and also of course the clean channel, it sounds pretty bad at high volumes, but im sure getting a little stomp box EQ can help that out, but who cares, no one is gonna get a 5150 for clean sounds, the amp is all metal, im COMPLETELY in love with it

i bought it used on Ebay, and wasnt in the best looking condition, so i was kind of freaked out that it might not work, works perfect, never given me any problems, and i would have no problem gigging with out a back up

never had to contact them

the best buy ive ever made, its the best amp i could have, sounds amazing, dont hesitate to buy this amp if your into serious metal, not some faggot limp bizkit or linkin park faggotry, again, 5150 is the best Death metal amp under $8000

There is only one thing that is perhaps not so good with this amp, and that would be that the closed 2-12 cabinet tends to compress the sound too much. In fact, the first time i played it with the band, I had to crank it up to 6 or 7 on the power amp, just to cut through. BUT I FOUND THE CURE, AND IT IS SIMPLY TO REMOVE THE BACK OF THE CABINET. IT REALLY OPENED UP THE SOUND, AND IT CUTS THROUGH EVEN AT A LOW MASTER VOLUME SETTING. THE CLEAN SOUND IS ALSO IMPROVED WHEN APPLYING THIS LITTLE TRICK. I CAN GET SPARKLING CLEAN SOUNDS FROM IT IN A MANNER THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE BEFORE. TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT

Unsure on the year, It has the cursive EVH writing on it. Tube amp, uses 12ax7 preamp tubes and 6L6 Power tubes. I've put JJ tubes in recently and it sounds great. Amp can be very versitile due to the Resonance, Presence and low gain, hi gain inputs. This amp doesn't clean up very well so I'm running it A/B with a Fender M-80. Low gain can pull off some blues, has built in reverb also. I mostly play rock and some metal (Collective Soul, Nickelback, Bush, Metallica, AC/DC, Zeppelin). Has two channels, Rhythm and Lead with the option for a footswitch although there is no headphone jack. You don't really need one, this amp sounds good loud!!!! I wish it had a good clean channel with gain so again I had to remedy by using an A/B switch and a fender amp.

I play a fender strat and a fender toronado w/ stock pickups. Amp sounds a little beefier with a humbucker than it does single coils but thats true for all amps. Distortion is the 1 reason you must own this amp. It gets dirtier than mary jane rottencrotch on a first date. Noise is a factor, w/ so much gain theres a nice steady hiss, i'm thinking about putting a hush pedal in the effects loop just to see if it makes a difference.

I bought it used and one of the tubes was already out so got some JJ's from Bob Plekta @ www.eurotubes.com. Amp is a fixed bias so you just pull the old tubes and plug the new ones and your ready to go, easy easy maintnance. Amp is built like a tank..It weighs 85 lbs!!I would go without a backup, maybe just bring a set of tubes b/c you never know when one of them can go..

Used, never dealt with Peavey

I've been playing for about 4 1/2 years now. Play fender strat/toronado >> Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah >> Ibanez TS-7 Tubescreamer >> Ibanez SM-7 Smashbox >> Kork AX1000G >> A/B to Peavey 5150 and Fender M-80. Stolen i'd be mad b/c I would probably never find one used again for that cheap.

Same as below (other reviews) good selection of features

I just wanted to get my 2 cents in here.
I used to own a 5150 combo.
I was hoping this is it, my search is over, I always thought Eddie had the best rock tone ever.
I never felt like it was the amp I was looking for, and after having it and playing live with it for 6 months it was time to say goodbye.
It is a decent amp, and really distorts well, but mic's up horribly, and needs thickening over all, I like more mid's especially low mid's. I now own a Marshall 1971 Super Lead I'm in heaven now...sorry

This is a new amp, made in 2003. This amp has two channels, Rhythm and Lead. This is a 60 watt all tube combo, shared EQ, and footswitchable Channels/reverb. I play Current rock alternative to Classic rock and this amp does the trick. Since I play most songs with distortion, rhythm channel can be coaxed into playing clean, but breaks up nicely,

Some say its soo LOUD, I find it just right, with all the reviews I have read, I thought it'd be much louder in a live situation, I play the Pre- Lead on 4-5 the post Lead around 2-3, and thats enough to cut through the mix, it does start to feedback when you get louder than that.

I use a Fat Strat, straight in, lets say I just wanted tone, This amp is good for almost any type of harder rock situation, might not be suitable for Jazz or Country though.

I do find that the best gain settings are to the Pre-lead channel below five, otherwise is does get a little noisey, just hisses a little, nothing major in my opinion. But theres lots of gain on tap if you need it, I am happy to keep the gain around 4-5

The Rhythm channel sounds best to me when its set clean but with a nice break up, to try to get an awesome clean sound would be a chore, maybe just a bit stale, but thats ok with me, I wouldn't try to get a Fender Clean sound, out of a high gain amp like this.

I might get a compressor, that might help the clean channel stay clean, but for now I am having fun playing with what I have in front of me.

Its a PEAVEY, they build amps for the working musician. You can get Service anywhere, I have never had too many problems with my gear since I try to take care of everything I use, but the 5150's are rugged, I'd use it without a backup

I haven't had to do anything to the amp, don't expect that I'll need to.

I think when its time for a tube change, I might try the JJ's, most people think they might be the best for this amp.

I purchased this after seeking a good tube amp, the Fender Devilles would have been my second choice. The Devilles have a great clean channel and I figured I could put a good pedal in front of it, but then I thought...since 95% of the songs I play require distortion...why not get a great tube growl........I did consider Mesa f-100 2x12 combos, they are a bit pricey, and maybe a bit overrated. I have been playing a Fender Ultimate Chorus with a Zoom, and I could get some wicked sounds out of it, but I grew out of all the digital stuff and wanted a Great Plug in and Play amp, no tap dancing for me anymore.

I'd probably buy it again if it were stolen.

Its a Monster, looks kind of RETRO with the chicken head knobs, and the face plate being on top.... I Like that alot, but it is Heavy. I have seen these amps pictured with only one Handle on Top, mine has three (I think all newer ones do), so that makes it easier to carry alone or if you have a bandmate that can grab an end.

I did buy Earnie Ball Casters (pop ins) and installed them. Trust me, Don't leave the store with this amp without getting casters. Not sure why Peavey wouldn't include Casters, and a slip cover would be nice as well. I think the covers are cheap like $20, but they of couse didn't have them in stock when I bought the amp.

I do have to say that I am not terrible fond of the Plastic Footswitch, its functional allright, but to make something that I am going to stomp on allnight out of plastic is beyond me......but ...no problems yet.

The amp is a 97 model. We know the rest of the features

Guitar Gibson Les paul custom
perfect for hard stuff and has a really decent clean tone
The amp is a little bit noisy but a noise gate will take care of that

Havent had it long enough but its lasted so far

I doubt i will ever contact them if something goes wrong because there is something called the interenet that helps us now.

I have been playing for 15yrs and have tried alot of tube amps, this one is the best so far. It sounds great at low volumes and even better cranked. The only thing this amp lacks is more bass it seems, but ive heard from everyone that has added a 2x12 cab to it that it solves that problem

I think everyone knows the features by now. I'd say the EQ and reverb are both just OK - passable but not great. Everything else, though, is sensational.

I mostly play through an Ibanez with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton, but I also play with a Steinberger with EMG's and a home-made strat from time to time, along with a Kramer Condor (very) semi-acoustic. I play 80's rock (EVH), prog rock, and some classical and celtic finger picking stuff. Whatever is interesting at the time. My rig is Morely Wah-Volume - Amp - RP100 (effects loop - just effects, no amp models).

I am not a tube freak. Unlike a lot of guitarists, I've think technology has gotten better since the 30's. I have played mostly transistor-analog and digital amps for the past 12 years, and I was quite content. I thought tubes amps sounded a little better, but not enough to warrant the hit to my wallet, the maintenance, adding things like "bias" and "plate voltage" to my vocabulary, or throwing out my back lugging one around. The 5150 has changed my mind.

The clean tone is good - not great, but good. If you are looking for a wonderful clean tone, there are better amps for it. But it's still good, and plenty for my needs.

The lead channel floored me. The lead tone is balanced, maintains it's character without turning to mud, and is really, really warm. I mean really warm. Whether doing rhythm playing or soloing, it flat sings. And that was with the stock (a.k.a. shit) tubes it came with. I retubed it with electro-harmonix preamp and power amp tubes, and it is even better - same warmth, a little more definition. It sounds great at bedroom volumes (a concern to me, as I didn't relish buying an attenuator), although the thing will crank. Great speakers, great bass response with the closed back cabinet. Wow. Just, wow.

It's great for my needs. It isn't buzz-saw distortion, and I'm not sure if a buzz-saw pedal would make it so, nor do I particularly care to find out. It's just great, warm, hard rock distortion.

The only knock is the noise. It has a lot of tube hiss, even with good tubes, even on the clean channel. It isn't even pickup or cable related - even with nothing plugged into it, niagra falls. Personally, I don't give a rip, but if you're a guitar-cable-amp purist, it may get on your nerves. I use a Digitech RP100 in the effects loop for noise gate, chorus et. al., delay and reverb, and the noise gate effectively gets rid of the problem. It works with the RP100 quite well by the way (just effects - no amp or cab models).

The lead is a 10. The clean is a 7. I'll give it a 9.

I haven't had it long enough to give an opinion. It's built like a tank, and weighs nearly as much (85 lbs.). I think it's 10-11 ply wood, and it feels solid. If I ran into it with my Hyundai, my money would be on the amp. But it's a tube amp. They're sensitive....

I bought it off of Ebay. Beats me.

What can I say, I really like this amp. I've owned, played through, and listened to a lot of amps, and this one does it for me. It might not do it for you, so I'd go check one out before you buy it. It may be too much for jazz/blues players, and it may not be enough for death metal types. But for me, it's perfect.

I don't think it'll get stolen. It's too heavey to abscond with.

Really basic set-up... just what I am looking for.

American Standard Tele & a Steinberger Spirit

For those looking for a Marshall or Soldano type of sound, this works very well. If you are looking for a Mesa sound, get a Mesa.

When I bought it, I played it side by side with a Mesa Dual Rec Tremo-verb (open back w/celestions). The 5150 seemed alot more like I was playing an amp. The Mesa probably would have sounded better with a closed back, but at twice the price, I sided with the 5150. Plus, I'm trying to get away from the dark/compressed sound.... too many bands today have 'that' sound!

It does get a little hissy if you have the gain above 5, but like others have mentioned, just get a gate or suppressor.

CHANGE THE TUBES! I switched over to a matched set of JJ's, and that tightened everything up; clear, clean, focused. The Sovtek's just don't cut it. Sound before the change, a 6.

The clean is just that, clean... it does the job, but not as good as a Fender.. this is rock amp though, so it's really not an issue.

The distortion is just like I stated above, very Marshall or Soldano like. You could probably get an EQ to make it sound like a Mesa, but if you want 'that' sound, just get a Mesa.

Overall an 8. Next up are adding Celestion V 30's (they just sound sweet). Sounds best with humbuckers (good ones). I wish it had a 3rd channel. If it were stolen or lost, I would want to kill the prick.

Been playing 17 years, recently with a Boss GT6 straight to PA. Sold that to go back to a REAL AMP... and it feels great!

Excellent, but would like EQ for both channels
Has a EVH signature on it
212 speakers
Reverb is weak, i cant really tell the difference when its on or off

Guitar has EMG 81 at bridge:

I can play anything on this amp. The clean sound is a bit saturated, but unlike other reviews ive seen here, i can a loud clean tone.
I can get a "nirvana - smells like teen spirit (intro)" clean tone nailed to a tee. All i have to do is reduce the guitar volume to get clean. I can also get a nice and warm bassy clean tone with a neck pickup configuration.

Same channel, i crank the guitar volume, crank the preamp a bit, and i get a superb classic rock from Bluesy to AC/DC tones. With the right EQ, and right settings (crunch and bright pushed in) i can even push channel 1 into heavy metal territory. The crunch at this point is melodic and nicely saturated. With a 412, it gives it the extended bass that makes it sound more like 80's metal. Excellent Crunch from rythm channel. The distortion on this channel is more than enough.

Lead channel. I thought rythm channel had distortion, but this is just insane. Right out metal times 10. I get an " And justice For all album (Metallica)" tone when i dial it at 6 , and still have more to go ! This is the most monster distortion i have heard. It has pretty much the same amount of distortion of a dual rectifier, if not more, but at this point, it doesnt really matter anymore.

I didnt think this thing could be so loud ! I have been a sound guy for shows before, and i can say this thing is enough for any kind of venue. Dont really need to mic it at small venues , slight ajustments for medium venues just so the sound spreads evenly, not just directed in one area.

The only flaw i have found, is the damn hiss. It is always there when i stop playing. Even with my guitar unplugged. It is a little louder than other tube amps, but it can be attenuated with a good noise gate. But on the bright side, the hiss completely dissapears when i jam with the band. The only time i hear it is when everyone stops playing for a couple seconds.

Tank. Has had 1 tube change in about 8 years, still sounds excellent.
One blown fuse.

They answered me when i inquired about the hiss. Gave me a couple options. But when i asked how to modify the amp to reduce the hiss, they didnt give me a relevant answer ...
But at least they answer

I've been playing for about 5 years. Improved pretty fast, went from a 10 watt microphone amp to DOD 15 watt, to peavey special 150, to traynor 20W tube , to 5150 212. I stick with this amp, solid sound. I have tried other tube amps, like DSL100 and dual rectifier, but on the stage, i was surprised at the fact that this amp can stand against any 100W tube amp it is put against, tone-wise and volume-wise. This thing sounds amazing with a 16ohm 412 extention.

Try it, it is a very good professional instrument of choice.
I suggest this amp if you want to gig. Country even bluesy western to Classic rock to Heavy metal and beyond.

Late 90s and it is like new.
Yes this is very versatile and really rocks.
2 channels I wish it had a 1/2 power switch.
I never use reverb it is for people who dont know what to do when there guitar is taking a break.
I use this in clubs and bars.It is plenty of power
all tube I have own just about every type of amp there is and I love this thing.

I use a strat that has duncans and a gibson 500 t modified to the hilt. And a tele that is also tweaked.It is nice for any type of rock. It is noisey if you turn up your gain to hot.
The distortion will make your mom cry. It is Swicked with a S If you keep your gain down it is not to noisy but if it is cranked it will become noisy.

AWESome I dont take back up never have I just baby my stuff.

Don't know never dealt with them?

25 years playing to much gear to mention in less you have a lot of time.I would buy another one in a heart beat.The overdrive is rich. I have owned many amps ,ampeg , Marshall, Fender, old Peavey stuff, crate , line 6 , laney , This is the best for the money and peavey is reliable VERY did I say VERY!!!!!!!!!!
I wish it had 1/2 power so my neighbors would not hate me.

First of all, I don't understand why people are saying this amp is only good for metal or thrash. That is ridiculous! It was designed by Eddie Van Halen! Is Van Halen metal, or thrash?! No, they are Classic/Hard Rock. So ignore any such comments. Ths amp is excellent for any type of rock.

The features on the 5150 are average, except for the Resonance dial, and the closed back. The Resonance dial fattens up the bottom end, and with this closed back cabinet, the bass makes it's presence known. I like how the Rhythm Channel (clean channel) can turn into a second, tighter distortion channel (good for rhythym, hence the name Rhythm Channel). There is a high gain and a low gain input, which comes in very handy, adds some verstaility. The only improvements I can think of would be a seperate EQ for each channel (though it's not really as big a deal as many think), and maybe some heavy duty casters to roll it around, since it is 85lbs.

I use an American Fender Strat Plus, with a DiMarzio Evolution in the bridge, and gold Lace Sensors in the middle, and neck positions. I love this amp to death. It is amazing. I always use the Low Gain input, I find the High Gain input gives too much feedback on the Lead Channel (which is to be expected with the insane amount of gain this amp has), and the Rhythm Channel (clean channel) is a bit bitey on the ears. Whoop dee doo, most amps have only one input anyways. Not to say that the High gain input is useless, it has tonnes of gain, but you should use a noise gate with it. Using the low gain input, I have the Lead Pre between 5 and 7. This is plenty of gain for anything you will play. The Rhythm Channel (using the low gain input) is not a Fender clean, but it is still nice, nothing to write home about, but no complaints. Try to find an amp that has wicked insane distortion, and a pristine fender clean, you will be on a never ending quest. With Rhythm Pre on 2-3 you can get a nice clean. Then if you want another distorted channel crank up Rhythm Pre, and hit the crunch button (which boosts the gain only in the Rhythm Channel) and you have a nice crunchy, stop on a dime, tight Rhythm sound.

So all in all, there is more to this amp than meets the eye. You can play Hard Rock, Alternative, Classic rock, Blues (just because it isn't a Fender doesn't mean you can't play Blues on it), and yes.... you can play Metal on it.

Never had any problems. The cabinet is what they call an Infinite Baffle Design, which is Peavey language for indestructible. The cabinet is made of 11 ply wood. Try breaking 4 ply wood, with a hammer, or by jumping on it with all your body weight, then you will appreciate the strength of 11 ply.

She's a tank, I have played her on 9 for hours, left it on for a week (oops.... lol), and hasn't even flinched. Eddie says this is the only amp he has not been able to blow, and you know what? I believe it.

I have never had to deal with Peavey besides asking some questions (specs) which were answered promptly. They seem interested in helping, which is nice.

Overall a great amp. I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

2-Channels. Rhythm Channel has a pre-amp volume(gain) and master volume as well as the Lead Channel. Shared 3-Band EQ and Resonance and Presence Control and Spring Reverb. One extension speaker jack, effects loop, and footswitch for changing channels and switching on the reverb(which can only be used with the footswitch). I didn't give it a 10 because it has a shared EQ.

My main guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Special II, yeah it's crappy but I tinkered with it to make it a versatile guitar and the stock pick-ups are surprisingly good. Anyway, that guitar isn't working right now and I'm getting a new one next month so for now I'm using my dad's old Hofner Violin-Body guitar (it's an six string guitar version of Paul McCartney's bass). With the Hofner, it sounds good, I especially like turning the Rhythm Channel pre-amp volume to around 5 and keeping the master to around 3 for when I'm practicing so it adds a little overdrive to the channel. The lead channel just rocks, I can get a great Brown Sound out of it and this amp is also great for getting a great early Metallica sound like stuff from "Kill Em All" since they used to use hot rodded marshalls like Eddie.

I've only had it for a week now but I feel like I've been playing it for years. The tubes were replaced by the previous owner with some J&J 6L6GCs.

Haven't needed to use them yet.

Great! I would recommend this amp to anyone, hopefully I'll start gigging soon around this summer since I've kind of been asked to join a band.

This amp has it kicked! the whole kit is rock & roll maxxed out. stop complaining about a little hiss or squeal, if you can't play well enough to overcome small obstacles then buy a clarinet! The problem of weight that seems to confound everyone can easily be overcome by simply using your head for something other than a cigarette holder, buy a good set(4)of 2.5" solid rubber casters and let the thing roll. I gave $400.00 bucks for mine and have never had a problem with it except for tube changes, which is no great deal. I applaud the good people at Peavey and Mr.VanHalen for their efforts in creating such an affordable, butt-kicking, reliable amp. Let music carry on!

I've never heard of this amp until I played it in the store. 105 responses. Thats crazy. Anyways, don't know what year, but its the signature not the EVH block letters. 2 channels, but only one eq for both. It is just a rock amp. Get some good metal tones with it, even with the stock tubes. 60 watts, all tube, 2x12 and damn heavy. As of now, I only have the rhythm channel re-tubed. I don't even know what brand.

I use a PRS Santana and an Ibanez IC350 Iceman with a Seymour Duncan in the bridge. Put the Iceman in the high gain, crunch, and 7 or so with the rhythm channel. Hell yeah. The amp really sounds good with the post up to at least 4. Never had it past 5.

I am really bad with keeping good tubes. Thats just my fault though. This amp is a beast.

The guys at Peavey are very helpfull and informative. They helped me out with a couple of bass amps to to figure out what I needed.

This amp rocks. Bottom line. Runs with the Mesa dual rectifiers, and for the fat tone beats out Marshall. I just wish that it had seperate channel eq's instead of just one, and some kind of Power Brake (Marshall) thing to get good power tube tone through low volume. And I'm not paying $400 for a Power Brake.

2 CHANNELS (RYTHM& LEAD), 2 SOVTEKS 6L6 WTB FOR POWER & 5 ELECTRO HARMONIX 12AX7 EH IN THE PRE, SHARED EQ FOR BOTH CHANNELS AND SHARED REVERB. (LIKE EVERYBODY IN THIS PAGE WISH TO HAVE SEPARATE EQ FOR EACH CHANNEL, BUT CAN LIVE WITH THAT (USED TO PLAY A JCM900 & 800 SO SHARED EQ IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL TO ME))
ABOUT HOW VERSATILE THIS AMP IS ?? LET ME TELL YOU THAT ALL THE REVIEWERS IN THIS PAGE ARE RIGHT, THERE IS NOT A LOUD CLEAN SOUND OUT OF THIS AMP BECAUSE IT BREAKS UP TO FAST, SO YOU MUST CONTROL IT WITH YOUR GUITAR VOLUME, ANYWAY, I BOUGHT THIS AMP WITH THAT IN MIND BUT SINCE I PLAY FROM JAZZ THROUGH METAL IN 2 DIFFERENT BANDS AND BECAUSE I FALL IN LOVE WITH THE LOOK OF THIS COMBO I WANT IT TO USE IT TO PLAY AS CLEAN & OVERDRIVE, SO AFTER A TO MANY HOURS OF READING IN DIFFERENT SITES HERES IS THE STORY AND THE GOOD NEWS FOR ALL THE COMPLAINERS ABOUT NO CLEAN CHANNEL : I FOUND THIS STORE IN THE INTERNET: THETUBESTORE.COM (CANADA) I E-MAIL THEM AND TELL JON WHAT DO I WISH FOR MY AMP, (CLEAN SOUND IN THE RYTHM CHANNEL !!! WITHOUT LOST THE POWER OF THE LEAD CHANNEL). JON ANSWERS INMEDIATLY WITH THE FORMULA.
I BOUGHT FROM THEM 2 SVETLANA PERFECT PAIR #19 POWER TUBES , AND I COULD NOT BELIVE IT !!! THIS TUBES PUT THE MAGIC IN MY AMP !!! NOW I HAVE A BEUTIFUL CLEAN SOUND (WITH FENDERS AT MIDLE POSITION SINGEL COIL) AND FATTER LEAD CHANNEL. BELIVE ME NOW I CAN PLAY LOUD WITH CRISP CLEAN SOUND !!! MY INVESTMENT ?? ONLY 29.00 DLLS PLUS 6.00 SHIPPING.
IF YOU WANT TO HEAR HOW IT SOUNDS FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW AND I WILL RECORD AN MP3 DEMO FOR YOU.

8 AFTER CHANGE TUBES ... BEFORE : 5

GUITARS; CUSTOM LES PAUL, SG, FENDER STRATS. DEFINITLY IT WAS MADE FOR ROCK ! THE DISTORTION IS A LOT MUCH MORE THAN I WILL EVER NEED !! (AND I PLAY PANTERA & KORN) NOW THAT I CHANGED TUBES I ALSO HAVE A BEATIFULL CLEAN SOUND AND CAN PLAY ANY SRV, SWEET HOME AL. EVEN SOME TUNES FROM JOE PASS !!)
NOW THIS AMP SUITS MY STYLE !! (WICH IS FROM LATIN TO METAL )

NOW THE COMPLAINS ARE: IT IS HEAVY !!! AND TOO NOISY (A LOT OF HISS, BUT I FIXED THIS WITH ROCKTRON HUSH)

I USE IT IN A GIG SAME DAY I BOUGHT, WITH NO PROBLEMA ! I TRUST HIM.

E-MAIL THEM ABOUT EXCESS HISS (TO SEE IF THIS WAS NORMAL) A MONTH AGO...... I STILL WAITING.........................................

I JUST HAVE IT A MONTH A GO, I BOUGHT IT NEW IN THE BOX, I DO NOT EVEN TRY IT AT THE STORE (I JUST WANT TO HAVE IT) ANYWAY I BOUGHT IT THINKING THAT THIS WONT BE MY MAIN RIG (I USE TO PLAY THROUGH JMP-1 & MARSHALL CABS) BUT AFTER TUBE CHANGE I WILL BE USING THIS AMP 3 TIMES A WEEK PLAYING COUNTRY, TEJANO, LATIN JAZZ, BLUES AND OF COURSE METAL !!! HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR LONG TIME AGO (OCT 1983 MY FIRST GIG (MAKE NUMBERS !)).
OTHER EQUIPMENT; FOR YEARS MY VERY MAIN GIG WAS (: MARSHALL JMP1 , POWER PEAVEY CLASIC 120 (TUBES) , ROCKTRON HUSH & INTELLIFLEX, BBE, SAMSON WIRELESS KORG RACK TUNER MARSALL CABS, ALSO I STILL KEEP 2 JCM'S ONE 900 & ONE 800 WICH I DONT USE IT AT THIS TIME.
I NEED TO CHANGE A LITTLE BIT MY SOUND AND ALSO WAS TIRED OF TOO MANY THINGS TO CARRY (SPEAKERS, HEAVY RACK, MIDI CONTROLER, ETC ) AND WANT TO BE VERY SIMPLE, THATS WHY I GOT THIS COMBO.

SO A MONTH AGO MY SIMPLE RIG IS: 5150 WITH SVETLANAS, BOSS CHORUS, DELAY, FLANGER & NOISE SUPRESOR PEDALS + DUNLOP CRY BABY.
LET ME TELL YA' WITH THIS EQUIPMENT I HAVE A FAT DISTORTION SOUND + A CLEAN, BEATIFUL CLEAN LOUD SOUND !!

This amp will do anything from Zepplin to Disturbed. It's a 2 channel rhythm/ lead. Effects loop. I wish it had 3rd clean channel. Because i use rhythm for clean and lead for crunch and the lead thins out the tone a little.

It is a great plug and play amp! I dont screw around with pedals and effects crap. I just plug in my 55 reissue single cut les paul Jr. The p-90's freakin' rock. Every pick hit and string overtone you can hear. Not eh cleanest amp in the world though. If its too much just turn down the guitar. The LOUDEST combo ever! great bottom end!

Perfect. Only been playing on it for 7 months or so. But i have never had a problem with it. i gig about 1-2 times a month. Never a problem. Practice every week with the band.

never tried

I have been playing for about 11 years. The 3 main amps i have owned were a crate 2x10 combo, a tubeworks 9100 head, and this. This one gets the top. The only other amp i would get is the Boogie dual rectifier. But the price of the peavey is more worth the money.

I got this amp back in March and now I replaced the speakers for Celestion G12H80s. The Sheffields didn't seem to take my punishment(i.e.bass heavy)as good as the Celestions do. Got to break 'em in a little, but this amp sounds so full and awesome now! No more buzzy high end shrill madness. If you can find those speakers, grab 'em up! I happened to score a pair off a clearance table at a speaker store.Now, this amp is a solid 10 and I can live happily ever after!

You should be familiar with these by now but the 5150 comes with all the features a good tube should have.

Brutally high gain amp perfect for all you metal heads out there. It serves its purpose, and serves it well! Best suited to a nice humbucking guitar the distortion can be manipulated from fairly smooth to crunchy. The 2x12 speakers give nice volume and gets VERY loud...very crunchy and rocky. Like I said, it serves its purpose well...for all out gain saturated orgy. So in terms of versatility its not very versatile of an amp. Strictly for high-gain lovers only. Like ALL amps out there, it has its own unique sound/tone. Try one out and see if you like it cus' all the music stores got'em.

It's built by Peavey...which means that you could set this thing on fire...then throw it off a rooftop and it would still play like new.

Never needed to contact them but I'm sure they're helpful.

It's a great high-gain amp. Very solid choice for metal/hard-rock/80's style. By the way I'm not a metalhead, just a collector and a fan of different types of amps. I enjoyed reading the reviews for this amp...many were hilarious and had nothing to do with the amp. I can summarize the typical metalhead with one word: "Over-dramatic"...Why must I feel pain? Why must the clouds weep for my soul? Will suffering be my only companion? *uuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhh*

Late 90's 2-12 tube combo that pounds like a stack! 60 watts of gargantuan lead channel and an awesome rhythm channel. Haven't used the fx loop yet. I use it in a basement band at a friend's house. Love the resonance and presence controls. Haven't had it past 6 on the post gain, yet, hopefully soon. Unit is very heavy, would like to see built in handles on the sides, like you'd find on a 4-12 cab.

I play an Epiphone Les Paul, mostly blues, 70's/80's rock and some newer stuff. Killer tone on both bridge and neck pickups. It replaces a 100 watt Carvin sx-100. No comparison between these two amps, as far as tone and raw power.

Very dependable,haven't had a problem with yet. Haven't had to replace tubes yet, either. Footswitch has workes flawlessly. It delivers every time, period.

This is my third Peavey unit and haven't had to deal with them yet.

I've been playing for 13 years, owned this for 2, and would not switch to any other amp. This is a terrific bang for the buck value. The only drawback is the sheer weight of the unit, but I'm sure that it contributes to the tone and power so I'll just suck it up.

The amp is pretty straightforward. 2 channels, PLENTY of power, simple controls. I can get a pretty good clean sound out of the amp so I'm not sure why so many people are bitching about it. NO its not a Blackface Twin, but a Blackface doesnt scream like this amp does either. The amp really doesnt start to kick until you jack up the volume, so some may want to consider a power soak for home use. As far as the distortion on this amp, it is everything it is cracked up to be. No need for a tube screamer to give it that extra crunch--there is MORE than enough gain! It can be fuzzier than I prefer, but the presence and resonance controls do a nice job of masking that.

I play an assortment of lefties that are mostly decent copies. A raven Les Paul copy with covered humbuckers, a Les Paul special copy with p-90's, and a mexican Telecaster. All of these guitars sound fantastic through the amp. The Tele definately being the most versatile, and is subtly growing to be my all time favorite guitar. The p-90 guitar can be a bit noisy, but that is a common problem with those pickups. The key to my rig however is my POD. I do love the sounds coming from this amp, but I really use it as just a power amp and speaker enclosure for my POD as a preamp. The effects return of the 5150 goes directly to the power amp section of the amp, and thats where I plug in my pod. When run this way, the knobs on the 5150 do absolutely nothing. The POD controls everything, and the punch in my chest is astounding. The sound is absolutely amazing. I was searching for an amp that would be compatible with the POD, and this is the ticket. I was actually considering selling the POD until I tried it with the 5150. I have a whole new respect for the POD now. The 5150 did sound good by itself, perhaps a bit fuzzy for my taste, but I could deal with it. But when I run the pod, I am completely blown away every time I use this rig--it never ceases to amaze me. With the floorboard, I have an extremely simple yet versatile rig that has NO trouble drowning out my drummer. If you have a POD, this is the only amp that I know of that completely bypasses the preamp section with the effects return, and they are made for each other. The POD's clean is crystal clear and LOUD, and the various high-gain amp models completely kick ass. The only thing I need is another 5150 combo so that I can run in stereo.

This thing is the biggest (size and weight) 2x12 combo I have ever seen, and definately the most solid. Built like a tank, and I am the 3rd owner. Haven't had it long enough to tell, but I dont expect any insurmountable issues other than a possible tube bias/replacement, which is to be expected.

Couldnt tell ya, and I dont expect to ever deal with them. I have a tube guru here in town, and would rather take care of that stuff locally anyway.

I have a solid, versatile rig that blows Marshall and Boogie half-stacks away. Period. For the money you cant beat it. I have been through numerous heads, cabinets, combos, rack-mounted effects units, stompboxes, etc. and I will NEVER consider that shit again. This rig is of studio quality, and I would take it on the road with no backup. I do recommend using a voltage regulator/line conditioner with the POD, but that is a separate issue altogether. Now I dont even have to think about my rig, and that may be the best thing I can say about it.

two channels..rythm and Lead. the ryth channel sucls for clean because this amp is really two gain channels....it has 3 band EQ...Reverb.Presense and Resonance. I use this amp at my Home/Garage. It's more POWER thatn I WILL EVER NEED!! FUCKING INSANELY LOUD!!!!!!!!

I don't know what year it was made...but it's in GREAT shape. I play Metal and this amp Screams it!!!! I mean it!!!!! it damn nasty and vicious!! I play a Gibson Gothic V w/ EMG-81s and holy Crapola!!! WHen I palm mute I make the Room shake!! Great Gain!! I can make the harmonics Ear Piearcing!!! Awsome gain!..again. I play SLayer...MEtallica...Meshuggah and Pantera...Great for that! Great amp! for 500 it was worth it! I got it retubed with JJ tubes..they sound better then the Sovkets to me..less noisy too.

I hasn't fucked up for shit!!!!!!

Peavey kicks ass for CUstomer Service...not that I will need it soon..

Like Metal? Get it.
Want value for money? Get it.

This is an update. Since putting in JJ tubes and swapping the speakers for Eminence V12s, this thing rocks like a champ. I had a JCM 800 for years, but this thing stomps all over it now! Feel the love!

I purchased this amp New in 2000. I think this amp was good after I bought it. But now that I just put some new JJ Tubes, the amp is awesome for any music style. It just takes some minor adjustments. This has 2 channels and comes with a remote with 2 buttons. One with reverb and one for switching between clean or crunch to the lead channel. I use this amp for live situations because it is loud!

I play a American Standard Strat and a modified Ibanez RG550 with Dimarzio Tone Zone in the bridge position and a Dimarzio PAF PRO in the neck position. It had a noisy hum with the stock tubes in it. But now it is much more quiet with the JJ tubes. Thanks to Bob at www.eurotubes.com who knows about proper tube balance and proper phase inverter balance. The clean channel sounds very clean. Of course that depends on which position you have your pickup selector switch in.I don't know why there are so many complainers out there .Maybe they should keep practicing and learning before they bash this great amp. The distorion is as brutal as you want to get.

I have never had any problems with it. I think it is built like a tank. Hmm.. I sure wich I had a tank to cary it around because it is so heavy. I hope I don't ever get a hernia from moving it around.

Never had to deal with the company. I did have a Turbo TS9 that broke down on me but lucky for me I had a great neighbor that replaced the chip in it for me.

I have been playing for 16 yrs. I own a collection of stomp boxes and rack gear. I run my Strat or RG550>Crybaby Wah> Boss GE7 > Turbo Tube Screamer> Boss Metal Zone> Mesa Boogie V-Twin> into 5150 Combo. Then tru the effects loop I run a Ibanez chorus> Boss O2>Ibanez DD-7> With this set up I can get any sound I want.

I won't go over all the features again, as they are listed in most of the reviews here. What many people get wrong about the 5150 combo is, there is NO CLEAN CHANNEL. There is RHYTHEM AND LEAD. No CLEAN. So stop complaining that you can't get a great clean jazz tone. This is a high gain amp, designed for rock and roll. Feature wise, this amp is missing two things. One a headphone jack, but who really cares. Second, and most important, is that I wish they would have put seperate EQs for the two channels. I usually set my rhythem EQ different than my lead. Oh well.

The 5150 is a brutal high gain amp. I love the tone. I am using a Peavey Wolfgang and an Ibanez 540S. I run a Boss RV3 for reverb and delay and a Boss Chorus Ensemble in the effects loop. I use the chorus because I like a very wet guitar sound. But even if you don't like a wet sound, I would suggest a chorus pedal anyway. This amp has a very dry tone. With chorus, this amp just kills any other combo I've heard. On the lead channel, the amp does hiss like a cat. But you learn to live with it. If it really bothers you or you need to quiet it down for gigging purposes, I've read here that a noise gate or suppressor really can help. The rhythm channel will stay clean if you leave the preamp volume below 2. After that it will start to distort a little. By 3.5 or 4 you are starting to get dirty.On the lead channel, you get bone crushing distortion right after about 3 or 4. I usually keep mine on about 6. I play mainly Rock, like of course Van Halen, and this amp is simply incredible. But this amp is not Eddie Van Halen in a box. Its a start though. The amp is fairly versatile. If you dial in sounds carefully, you can get some good blues and country tones. You will have an easier time dialing in death metal though. Also, this amp is extremely loud. For home practicing, I keep the posts down well below 1. In a jam situation, I would be shocked if I went above 3 or 4. This amp sounds like a full stack.

Overall, the amp is very reliable. And very heavy. 85 pounds to be exact. When I took delivery of the amp, one of the preamp tubes was not working right, and it was causing static break up in the speakers. It took about 3 trips to the shop to finally identify the culprit tube. Intermittant problems are the worst. Once that problem was fixed, the amp has been great.

Peavey is great. Before I bought the 5150, and before I bought the Wolfgang, I called Peavey for some info. They were always pleasant, and sent out the matierals promised. They stand by their products. Short example. Before I ordered my Wolfgang, I was concerned about the quality of the quilt top I was getting. The Peavey rep I talked to gave me his full name, and told me that if I was not satisfied with the quilt, I could send back the guitar, and Peavey would send me a new one. I checked this with my dealer, and backed them up on this. Great products, and great service.

Overall, I love this amp. Its perfect for what I do. I home record with it and jam with it. I don't think I could lose it, and if someone stole it, they are't going very far without a back injury. I would definately replace it with another 5150 combo though. I compared the 5150 to Marshall combos, Crates (chainsaws), and a Line 6 thing. The 5150 in my opinion was by far the best amp I tried. Plus, I'm an Ed head, I admit it, so the 5150 was the closest in tone to what I wanted. The Line 6 stuff just sounded fake. I used to own solid state amps. Never again. The only thing tonewise I don't like is that the amp is very dry. But like I said above, I use a Boss Chorus pedal, and the amp becomes thick and spacious.

90's Two channel. Clean/Dirty, but the clean sound can be set to very heavy also. Everything else has pretty much been said before.

I read most of the reviews on this amp. Now I will set the record straight. This is the only amp I have ever bought that sounded great as soon as I pluged it in. I would say you have to have a good guitar to make this happen. To all the clowns out there who say this amp does not have enough bass. Send me your address and I will send you some Q-tips so you can swab the wax out of your ears.These people are obiously bedroom players. What do you think bass players are for? This amp sounds perfect heavey and clean. To the people who think this amp sounds to compressed. Try playing through an Egnater. Then get back to me. I have have bought and sold 7 different amps in the last 6 months. I shit you negative. For the money this is the best sounding amp I have ever played. It is a hard rock or metal amp. I bought this used for $450.00 It is one of the few high gain amps that you can buy for the money. Do you people really think Eddie VanHamstring would design an amp with out enough bottom? Or one that is to compressed? I would say to someone wanting to buy one of these amps. If you want a modern high gain sound for half a grand buy one of these amps. I bought it tweeked it for about 25min. then rehearsed with my band. This amp is not noisy. It maks about as much noise as any other high gain amp. For the most part I run straight into it. I have a Fuzzheimer true by-pass effect loop box that when engaged runs my signal into a wha, oct, phase 90, delay, mico amp then back to the Fuzzheimer. On the other side of the Fuzzheimer I have a true bypass Zvex Super Duper to give me different combonations of clean and dirty boosts. I play a PRS. I also sometimes roll the volume on my guitar back to get certain songs to sit right. THIS AMP IS VERY RESPONSIVE WITHOUT BEING UNFORGIVING like my Marshall Jubilee. It is not spongy like a Marshall.

Like a tank.

I have been playing for quite sometime now. Like I said this amp is very forgiving. If you have good guitar and can play decently this amp will sound wonderful. It cutz with out ripping your head off. For the money I think it is one of the best amps out there. If you have $1500.00 to spend check out some other high gainers or boutique amps. I know a guy who has a stuido. He told me 99.9 of guitar players out there have way to much bass on their amps to record properly. You would not believe how much bigger your band will sound if the guitar and the bass are not fighting for the same sonic space.

2 channels: rythym and lead. has reverb and presence. it comes with a footswitch which is all a punker would ever need. if you cant figure out how to use this thing, you're an idiot. plug it in and play, its simple. i keep this amp in my room, which is just asking for trouble from the parents. this thing has more power than any average musician would ever need to jam with friends or play a gig. this combo would rip an underground club up.

i use a squire strat with the crappy pickups that came on it, so if this 5150 sounds great with that, imagine a nice set of humbuckers. this thing has the right punchy, crunch that any kid in a punk band could want. for me, it works best for a lot of punk, hardcore, and metal from mxpx to screamo stuff to heavy zao. the 5150 has a nitch for everybody, you just have to play around with the settings.

this thing is a tank! totally dependable and i would use it without a back up. havent serviced it yet. i would like to fix up the tubes, but im working on the guitar situation right now.

never dealt with peavey before. the website is neat though.

ive had my squire since 95, but i cant really say ive been playing since then. every kid wants a guitar, so i got one. it just took me a couple of years to mature and develope the attention span to teach myself. so here i am, 19 years old, fully capable of being in a band and wrapped up in the local scene. ill be damned if ill let my youth pass by without doing what i really want to. i bought the 5150 and im one step closer to my dream. the 5150 works for me, so if you're into punk and metal, its worth you're time to check it out. oh yea, and dont listen to what some of these old dudes on this forum say about this combo because maybe it doesnt fit their style. but they dont realize this era of music is different and its our responsibility as kids to make it last.

I believe it is a '97 or so, bought it used but in mint condition.
Features are already known to all who are reading this, as they are listed about 100 times already. =)

This is not a really versatile amp, it is a hard rock/metal amp mostly.

I've been messing with mine for about 3 years now, and to be honest, the best tone this thing has is if you completely bypass the preamp stage and use the effects return jack as your input. The 6L6 power stage is still tied to the presence and resonance controls, but that's it (no volume control, and the effect return is pretty loud by default, not a bedroom setting for sure, but my god - when you run it like this the tone is so thick fat and juicy - it can't be beat, plus it's perfectly quiet. This has left me wondering if maybe I shouldn't just get a poweramp and flavor it's tone with my rack/pedal stuff... Hrrm. A VHT 2-50-2 with 6L6's instead of EL34's might be my next path...

Wish I could hotwire the thing to just work as a 60 watt 6l6 power amp, and get the master volume to work off the effect return loop... Sigh....

The preamp stage, and all 5 12ax7's are a total one-trick pony (I love that saying when applied to amps for some reason). You can play with the knobs, and get either the thickest distortion known to man - or back it off, but it's a real synthetic sounding distortion and although I liked it a bit at first - it has lost its luster almost completely over time.

I've retubed mine with the JJ's, with the hand picked tubes from Bob at Eurotubes, and it does fatten up the sound, but it still basically sounds the same - noisy preamp stage and more of an analog sounding distortion than a tube sound.

I'll give it a 7 for the nearly orgasmic fatness of the 6L6 powerstage using the effect return...

Peavey makes the most reliable guitar amps right now, period...

Just read all these reviews, or buy one yourself and find out. You may not like the sound of your Peavey, but by god the thing will still be working when your grandchildren want to play with it...

Since their amps seem to be indestructable, never had a reason to contact them. When I had questions, I just sifted through their support forums which get alot of action - tons of info in there.

Even though I have gotten sick of the distortion in the preamp stage, I still like the amp. It is HUGE sounding for a 60 watt 2x12 combo amp, and with good, fresh tubes has a massive but tight bottom end - a 7 stringers delight.

If you are a metal-head, here's your amp. Puts Mesa rectifiers to shame, unless you like that cold-muddy Mesa sound, I certainly don't...

I'm not a metal head though, and bought the amp mostly because it was in perfect shape and to help out a friend who needed some cash. Like I said above, if there was some sort of preamp bypass, I'd really love this sucker, but even so I'll give it a 7 as is...

I wouldn't buy another one though...

This amp is great for rock and roll...not blues, not jazz, not funk.
This is a monster rock amp with great crunchy tone.
You will not get a clean tone out of it if you use it right, there is no clean channel...if clean is coming out you aren't pushing the tubes and your tone will be weak as fuck. You can drop the volume on your guitar to get a semi clean, great sound!

I use jackson guitars with Dimarzio PAF pro humbuckers.
This amp will out crunch a Mesa Boogie, a Marshall, a Crate,,anything.
It isn't too noisey if you use it right,,use the rythm channel for rhthym, and lead for lead. If you use the lead channel for rythym and playing chords it is not as crunchy. I put the rythym gain at 5, crunch in and if i want more edge run in a clean boost to really push the tubes. Lead channel is set at 1.5 with an overdrive pedal and it sings! With out an OD pedal set it around 4.5 and crank the volume. You have to use overdrive or clean boost to push the tubes or any volume setting below 5 won't give the amp justice.

one word,,,TANK.
this thing is indestructable.

For rock and roll there is no better amp for the price.
And even if you spend a lot more this will kick ass!
It's 60 watts which is really no different than 100.
Give the same speaker cabinet, to double a 60 watt amps perceived volume you need a 600 watt amp.
If you are playing clubs this is perfect. A combo amp that fills a room.

Two Channels,clean & lead (clean has a crunch mode). It`s a simple amp , that`s one reason why I like it so much , however it would have been nice if it were three channels & separate eq. settings for clean & lead like the Ultras.

This thing sounds incredible , at least it does now after I swapped out the factory power & preamp tubes with the JJ tubes from Euro tubes. If you own this amp or the 5150 head you must try these tubes, stock this thing had a really dry clean sound and the lead channel was a bit to buzzy,I`d give it a 7 before the tube swap. I play a wolfgang special & a EBMM replica with a SD custom custom in the bridge and this amp gets a huge hardrock/metal sound. As a lot of you probably know this amp is pretty noisey so I might try a Hush system in the future. As I mentioned earlier I think the JJ tubes are must for this amp , they really wake up the clean channel and the lead channel sounds a lot fuller.

I`ve only had it for a couple weeks so no problems yet. I`ve had pretty good luck with Peavey products in the past.

I called their tech line in the past with questions about my wolfgang and they pretty helpful.

This is a really good amp from the factory and I doubt I`ll ever turn the volume past 4(at least in my house). With the $100.00 investment for the tubes this thing is a monster, the JJ tubes are definetly worth the money.If your a jazz or blues player you probably won`t like this amp , If your into playing early VH,Sabbath,Pantera,heavy Zeppelin then I think you should check out one of the 5150 models out.I`d definetiy buy another one if was stolen.

This is an update of the last post. Took out the Chinese stock tubes and Bob from Eurotubes hooked me UP!! This thing sound so DAMN RICH NOW! Took all those honking highs and smoothed it right out! I didn't think it could sound better and clean channel is better too. I'll give it an 11 or 12 now!! Don't spend over a grand, buy one of these, kids!

I just got this last weekend and I call this combo the "plug and play" box! 3 channels(crunch,clean,lead)and reverb. No plugging in another cab neccessary.(At least for me)

I love coming off work and playing this thing! My amp repair guy has told me(and other former Marshall users)to get one of these and I'm gladd I finally listened. Great sound on all channels. Too much treble and distortion? Turn knobs and tweak your sound, people! Very responsive eq section(passive). Better than a lot of Marshalls I've used. Fantastic distortion!! I can see why Soldano's pissed! If it sounds this great with the stock,crappy Chinese tubes, I can only imagine what JJ's and a bias will do for it. I reaaly scored this time!

So far, so good. Can't afford any more amps! Just be kind to it and it will be kind to you(tubes,etc.)

Always helpful and friendly. Great people on the Peavey Amp Forum, too!

I am finally satisfied with this new amp I got. Down the line . I might get a 212 Vintage 30 cab going, but for now this is all I need. Just 'plug and play' and get great sound! Makes my life a lot easier. Life is better with good tone!!

The features are Lead & Rythm Channels, EQ, Reverb, Resonance, Presence, Foot Switch, Lead Pre & Post, Rythm Pre & Post, and Effects Loop. The things that suck are that there is only one set of EQ for two channels, no clean channel, and the reverb is weak. If all you play is metal than this amp will suit you fine. You can use the lead channel for solos and the rhythm for muting, 5th chords, and triads. However I play metal half the time and classical the other half. The best I can do is get a crappy clean sound by turning down the preamps.

I play metal via overdrive and classical via clean. I play with my fingers since "real guitarists don't use picks." My effects are a CS-2, CE-2, PWA Wah, and MicroAmp and I play a Jackson Rhoads guitar cuz double humbuckers are the best and the Floyd-Rose bridge is a necessity for me. Enough about me. Having read a lot of the previous reviews I would like to clarify two issues. 1) This amp doesn't have a clean channel. By turning the rythm pre amp down you can get a semi-decent clean sound but nothing more. This works for me, however, if I had the money I would rectify this problem immediately. To give this amp a lower rating because of this is unfair because this amp is not meant to do clean. Why it was designed this way I don't know. 2) There are several people who are of the opinion that Marshall amps are the best amps in the world and I am one of them. This amp was not designed to give the fat bass nor the crunch of a Marshall. A lower rating because of this is also unfair. However this amp does have a hell of a lot of gain and is very loud. The sound has a lot of treble and delivers a hiss. Someone previously mentioned AC/DC and I think that is an excellent way of describing the amp sound. Someone else also described the sound as brittle and this is also true. And someone described the sound as shred which is another good description. The major downside about this amp is that the lead channel is extremely senstitive to pick scratching (or in my case nail scratching). To further exacerbate problems I use a CS-2. The scratching is now magnified. Also this amp tends to be noisy. This is the right amp if you want a high gain tube amp with emphasis on the trebble, saturated with harmonics, and lacking in a clean channel. Sounds a lot like Van Halen. Still this amp could be less noisy and for this I will deduct a point.

I'm really bad with tube amps. I bought this used and have had it for three years but haven't retubed it. The main problems are money and the fact that this thing is heavy and hard to move. But the sound has been wonderfull thus far so I guess the tubes have been holding out. Anyway ut's been working just fine but I'm just a basement wannabe musician.

When I bought it used the amp was missing the footswitch. I called Peavey and I purchased a new one. No hastle.

I've had this amp for three years. It's a nice amp but I really want a Marshall JCM. It delivers the gain and the presence of a shred amp. However, it's the bass and crunch of a Marshall that I desire.

You guys know them all by heart im sure...

Now, I was using this amplifier with a 2000 LTD MH 300 guitar with EMG HZ humbuckers. Unfotunately, it was kind of a let down for me.... I thought the amp was going to be "amazing..." and that "The search would be over"......sorry guys, close, but no ciggar. The distortion WAS great, especially for lead fills/solos/etc ....unfortunately, the sound was very "thin" and brittle sounding. It just sounded very small, even when cranked. It seemed as though it didn't fill in some of the sound gaps in a live band situation. All in all, awesome sound, just doesnt sound big enough.

I didnt have any problems with it while i owned it

Havent had to deal with Peavey personally

I thought this amp was going to be awesome.....but i was let down a little bit. Anyways, I bought a Mesa Dual Rectifier head and I have been happy ever since. Also, you guys should check out the Mark IV or a the Dual Recto to get the same "sweet spot" sounds from the PV.

1996 Peavey 212 combo
It has the tone i have been looking for in your face rock
2 chanells rythym and lead with the crunch like having 3
I wish the rythym channel was cleaner
I use it to gig and in my studio more than enough power maybe to much
rated at 60 watt RMS sounds louder than a 100 marshall will blow your head off. 5 preamp tube 12AX7s mine are Electro Harmonix ,2 power
tubes 6L6s sovteks I hear JJ tubes are the best and will use these when other go out and will have it biased , I dont know why they dont put adjustable caps on these they know you will have to change the tubes would only cost them $5 more and could set them up better as well this makes no sense but no other manufacturer uses them either?

A Les Paul Standard with buckers and 1983 charvel superstrat with
seymour duncan lil 59 in bridge and jackson single coils in mid and neck I am able to make any guitar rock with this were my crate wont bring the les paul alive the 5150 does overdriven even on the rythym
chanel with the crunch more than other amps dirty chanells
Brutal distortion amp maybe the best, I played threw 100 amps before buying this one it blew me away the power at 1 post will jam..
No distortion box needed with this amp all those tones are built right in

It is a very well built amp would and do gig without backup
It has never broken yet I am going to order some JJ tubes and a biasing adjustable caps for it for when it does these tubes should outlast a lightbulb 1000hours..

I bought it used I called Peavey they sent a owners manual and a service manual free of charge they were very nice .
Service Center is a buds dads shop Sound And Music they realy know tube amps..
No warranty I bought it used

Have been playing 20 years i also own a Crate G40CXL
If lost or stole I would buy another
Compared to a 40 watt marshall a Fender twin had the lead tone i want
and the price I paid was $400 at Music-Go-Round they gave me a good price I was buying a keyboard for my wife when I saw it and the salesman who i have bought many guitars from said I had to try it he had just gotten 2 of them in the one i got sounded better than the other mine has new sovtek tubes the other had worn out sylvanias
and was in better shape than the other but it had wheels and mine don,t and the Peavey emblem was missing I bet if i told Peavey that
they would send me one for free. best amp I have ever bought and not the most exspensive either i will never sell it i should stock up on tubes in the future there will be no more tubes they are exstinct
but there still out there for a little $ buy this amp i,m not a salesman but a musician this thing rocks clean channel is to dirty and i use a A-B box and use a Crate set on clean for this. I am also
going to gey a Boss EQ to put in the efects loop...

a combo with an fx loop, nice. but yes, it is very heavy! still, that's why it's so good i guess. i can't understand people who talk down peavey after using this amp. footswitch for changing channel (rhythm/lead) and on/off reverb. eq for high mid and low, resonance and presence dials which really change the tone of the amp.

i've found it great for everything, very clean sounds, slight distortion or full on metal. i use crap single pick up guitars, a toneworks ax1000g and a bbe. it took a few weeks for me to really find a sound i was happy with. this isn't a plug and play amp. now i can get literally any sounds i can imagine. usually have the pre up to about 5, the post hardly ever gets above 6. for rehearsal or gigs this thing is great.

blew smoke after a couple weeks. sent it off for repairs, all done for nothing, no questions asked. since then it has been solid as a rock, i've had it for about 6 months now.

peavey online forum is very helpful. repairs were done quickly, for free.

it's heavy, i love that and i hate it:) i highly recommend this amp for it's versatility and tone. i played a line 6 combo and a marshall before buying this. it has more oomph and versatil itythan the marshall and the line 6 felt cold and brittle in comparison, with a bunch of onboard fx i didn't need.

Bought off of e-bay. I would guess a 1997 model. Has all the features I need, could use more eq versatility. Could be lighter. Mine's 85 lbs.

I'm using a GMW Kramer 5150 Replica/Relica. Duncan TB59 in the bridge(The guitar is an exact clone of eddie's 5150 guitar). This amp with my guitar is absolutely unreal. This amp absolutely flawlessly nails the Unchained & Panama tone. Very dry & VHII sounding. Also incredible for Metallica. Very tight & compressed w/massive gain. I only run the gain to 5.5 & I love distortion. Not much variety on the sounds but the dirty sounds you do get are the best of heard. I've spent twenty years trying to find the aforemention tone. My search is over.

I would gig without a backup, but then again, I'm a gambler by nature, every time I order out. It hasn't broken down since I've only had it for a day.

Never dealt, hopefully this doesn't change.

I've been playing off and on for about 18 years. If it were stolen, I would high five the guy who did it because it would be the crime of the century, this weighs a ton. It's great that Peavey doesn't rip you off on the price. Great value. It's better than all boogie combos for distorted tones. I miss the cleans of my line6 but oh well.

2 channels, effects loop, resonance dial, reverb dial, hi and low inputs. External speaker out ( You can plug another 2 stacks into it)

I use a Ibanez RG320 with 2 Hum., with a Boss GT3 effect processor, the amp has a very crisp and lussious tone, you can have ear tingling treble or booming bass. If you enjoy playing the blues to jazz to metal to fussion this amp was built for every versitiale musician. The amp is very very versitiale, and has AMAZING Distorsion, althought if you are using a 7 string I would recommend a EQ pedal to further adjust the eq on the amp. May have problems with feedback depending on hall size and volume setting.

I depend on this amp exclusivily, I have never ever had a problem with it. It's built like a tank

I wanted to buy an amp cover and peavey has had one in the "works" for about a year now, so I just think Peavey is lazy, so I just purchased a regular stack cover and cut it in half.

I've been playing for 6 years now and if I'am very pleased with it, but the only draw back is the weight, it weighs a ton 100lbs. and only has one handle, so it a pain to move around.

The amp has been reviewed many a times. Brief overview: 2 channels, 1 set of EQ, effects loop (low power), etc...etc...etc......

I wish it had EQ for each channel, but hey I did buy it as it is made...

Amp is only 60 watts but sounds like 600 watts!!!!!!!!

I use an Ibanez RG-440, pickups have been replaced with EMG's. I also use a Peavey Wolfgang. The Peavey actually has higher output through this amp than the Ibanez with the active EMG's.

One must be VERY cautious when setting the pre-amp/power amp... Anything above 5 on preamp and this amp starts feeding back something fierce, no matter how LOW you set the power amp...

This amp DOES ONE THING and it does it well...DISTORTION. This is a NASTY (in the good sense) amp. There are plenty of harmonics jumping out of this amp (more so with the Peavey Wolfgang plugged in...)

No problems yet, don't really anticipate any either other than routine maintenance (tubes, cleaning, etc.)

No reason to find out...YET.

I like this amp. It is not my first (nor will it be my last) amp. I also have a Rivera Bonehead (see my review there). The 5150 is as different from any beast I have played as to date as from any I want to play.

In my quest to purchase this amp, I tried out MANY amps, some much more money, a few that were cheaper. The FENDER amps just do not cut it for my main sound, although I was impressed by their clean sounds. Fender has WEAK distortion. I also tried many MESA'S, but could not, at the time, afford them.

This is a follow up to my review made a few months ago. As I had only owned it for a week back then, I fell that I should give an updated review with the benefit of hindsight. You can find a description of the features on other reviews. I use this amp primarily to jam (punk music). The other guitarist in my band got a Marshall JCM 900 head and quad. Whilst that amp has a fatter bassy output, the 5150 can outdo it in terms of sheer volume and aggression. One drawback is the lack of a headphone jack, which makes bedroom experimentation virtually impossible due to the incessant bitching from my brother and sister. Note: TUBES ROCK!!! Further, a separate set of EQ's for the two channels would have been nice, but this is not a huge drama.

I play through a squire strat with a SD hot rails in the bridge. I can't afford pedals, but maybe this means that I can give a more accurate review of the natural amp sound. Whilst my band style is punk, I try to indulge in various styles. However, this amp is really only appropriate for the heavier stuff. Note that this is a full on, in your face amp, after all, it bears the name of the great Eddie Van Halen, the most in your face guitarist of all time. If you want clean, sparkling tone, then don't buy this amp, there's plenty of amps out there to cover the needs of the mellower musician. This amp is for the rockers! Major concerns with the amp: Feedback is pretty damn crazy when used in a garage. Going above 5 on the pre lead channel will rip your ears out. Try to stay below 4 only the lead pre. However, I have found that the rhythm channel, with the pre turned up to about 5 and with teh crunch on, can deliver a nice chunky palm mute sound, with the lead being reserved for the heavy solos. There is also reverb, which is okay i guess, but I don't use reverb much. Whilst the rhythm channel breaks up before you can get to a decent volume, it is stil adequate for those of us who are not obsessed with tone, the perfect sound etc. but rather with becoming more proficient with our actual instrument. To those of you who bag this amp: Make sure you know what you're talking about! Don't tell people that the tone sucks if you have nothing to compare it to. Also, if you can't play your fucking guitar properly, then the sound of your amp is the least of your worries. Go practice, if you're good at playing, you'll be able to make this amp sound good. Do you really think that if Jimi Hendrix rose up from the dead and was handed a shitty $50 guitar and a crappy amp he couldn;t make it sing. C'mon, the musician makes the sound, the equipment merely enhances it.

Got it second hand after it had been lying dormant for 6 months. Have not had any maintanence done in the 6 months of ownership. Still works and sounds great. Probably could do with a service, but that's not the amp's fault at all, just merely my laziness.

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A beauty. Can't wait to get my JD Crybaby 95Q and make this amp really scream. If stolen, the mother fucker would suffer a hernia after carrying it for five metres due to it's weight (approx 50 kilos). I have tried a few Marshalls and the 5150 whips 'em. Dare to be different. Avoid the typical Mesa, Marshall, Fender amps and try something alternative, you might be pleasantly surpreised. I wanna get a new guitar, preferably with humbuckers. I want to create a new, original sound, so I will probably try to get a pretty alternative guitar. This amp will kick arse, even on its own, for punk, metal (Metallica, Pantera) and 70's - 80's rock (Led Zep, Van Halen nrturally!!!). It can also handle grunge. Usable for cleaner music, but not great, but hey that's not what it's for. You wouldn't by a noise surpressor to get distortion would you? Didn't think so.

The 5150 has got wicked tube distortion (almost too much) And when you crank the presence and resonance controls you can that crunchy sound every metal band wants. The only place I think that it is lacking here is in the equilizer. It is hard to get any distinct sounds out of the three bands.

all I gotta say is that this is one noisy muther fucker. It hisses like a cat and anything over three in lead volume and youve got the worst feedback I have ever heard. I use a squire strat and a 76'Gibson Les Paul deluxe. Feedback magically disapears when you turn one of the tone knobs down though.

The 5150 has never given me any grief and ive beaten the hell out it for over a year. Allthough I should, I havn't changed my tubes ever and it still sounds pretty sweet.

never had to deal with that

Ive been playing for 5 years and this amp (although very noisy) suites my style. I play in a metal band and the nasal tones I get out of the 5150 are unique compared to many other amps out there. Its got sweet harmonics and it could probably shatter everyones windows in my little old hick town. What else would you expect from Eddie Van Halen?

The amplifier im reviewing is a late 90's 5150 212 combo,a typical 2 channel high gain amplifier with the added luxury of a "global" type reverb. Fairly low on any type of features, but this amped seems designed with the SOLE intention of delivering one great lead channel. Ive trialed this amp in various scenarios (live,jam,bedroom,basement) to give it its fair shake.its heavy.

I tried this amplifier with various solid body electrics,mostly with hum-hum configuration as well as an ibanez am-100 semi hollow. I own quite a few different high gain amplifiers but this is the noisiest amp I have ever played. Even with power tube changes, aproper bias and then desperation pre amp tube swaps, this amp was noisy...and heavy. The amp did have a great distorted tone(garbage for clean,but ANY high gain amp should not be expected to deliver great clean, just as you would not expect a Matchless to deliver a 5150 lead tone,right?) Someone wrote that this had a better sound than a dual rectifier,no, DIFFERENT!! If you want a DUAL then buy a DUAL if you want a 5150 buy a 5150.This thing is SO heavy.

Reliability is always an issue with any amp be it solid state,tube or modeling(If you want to give modelling its own class) Just different areas of reliability issues, with any tube amp, bring a fuse,a couple of power tubes, a preamp tube a flashlight and you should be just fine.(and in this amps case, a dolly 'cause its heavy!)

Ive dealt with Peavey on a couple of issues and they were fine. My best friend dealt with them on a schematics issue and they were great.
And hey,every city seems to have a Peavey dealer.Even they think its heavy.

ive been playing around 15 years and still have not learned how to deliver analogies like the poor reviewer below me. The only reason that I submitted a review for this amp was so that there really was a REVIEW done around here. Not just 5 paragraphs of analogies, without any real review content. My overall review for this amp is that if you are looking for a 50 watt version of its big daddy(5150 head) this is the amp for you. It has great distortion,adequate reverb and enough power to truly deliver in any situation,unles you play for the Who...or Big Sugar. Good amp,just too hissy and way to heavy.

The features are straight-forward, ripe and ready. 2 channels,
(RYTHYM AND LEAD) NOT clean and dist. Wake up! It's a machine, not a butter churner. I ain't talkin' bout no OMISH amp.
It's name isn't ishmal....it's UNCHAINED! So don't expect this amp to fix your hot water heater when it breaks down. it won't. And it won't remind you that you left the iron on in the basement either. Wake up! The only feature you have to be concerned with is the 2 fully grown testicles that lie in the belly of this beast. The 6L6 Tube driven brick-shit house cranks out 60 watts(RMS) that sounds like a 100 year old grizzly roaring to wan his young..because trouble may be on the way.

What sound do you hear in your head? Does your dream sound remanicent of power, or slavery. Can you grasp what real shame and old guilt feel like in the belly of a life-sentenced prisoner. Can you express these powerful emotions through the 5150. Yes you can. The sound is layered like the earth. I play vision-core, grind-thrash, backalack punch metal, and death core. I also scew areound with cyber-city mosh, and suicide-thrash pop. The 5150 works well for all of these. The amp can squeel like an old american indian who has lost both his land and his pride. Or it can saturate like watercolors to fine natural paper. Is the distortion brutal? Is my blood type o-negative? Is my heart loyal?

In a frenzied state last week I punched the side of the 5150's panel. My fist was a bloody mess, and I may have to have reconstructive surgey. The 5150's tolex has been stained with my angry blood, but has not effected the tone or electronics of this amp.

It does not need it. If you can't get under the hood of a tube amp, then go back to school for plumbing or become a freakin' lawer or a wet nurse. But don't buy a valve amp if you can't commit to her. Leave her, and you leave me. Embrace her, and I'll take you in.

I give you this quote to some things up.

Why must I cry and bleed for love. Why must I fight

this is a 2001 peavy i bought it because its tough ,was contemplating a marshal but the stories of product failure and piss poor sound and crappy service led me to a messa but it was too much, anyway i plan on changing the tubes ,and getting a equaliser and a wah probably a noise suppressor and monster cable , ive played for about 24 years and had a bandit 112 transtube amp it was ok but for practicing old songs i needed more tone for the new songs the bandit was great on about 4 volume once it was tweaked right but it just didnt satisfy i didnt want a modeling amp or a hybrid i hear them and they all suck so i bought this powerhouse its great for old skynard and ac dc metal and the rhythum chanel is great i put it on clean and it makes the chords sound great i play the leads channel mostly but switch back for rhythum cause it clearer i mean not like an ampeg reverberocket or fender but clean for classic rock styles it has tons of power but i like the gain it never stops

i use a strat with a hot rails pickup,and a wolfgang its ok i wish i had a les paul older one

peavy never broke on me but once my brothers emmitted blue sparks at a gig

no commment never had to use it

if it were stolen id by me a old broken beat up marshal and restore it

See my last review or any others for details.

Now that I've had this amp for a while I discovered a few things that I wanted to elaborate on. I've now owned it for a little over two years and just replaced the tubes a few months ago. It was right around then that I really noticed that this amp seems to lack a lot of bass response, especially when compared to a Dual Recto. To fix that I purchased a Boss 7 band graphics equalizer. That was cool but then it became apparent that the cab couldn't handle my new found bass. Then I decided to switch one of the speakers with an old Mesa speaker I had that has better low end response. Now I can't get enough of playing this amp. The tone is the closest I have gotten to acheiving the lead and rythm sound I could grow old with. I was playing a Triple rectofier in the studio and everyone in my band thought the peavey blew it away. The bass response was much tighter and the lead channel is more responsive. This could be because the Mesa had El34's and I prefer the sound of 6L6's. I give the 5150 an eight still because the clean sound is pretty much crap, even when compared to the triple rectofiers clean.

Nothing has ever broken on it, I'd say it'll be around for a while

I've played for eight years, my main gear is the 5150, a Ibanez Jem 7VWH, a Boss GE-7, and a Morley Bad Horsie Wah. If stolen I'd save up and get the Triaxis this time. The clean channel sucks, and the lead channel is way to noisy, uncontrollable without a noise suppresor. I like to use it with the GE-7 in the effects loop and the wah up front. I usually use the rythm channel as another distorted channel because it sounds much better for rythm playing, sounds just like petrucci. It needs to have separate eq and a real clean channel. Best sounding distortion for under $1000 by far.

2 channel, 60 watt, etc....Go to the peavey web site.

When cranked this amp rips death metal, thrash, grindcore tone very well. On the otherside it makes a strat melt especially when taking off the back plate.

Mine has a problem with the presence knob. Seems to cut off from time to time, I guess it's a bad pot or something. Overall built like a tank. (7 layer plywood walls).

A great investment period.