Peavey 5150 II

You guys all know how many 'features' the 5150 or 5150 II has... not very many, but that's the point. Perfect gain/distortion tone through virtually any guitar and enough power to rattle dishes in your neighbours house! End of story.

Hands down the best gain sound in the whole industry. Mesa amps are good, but I find their distortion fuzzy and distracting. Marshalls are fine, but their weaklings alongside this amp. The 5150 has just the right amount of everything and it really does go up to 11!

I have had my 5150 II for 8 years now and at one point I had some soldering shake loose on the inside... I took it to my local 'amp tech' and it hasn't broke down since. Obviously, I've put several sets of tubes in it, but that's expected with any tube amp... especially ones that tour. My rhythm guitarist had his Dual Rectofier for 3 years and it melted down 3 times... it spent more time in the shop then on stage.

I dealt with Peavey once to get a new foot pedal... it was painless.

I've been playing guitar for 13 years, the 5150 II was my first tube amp and will be my last for rock purposes. I've recorded 3 albums with it, done over 500 gigs and probably triple that in rehearsals and it still brings a smile to my face to hear this amp rip! It is the best rock/metal amp on the planet and granted now they're not as easy to find as they were 10 years ago, but if you do find a 5150/5150II or 6505 and you play in a rock/metal band... buy it.

i'm not sure what year this is but you can emial peavey and they can find out quickly. i had a 5150 brand new straight outta the box and it was a lemon so i sold it for about half of what i paid for it. played thru lotsa amps for a year after that and was really disapointed with my sound. i found this 5150 ll in a pawnshop in mint condition for 350$ with trade. so far so good the sound is the best for metal or punk.

really i've been playing for 25 years in all sorts of bands and you can play ANYTHING THRU THIS AMP -reggea, blues jazz, rock, country-whatever.i use NO PEDALS AT ALL, just plug and play, twist some nobs and your in.120 watts (fuck ya). every guitar sounds good thru this amp and any cab that can handle 120 watts will sound excellent with this head.use 5881 tubes and any good 12ax7 tubes, change em maybe once a year or so and play in a good band ="BADASS"

take care of this thing and it should last at least 20 years or so. if you tour get a road case. if you play around town get a decent cover, and if bought this to play at home (your a FAG).

excellent, why u ask? well i'll tell you a little story. remember the hurricane catrina that fucked everything up? well peavey got fucked up to(in mississippi) and i placed an order for some parts rght after the hurricane hit em, and that shit was at my door in about a week and a 1/2. i was'nt expecting to see that stuff for months. i was gonna put my amp in the closet for awhile thinking it would be a long time before i saw anything from them. phone lines were down,people were injured, and shit was flooded.you tell me how 25$ in parts made it to my door in that amount of time.

if you TRIDE to steal this amp. 1- i'd kick your ass. 2-i'd steal all your shit, and kick your ass, then everytime i see you on the street(IT'S ON).no seriously, some addvice from a pro. if you tour in a van then get a mean ass pitbull or some kind of dog and take her everywhere with you and leave her in the van. and no one will touch your shit. just ask SUBLIME. (R.I.P. brad)

The EVH Business deal with Peavey! Hear today gone tomorrow. The 5150 II came out with an extra switching feature on the foot switch. Loop on or off. Unlike the first 5150.
Features smeatures...lets keep it simple. I wish it was a tad more quiet. Nugent used HUSH by Rocktron with his 5150's. So do I. I love the tone I get with my 10 band MXR EQ running through the Loop! I use this amp in my practice room and on any stage setting. Plenty of power!!
I use 4 5881's and changing tubes is fun actually. Learning how these days is becoming a thing od the past. Peavey told me that they wanted a amp to be user friendly so all that is necessary is to just simply pull your old tubes out and replace em with new ones! No Bias voltage to adjust like on many of the Laney and Marshall amps I have had. Just as long as it is a matter of ONLY needing fresh tubes that is. People also do not realize that Solid state can also burn out. Semi Conductors can also burn out and do the same thing a tube can. Except sound as good. I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 because I think it should have a noise reduction built in of some type. This is a comon problem so why not address it. Krank seemed to! The Krankenstein is quiet!

The sound is awesome! It can produce too much gain. It can be clear if wanted. I play Dean Razorback guitars with a Dime waw and a Digitech Wham pedal along with a MXR 10 band EQ and a Line 6 Uber distortion pedal on the floor. Up above I also have a Rocktron Expression for some reverb Delay and Flange when needed. The HUSH in the Expression quiets things down. Running all of this through the Loop is awesome! Way better than straight in!

ANY Amp can do just about anything at any time it is hot and running. This goes for Solid state too! I have had no problems with this amp. I also have had no problems with any of the amps I have owned through the years for whatever thats worth. Well.. My Laney Toni Iommi Signature head had a blue and red flame inside one of the output stage tubes right out of the box due to a loose wire on one of it's sockets. Check soldier connections with a bright light and make sure that they have not heated up and changed color. Check your tube socket pins and make sure that they are not burnt up and arch or anything. Keep it running clean and cool if possible....Any amp can tweek man! This thing made for a guy like Eddie Van Halen?!,,,very dependable to say the least!

Never needed a repair. I called Peavey and talked to a guy who built em and I told him I wanted to know the Bias voltage because I was thinking of installing a variable in it to adjust the bias for a tube job. He talked me out of it and said we made it user friendly so you didn't have to do that and you want to do what?!...&*$^&%$&
I have 5881's in it now and maybe this is where I get some of the noise I have mentioned from it. Maybe some 6L6's would quiet it up a tad considering the gear I am running through it too.

I have been playing for 28 years. Yeah...I am old. If it got ripped off?!! I couldn't buy another one since they don't make it anymore. Or at least that would change things as far as access to buy one! Eddie stopped endorsing it so it is a thing and model of the past!! A keeper for sure! Way better than my Marshall. I also run it on a Krank Cabinet. Awesome speakers!!
Just wish the amp had some built in noise reduction.
I can only remember the price was somewhere around close to $900.00 something new.

* clean, crunch, lead
* FX loop
* line out
* power amp EQ
* bass, mid, and treble - pre and post gain levels.
* selectable ohms rating 4, 8, 16
* footswitchable clean crunch and lead.
* all tube 6L6GC/12ax7

(i gave it an 8 instead of a 10 because the clean and crunch share the same pre, post and EQ settings.)

i have an ibanez RG320dx with EMG pickups, 81/85. i run this directly into the 5150II, then the 5150II into a mesa boogie 4X12 rectifer cab w/ celestion vintage 30's. i run a BOSS RV-5 for reverb and BOSS GE-7 for lead boost.(very good for creating extreme tones)

CLEAN
i personally find the clean channel to be quite awesome. i play many stlyes of music, jazz and country being included, this amp can handle it with ease. the clean is not as awesome as a fender, roland JC-120, or even a mesa boogie, but it does get really clean, it can sparkle even at high volumes. i dont like any dirt on my clean tones and i dont get that with this amp. it actually has its own sound. no matter what, its gonna be better than a solid state amp because its all tube, and tube tone is the best tone.

CRUNCH
for the crunch, i use it for dirty blues tones and for chord progressions that need a little dirt on them just before then switch into overdrive. it also be used for good oldschool metal tones if you run a tube screamer into the amp, i dont use one becuae i dont like to "tap dnace" when i play.

LEAD
now, for the lead channel, the bread and butter of the amp, it lives up to all the hype. ive played alongside mesa's, KRANK's, even high end botique amps, this thing is KICKS!!! yeah, they only cost like $900 bucks, that doesnt mean its not as good as any mesa or KRANK, it just might not have the features they do. either way, it has its own sound and no otehr amp can achieve the same sound this thing gets. this thing get get a BRUTAL scoop sound that makes you wanna kill, or what i like to do is keep the mids between 5-6 and have a smooth, snarly tone that cuts through the mix.

i have palyed a few gigs with it, ill never gig without a back up, but this thing will always perform, and im not afrad to take this out on the road. this thing is built like a tank, its meant to be handled rough. A+++

never delt with peavey. i got it though EBAY. but they were aweosme!

this amp can get an old jazz sound, or country brightness, or 80's midrange heavy snarlyness, or even a blistering shaved sound thats perfect for metal. the thing is, this amp has its own sound, just because the clean doesnt sound like a fender, the crunch doesnt sound like an old marshall plexi, and the lead channel doesnt sound like a mesa or krank, your right... it doesnt. you cant say it sounds better, but you cant say it sounds worse. you might not sound like other amps, but when you play country, blues, jazz, rock, or even metal, you do sound professional, and can achieve those tones. people are just picky.

I bought this amp roughly 2 years ago, I got it for 900 seeing as how it was the floor model. All-tube, 120 watts,2 and a half channels, effects loop, preamp out, Original tubes, never been modded, blah blah blah. A really simple amp, but what it does it does well. Loud as all hell!

After my crappy radioshack amp died on me, I decided it was time to get a REAL amplifier. I'm one of 2 guitarists in a metal band, not like that nu-metal stuff but more along the lines of In Flames or At the Gates, with a good amount of thrash influence (old-school metallica, slayer, etc.) thrown in for good measure. Seeking the most badass high-gain sound in all the land, I tried out a dazzling array of Marshalls and Mesas. I had my heart set on a dual rectifier until I gave the ol' 5150 II a try. And quite frankly, it rocked my balls off. Brutal, searing distortion that manages to retain definition and never gets "farty" sounding. I then had to choose between the two. It was a tough choice until I looked at the price tag. :) I'm currently using a Jackson DKMG with the matching 5150 slant-front cabinet, and I like a mid-rangey, defined slayer-esque tone as opposed to that poopy "mids at zero, gain at 10" sound that I hear many local bands using, and that's exactly what I get out of this thing. (But don't worry, if you're in a korn tribute band you can still get nu-metal rumble out of it.) I set the gain at about 6 and a half, and I get all the distortion I'll ever need, for riffing as well as leads, without the use of a boost or overdrive pedal! Speed-picking, grindy riffs sound awesome, every note stands out, which is near impossible to do with some amps. Same goes for leads, your mad chops will be well-defined and huge sounding. However, this also means that it doesn't hide your mistakes, so it forces you to get your shit together if you have a habit of playing sloppy. I love the sound of this thing sooo much. It's the sick metal tone I've always wanted, and it didn't cost me 3 grand! The crunch channel is kinda neat, but I never really use it. The clean channel is the amp's one real weakness. It's gnarly and grungy sounding, and it never seems totally "clean". If you want a nice pretty fender-type sound, you should probably look elsewhere. But I only use it sparingly, and the high-gain sound is so bitchin' that I feel it's worth the trade-off. It's also the loudest damn amp you'll ever play. I could overpower my entire band if I had to.

I have a Boss GT-6 (a really cool thing to play around with at home)that I use as a back-up, but the 5150 II has yet to fail me. I'm still using the original tubes, It's been through some horrific climate changes (I live in Buffalo, our weather is insane), it's been dropped and banged into stuff many, many times, a minivan drove over it's power cord, and it still rocks like a mofo. I'll probably die before this thing does.

I've never had to contact peavey, this amp has yet to give me a problem.

I've been playing for 6 years or so, and this is my only tube amp. If it were stolen, I'd track the asshole down and kick him in the face, and if it were lost, I would certainly purchase this same amp (or the 6505, which is the same thing but with a different name 'cuz Eddie Van Halen's endorsement is up.) I'd put it's high-gain fury up against anybody's, including marshall, mesa, bogner, etc. You can get a bitchin' amp from those companies, with a better clean channel to boot, but you'll pay an extra 800-2000 dollars for it. If you're looking for smoldering metal madness, this amp is a bargain and then some. Some reverb would be nice, but hey, I can use my GT-6 for that. Oh, and the resonance knob KICKS ASS! It adds heaviness without adding gain or volume. I don't know how they do it, it's magical.

This is the one of the last 5150II ever sold in Norway before it changed name to 6505+.

All feauteres has been well covered, so Ill skip it.

It sounds like holy hell! (I mean that in a positive way)
I wanted a raw, high gain, edgy, thrash metal sound and got more than I ever hoped for!
It's a bit noisy when cranked up at the PRE-gain, but show me an amp that isnt?
I play an Ibanez RG2550E Prestige with EMG81 pickup and delivered through a Hughes & Kettner 4*12" it kicks ass. As simple as that. I would recommend it to anyone into metal.
If you can't afford the Mesa Boogie Rectifier, this one it is! (I even think it sounds better than the Rectifier, but that may just be me).
Ok, you can turn the high, mid and low knobs as much as you want and nothing happens. Theres a little effect on the presense knob, but otherwise it's not a very versatile amp. But who cares? You got millions of pedals, racks and modules to give you all kind of effects. And these digital effects that most mid-price amps are equipped with, sounds like crap anyway.
For metal, all you really need in addition to the 5150II and the mics on your axe, is a chorus/delay pedal for lead-work and clean (Yeah, the 5150II has a really crappy cleansound), and perhaps a wah.

And it is loud. Very loud.

Built like a german tank. I would use it without back-up, but only if I had spare tubes and fuses ;) The amp itself will probably last forever.

I cannot blame Peavey for the fact that the tubes in the pre-amp blew at the second rehearsal (they were, of course, replaced free of charge by the dealer).

Flawless.

I wish it came with a roadie. I mess up my back by carrying to and from rehearsals all the time :)
Yeah, and a head-bag would be nice.

I compared it to a Mesa Boogie Rectifier, a Randall RX100, a Peavey XL and XXX (which is a bit more versatile, but still...) and a couple of Marshalls. I have NO regrets what so ever for my choise.
I recommend it to anyone, but be aware! You will need earplugs from 1,5 and up to 10.
And you might want the tubes to pre-heat a good 5-10 minutes before blasting.

I'll never loose it.
If someone steals it? -well, you can run, but you cannot hide.

It's safe to assume you know the amp relatively aware if you're searching user reviews on Harmony Central. You're obviously looking for an amp that either can deal the "brown sound" or crushing distortion. In this vein, the 5150 II delivers. It's a straight forward, two channel beast with the usual amenities: seperate EQs, footswitchable channel changing, footswitchable effects loop, line-in, line-out etc.

I gave this amp an 8 for versatility not because I dislike or am suffocated by the abilities of the 5150 II, but because it isn't a do-it-all amp. For me, that's fine. I bought it because I knew what it was, what it could do and what it was known to deliver.

In short, I chose the right tool for the job.

I play a seven-stringed guitar, tuned to A in a Vegan Straight Edge band. I've been told we sound a lot like Disembodied (if you're interested in understanding the sound for the sake of context). We're incredibly heavy, with a few clean intros and a lot of start-stop material. Because we don't play sloppy open-bar chords, I needed a distortion tone tighter than what the reigning-gain king, the Mesa Boogie Rectifier.

For this, the 5150 II serves me perfectly. I'll probably play in hard core/metal core bands for the rest of my life and this head will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. I've heard this called the "poor man's Mesa," but I think it sounds better--and I've played through the cream of the crop (Dual Rectier Rackmount through a 4x12 oversized cabinent).

As mentioned previously, this thing can get incredibly noisy, especially if you're playing material with pauses or stops in high-gain. The other guitar player in my band bought a Boss NS-2 (noise suppressor) and had limited success. So, I instead bought an ISP Decimator pedal and it's worked wonderfully for me. For anyone who aims to play with heavy distortion and would like their amp whisper-quiet, I suggest it.

The only real point of contention is the clean, and I get the sense that the rythm channel wasn't meant for cleans, as the name of the channel would suggest. That said, you can dial a passable clean sound. Again, I'm not trying to pull of Radiohead or Jazz, but it'll work for minor clean guitar work.

I've never had a problem, and don't expect to have any.

I've never had to deal with them, refer to above.

If you play hard core, or heavier music, forget the Mesa. Get a 5150 II.

ONE OF THE LAST 5150 II'S BUILT FOR EUROPE, IF YOU WANT TO ROCK THIS BABY'S FOR YOU. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY SOME PUSSEY ASS $%^& GET SOMETHING ELSE! TO BE HONEST THE AMP IS NOT THAT FLEXABLE, HOWEVER THATS WHAT I LIKE: 1 INPUT, 2 CHANNELS AND THE MOST ALMIGHTY OVERDRIVEN SOUND EVER! PERIOD!
I PLAY IN A VAN HALEN TRIBUTE BAND AND WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO GO OUT AND GIG SO I GOT THIS SUKKA CAUSE I WANTED THAT BUTTER TONE FROM RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW. IN ONE HEAD, I GOT IT...

I PLAY A WOLFGANG SPECIAL LOADED WITH SD'S, JEFF BECK IN THE BRIDGE AND A PEARLEY GATES IN THE NECK. I ALSO HAVE AN IBANEZ RG LOADED WITH A VAI EVO IN THE BRIDGE. I GO INTO A WAH, OUT OF THE WAH INTO THE 5150, OUT OF THE BACK OF THE LOOP INTO A PHASE 90, INTO A HOLY GRAIL REVERB THEN INTO A CHOURUS AND FINALY A BOSS NS2 (YOU WILL NEED THIS IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE HIGH GAIN SETTING ON THIS AMP)BESIDES VAN HALEN I LIKE A LOT OF CLASSIC ROCK (AC/DC DEEP PURPLE, SABBATH, OZZY, ZZ TOP ETC) AND THIS AMP IN PERFECT FOR EVERYTHING I NEED.
THIS MUTHA IS NOISY BUT HEY! THE GAIN IS VOLCANIC! THATS WHY I RUN THE NS 2 WHICH CLEANS UP MOST OF THE $%^&. YOU CAN'T HEAR DICK DURING PLAYING, BUT WHEN YOU STOP IN SONGS IT HISSES. IF YOUR INTO PANTERA/ MEGADEATH OR ANY OF THOSE CATS YOU COULD BE PISSED OF AT THE HISS BETWEEN RIFF BREAKS WHERE YOU WANT THAT SILENCE. GET A NOISE GATE!
CLEAN CHANNEL IS AVERAGE, BUT I ONLY USE IT FOR THE LITTLE CLEAN SECTION IN POUNDCAKE AFTER THE SOLO AND A COUPLE OF OTHER TIMES. IF YOU WANT A NICE CLEAN SOUND GET A FENDER TWIN OR SOME $%^&.
DISTORTION LIKE I SAID BEFORE IS UNCALLED FOR. ITS HARD TO IMAGINE EVER NEEDING ANY MORE, SOMETIMES I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO PICK. HAMMER ONS AND TAPS ARE A CAKE WALK!

GOT IT RECENTLEY, CAN'T IMAGINE IT EVER BUSTING! THE THINKS A TANK!

SEE ABOVE!

I WAS GONNA BUY A BOOGIE, CAUSE I PLAYED ONE BEFORE AND I LOVE THAT CLEAN BUT DISTORTED HEAVEY CLUNK YOU GET FROM THESE TYPE OF AMPS BUT I GUESS THIS ONE IS JUST SO MUCH BETTER VALUE. IT'S HALF THE PRICE OF A ROADKING OR RECTIFIER AND BUILT JUST A TOUGH, OK THE MESA IS HANDWIRED BUT HEY? HOW FAR CAN YOU PUSH IT? I ALSO CONSIDERED SOLDANO WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN WONDERFULL FOR LIGHTER MUSIC BUT JUST DOESN'T HAVE THE HEAVEYNESS OF THE 5150.
IF IT WERE LOST I WOULD BUY ANOTHER ASAP, IT TOOK ME 15 YRS OF PLAYING GUITAR, SEARCHING FOR THIS SOUND!
I GUESS IT WOULD BE NICE IF IT HAD A REVERB, I UNDERSTAND THE COMBO DOES BUT I JUST RAM A REVERB UNIT INTO MY PEDAL CHAIN AND IT SOUNDS GOOD.
TO SUM UP,YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE VAN HALEN TO PLAY THIS BABY, BUT YOU GOTTA LIKE IT HEAVEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The amp is really versatile, it really is built like a tank. It's a pretty good price for a really good all tube head. It is meant for high-gain use only (playing metal, hardcore, etc) and not really meant for clean.

I've been using a epiphone SG playing hardcore and metal. It's perfect for high-gain. It is noisy, esp if you don't have good pick ups, so its recommended you use a Noise Supressor with it, then boom.

The distortion is REALLY brutal, perfect for ANY kind of heavey music.

I can really depend on this amp, it hasn't failed me yet.

n/a

Overall, this amp is PERFECT for people play metal,hardcore, or punk. It isn't really great for clean tones, so if you are looking for a amazing high-gain amp, this thing is amazing.

the 5150 2x12 is a streight ford amp. nothing too special. it has 2 power amp tubes and 4 or 5 pre amps. it has an effects loop and a high and low input which is niceand a speaker ext. it has a pre for both chanels. the only thing that i thought that this amps could use was two seperate eq chanels. both chanels share the highs, mids, and lows. there's a pres and res settings too which helps alot to shape out your sound. and dont forget about the reverb that i dont use. the reverbs good but i just dont use reverb with my sound. one thing that i found nice was that you can unhook the 2x12 speakers and hook it up to another cab.

this amps is loud.i have a 5150 2x12 and i plug it up to my hughes and kettner warp7 cab and i get a crushing sound. i use a schecter 006,c-1, and a esp h-120 all loaded with emg hz's and i get a killer tone with it.i play streight up metal and this amp has what it takes to have the amount of clarity and gain you need. the res n pres knobes do the overall trick. when your kranking the gain and volume up all the way this amps could use a noise suppresor.the clean channel is awsome too. its as clear as a whistle.id like to add some rack gear like a band eq and a maxamizer to thicken up my sound some more.but thats just because i like extremely thick sounds. just as a suggestion if the 50150 starts to sound like its breaking out and weak i would get some mesa tubes. i have come to believe their more punchier and have more gain behind them. they also seem to hold the sound together more at higher setings.

this amp is a behemoth. umm. ive luged it everywhere and i know that this amp can take a beating. it's solid.

i've been playing guitar for about three years now and i've gone through acouple amps and rackmout gear and nothing compairs to it.i use to have a randall classic 100,i still have the huges and kettner warp7 half stack,ect.there have been acouple things that i get bumed out about with this amp and i think that its trying to get a thick/high sound. i have trouble getting the two together but that just might be because i dont have it tweeked out yet.but overall i think that this is a killer amp.its cut through. n/e one that wants the whole despided icon,god forbid,unearth feel you should pick up this amp.