Peavey 5150 II

I think the amp was made in 2003. This is an amp that I have played on many many times because someone I know has one and we are alway's a jamming. I play rock, hard rock, death metal, everything. This amp doesn't cover it. I isn't too flexible. For me, in a band situation, it is alittle to dark for me. You really can put the presence past 8 before it sounds like a buzzy ear-peircing mess. I has 2 fully independant channels, and then the clean shares a clean/crunch channel. It would be 3 fully independant channels but the crunch and clean share the same EQ. I give it a 7 because there isn't much versatility in this amp.

I use a Gibson Les Paul with hot pick-ups. Well it suits for mostly rock and thats it. The clean channel is dark sounding and is really bad compared to the boogies, and also the Triple XXX which is made by peavey. It is very very very noisy. When I have the post on 3, the gain can't go past 4 without it being really noisy. It has a pretty thick tone to it and I like it. Again, not too much versatility. The distortion is brutal. But can't do low-gain rock that I do alot.

I've never heard of my friend having any problems

Peavey is friendly, but no phone number on their site.

It is an alright amp with about 1 good tone, and thats it. Reminds me of a Marshall, except the Marshalls are alittle bit better imo. Very middy amp even with the mids on 2.

Well, if you bought this amp it was obviously for kick ass distortion. It does lack reverb which sucks, but use the FOOTSWITCHABLE effects loop. The clean isn't too bad, just keep your pre down to like 2-3. The best dist. i've ever heard through my marshall 1960 cabs. LOUD!!! Worth every cent. It gets a 10 because it is a high gain amp, i hate when vintage idiots bitch because( I can't get my fender clean...), if you want that, but a fender!

I play death metal, black metal, grindcore, anything with alot of gain, just not nu metal(no talent). There is defintely a difference between real distortion and synthetic (like a metal zone). When you're not a beginner anymore, you will realize this. But have fun with your toneless crate, and play your blink 183. This is for METAL!

Built for Eddie, so that should tell you!

5 year warranty....no complaints yet.

I have been playing for 5 years now, and have come to conclusion for real sounding shit, and not a crate, this is the best. I wish it had reverb, but the effects loop is for that i guess. If stolen, I would beat the living shit out of who took it, take all of their money, and curb them. Yes a little drastic, but if you've played it, you know!

This is an add.to the review i gave at the 25 of march.I've used it intensively on live gigs,and find the crunch channel awesome.Ihave an ENGL-powerball too.I use a Lehle channel-splitter(ch.A:goes to Engl,for pristine clean and medium crunch. ch B:to 5150II,for real fat-heavy crunch/ pre at 8.5=awesome Gary Moore leadtone. Leadswitch on 5150 for soaring tones: Petrucci,Gambale,....)
Although the lead channel is fantastic,the big surprise for me was the
crunch-option,fat-cutting rock-tone(less compressed then a Marshall TSL)
Again U.S.players,DO NOT let the Boutique- hype overwhelme you.I've played many of these amps at the Frankfurt music fair.
The only amp that was really special,was a Diezel VH4,but it was 30% better at a 400% higher price!!

2 channels, not hot on features overall, a reverb would be useful to some players, i would like to see a 7 band eq on the next 5150 - but thats utopian. Huge power, too loud for house practice. Do not buy this amp for use in the home only, unless you consider getting a power attenuator, or you have no consideration for neighbours... live in a country house etc...

Numerous guitars are used with this, pickups do shape the sound differently... i'm using SD JB's, EMG81's and the KA Ultra Dist.. all worth checking out. This amp has world class tone, especially the lead channel - but must be turned up quite loud to hear it all. I do enjoy high gain rock music, and there is more gain available here than i have ever heard before. Obviously, there is tube noise at high volume. It is not excessive, if you need silence get a noise gate. I dont use any effects at all with this amp. Pure tone is the way to to go in my opinion. There is no clean channel as such, it is a rhythym channel. You must temper your settings to achieve a clean sound here. Crunch button is great, its only usable in the rhthymn channel.

No comment, too soon :-/

The peavey internet forum is useful, still no opinion overall

Been playing over 20 years, but that is irrelevant really when considering an amplifier's tone to your musical requirements. Try the amp out yourself in the music store. Your opinions will vary, but I am not looking for anything else other than this right now.
Second best to VHT Pittbull Ultralead for my money, but I can't justify the large amount of extra cash for that unit right now.

you can read the features elswere. it has not too much for this price. cause there is no reverb and no power switch on it and so on. look at the engl powerball. integrated noisegate. reduktion of power in some different steps i think. 3 channels and so on. what do you say?

the distortion ist very brutal if you want it to be. there is nothing to say about the high gain channal except that it has unlimited amount of gaaaiiiiiinnnnnn!!!!!
i play metal in a band so the amp is perfect for me cause it is really loud and can always be figured out of the whole band sound.
it works very well with effects and allways reproduces a great sound. i think for new metal it is not very well because if you punch in the bass and resonance equalizer then the sound gets very muddy and everytime you hit the strings and then mute it the amp chokes.
i even think the amp has more or less a standart sound. you can move the equalizer knobs around but there is no change in sound, eccept of the bass and a little of the highs. but that is no problem. the 5150 II has a really cool distortion sound where you as player have to set the nuances. understand?

the clean channel you can really send to hell. it is just shit. i never heared such a fucked up clean channal on any class-A amp (i mean amps for that price. sorry i'm a german motherfucker and my english is very bad). it is so cold the high equ. sounds are just killing your ears. even if you take them out with the euqalizer they just scream in your ears. well it isn't that bad but there is no coparision to a fender sound or anything else. many transistor shit amps sound better in clean use. you can fix this problem with effects. i use a zoom gfx-8 to get my effects. this works very well and with a little help of it the clean channal can be boosted to be more warm and dynamic. another shitty thing on the clean channel is that you will never get it really clean. there is always crunch in it. you have to push the pre gain a little up to get more warmth. but the more you push it the more it distorts. that is really fucked up because you never can get a perfect warm clean sound out of it unless you use a pedal or something.

the louder you play it, the better it sounds.

i have many problems with the peavey. when i was on a gig the channal switch pedal did not work properly. the distortion to clean button was broken. when i returned to our practicing room everything was okay. this shit happened a few times. when i went to my dealer he laughed at me cause in those moments it worked fine and told me to fuck off. ich was really pissed off but there was nothing i could do.

then my effect loop broke just a few months after i bought the amp. my daler fixed it but it is shit. there was another mistake too: the amp suddendly lost half of its power and sounded cold like a transistor. i was fucked up go the hell with this shit!!! my dealer told me it was the effect look who killed the signal. but he never gave it to peavey, only screwed around himself. after that it worked but anyway it is not right this way. perhaps i got a monday-modell how we say in germany.
after those two shitty situations i told him to fuck off. motherfucking bastard of a dealer selling me shit!!!

the last thing occured last week. the middle two main tubes (the ones you can see when you look inside from behind; totally 4) glowed red like they will explode every moment. i was afraid and turned of the monster. after i turned it on everything worked fine at all.

can't say anaything to this. cause my warranty goes over my dealer. look at the example with my pedal. it's shit.

eventhough i have many problems with the amp i like it very much. it has a tone, you can't find elswhere (if you look for distortion). i play only since 3 1/2 years but i play very often and i'm already at a level where i can play for example many metallice songs with solos in a proper way. im no greenhorn because i spend all my lesure time with playing guitar and looking at amps and stuff like that.
no matter what i say, you have to find your tone. perhaps you will love the clean channel who knows? figure it out for yourself, cause everything you read in here is just subjectivity. look at other manufacterers. look at the ratings. most of the product get 8 and more. this would mean there is no shit. but that is a lie. give a fuck on comments. nice playing, and kick ass!!!!!!!!!

It's me again to talk great shit about this amp. The foot switch works smoothly. 3 channels, and other fucking shit!

I use the clean with a boss sustain compressor to get out my sweet clean and nothing for the lead channel for the god fucking gain it has. I stop using BICH guitars and now i'm going with Ibanez Jem serious and thank you Steve Vai. I use the Evolution picks up for my lead and rhythm. 7 and 6 string guitars tune to either Low G or A or G#. I no longer like emg cause they aren't great as a passive pick for this fucking bad ass monster.

NO FUCKING PROBLEMS HERE!

Buy one your self you fucks. I would like to give word out to my girl Christina and my name friend Rick that i met from the Music Box. Your nephew is going to bad ass fucking guitar player and keep on playing man!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bought it new in 2002..120watts,blah,blah,blah you know the rest.I love the fact it is very easy to use. just plug in and play.Kinda wish it had reverb though.I use this amp to play out with and it gets the job done and some.

I have a les paul studio ,american deluxe fat strat, and a mexican fat strat with a dimarzio super distortion in the bridge.I play in two bands ranging from classic rock to new rock.
This amp has some serious tone. the distortion is very brutal. it has all the tone i need for every kind of music i play, i really like the crunch feature, and the footswitchable effects loop. If you have a good set of earplugs, you can crank it up to 5 or 6 and it will crush small villages. The amp is kind of noisy cranked up but it's a tube amp.

I did have some problems with alot of popping and hissing in the clean channel, took it in twice for that and still not fixed. I'm not happy about that at all.Other than that i could and have played many gigs without a backup.

Never had a very serious problem.

I have been playing for 17 yrs and i also own a fender deville. although the peavey doesn't even come close to the fender's beautiful clean channel, i would definately buy another if it was lost or stolen.
Bottom line is, if you want a total kickass heavy rock distortion amp for a fraction of a mesa or something like that, then this is the amp for you.I have a buddy with a triple rec and a buddy with a JCM 2000 TSL and mine stands up to it every step of the way. get one, it's worth it.

Very honest 2 ( semi-3)channel amp.
Only backdraw is that crunch channel,allthough supreme sounding,gives to much volume push.

Let me tell you that my main amp is an ENGL-powerball.This is a wonderfull versitile 4-channel amp.For some reason i find it sometimes
"to good" ( not raw enough)sounding.Kind of Gambale's fat tone.
So i tried the "loved aswell as hated 5150 II",in search for the most over the top ditortion.MAAAAAANNNN!!!.ALL discussions closed.It was more than i expected.Choose your eq.setting,pre-gain at 6.75,and blow the roof of.Very raw,but still artic.Noise? Sure,but not extrme.I play all sort of styles,rather heavy(G.Moore,R.Ford,V.Halen,...)Sometimes i use the powerball,sometimes the peavey,i like them both,but do NEVER think that the 5150 is inferior,cause you yanks have them cheap.I payed mine 1400 euro in Belgium(a powerball is 1600 euro)and i dont regret having them both.Main guitars are: Gibby Lespaul with "Harmonic design Z-90" neck and S.D.custom-custom bridge p.u.'s.Second guitar:Yamaha pac.with two Rio-Grande 's "muy-grande single coils and a Dimarzio-breed bridge bucker.Awfull combination!
Do not believe the hype that you need a Bogner or a Diezel to sound like your heroes.I had the chance to meet Mike Stern backstage,while he created the most vicious sounds through a "YAMAHA solid state" amp.
But of course,his name is Stern!

Allthough it has 10 tubes,it seemes build sturdy.To soon to tell

I think peavey has the most solid reputation: 5-year warranty,come on.

In 20 years of playing ( i am 48),i have had all sorts of gear,some good,some bad.I ve heard all the old heroes and saw many of them on live shows( Satch,Vai,Gambale,M.Cusson,EVH,.....)I also listen to the new gods(Petrucci,Andy Timmons,Greg howe,...).
These men all have fabulous technical qualities and great tone,and yes,you can have 85 per cent of that tone with a 5150.
My super hero is ALAN HOLDSWORTH ,and his technique,as well as his tone is not from this earth.Doe not even try to play his 50-note arpeggiated lines,or your gonna bee as frustrated as i was.Still,music is more than that: listen to the great ,missed Rory Gallagher,.....now what i mean???

The 5150 mkII has everything I want from an amp. clean/dirty/dirtier. The crunch option on the clean channel is cool too. And I like the fact it has a switchable effects loop.

The ONLY niggle is that the lead channel isn't amazingly verstaile. It sounds like it has been 'pre-voiced' and the eq controls are just there for tweaking. But im not complaining because it is a great sound anyway!

This amp is WAY loud enough for anyone.

The fact that there is no reverb doesn't bother me much, but the amp would have scored a 9 if it had one installed as i do tend to use reverb on clean sounds.

Into the amp Im running a 1976 Gibson les paul with PAFs, a Gibson Les paul gothic with an EMG 81/85 combination, a 1978 Gibson RD artist with active tone controls and kent armstrong PAFs, a 1973 Gibson L6s pro with stock pickups and a 1980s Fender contemperary strat with a seymore duncan JB.

I mainly play Thrash/speed metal, Hard rock and melodic Metal, so i need an agressive but versatile amp.

I love the sound of the clean channel, no-matter what anyone says! Think vox ac30 tb, sparkly, deep and a hint of overdrive. The crunch option is amazing. It sounds like a jcm800 2203 with more balls. When I first got the amp, i didn't think i'd end up using the crunch switch, but I'm finding its getting used much more than I thought.
The lead channel (what I bought the amp for), is brutal. More balls than a mesa, but with a sharper tone. More gain than ANYONE could possibly need. And Surprisingly quiet. If you think the 5150II is a noisy amp, just try running a heavy distortion box through a marshall clean channel.

After 10 years of tone searching, I have finally come very close to 'my sound' and Its a nice feeling! Im just surprised that it was so cheap compared to mesas and soldanos.

Ive had it two weeks now, but looking at the way its built, i wouldn't worry about it breaking too often. Ive already gigged it and it handles fairly big venues without a problem. Since ive only had it for a short period of time im going to have no opinion on this topic.

Never had to deal with them, so also, no opinion.

Ive been playing 10 years, and owned 3 fender combos and a Hiwatt head. Originally because i'd heard people talking about how HORRIBLE the cleans were, I was going to use my hiwatt for cleans, but now, the hiwatt is redundant and getting sold!

I wish it has a switchable effects loop for each channel, and a switchable master effects loop, but very few people would use this exept me and a handfull of other people, so from a business point of view for peavey, it is impractical.

Although I bought this amp used, IT WAS ONLY THREE MONTHS OLD AND HAD ABOUT 2 HOURS TOTAL PLAYING TIME ON IT!

I would like to start by saying, when i tried this amp i was on tour and at the time playing a mesa dual rectifier, when i heard it, I SOLD MY AMP FOR THIS AMP! i think we all know these by now so i wont bore you. However, I would like to respond to peoples complaints about a lack of reverb on the unit. This monster is already heavy as a tank, to add a decent reverb unit would add even more wieght, and i know any musician (like myself) who tours a lot with a band knows heavy = not fun. As far as features it has everything i need, i dont use any effects other than a dyna-comp anyways so its no biggie for me.

My main guitar (my baby) is an Epi Goth Les Paul with and EMG-81 at the bridge and an 85 at the neck. My backup is a Gibson Les Paul Standard w/ 60's neck. Yah yah yah, u can laff at my baby i dont care. I play metalcore, now before we start dont get me confused with some black metal power chord chugging idiot. I play lead, not rythem guitar in my band and do it well. This amp is the best amp for me and for anyone else who likes heavy music. The distortion is the best iv heard, and i played a Mesa for a while. It's thick and has character, not just some marshall of mesa knock off. The clean is better than people make it out to be. I play a lot of classical in my bands songs, so i need a good clean, i have had no problems with muddled tones or breaking up at high volumes, and i havnt even gotten around to buying new tubes yet. Granted its no fender, but if you want a fender... buy a fender. This amp can be a tid bit loud, not terribly so, but at high gain setting in can buzz a little, but thats no biggie, thats what noise suppressors are for (btw i recomend the boss noise supressor if u need one.)

What else can i say? its a peavey, I'll probably die before this amp does.

I havnt had to use it for this amp, but for the few times iv had some questions about other peavey equipment that i own they've been wonderful.

Iv been playing for 4 1/2 years. I dont own, want, or need much gear, just a dyna-comp, a boss tuner, and a boss noise supressor (which by the way i had before i bought this amp.) If it where stolen id buy a new one as soon as i could, but first id hunt down, and then completely and utterly destroy the datardly fellow who took it. I love everything about this amp and hate nothing. The only thing i wish it had was a mid-scoop, but thats such i minor detail it doesnt really matter. Peace out yall. Stay up playa.