Peavey 5150 II

Not a ton of features, but enough for exactly what i need. The best feature is the seprate 5 band eq for the channels. The only thing i wished for is spring reverb for the clean channel, with reverb knobs in place of the res and presence on the clean channel, but it doesn't bother me one bit. I like the the simplicity of the amp, its so easy to get great tone. Knobs are very sensitive, esspecially the volume, but they do their job.

The hi-gain on this amp is as good as it gets, the only way to get better hi-gain is further shape it with graphic eq. Its suits me perfectly becuase the clean is clean enough for me to do third wave ska. The crunch lets me play those creamy blues and classic tones. But the lead channel is where its all at. Its perfect for drop tuning death metal, or EVH lead tone(obviously being designed by the great eddie himself) or anything hi-gain. Its much better than any mesa, thats for sure.

I can trash this thing and it will never die. but i love it and take care of it very well.

every bit of amplification i ever needed for only 500 bucks

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.

Made in 2003. Bought it new in Nov/2004. I play with a major pop star from my country, Serbia And Montenegro, and in a band doing classic/hard/heavy rock covers. The amp pretty much covers it all. It has two main channels "rhythm" and "lead". Bright and crunch switches on rhythm channel. Resonance and presence for each channel. Series effects loop, preamp out (never used this), 4-8-16 ohm switch, bias test points, 6 12ax7 (came with 3 EH and 3 Sovtek LPS' tubes), 4 6L6 (Sovtek WXT+), 120W R.M.S., 3 button footswitch (main channel select, crunch on/off, loop on/off). Never turned channel's master volumes behind 12 o'clock! Very very LOUD!

I'm using this head with Wolfgang standard tremolo and stock EB/MM Silhouette (h/s/h). However, played it with various guitars - Gibson SG, LP, Fender strats, Ibanez, Hamer, Kramer... We are doing Gov't Mule, Zeppelin, Black Crowes, early VH, Grand Funk, etc covers and it suits everything, even though I like to dial in a bit more gain than Mark Farner has, but it doesn't hurt the smokin' guitar solo in "Footstompin' Music".:)
There is a certain amount of noise in lead channel (pre gain on 6) whic

Made in 2003. Bought it new in Nov/2004. I play with a major pop star from my country, Serbia And Montenegro, and in a band doing classic/hard/heavy rock covers. The amp pretty much covers it all. It has two main channels "rhythm" and "lead". Bright and crunch switches on rhythm channel. Resonance and presence for each channel. Series effects loop, preamp out (never used this), 4-8-16 ohm switch, bias test points, 6 12ax7 (came with 3 EH and 3 Sovtek LPS' tubes), 4 6L6 (Sovtek WXT+), 120W R.M.S., 3 button footswitch (main channel select, crunch on/off, loop on/off). Never turned channel's master volumes behind 12 o'clock! Very very LOUD!

I'm using this head with Wolfgang standard tremolo and stock EB/MM Silhouette (h/s/h). However, played it with various guitars - Gibson SG, LP, Fender strats, Ibanez, Hamer, Kramer... We are doing Gov't Mule, Zeppelin, Black Crowes, early VH, Grand Funk, etc covers and it suits everything, even though I like to dial in a bit more gain than Mark Farner has, but it doesn't hurt the smokin' guitar solo in "Footstompin' Music".:)
There is a certain amount of noise in lead channel (pre gain on 6) which is absolutely bearable, because you don't hear it in bedroom playing levels and in the clubs, with the crowd going crazy, you'll probably forget that your amp has any noise at all!
I use it with old Marshall 4x12 slant cab loaded with g-12h30 Celestions. Overally, the sound is punchy, fat, dense and warm with just enough clarity and presence to get through the crowd, because I hardly go thru the P.A. and I'm drivin it pretty hard (master volumes on 4.5 - 5)! This is loud! But in the same time you can stand 6 feet in front of it and don't feel uncomfortable 'bout the high volume! It's simply awesome!
Don't use the clean mode, and I agree with 99% of people who say that it sounds thin and lifeless. It gets distorted easilly at low pre gain settings, but it gets useful in some situations. I'm hardly ever using it...
Crunch ON! Well, you can nail pretty much any medium to hi-gain rock sound with it. It is kind of raw distortion, with a bit more hi mid punch compared to lead, and a bit less top end compared to lead. Very tight!
Lead! Like jumping into hyper-space in star wars! Brutal! Tons of gain! Sustains for days! Great low end! HUGE!!! It's just sounds great, plug in EVH Wolfgang you'll get new era Van Halen, get the L.P. and bring up the mids - Gary #$%^!& Moore with all of his 10 amplifier set-up! Lower the gain, neck pick-up on, there you have it - Mr. Warren Haynes himself! It just blows me away, every time I turn it on. Don't want to mention the sickest, baddest, !@#$%^' metal sounds you can get out of this thing, cause it's not my territory... But I've heard it in action!
However the tone is very subjective issue, and I'm just makin the statement that this is great amp that covers lots of stuff without tweakin' it too much.

After I got it and used it every other day, first preamp tube started to crack and hiss... Just replaced the tube, and continued abusing it on the road:) Built like tank. Very respectable amp, don't need or carry back-up.

Contacted Peavey via e-mail for schematic of the amp, when I encountered bad tube problem. Got reply within an hour or so with .pdf schematic, pc board layout and complete parts list. It turned out that it was just a bad tube.

I've been playing for 19 years. Had mainly Marshalls, and always dreamed about hi-gain heads, and I got my hands on this one! There are not much amp dealers in this part of the world (mainly Fender and Marshall) and it is very hard for a guitar player to even try some of the amps which are on "every other corner" in United States or so... I had the luck to play thru VHT Pitbull, Mesa Dual Rectifier (didn't like that), Triple XXX, JSX, Crate BV150 (lots of tubes:), Hughes&Kettner Tri-Amp (that one was very dissapointing) Engl Richie Blackmore (sounds awesome) and in the price range of 1000 euros> there's simply no better amp for me out there. Period. Would be very sad if stolen or lost, because I would have to wait for at least 3 months before my dealer gets the damn thing! Still I'm very interested in trying other amps, still gettin chills when somebody says: Soldano or Bogner, though I never had a chance to play thru it.
This is a great amp for the money you'll pay, and it's definetely worth checking out!

I bought the amp head and cab new two years ago. I play mostly death metal/melodic death metal/thrash/power metal etc and this amp is suited perfectly for playing those styles. It's got plenty of gain but if you eq it right now matter how much distortion you throw on you wont lose harmonic clarity. Within those generes it is a very versatile amp, splitting lead tones with high end to boot and more than enough mid range crunch for riffing. However, when i play jazz, this is not my amp of choice, the clean channel is basically shit, it sounds dry and has no feeling. I generally use this amp in small to medium size venues (those of you in the midwest thing The Rave in milwaukee) and it has plenty of power and presence for those places as well as smaller places such as my bands practice studio or the occasional legion hall of vfw.

Right now im using two Music Man John Petrucci Signiture models and the tone I get out of this amp with those guitars is just fucking amazing.It suits my style perfectly, in that i need to have the ability for a brutal riffing tone and also access to cleaner high end distortion for playing leads/solos in the same amp. The amp can be a little noisy on about any setting with the gain past 4 or 5 but i have a sonic maximizer ,graphic eq, and a feedback ferret, so i have zero problems, its quiet as a mouse. Within the realm of high gain sounds you can get basically any sound you want out of this amp, but if you're going to be using the clean channel a lot or you want a more low gain crunchy distortion, i would not say this is the amp for you. and basically, like i've said repeatedly, the distortion on this thing is brutal as fuck.

I tour a lot, which means my equipment can sometimes take a beating, and even so i have no qualms about using this amp without a backup. the only time i have ever had a problem with it was one time (before i had it in a head case) it got tossed around in hte trailer and all the power tubes broke, but that would happen to any amp.

never had to deal with them, but from what i hear Peavey is excellent in this area.

I have been playing guitar for 5 years, and for 3 of those years i have been playing at least 6 hours a day. I also own a bbe sonic maximizer, a graphic eq, a korg rack tuner, a furman power coniditioner, and a peavey feedback ferret. Like i said, this amps clean channel is shit, so i also own a fender '65 twin reverb. If this amp where stolen or lost i would replace it without a second thought. Before i bought it i compard with with many other amps (marshall jcm 2000, mesa boogie dual rectifier and road king, peavey xxx, marshall m4) and this amp basically trumps all of them if you're playing metal.

i have had this amp for about half a year and i have to say it is one of the best amps iv'e ever played. This amp is very versatile i can get a variety of sounds from it...from 80's crunch to the heaviest metal. This amp has three channels..channel switching, and effects loop but no headphone jakc. I do wish this amp had reverb but as one person had mentioned up top that it would make it even more heavy, which does make sense. I use alll the features on this amp its awesome.
(GEORGE (SHITTIEST PRES EVER) BUSH PLEASE EMAIL IF READ

I currently am playing a schecter c-1 with a emg 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck. I am in a band who played technical metalcore(just like the guy on the first comment. This amp can get noisy at high levels and if you have the gain all the way up you will get feedback. The 5150 can make pretty much any type of sound you want like i said before up top but the clean isn't all that great you might want to look into a small fender and get a a/b switch if you perform.

This amp is highly reliable..ITS extremely heavy but built like a tank. I always play gigs with this amp without a backup and hasn't failed me yet.

Never dealt with peavey

I have been playing for about 4 years, i used to own a marshall avt275...it had great tone but it just couldn't deliver the volume and tone that the 5150 has. If it was stolen i would probably try to find a 5150 but if i couldn't i would just buy a 6505. I pretty much like everything about this amp exept for the no reverb thing(I understand why they don't add it for heaviness)

Bought this used a few months ago. Went to the Peavey site and found out it was made in 2000. Bought the matching cab that was made in 1999.

If you want to know how versatile this is, listen to the guitar tone on these 3 albums:
Soulfly - Soulfly (1st album)
Superjoint Ritual - Use Once and Destroy (1st album)
The Haunted - any album
*That right there will tell you how versatile this head can be and then some. To me, that's true versatility....and this is before mentioning that EVH used this for recording "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"

A lot of people will tell you the cleans are bad. You can get them to sound pretty decent, but there are other amps out there that have better cleans.

I've used this amp in practices and on small stages. It has way too much power that I need to buy a THD hotplate with it. Until then, I turn up to 3 and I'm in a very LOUD metal band.

Another thing that makes this a very versatile amp is the # of pre-amp tubes. Since this head is mainly for distortion, the 12AX7's make a difference...NOT a big difference, but it is audible. Don't rely on tubes alone for tone. You need to look over your whole rig and deal with the major components (and keep it simple at the same time).

My current setup:

Guitars -> Wireless -> Wah -> Amp -> FX loop (Holy Grail and soon a Boss EQ-20 Advanced) -> 5150 slant cab/Homemade 2x12 with Celestion V30's.

It suits my metal style really well.

Some people may complain about noise or a "hiss." To me, it's either their setup, their tubes, or that any high-gain amp HAS background noise. If you're in a room with a HUGE P.A. setup and you turn the volume up with nothing coming out, you're going to hear a hiss. That's power to me.

As said in the previous section, the clean channel can be set good. It does distort a little at higher volumes, but you just gotta turn down the pregain a little.

The distortion is so brutal. Here's a quote I love: "6L6GCs are for the more modern metals with detunings, and lots of chug-chugging. These would be good if you want to cave in your chest."

Since I bought it used from a person, not a store, I asked about the history of the amp. No one's pushed it as much as I have. Point being, this thing IS built like a tank, but I opened it up to clean it. Some screws were loose, so I just tightened them down after dusting off the area.

I've had it for 6 months now. It's defintiely past its warranty. Inside looks like there were no previous repairs or mods. I think this thing will last for awhile. I'm definitely going to buy a new 6505+ (same thing) and keep it in the box until this one fails (if it ever does!)

I cannot give an opinion on this section. I've not dealt directly with Peavey, although I'm on their message boards everyday now. One Peavey employee is on there often and he's totally friendly and often gives non-biased opinions.

I started off with really bad equipment when I was younger (haven't most of us?). I sold my Marshall DSL 50 for this since I had to use a rack setup to get the distortion I wanted. The Marshall was great, but it does not have the built-in distortion or half the volume this thing does!!

Some may refer to this as a "Poor man's Mesa." I don't believe that's so since you cannot get them to sound exactly alike. They are differently voiced. If you talk to a Mesa owner, they'll bash Peavey and vice-versa. I am very happy with this and will always be behind Peavey and I think Mesa's are great. My choice of Mesa is the Tri-Axis with a 90/90 or the MK4 over the Rectifiers.

I hate rating everything so high, but I love my 5150 better than anything I've owned, which was not every amp, but a lot, including rack stuff

My 5150 II was apparently the last ones brought to my country before this new 6505 series, so I was lucky enough to grab this baby home with me.I play mostly heavy metal but I also like to play lots of different kinda music -> rock, ballads, a little bit of blues. And this amp does it for me. There are basicly 3 channels -> clean, crunch and lead. All I need. All tube and it?s a killer.

I use Schecter C1 Classic and I think it really brings out the best of this amp. Very versatile sounds with this baby! For the lead channel I should propably get Boss noise suppressor but it goes fine with out it too. I was stunned by the variety of sounds I got from the amp ?cause according to what majority of people where saying about it the amp has only one killer tone. It wasn?t like that at all. I found it to be very versatile ?cause it can produce that killer distortion and it also does the less distorted bluesy sound (crunch). The clean channel seems to get a bit distorted at high volumes though.

In a word the distortion u get from this amp IS brutal.

I?ve owned about three weeks now and I haven?t got any problems with it yeat.

Great! I contacted them ?cause I was building a cabinet for the amp and they gave me some directions what measures I should use. In a word awesome.

I?ve been playing about 15 years now and for the first time I decided to get gear that I would really enjoy playing and have awesome tone. I bought the schecter, 5150 II and build a cabinet for the amp. Now I?m just smiling all the time during our bands rehearsal - it?s just so nice to sound good and play with proper equipments. 5150 II is a great value for the money. I compared it to several different amps like Marshall and Line6. None came even near what 5150 II sounded to me.

Basic 5150 II Amp. No Tremolo or Reverb, but it does have an EQ for each Channel.

This is a good sounding tube amp. I use two Fender American Series Stratocasters with it and it has awesome distortion. However, the Clean channel is terrible. It does not do the clean stuff good, even with a Strat. The Clean Channel even distorts. Awesome distortion, terrible clean.

This amp will take a beating. I like how the tubes and filter caps are all safely tucked behind a steel plate.

I have never spoken with them.

I wish this had a better clean channel, but for distortion, almost nothing beats it.

120W All-tube head
6 x 12AX7 pre valves
4 x 6L6 final valves

My head was made in 2004, one of the lasts to be produced before the split between EVH and Peavey. I was lucky to get the last 5150 ever imported to Italy!

2 channels: rythm (with bright and crunch switches) and lead.
Eevery channel has indipendent bass/mid/treble controls, pre (gain) and post (volume) controls, resonance and presence controls.

Features also:
- effects loop (switchable from foot control)
- preamp out (useful if you use an external effect unit)
- 4/8/16 ohm switch

The foot control enable you to insert effects loop, select clean/crunch on rythm channel, select rythm/lead channel

It has a just a bit more than basical features, but they're enough for my needs.

With this head you can play a lot of different genres. It's been used by a lot of bands, such as Earthtone9, Soulfly, Diecast, Sick Of It All, Burst, Machine Head.. Since it has tons of gain it's good for any heavy kind of music: formerly I was in a hardcore/crossover band, now I play in a posthc/doom/psych and it still sounds perfect.

I have a Epiphone SG with Seymour Duncan JB-4 on bridge position. I use it both passed through effects and straight into the amp and it sounds good in both ways. If you don't use any noise reduction on high gain levels it becomes noisy.
Normally my setup is:

guitar > korg dt-10 tuner > boss ns-2 noise suppressor with dod compressor in the loop > peavey 5150 II

The rythm channel is a bit weak and if you need to use it both clean and crunch the the volume difference is huge. To avoid this problem I use a compressor between the guitar and the head to boost the signal when I play it clean. I like it with pre at ten with bright on, so you can get a warm and coloured sound, as old tube amps.

The lead channel is perfect and very verstile. If you need deftones-like open sound, if you need tight sound for thrash/death metal, If you just need rock distortion, you'll get any of them. With six preamp tubes it has tons of gain, but it never goes out of control (as happens with Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier).
Also, using the resonance control, you can really make your cabinet singing adding more charachter to your tone. I needed a bit of practice to understand how it works and how to use it, but now I think it's one of the most important features of this head.

I never had a problem with it. I own a little Rage 158 since 1996 and I can say Peaveys are built as tanks. I gig regularly without backup (also because I can't afford another 5150)

Never dealt with them. It's good since my amp is only 7 months old.

It's the most important part of my rig. If it were stolen I'd buy another (a 5150 II used or a 6505+ new, since 6505 is the new name of old 5150 serie).
It has the sounds I've always dreamt of, warm clean channel and versatile lead. In fact I bought it because many of my favourite bands use this amp.

Also, keep in mind it costs around 1000 euros, which is absolutely affordable compared with other top-liner heads (as Mesa, Randall, Crate). It's in the same price level of Laneys or Marshalls, but I think it sounds much better.

I have no idea what year this amp was made in but I'd say it was recently because this was the last shipment of the 5150's before Eddies contract ended with Peavey and they started making these amps as the 6505+. But yeah this was one of the last two 5150II amps still for sale in the country so I was stoked to get my hands on one. Anyways yeah not too many settings to fuck with your head, just enough to get a really nice metal sound outta it, I'm really impressed with the pressence dial, without it the amp would be really muddy and dull, but it really brings your sound out when turned up. Basically this is pure and simple a brutal metal amp, if your looking for anything less don't look here cause this amp was built for one reason only. Its got all the usual features most amps have nowadays, effects loop, standby switch, etc. The 5150II is an all tube amp, 10 Tubes in total. 6 12AX7 preamp tubes and 4 6L6GC power amp tubes. Its a good idea to maybe turn your amp on and leave it on standby for 2 minutes allowing the tubes to warm up, this way the tubes last longer and its good for your amp. 120 watts power, fuck I've only had this amp on 3 and that was loud enough for me in my place, I would only consider having it on 5 at most gigging venues, its just really loud.

I still can't get over the sound of this amp, its blasts my fuckin' face off everytime I play. I play my 5150II through a Mesa/Boogie Standard Rectifier Cab. I use a variety of ESP's but my favourite is my white Explorer-400 with EMG 81/60 pickups. The combination of these two are just fuckin' mind blowing, the sheer sustain and harmonics are intense, and the gain is just right in your face, it just sounds absolutely huge. I use hardly any effects at all, I just mainly wanted an amp for the gain factor. I rarely use the cleans, but they are okay if you bother to dial in a nice setting. The one thing about the 5150II is that its really hard to get a distinct signature sound, it seems no matter what tone you dial in you always seem to sound like Chimaira, or Machine Head, but I suppose that has to do with tunings as well. But in the near future I'm hoping to add a Boss GT-6 to my rig being now I seem to be writing a lot more melodic riffs and looking for kooky sounds and whatnot to add a new dimension to my music. But also the sound is really warm, its a pleasant sounding amp and each string as you strum it can be heard within the sound, its amazing! This amp is definately for the kind of metal heads looking for a huge sound along the likes of Arch Enemy, In Flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Devildriver, Ektomorf, Children Of Bodom, Machine Head, Chimaira, Fear Factory and others. If your a big fan of those bands sounds then yeah this amp is for you for sure. Its a little noisy sometimes, I just run a MXR Smart Gate infront of my signal and it seems to work out real well. Soon enough I'm going to add a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop and really bring out that sound and clean up any loose ends. Like many other amps it can get noisy without some type of noise gate, especially when the gain is set to 10, having active pickups doesn't really help it either but you get that, overall though it fuckin slays! I'd be lost without it.

I bought the 5150II brand new and straight out of the box, I was so excited to plug in and shred away but I was absolutely devastated when I had nothing but background noise, it took me and my mate a good while to sorta figure out whether it be the speaker cable, the cabinet and so many other little things. The problem turned out to be a valve, which was the last thing I thought would be wrong with it seeming so it was brand new, but within a week the problem was fixed and its been an absolute machine ever since.

Never really dealt with Peavey themselves but the support I recieved from Just Wares was great, still under warranty they fixed me up real fast and yeah like I said before its been working great ever since.

Haven't really owned anything else, I swear by my 5150II and my ESP's to get that real heavy sound. I had tried a variety of amps before I bought the Peavey those being the Marshall Mode Four, AVT150, DSL100, TSL100 and a variety of other Marshalls recognised for their high gain abilities, never got the chance to play any Randalls, although the Marshalls are great amps in their own right, they just didn't produce that tube driven gain I was looking for, and some were solid state. But since I had bought my 5150II the company Krank had introduced the late Dimebag Darrells Krankenstein. I would love to play that amp, but yeah my 5150II will definately be my main source of amplification for quite some years. If it was stolen I would be devastated, but I think I'd pick up the 6505+ and hope that it was just as good.

My 5150 II is a 2001 model, versatile??? My band plays anything from Ozzy to James Brown to The Who to Black Crows and everything in between. Playing in bars around here, its plenty loud, everyone tells me to turn it down!! I run a Rocktron Intellifex Online through the effects loop for a little delay, but mostly for its hush. I run it through a 5150 slant cab, and use a Boss GE-7 EQ for a mid boost on solo's and sometimes my Ibanez TS9, for alittle touch of "hair"(gain) on solos also. This amp can be alittle noisy, but you shouldn't have your lead preamp level above 4-5. Really, you dont need anymore gain than that....come on guys!

I have a 70's strat and a Wolfgang Red flametop special.Its a very versatile amp, you've read above what kind of music I play in my band. I never have any problems achieving sounds. The clean channel is good (but not the greatest) but I still love it, I have my preamp level on rythmn channel at 5-6 at most. Enough gain is never a factor, The lead preamp level is set at 4-5, and thats MORE than enough, above that its too.... fuzzy and sounds like SHIT playing loud. At bedroom volumes I mess with the settings usually turning them up alittle especially in the gain section. I also put new JJ 6L6's and JJ 12AX7's in it too, to give it a warmer sound. I also pulled the 12k bias resistor in the bias section, and put in a 6.8k resistor.Thus making the amp run alot warmer. This amp sounds really good. My sound is Very Ballsy, In Yer Face, BUT WARM. This is kind of unusual But... I also did something else to tone down the Fuzzy characteristics of this amp. I lined the inside of my 5150 cabinet with POLY FILL( ITS LIKE INSULATION, AND THE SAME MATERIAL YOU STUFF >>STUFFED TOYS WITH, but in a sheet form) I know it sounds STUPID!! But believe me.... IT MAKES A HUGE IMPROVEMENT. It makes the speaker think that its in a bigger cabinet or box, THUS..... giving it alittle more warmer, BIGGER, less fuzzy sound.

Never had any problems. and what I have and will... put my amp through, THAT SAYS ALOT, I play out in my band pretty much every weekend.

NEVER NEEDED IT!!! BUT... I do go into the Peavey forums every day, to research, help out, and try to improve my sound CONSTANTLY! AND everyone on there is AWESOME, AND VERY HELPFULL!!

I give it a 10. BUT I put ALOT of work and research into it making my sound, THE WAY IT IS. GOOD TONE SOMETIMES TAKES ALITTLE WORK... But atleast the 5150 II is A VERY GOOD START! GREAT PRICE AND GREAT TONE~!!!!!

Bought this amp with two 5150 cabs two years ago. If you want total gain this is the amp. I have not played the original block letter heads but this has all the power that you need. It runs better with one 4x12 cab at 16 ohms rather than two at 8 ohms. It is kind of average with two cabs. I replaced with JJ tubes in both power sections and preamp, made it even better. It is built strictly for high gain and a specific tone. If you want versatile this amp is not for that.

I use anything with humbuckers. I have over 17 guitars, my Les Paul Standard does really nice with it, and guitars that I have DiMarzio Super Humbuckers on them. Nice chunk with bottom end, and most of all just plain loud. If you want your leads to soar A/B this with an amp that will give you cleans and reverb. You will not find an amp with this kind of gain and have the other options with another amp.
The clean is very average on this amp. It doesn't suck, but it is not the amp's bread and butter.

I have had no problems.

Peavey has the best site, forums, and response from manufacturer out there. But I have never had to have warranty service through them.

Again, for lead and having awesome gain this amp is for you. If that is your style and nothing but, you will love this amp. If you gig with covers and need versatility, I would use this amp for leads and have another amp for your cleans and on some rhythms. It is really worth it to have as an option for its gain and volume though.
You cannot not love it for that!!

2004...probably one of the last made under the 5150 EVH name. It's a 5150 II..with 5150 II specs.

Hands down...
Thisis the best mnpst versitile amp ever made. It's a must for Metal and Hard Rock. Let me put it in pespective...this amp sits in a stack of other amps..a Mesa Boogie triple recto, Marshall 1987X, Marshall DSL100, PV 5150 (old style) Marshall '84 JCM 800 2204, Marshall 2203ZW Zakk Wylde, Marshall 2555 black '88 Jubilee and Marshall JMP-1/9100. I play the 5150 II 90% of the time because it cooks the most. Crazy gain, all kinds of distortion anything I want right down to a pretty decent clean. If there was a fire in my house I'ld wake up the dog and grab this amp and haul ass for the sidewalk! WTF this amp sell for a grand...they could charge $1800 for the thing and still get it all day long.

I got it new out of the box and turned it on and poof it died. Took it to PV tech and he popped new tubes in and never a problem since (2 months). Wouldn't be the first that jiggled something loose in a tube during shipping..won't be the last I'm sure. The amp is rock solid. Not as nice Mesa finish and feature...but much nicer than the chinky feel of a Marshall (sorry I like Marshall amps but they are a little nitsy and cheap for the cash they want)

PV handled the warranty tubes and phone tech support was prompt and friendly.

I got this amp NEW for $750 closeout.....steal all day long!
If you have $1000 to spend on an amp...buy this amp (6505 Plus)
If you have $2000 to spend on an amp...buy this amp & put $1K in the bank. PV 5150 II is HUGE! What was Eddie thinkin'?

You've heard all about the spec. of this amp before, but I wish it had a damn reverb. so it gets an 8. The footswitchable effects loop is great feature.

I have two 5150II heads, running into a peavey angled cab and a marshall straight cab, both loaded with a mix of vintage30s and g12t-75. Im using a 70s les paul with EMGs.
The clean channel sounds decent, but clears up nicely if you put an eec82 in the v1 slot rather than the standard eec83. Unfortunatley, this makes the clean channel quieter than it would usually be. Various people offer mods to clean up the 5150II clean, so I can recommend you do this if cleans really matter to you.

The distortion channel is great, but can sound to buzzy/grainy, so I suggest putting a boss ge-7 in the loop. On the amp, boost the bass and the resonance, set the mids just over halfway, and set the treble and presence to taste. On the ge-7, take out the 6.4k band completely, ans boost the 3.2K band slightly. Leave the rest of the EQ flat. Even at low volumes, this makes the 5150II sound immense. It takes out the cheap buzzy overtones, but retains the high-end agression.

I find that this amp is not noisy at all if you know how to use a gain control. Don't turn it up past half-way, and you'll have all the gain you need minus the noise.

It isn't as 'pl