Peavey 5150

Well this amp is an early 90's signature model, with high and low gain inputs. It has separate pre-amp gain controls for both the rhythm and lead channels, however the EQ is shared between the two channels. The rhythm channel has a crunch button that give you more gain, and a bright toggle that gives you I believe 6db of gain to the 2khz freq. There are also Resonance and presence controls for the output section. The Resonance knob can add gain to your lower frequency's in the output stage of the amp, and the presence, like most amps boosts gain in the higher frequencies. There are also seperate master volume controls for both channels.

The amp also features an effects loop that is footswitchable, a ground switch which can help cancel hum and what not, and dual speaker outputs which are selectable from 4, 8, and 16ohms. Another neat feature is the preamp out, which allows you to go directly to a mixer board, or what have you.

While there are amps with much more features, there are definately amps with significantly less features. I rate this amp an 8 because while there aren't too many features, the ones the amp does have are rather unique.

I wish this amp had seperate EQ for each channel, and honestly a pentode/triode mode that would cut the output power in half without having to pull tubes and stress the transformer. I use this amp live and in rehersals/jams, as well as for home practice. The master volumes allow for decent sounds at reasonable levels. The 120watts of this amp is more than capable to play in a number of venues with decent speakers.

I play this amp through a Marshall AVT 4x12 cab with 4 celestion vintage 30's, and through a no name 2x12 cab with eminence texas heat speakers. For guitars I'm using an ESP LTD EC-1000 with emg 81/60 combination, as well as a warmoth custom strat with dimarzio super distortion in the bridge and a paf pro in the neck. I also play a highly modified yamaha pacifica 112 with a dimarzio x2n in the bridge and two seymour duncan hot rails in the middle and nect position.

My style of music is along the lines of 90's metal, stoner rock, grunge, alternative, to some more modern alternative. To be honest I use this amp as my distorted heavy channel, with a catalinbread silverkiss mk I as a booster on the rhythm channel, and for cleans I use a Sovtek Mig-50 head. I wanted an amp that didn't need distortion pedals or fuzz for an all out heavy sound, and this amp delivers. Mostly I play the LTD through this amp, as it works really well with the EMG pickups. For effects, it works moderately well. With other distortion pedals, you really have to play with your eq's, but they marry together pretty well if you have time to spend.

The clean channel on this amp isn't as bad as people say it is, rather the fact that you share an eq with your lead and rhythm channels actually makes the clean sound rather muddy, while the distorted lead channel sounds really heavy and awesome. If you dial in a good clean tone, the lead channel sounds rather thin and harsh. Unfortunatly I can't afford a do it all amp so I get by with using the peavey for my heavy stuff and the sovtek for my clean stuff.

Like many others have stated the Resonance feature is what helps this amp stand out from others in it's catagory. Becareful playing with others and overkilling the resonance, while playing alone or recording seperate tracks it sounds killer, you will be hard to hear while playing with others. I tend to back off the resonance while playing live and jamming, and crank it when I record or practice alone.

The distortion is beyond brutal. Compared to other high gain amps, this one is definately in the top 5 when it comes to pushing the limits. Honestly you can get a better sounding distortion, but this one gets the point across just fine, and without breaking the bank.

This amp, sound wise, if I had to actually put a number value on it, is definately an 8. I've played much nicer sounding amps, but they usually cost twice as much. If you can't afford a marshall, bogner, mesa, engl, do yourself a favor, look in the mom and pop guitar shops, browse craigslist, get yourself one of these. If you are a metal guitarist on a budget you would definately be happy.

This amp is from the early 90's, almost 20 years old now, and it still fires up like it was just taken out of the packaging. This head has been dropped (it weighs a ton! More than any marshall I've ever owned!), it's dinged up, had beer spilt on it, sat in some dude's garage for a few years, and still kicks the crap out of any other amp that's seen a quarter of the abuse this one has. The pots aren't scratchy after all these years like most amps get. This thing is built in the good ole' US of A, and it shows. People been saying Bugera is the way to go if you want this sound on a budget. Christ I paid about the same amount for the 5150 as a bugera costs new, and those things break down like it's no tomorrow. If you aren't sure which to get, seriously, if you have to question this, don't. Just pick up the Peavey. Sound, quality, reliability, hands down the Peavey wins. This little fella gets a USDA Grade A 10. Believe the hype, I'm not the only person who praises these things. As for tube life, theses puppies are biased set to run colder than your usual marshall or mesa, which means longer, much longer tube life. Some cats mod this and run them hotter for a better sound. Take it or leave it.

Peavey customer service. You don't run a company for all these years making affordable (ie cheap) amps and guitars for the beginner and intermediate player alike, while also making quality high end pro gear with horrible customer Service. This is my third peavey amp, and while the other two were little practice amps, I loved them to death. Whenever I had any problem (IE footswitch problems on an Envoy110), their customer service was outstanding, they helped me fix the problem over the phone. I give them a 10, because they will talk to you about your amp or guitar, and they will try their hardest to make whatever it is you want to happen....happen.

Like most people on here in the know, I've been playing for awhile. 16 years off and on now, through deployments in the military, to injuries on the job, I've always been pushing on trying to better myself and my sounds. I hate listing other gear I have here because it's like trying to prove how snobby I am about guitars. I've got a ton of pedals, catalinbreat, red witch, MI Audio, marshall, old old made in the usa dod, mxr, morley, marshall, dunlop, EHX, ect ect, and the collection is never done. Amps, well old Yamaha combo, old carvin combo, marshall jcm2000 dsl50, avt50h, artist 30watter, mesaF-50, sovtek Mig-50h, fender champion 600, and a couple old peavey combos. Yeah I know I have too much gear.

Now time to compare and all that. For one thing, this amp has the most gain out of any of the ones I've listed, with the carvin and jcm2000 coming the closest. The clean channel is far lacking compared to the other amps, which is sad, but it's definately usable if you know what you are doing. Like most people have said, this is a one trick pony amp. If this were stolen I'd probably cry and hunt the guy down who took it and probably do very bad things to him/her. These things don't fall off trees no more so trying to get another one would be a pain. Though I'd probably get a 6505 while waiting for another 5150 to surface. Those are still pretty reasonable in price as well.

I love the extremely heavy distortion this amp pulls up, and I love how this amp keeps on night after night. I hate the shared EQ, but I'll live.

Overall rating? Well I'm going to give this amp an overall 9. It does what it does, REALLY well. It's extremely reliable and it sounds amazing when dialed in right.

Fairly limited features. 2 channels that share the 3 band EQ. Effects loop (all footswitchable). Selectable crunch/bright options on the rhythm channel (there is no "clean" channel per se).

The rhythm channel has a better/tighter low end than the lead channel. it records extremely well (see Andy Sneap). And the lead channel is great. This amp is the grandfather to all metal amps. Kudos to EVH and Peavey on creating one of the greatest all time amps!

bullet proof

Very helpful. When a bad pre-amp tube shorted and took out a JFET they were easy to get on the phone, identify the parts I needed and shipped them right out. Great support

Not the most versatile amp, but the one of the best out there for rock and metal. BAM!!!

it's OK.. i guess. The tone stack is shared for the lead and clean channel which pisses me off. Because of this the cleans go through the EXACT same number of gain stages as the lead only to have the excess bled off to the ground. Bad design if you want tone/headroom. the crunch is pushbutton instead of 3rd channel which also pisses me off but it can be modded to work with a foot switch. the bias is fixed/internal and needs to be modded which also pisses me off. there's no choke, and the rectifier is solidstate which is deleterious to the tone characteristics desirable of a tube amp.

this amp sounds good w/ the right tubes/cabinet/pickups. Not much versatility but it's got a wicked amount of gain and is LOUD- you NEED to have a good cabinet and you NEED to know how to use all the tone options on your guitar to get usable tone out of this monster. loss of points is because the clean channel tone and headroom pretty much suck. loss of points because the crunch channel sounds like the gain is dimed on basically any other guitar amp. gain of points for the lead channel. ungodly face melting gain and tone. loss of points for lack of punch and definition that any 6L6 amp should have. the highs can be shrill at times too. If you're used to solid state you will begin with a smile.. but over time your ears will become fatigued from the lack of even-order harmonics produced by the output transformer. mercury magnetics offers a proficient solution.

i'll give it a 9 because you can't adjust the bias and it will have negative effects on tube life and the original knobs on the lower serial numbered amps fall off LOL!!!

no idea.

the bottom line is this amp is rrrreally fun to play high gain metal on. It wasn't designed as a boutique $7,000,000 tone machine.. it was designed to be played loud and live. with the right setup and some modding you can definitely make it stand out. it's finicky though.. just like EVH always tweaks his tone stack and pedals so will you. ie.. presence will need to be turned way down @ low volumes but up @ high volumes. good news about this amp is it's been out for 17 years and there are plenty of mods available that will make this amp scream like a banshee!! Peavey can be hit and miss but they always deliver a good bang for your buck!!

this is one of the "block letter" versions so it's an earlier model but i'm not sure what year. 2 channels, clean and lead. the clean also has a crunch button which if used properly could be your rhythm channel and your lead could be used as a lead boost because while both channels share the same eq, they have separate volumes. 120 watts. switchable 4,8,16 ohms to match any cab. overall it's a really basic and classic amplifier setup but i like the no frills approach. turn it on, turn it up, and play something. no silly "rectifier modes" or over complicated contour and eq adjustments to keep you guessing if you have the "right sound".

this amp has definitely left it's impact on the entire industry because it is now available as a "5150" setting in the digital banks of many modeling amps. although it seems to have been adopted and mildly labeled as a metal only amp, it actually covers the whole spectrum of guitar based music very well. it just so happens to have the capability to achieve massive amounts of distortion that stays tight and precise. I play rock/punk and use gibson guitars with stock humbuckers. my head sits atop a marshall 1960a 4x12 and to my ears it is all rock-n-roll. i love it!

one point that i must cover is the fact that peavey shipped these amps "cold" meaning they have a fixed bias setting and the tubes would never really run to their full potential. they did this in an effort to give the longest tube life possible without the risk of burning up tubes causing amp failure. there is a modification you can make that gives you the capability to adjust your bias and get your tubes cooking thus increasing the tonal quality and and overall volume and saturation level. i performed the mod but only after consulting peavey's tech support to verify proper voltage to the tubes and that it was safe for the amp. it worked great!

this amp has been in several gigging bands with me as my main head for over six years without a backup. partly because i don't have a backup but mainly because it has been so reliable. i don't have a case for it so i'm careful not to bang it around or abuse it in any physical way. it's never shown signs of "iffyness" or given me a reason to doubt it's performance. tube life has been great and with the fixed bias, you can safely use the proper matched set as replacements. i'm giving it a 9 though just because it is a tube head and while the 5150 has been extremely reliable, none of them are fail safe.

i dealt directly with Gene in tech support at the factory by telephone. he helped my with my bias mod and gave me all the correct info i needed to perform it. what i liked is that he didn't try to talk me out of it and went on to say that he gets many calls regarding the mod. i'm giving them a 9 though because hold times were long....real long.

overall this amp has been a tremendous tool for me. and though peavey has been an established company for years, i think that this amp really put them on the map. i've heard this amp used in many applications, including my own and it has sounded and performed awesome every time. what's cool is that you can still find these used from $500-$700 and compared to new amps and the big boutique craze, it's such a deal. this amp will always be in my collection and i would find another if i needed to.

I got the 5150 block letter head. It has the shared EQ setup with the lead channel. OVerall contains three channels, Clean, crunch and lead. The clean channel sounds great. Has the bright button to go along with the clean and crunch channel. These two channels also share the pre and post gain. The lead channel has its own pre and post gain. All channels share the EQ's which include bass treble mid resonance (Bass boost) and Presence for (treble boost).

Sound wise, i've owned the signature version and am now reviewing the block letter version. The overall tone is the same but, the post gain on the block version is easier to control. Unlike the signature version, this amp can be played at practice volumes. It sounds tighter as well while mainting a fat booming tone.
This is quite simply the best amp for the buck you will find. I play metal and rock and for that sound this amp fits. I can get hard rock & 80's thrash metal (marshall like) on the crunch channel and over the top extreme metal on the lead channel. The sound coming out of my guitar through this amp sounds right. I dont need any boost pedals to get the sound I want. All i use is a noise gate to tighten up the sound. The sound is saturated yet concentrated to inspire your playing. I've owned mesa's and marshall's and always had to compromise on tone. With the mesa the gain was brutal but it was just to tight sounding. the marshall sounded loose but there wasnt enough midrange gain. The 5150 took out those weaknesses and kept the strenght's to achieve its own unique tone.

I have been playing for close to 10 years and I still suck but I know good tone and am an avid collector so I know what sounds good and what sounds like ****. If it were stolen I would look for the block letter version again. Only thing I wished it had is a reverb to broaden the sound but a pedal can solve that. As I mentioned I compared it to a **** load of amps I had which included Mesa Rectifiers, Marshall DSL2000, Hughes and Kettner Matrix (not a fair Comparison since its solid state). This amp gives the general tone you need to pull off all metal sounds. You cant go wrong otherwise only other thing that compares are the VHT's and BOgners that run over 2000 dollars

Mine was built in the early nineties. Very simple layout, two channels, one EQ, a footswitchable effects loop. The clean has "crunch" and "bright" switches, which are pretty self-explanatory. The single EQ stage is sort of bogus, but I deal. I play oddball punk/stoner rock with it, in a band with three guitarists (including myself) and it's very effective for that purpose.

Rating a 7 for the single EQ.

Ok, I use either a PRS SE Santana or SE Singlecut through the amp, and with either guitar, (one with covered humbuckers, one open) it sounds great for what it is. Perhaps it's the tubes in mine, (they're EH's, but I don't know what kind,) but the distortion on both channels is what I would call a 'fuzz.' A lot of people call these 'metal' amps, but mine, at least, couldn't be further from it. With the gain past half-way, the two channels sound like Big Muff Pi's with varying sustain settings. Not the most versatile distortion, but great for me.

Also, contrary to what a lot of others are saying, I can get a beautiful clean tone out of the 5150. I own a 70's Bassman combo, known for its clean tone, and I can nearly duplicate the tone with the 5150's gain setting at 2 to 2.5 and the post-gain above 5. It's a big, full-bodied clean, with nice lows and chimey highs. This also sounds phenomenal with a good reverb pedal in the effects loop. Very vintage sounding.

Being one of three guitar players in my band (man, that's a lot,) this amp fills a void that previously existed with us. The other two guys play a Fender Twin and a Musicman 2x12, respectively, and our bassist plays a monster Ampeg through a 6x10 and a 1x15. This amp fits right in-between the two, with respectable bass response (I play it through the matching 5150 cab.) A great rhythm guitar amp, it's really beefed-up our sound considerably.

Rating an 8 because while it works great for me, it may not for you.

This amp lived in my brother's basement, next to his computer desk where he chain-smoked into it while he played online RPG's for about 6 years. It sat there, unplayed, soaking up Camel-stink and dampness in the basement.

My brother eventually realizes it's still there, and says, "Hey, Jake, you're broke. You want this amp?" I say, "Are you sure?" He says "Yup." I take it home.

The first thing I notice is the stink. Seriously, my 5150 smells like a thousand buttholes. I had no idea cigarette stink could be so bad. Whatever. I turn it on, and nothing happens. This is not a shock. I wiggle some of the pots, and it crackles to life. After spending about $100 to get a tune-up, and this thing's been working like it just rolled outta the factory for a year and a half.

Still smells unholy, though.

No experience. It's pretty old, man.

I've been playing for about 14 years, 11 of which have been in noisy, avant-garde punk bands. Like I said before, I play PRS's, (I love them, and they piss off the 'coolie' Fender scene, man, 'cause that Creed douche plays 'em.)

I use a EH Knockout pedal, which is an awesome EQ filter, just in case I need a PRS to sound like a Strat. I put a Digitech RP-250 (another 'no-no' of coolness, ha!) through the loop, mostly just for reverb and delay, occasionally tremolo or wackiness.

This combination of gear serves me well. I can't complain about the 5150. I also own a '76 Silverface Bassman combo, and a Crate Powerblock (handy backup, but haven't needed it yet.) The 5150's a big, fuzzy beast, and I'd be crushed if it were stolen. I'm still broke as a joke, and can't afford to actually pay for one, (having a kid will do that to ya.)

I do wish it had two separate EQ sections, and maybe a sweet built-in spring reverb, but hey, the thing is great for what it is--a straightforward rock amp. I'm in love.

(It still smells like a corpse, though.)

simple design. read the 300 something posts before.

brutal distortion sound, good for metal riffing. damn loud. useless for any other purpose. no versatility.

highly reliable. if you got the brains and skills to do it yourself do the bias mod and switch to 6l6 power tubes. if not, then get it done. it's a must for this amp.

never needed them.

excellent metal/hardcore-amp with a brutal distortion sound (get the bias mod!!!). damn loud. absolute useless for any other purpose.

Features are nothing special. It's a 2 channel amp but the clean is absolutely useless....lifeless. It's a waste of channel cause it gets dirty and gritty. Can't stay clean at high volumes.

This amp is a big dissapointment! Sure it has distortion galore but it's fizzy and muddied. The only thing it seems good for is metal mostly and some rock. It can't do jazz or blues. This amp just didn't deliver the goods. I will stick with my Laney.

It's built like a tank and seems quite durable. Peavey has been known to build reliable amps throughout hte years.

It's bad now. Can't even get a respond back from my emails.

This amps is probably good for metal players for the most part. Anything else is crap. There's nothing about this amp that appeals to me when I traded my Marshall for it. I would either go back to my Marshall or Laney.

The 5150 is an all Valve 2 channel amp. I bought it in 1994; it has now been reissued as the Peavey 6505 since EVH withdrew his endorsement. He's now working with Fender. Features-wise this amp is pretty limited with no reverb and an EQ section shared between the two channels. The clean channel ain't very clean at all, but I don't think anyone would buy this amp on the basis of its clean sound anyway. What you get is a raging lead channel and an absolutely excellent effects loop. While not exactly a one-trick pony, it's clear that Peavey tailored this amp for metal. Although it's an EVH signature model, the sound goes way beyond classic rock territory; this is about as heavy as it gets. Loads of modern metal bands use the 5150 or its 6505 equivalent e.g. Trivium, BFMV, Blackstone Cherry, In Flames etc etc.

I play Ibanez S series 7 string guitars. Some have stock pickups, others have Seymour Duncan Invaders (about as high output as passive pups get. I've been playing for 24 years, much of this time semi-pro, so I think I know what I'm talking about! My current band plays a style of music somewhere between classic Pantera and modern stuff like Killswitch. I play a lot of brutal rhythm and extended solo guitar. My 5150 is paired with the standard 5150 slanted 4 x 12 cab.

Reading forums, I see that many people add an overdrive pedal (usually Tubescreamer variants or Boss SD-1) to give the amp a little more clarity and 'chug.' This is fine, but I have a major tip for anyone owning this amp. The amount of distortion on tap is crazy, but can easily wreck your sound if you overdo the gain; anything over 6 and you will lose tonal clarity, . To get a full on chunky metal sound you simply need to increase the volume level of the guitar as it enters the preamp section. I use a Boss GT-8 via the 'four cable' connection method; this gives me all the chorus, delay, wah, pitch shift etc options I could ever need. To get the extra gain 'push' that is required, I make sure that the GT-8 enters the amp at a very 'hot' volume level. The volume knob on the back of the GT-8 is maxed out and the patch level is about 130/200. Do this and you get an absolutely mad metal sound, even with fairly lame stock pickups, perfect for chunky riffs and for sustaining leads. The noise suppressor on the GT-8 also tames any nasty, unwanted hiss perfectly (the gain on tap makes this quite a noisy amp). If you've played Mesa stuff you will know that it is fabulous sounding, but very 'tweaky'; get your settings wrong and eveything will sound crap. One of the great things about the 5150 is the fact that it is not a tweaky amp at all; the basic sound does not alter greatly, even with some quite extreme settings (although the presence control will f##k your ears if you dime it at high volume!).

My settings are: pre-gain 6ish, Bass - just under 5, Mid- 3, Treble 4.5, Resonance - just under 4, Presence - just under 4

To my ears, the rhythm channel is a bit ropey; a genuine clean sound is not that easy to achieve. My Marshall Mode Four has a perfect icy cold clean channel which craps on the Peavey, but truly sucks when one compares the distorted tones available.

The distortion channel of the 5150 is outstanding. You can get great crunchy AC/DC style tones, but increase the preamp gain and the true forte of this amplifier becomes obvious. This amp does mega high-gain modern tones fantastically well. The clarity of sound is really striking. Your guitar will slice through even the busiest, loudest mix like a laser gun.


I'm guessing that anyone using using active pickups will get a mean metal tone direct into the amp. All modern metal players need to check this amp out. Not only is it tailor made for the heaviest of styles, but its price tag is less than half that of the equivalent Meas gear. A truly special design. I'm very glad that Peavey continues to produce it albeit under a different name.

I change valves every 2 years just as a precaution. I've never had this amp die on me. I carry a Marshall Mode Four as gig backup, but have never had to fall back on it. I use JJ tubes and they work great once warmed up for about a quarter of an hour. Some people have moaned that they can't set the tune bias. For the average Joe, like myself, who just wants to get out and gig, this is a good thing; you can revalve this thing in about 10 minutes with no messing about with bias meters etc.

Never dealt with them

Fantastic if you want basic evil metal tones. It will also do classic AC/DC style rock really well if you lay off the gain. I love this amp and would cry if someone stole it. I would track down the thief and batter them to death with an Ibanez guitar.

Ok my 5150 peavey was made in 1991 I believe it was one of the first one. A two channel amp with few features like sharing the same eq for the 2 channels. This amp is extremely loud if you have a cab make sure you run 75 watt speakers or you will blow them. Has a swicht that will allow you to run 4 8 and 16 ohms.Also a presence knob and contour knob.There is no reverb or delay other than its very well designed. Poor effects or no dsp other than that this will be up there in the bogner range.

I use three guitar a prs custom 24, a blackhawk custom and carvin 135dc I say this amp really nails it even though the clean it may not seem loud enough, it will work ok for gigs the amp is really outstanding overdriven you can get crunchy sound out of it like sounds from the 80's and you can push this thing to the limit the gain is just insane if you are a lead player this is the amp for you.
This amp will outplay any mesa out there soldano marshall etc.. make sure you get a decent speaker cab I run mine through a marshall 900 1960 's edition and it really rocks. With a good delay pedal and some nice chorus and a good wah nothing, nothing will beat this amp for the price remember I am talking about the head made in the early 90's wich sounds way better than the evh or the peavey 5150 II .

well it's 2008 and I only changed tubes so I guess it makes it good bang for the money. This amp was made 17 yrs ago.

N/A never dealt with them.

I 've been playing 10 years and I owned lots of gear I consider a really well contructed amp.If lost I will probably look for another even though I don't need this much power my house is huge and still makes the cops come to my house my neighboors can really feel the windows shake.