Peavey 5150

Early 90's original block letter model 5150 with Sylvania tubes. Everyone knows the features of a 5150, if not, read other reviews posted here. The 5150 has all the features I need in an amp, the only complaint I have is that the effect loop acts up sometimes, which is a common problem with the 5150 series amps.

I'm playing my 5150 along with a Bogner Uberkab (2 V30's and 2 G12T75's in an X pattern) and a Caparison Horus with EMG85/S pickups. I also run a Maxon OD808 in front of the rhythm channel as a boost, an ISP Decimator, and a TC Electronic G Major in the loop for effects. The 5150 suits my style of music perfectly. I play melodic death metal in the vein of In Flames, Soilwork, At The Gates, Carcass, The Absence, etc. For Swedish metal, there is no better amp than the Peavey 5150. I doubt that's what EVH had in mind when he helped design the amp, but it's become the signature Swede metal amp. It just has that crushing brutal mid grind that sounds perfect down in lower tunings like C and B. I run both of the channels on my 5150 as high gain channels, with the OD808 in front for both channels. There is no true clean channel, but when I want to play clean, I plug into the normal gain input and use the rhythm channel. Paired with my G Major and single coil EMG S, I can get surprisingly good clean tones from the 5150, although I don't play clean that often, and it's not what I bought the amp for.

5150's are some of the most reliable amps ever made.

I've never dealt with Peavey Customer Service at this point.

Overall, I can say the 5150 fits my style perfectly, and I just love this amp. I've been playing 5150's for a few years now, and have been through lots of other stuff, but keep coming back to the 5150. Once I found the perfect cab for it (Bogner), I've yet to be dissapointed in my tone. Rhythm tones are crushing, lead tones just sing, and clean tones are more than useable when needed.

Most of the features involve tone shaping. There's good 3-band eq, control over preamp/poweramp gain, and poweramp tone shaping too. There's no reverb, which is a little irritating, but it's also one less thing to break down since reverb tanks constantly go out. An Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb is a good choice with this amp.

I bought this amp with the intention of using it as a backup, but now I use it as a primary. I used to A-B a clean amp (Fender Pro Reverb) with a crunch amp (either a Marshall or the underrated and oft-forgotten Sovtek Mig 50 Tube Midget). I play mostly indie-pop and power pop with a Telecaster, so most people would assume this is the last amp on Earth that I should buy. However, this amp is perfect for even my type of music. It's just a matter of rolling off the preamp gain, plugging into the normal gain input, and using the right speakers--in my case a 412 with Celestion G12H30's. These speakers are perfect for this amp because they bring the low end back. Those of you complaining of the harshness need to play with your tone a little more and use some common sense. This is a very high-gain amp, so roll back on the preamp gain and you'll get less grit but will still have plenty of gain. Also, don't plug this into a cab loaded with Vintage 30s, Greenbacks, or Jensens and then complain about how piercing and thin your tone is. You've got to match any head with the right cab, and I think I've done that here. I also get a pretty strong clean tone from this amp. No, it's not Fender clean, but it holds its own fine for a live situation, and I can easily see myself gigging without a separate clean amp from now on and just use a footswitch. This is coming from a clean-tone snob too. This amp isn't perfect, but what amp is? I agree that it requires more tweaking than most amps, but that also gives it wider tonal range and makes this by no means a one-trick pony if matched with the right cab.

Mine is an early block letter model, so it's over ten years old. It's pretty road worn, but everything still works perfect. Having no reverb/tremolo can be a plus since these two things often add noise and require the most servicing. So, I'd say this thing is pretty reliable.

never tried to call peavey

That's right, I paid $270 for this puppy, and it was the best $270 I've ever spent. This guy isn't much to look at it, but it sounds great. Most people associate Peavey with bad equipment because they sell so much low-end gear. However, their US-made higher-end stuff like the 5150 prove that they build great gear at reasonable prices. I wouldn't say I'm proud to own a 5150 like a Marshall owner is proud of owning a Plexi, but I'm also not embarrased. This is pro gear!

For me it's ideal. Great sound, great power.

From Crunch to Death Metal it sound very good. no HIGH GAIN shit Marshall's will ever sound better :)

Well - it's a TUBE AMP so sometimes.... there are electronical problems - but I try to manage them.

I'm not from the US so I don't know much about the Peavey's customer support - but back home in Poland it sucked. :)

Great HEAD, great AMP, ideal for different kinds of music. You wanna hear it? www.butelka.metal.pl - there you go :)

mid 90's signature head. 2 channels. 120 watts. Low, mid and high eq. Also has resonance and presence controls for added tone shaping -a nice feature. Series effects loop. Preamp out. Footswitch for channel switching and effects in and out.Very straight forward. No reverb but I plug a GSP Digitech 2101 in fx loop and it takes care of everything.

For guitars I use a `71 SG with Pat. Pend. pickups, a 79 Les Paul RD Artist, and a `89 American Stratocaster. I first heard this amp when I was checking out an ad for a used Marshall slant cab.When I got there, the guy had a 5150 plugged into it. He turned it on and the sound just blew me away, very crunchy and defined. I bought the cab and found a 5150 two weeks later on e-bay for short money. This amp is a sleeper!!!. The tones you can get from it rivals much higher priced amps for much less money. This amp has replaced my `82 Marshall JCM 800 for gigging. It's a bit noisy - just use a noise gate. This amp will sound even better if you have the bias mod done, much warmer sound. I also changed the first preamp tube to a 12au7 and the second to a 12ay7. I get a descent clean sound this way and it helps to reign in the sick amount of gain this amp makes.

I bought this amp used on e-bay almost 5 years ago and have been gigging with it pretty steady ever since. I always bring a backup just in case, but have never needed it.

Early 90's original block-letter bought brand new off the showroom floor. The amp's features have been covered time and time again. Many reveiwers comment on the lack of reverb. I had a reverb habbit myself, but this amp cured me. Many also comment on the shared eq, which does limit the versitility of this model, if you actually use the rhythm channel, which the 5150 II corrected. Also well documented is that cleaner tones tend to suffer using this amp. The fact is that there is no clean channel - only rhythm, rhythm/crunch, and lead. Didn't they know what they were buying? A cool feature is the resonance control, which is basically a presence knob for low end punch.

I mainly use this amp with a modded Strat using Duncan Little 59's, as well as a Les Paul. I will say that it is possible to get some decent clean sounds from this amp if you experiment with the rhythm channel using the low input. However, this amp was built for distortion and the 5150 does it extremely well. Throw away all those stomp boxes cause you don't need them. Even when I was in grungy/heavy bands during the 90's I never played this amp with the gain more than 6.5, which is more than enough distortion. Anything more than that and you are just hiding your playing. I always recieved lots of compliments on my tone using this amp! Unless I'm recording, I never use the rhythm channel. I simply roll back the volumn knob on the guitar if I want to clean it up a bit. My only complaint is that like most hi gain tube amps, all that distortion comes at a price in the form of tube hiss. Over the years I've tried lots of combinations of tubes attempting to eliminate the noise. I've heard that it's possible, but I had no luck. I've always used a Rocktron Hush unit through the effects loop, which easily killed the hiss without changing the tone. Off and on I also ran a BBE Sonic Maximizer through the effects loop as well, but I actually liked the tone better without it. The less, the better in my book! So, because of the hiss the amp scores a 9. Also, cabinets make a huge tonal difference. I've played the amp through Marshall cabs, Mesa, Fender, and yes the 5150 cab as well and for my money the best of the best is Carvin. But this isn't a review of cabs... One more thing - no, this amp will NOT make you sound like EVH. That is ridiculous. What it will make you sound like is YOU playing through a 5150, which can be a very good thing, depending on YOU. If you want to sound like EVH, go buy an old modded Plexi, and good luck.

Are you kidding? This thing is a tank. I never gigged with a back-up with this amp cause it would have been wasted space and effort lugging another amp around. Just plug your guitar cord in, let the tubes warm up, hit the standby switch, and enjoy some of the coolest sounding distortion around. Of course, that's just my opinion.

No opinion cause I've never contacted Peavey, although I hear they are the best in the business.

Been playing for a while now. My first tube amp was a Carvin X-100B, which I sold after I bought the 5150. (I wish I didn't do that now!) Those were cool amps as well. But I wanted a distortion machine back then and it's hard to beat a 5150 in that regard. Marshall's JCM 900 SL-X gives it a run for it's money, that's for sure! If my 5150 were lost or stolen I would definitely try and replace it while the prices were low. Now that Peavey quit making them they probably won't be getting any cheaper in the future. It's been a great amp.

Not sure about the year it was made but its a Pat Pending Model.Does not have a lot of features.No reverb,Two channels but both share the same eq knobs.Hi Gain/Low Gain imputs but they actually are Hi Gain and Mega Hi Gain,since this beast does not know the meaning of Low.Very simple in general but perfect for me who plays 99% 8o's Metal.Does have far away more power than what I need,120 watts of all tube.

I use a 1984 a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1982 BC Rich Eagle and this amp takes out the best of them.I play mostly 80's Metal and this amp is perfect for hi gain,distorted music.It is noisy like most of the hi gain amps.Can be used for blues or even clean tones with the right set up,but it was not made to play it with a Strat or a Tele.Does not have a clean channel,but if you set the pre gain knob very low,you can get a nice clean tone.A friend of mine use it to play Reggae Music and it does not sound bad at all.The distortion is AMAZING!!!!!! I use it with a Lee Jackson Perfect Connection Pre-Amp and a Boss Super Overdrive and this thing is just amazing.Yuo can go from nice warm punchy distortion to mega hi gain distorted sounds.

This amp is made for war.It is almost imposible to destroy it.Heavy as a tank

Never have a problem with it.Got it used so no warranty on it.

I've been playing for 19 years.I own a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a BC Rich Eagle and they match perfectly for my taste.If it were stolen I would buy a 5150 2 so it is a little more versatile and powerfull.I love its power and distortion but it is still a very basic,expensive amp.if you are the one who like to play with tons of digital effects this is not the amp for you.It was made to play hi gain distorted music.

I am not sure what year this amp was made but it is a signature series. To be honset this is not a very versatilte at all. All that this amp is made for is gain(which it has more than enough of). There is no reverb or any built any effects, but if you have a 5150 you didnt get it cause you need them. I play in a posi old school inspired hardcore band, and this amp suits my needs perfectly. I have not played any shows on this amp yet since i have only had it for about a week and a half. Bottom line is this is a good amp but if you want a way more versital amp go for the peavey XXX.

I have a jackson dinky, reverse headstock with EMG pickups. I get a really really good distrotion. Pinch harmonics come with no effort at all with this set up. This amp is a high gain amp, so ofcourse it is pretty noisy, but it tollerable. It very loud(120 W), i dont even turn up the post gain past 7.5 - 8 for practice and it is fine. This amp doesnt have clean channel, it has lead and rythem. (some people on here post reviews and say this amp has a horrible clean channel, but the thing is it doesnt have one.)

i havn't played a show with this amp yet and havent had it long enough to tell , plus i dont have a back up but if i did i would play with out one. this amp seems reliable so far.

i bought it used so there is no warranty.

i have been playing for about 4 years. this is the only amp that i own right now. if it were lost or stolen, first i would cry, then i would probally get another 5150 or a XXX. Before i got this amp i compared it to the peavey XXX, and i really liked them both, but i probally would of have got a XXX but i liked the 5150 also and i found one for pretty cheap. a few things that are on my x-mas wish wist is a power conditioner and a noise gate.

made early 90s. all this stuff is well covered.

its a sledgehammer. forget cleans or jazz with mk1 5150 , it was built to rock. distortion on both channels is brutal,its just what I need, the 120 watts and that level of drive is exactly what a rock player needs.high gain = noise, thats why I use an ISP noise decimator.

i understand peavey reliabilty is excellent.

never had to use em.

im playing 25 yrs, i use a 2001 R9. The level of drive on both channels allows me big sounding rhythm channel and monster solo boost, its just awesome. for when im the only gtr player i use my cornford hellcat but when its 2 gtrs, you really need something like a 5150 mk1.

It's a 5150. 2 channels plus Crunch. I think it was built in the early 90s but am not sure.

I use this amp with a '99 Tradition Les Paul knockoff with an EMG 89 at the neck and an 85 at the bridge to play hardcore. When I first got the amp, it was noisy and the the distortion was super gritty. Since then, I've replaced all the tubes with mesa 12ax7s and 6L6s and the noise (hum) was gone. Also the new tubes gave me a lot more lowend response and it cleaned up the distortion quite a bit. However, the clean channel still sounded like shit. So, i put in 10k pot in the bias circuit and warmed those icy tubes up. THIS MOD MADE THIS A NEW AMP! Now the clean sounds as good if not better than any marshall, the distortion channel sounds huge and I get people complimenting my sound all the time now. Seriously, if you own a 5150, do a bias mod that allows for manual adjustment, get a gain reduction mod and use good 6L6s.

It's a 5150. Hasn't broken on me yet and I've taken it on 2 US tours, 3 westcoast tours and countless local shows. These amps get noisier or quieter but they don't ever stop working. As far as quality of construction and general burlyness, the 5150 is the greatest amp ever made.

There are entire web based communities of people obsessed with Peavey gear. My point is that if you have a problem or questions, you're taken care of.

I've never dealt with peavey. I bought the amp used and it was already 15 years old and on it's 5th or so owner.

If you are looking into buying a 5150, you probably play metal or something similar and already know what you're getting into. But as I said earlier in this review, there are some very popular modifications you can do to this amp to make it better. So much better, I've actually convinced people to lose their rectos and buy a 5150 to be modded.

It's the most durable amp I've ever heard of.
They're very common and very cheap.
There's a Peavey family of nerds to consult if you need.

I have a 1995 5150 212 combo. I've had this amp for a little over 6 monthes and it's awesome. I have never gigged this amp but if I did it'd be no problem. The 212 combo sounds really good on the rythm and lead channel. I play a variety of music from metal to classicc rock, but this amp can handel it all. I disagree with some of the people who write reviews saying tat the clean channel is crappy. I can get an INCREDIBLY clean sound out of this amp and a really grungy distortion too. I primarily play an Ibanez SZ320 through this amp but have also used a few others including a gibson les paul and a dean. I've used vox,crate, and even marshall amps but this was by far my favorite. The equalizer doesn't affect your sound very much and it's the same for both channels which I don't like, but overall the features are pretty good.

There's not much to say about the sound. It's good for all styles of music. I wouldn't change a thing.

I'm giving this a nine because I had too get the RCA jack for the reverb spring re-soldered. That's the only problem I've ever had. That's pretty good considering this amp is almost 11 years old.

I bought this amp used so there was no warranty, but when I called peavey about my rverb problem they were very polite and helpful and even gave me an estimate on the repair cost. This really shows why peavey has a great reputation for customer support.

Over all, this amp is great for the price. You could get a better amp, but you'd pay upwards of 2,000.00. For this price, the amp is a no brainer. If it were stolen, I'd definatly buy a new one.