Peavey 5150

I have a '98 Sig model head. Great classic sound to it, no mods done. Changed the tubes, easy to do. Very simple to dial your favorite sound in. Not too many knobs or channels to get confused with on stage. Really, it could have been a 1 channel amp and be just as effective, since I don't change it much, but the clean can be dialed in, and sounds great when it is.

I have a wolfgang standard, early 90's strat, Ibanez roadstar (with SD distortion in the neck, Epi LP classic, Ibanez RG2...
Works great with all the different sounds. I keep an EQ pedal in the chain to help boost some of the sounds I like, but other than that, get's a great distortion when driven, classic tube sound.

Solid, nothing better. I've seen guys drop 'em and knock 'em off stage, and plug 'em right back in and keep going. Built to take a beating.

Peavey is the greatest. Buy a peavey, join their online forum (like a family), and you'll have all the support you need.

I've been playing for over a decade. I also have the 5150 212, and 2 4x12 cabs. The stack is something I've always wanted, and I am really glad I have it. If it were lost, I'd get another one, no doubt about it. I don't like to bash other companies or their gear, but this has the greatest rock tube distortion sound, great prices, solid and dependable.

Mine is a block logo made the first year of production. The amp is versatile enough for most all kinds of music. The tools on here saying it's only good for metal must not have played much with the EQ or gain structure. The ability to dial-in and understand tone and gain is underated, should be taught as well as how to play the instrument. For 5 years, this old beast was my number 1 amp in a gigging pop/dance variety cover band. We played everything from the Bee Gees and Donna Summer disco/funk to Aerosmith and Kravitz. Ironically, "metal" is the only style I've never played on this amp. (side note: I filled in for a buddy in his metal band for a few months, and I ended up using my JCM 2000 TSL100 and 1960A cab instead of the 5150. Believe it or not, it sounds much more "metal" than the 5150. Twice the bottom end.) Once again, use your ear, don't let the advertisements tell you what it can/can't do.

Features I wished it had:
1. a footswitchable effects loop with a mix adjustment.
2. reverb
3. as mentioned by others, seperate EQ's per channel.

I play stock Les Paul Standard > ernie ball volume > Vox wah > Zinky True Grit OD > Boss 7 Band EQ > Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive > EH Black Finger Compressor > EH Memory Man Deluxe > 5150 head and 5150 4x12 cab.

It suits my taste well. Doesn't sound like a Fender or a Marshall. I'd say it's a vanilla tube amp, nothing too impressive or unique in it's sound, but nothing bad either.

I play mostly on the clean channel, then use pedals for the rest. Believe me, experiment. You can get a shimmering sparkling clean out of this thing.

It's proven itself beyond any shadow of a doubt. Peaveys reliability reputation once again has morphed itself into another peice of gear. Other than routine maintenence (tubes every 2 years or so, and just this week 2 caps) It's been a dream. Has defied all the stigmas of tube amp reliability for practical gigging.

I used it without a backup for +/- 500 gigs. When the tubes start dying, you can tell (luckily!) cuz it either starts buzzing a little or getting quieter. Always giving me plenty of notice that it's time to get a re-tube.

Never needed it....Congrats again Peavey....I consider building a reliable peice of gear part of Customer Support, and they do that well. So I'm giving 'em a high number.

I've played over 20 years. As far as amps, I own a Marshall JCM2000 TSL100 with a 1960A 4x12 and a 1060TV 4x12 cab, a Marshall JTM60 2x12 combo, and my new favorite a Peavey Classic 20!
If it were lost or stolen I would probably try something different. Not because of any problems, just cuz I've played this thing for a long time and change is fun.
Love the reliability and nice clean tube tone. No hates.
It compares favorably to other mass production amps. Maybe a little vanilla on the tone, but not to where it's a problem. More reliable than any tube amp I've ever owned.
Get one or try one, and then tweak those knobs. That's what they're there for.
For the price, it's a great working mans gigging amp that can admirably handle most any size gig.

5150: It isn't just for metal anymore. :-)

This amp basically is loud and has lots of gain. Thats really about it, people who say this amp is versatile are pretty loony, sure its got a wide range of gain, but only some of itis useable, and the EQ (shared between channels) is pretty confined, I can't noticed adjustments at all, unless you max or min it completely.

I use 2 guitars, both ibanez rg's, on with emg 81's, and the other with stock dimarzio's.
When people review this amp, they seem to only care about how much gain it has or how well they can "pinch harmonic". If you judge an amp by that, you could have just bought some cheap ss amp.
No matter how hard I try, I cannot dail out the harsh, cold, buzzy, and grainy gain the 5150 produces. I bought this expecting a huge chunky think sound, but no.
The cleans/crunch as you may know by now are complete crap, Im not going to say "oh, there not that bad" because they are, especially on a tube amp.
Leads sounds something like this: "bzzzzzzzzzz" , little note definition, and in general it sounds messy and congested.
Even for the heaviest of metal this amp fails, it retains no articulation or tightness, just a buzzy mess.

It seems well built, except for the fact that something on the inside is buzzing during certain frequencies, which sounds like a tube rattle which leads to busted power tubes. bad news.

I give the 5150 a 5, because after 2 years under my possesion, it has not once given me half decent tones. I play all sorts of music, and use the 5150 for metal (of course) and it has been a very uninspiring expirience, no wonder evh dumped peavey.

I wish I knew the year it was made. Very versatile head. It has a clean channel (called Rhythm) and a dirty channel (called Lead). The Rhythm channel can get itself dirty enough like an overdriven Fender for that bluesy tone. Kept clean, it's MUCH nicer than the clean on my split-channel Marshall JCM 800. The Lead channel has alot of gain. There are two inputs (high gain and normal gain) which make a very distinct difference in your sound. I love this thing. All tube head - 120 watts.

I play Guild solid bodies with humbuckers and a coil splitting switch. I play with the coils split, like Jimmy Page. My style is heavy but full sounding - I love to pinch harmonics and hold onto some sustain. This thing sustains forever! There are many, many tones to explore. Way more than any of my Marshalls. Moving the knobs really does change things quite a bit. By the way, I LOVE my Marshalls. I love this, too, for more high gain reasons, as well as the better clean channel. The distortion can get very heavy, but I wouldn't call it brutal. It always sounds rich and creamy, even when super high gained.

I've owned it for five months, and no problems. It does not rattle when moved like my old Marshalls do. It's very solid feeling. I feel confident when transporting it.

Never needed it.

I've been playing since 1986. The day after I saw EVH himself in Providence, RI. Yes, the very next day. I also a Marshall JCM 800 head, and a Trace Elliot Speed Twin head. If lost or stolen, I would hunt down the thief, or get another 5150. I've never heard a 5151 II, so I can't comment on the changes. I like the big 5150 logo.

- EQ
- Presence, Resonance, 2 Pre-gain and 2 Post-gain (i.e. volume), bright and crunch switch
- serial effects loop (footswitchable)
- 120 Watts
- 5 12ax7 preamp tubes, 4 6l6 power tubes

Everything you need. The 5150 II has two EQs, which is better, of course.

I used this amp in a Mesa/Boogie Rectifier Cab and a Marshall 1960 AV. I play a Gibson SG and an LTD Baritone. The amp handles even the lowest tuning with no problem. There's a lot of gain and you get a lot of really fat and hard metal rhythm sounds out of this amp. Death Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Hard Rock, probably even classic rock - you name it, the 5150 handles it.
Lead sound good as well, a little bit rounder than on a Marshall, but still enough character. The amp has loads of gain, more than you'll ever need probably.

The clean channel isn't too great, a bit lifeless and easily distorted, but the crunch button gives you a killer crunch. The amp has a lot of noise but you get used to it quickly and can either use a noise gate or just be careful.

The best thing about this amp is how it cuts through the band mix - far better than my JCM900 Marshall. I was so amazed, I didn't believe the difference. Soundwise, the 5150 is not so much different from the Marshall, but it's response it less British, with a flatter general EQ. This thing is a no-brainer for a good Rock/Metal sound and easily in the league with much more expensive amps. I wouldn't think its good for really classic rock, blues (it just doesn't have a blues feeling) and certainly nothing were you want a really nice clean sound.

The amp is brutally loud. It seems even louder than my bandmates other Marshall (a 100 Watt model). I used to turn my 50 Watt-Marshall to 7, now I put the 5150 barely past 2.
I give it a 9 because of the crappy clean sounds. Otherwise it's just great.

Only had it a couple of months without gigging a lot but it seems ok.

This the old blockletter model. Don't buy the crap that the old Blockletter sound better than ones with the signature - they sound exactly the same.

This is good amp for a player who wants a professional amp but doesn't want to spend thousands on a Mesa/Boogie, Diezel, ENGL, or whatever.

I give it a 10 because for this price it's just unbelievable.

you know by now what it has and what it doesn't have.

This amp is the best. I am currently using it with a Washburn wr150 (tuned to drop C), peavey Wolfgang (tuned to drop d and standard) and a Vaccaro V2 generator X (standard/drop D). My band play very heavy stuff but personally I go for more blues and rock stuff e.g. guns n roses, Metallica and Ozzy stuff like that (maybe not rock, maybe metal). This amp works for both very well. You don?t have to play a stadium or open air gigs with it just buy a THD hot plate I did and it ace. The thing about this amp is if you want a mild overdrive just roll down your guitars volume a bit and its there sweet valve OD. It is a bit noisy on higher settings but that is what a noise gate it for. You can?t be telling me that you want high gain and no noise without a noise gate, if you are your fucking stupid.

you cant expect a valve amp to sound amazing for ever without care and looking after. i would never gig without a backup because afterall it is valve. my backup is another 5150 head. because of the use these amps get we always carry spare valves and fuses (because you just never know). both my heads get revalved evert 3 weeks during a tour (or whenever they need it, my guitar teck deals with that). it has never broken down as of yet (i have been using it for 2 years). it has to be a 9 because of the valves but apart form that its a 10.

i went to the peavey headquarters and met with them befor buying this amp. but i have never delt with the coustomer support.

buy this amp. i have played for 15 years now. the past two i have sounded my best because of this peavey.

I Don't understand the hype on this amp. I have allwsays used marshalls and this is exactly what this amp trys to sound like, but falls short just a tad. Yes it has amazing grunt and yes it has a great over the top sound but thats all it does. At least a jcm800 will give you reasonable clean tones. Don't be fooled with companys marketing. Ed Van Halen said it himself that his sound comes from his hands as if not more than his gear, it don't matter what he plays through it will allways sound like him. I was lucky enough to be able to test drive this amp for a few months while it;s owner was overseas, and as fate may have it guess what this guy plays in a VAN HALEN CONCEPT SHOW. aWESOME PLAYER I SWEAR, if you close your eyes it is eddie, but he is going back to his Marshalls cause they sound BETTER. Now i don't know about the rest of the WORKING MUSOS OUT there, but when was the last time you ever got to play a 120 watt amp even at a bees dicks of that power in a club/pub gig without the rest of the guys in the band and the sound guY and the manager and most of the crowd telling you to turn the FUCK DOWN. Honestly if you don't play stadium shows or alot of big outdoor venues this amp will be as usefull to you as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest, but hey thats just my opinion. Do yourself and your ears a favour and stick to what is practical for your needs, if you need more volumE outa your amp get the rest of the guys in the band to TURN DOWN, and look for an amp that will give you a variety of sounds at different volumes. I now use a traynor YCV - 40WR and i can tell you my friends if god played guitar this would be his amp, The rest of the band will love you, the sound guy will want your children, and the manager of the club will give you another gig.

Just Remember, practise, practise, practise!!! and play with the other guys in the band and not yourself.

120 watts all tube. this amp is very versatile. most people say it's a one trick pony, but i have to disagree. the clean channel sucks, but it's useable. the distortion this thing produces will convert the most hardcore solid state user to tube. it's amazing. it has two channels, rhythm and lead. the rhythm channel is what i use for cleans and lead takes care of all the high gain mayhem. there is a crunch switch for the rhythm channel that engages more gain if you want to use two distortion channels. it also has a bright switch that does just what it says. without it i find the clean tone too dull. both the channels are footswitchable. it also has an effects loop that is also footswitchable. everybody else has listed the controls so i won't get into it. i find them to be very sensitive. they can be manipulated to produce great sounds or terrible sounds, half a position can make the difference. 120 watts is enough to kill small animals and scare kids, it's the loudest amp i've ever heard. it can drown out my friends 200 watt randall. at low volunmes it's sound is very limited, around 4/5 it starts to come alive.

i have a lot of guitars, my main ones are a 1979 gibson sg with a seymour duncan distortion bridge pickup, my second is an ibanez sz520qm with stock pickups. i'll be swapping the bridge pickup in the ibanez soon because it can't compeat with the duncan distortion, which is one of the sickest pickups ever made by the way... i play metal, and rock mostly. it's great for these styles. the clean channel (the rhythm on clean settings) isn't noisy at all with good tubes(more on this later), the lead channel is pretty noisy though. not uncontrollably noisy but it is noisy. feedback is not much of a problem unless you're standing right next to it with your hands off the strings. the clean isn't incredible but it's fine for a high gain amp. the distortion completley redeems any bad qualities this amp has. destructive, brutal, punishing whatever over used word you want to use... it can't be described unless you hear it. unfortunatley, with the stock tubes you can't tell. they are utter crap. mine came with low gain, overly bright electro-harmonixs and microphonic, noisy sovteks. peavey went for the cheapest alternative in this case. i waited a long time to review this amp because i didn't want to review with the impression that the stock tubes gave me. when i changed them for 1 tung-sol reissue and 4 high gain jj's it was a holy shit experience. the stock power tubes, ruby 6l6's, are good though, i still use those.

peaveys are known for their indestructability. i had an old butcher before this, stock tubes from 1986, used it with a intrument cable instead of speaker cable(didn't know any better). i would gig without a backup. it's never given me any trouble, now that i'm smarter it should last me for a long time.

peavey is a great company to deal with. their forum is so helpful. never needed repairs or had to deal with them directly, i can always find what i'm loking for on their forum. the warranty is 5 years i think, if you register it. i rate the forum a 10, to peavey i have to give a "no opinion" because i can only know what i've heard about them, some good things some bad things.

i've been playing for around 10 years, i own lots of gear, i know nobody cares what it is. if it was stolen i'd have to get another. i love everything about it, even its bad quality's are like defining traits. i compared it to mesa/boogie triple rectifiers, marshall dsl, marshall tsl, and 5150 II. i got this thing at a great price, right when peavey came out with the 6505 and stores were trying to get rid of the 5150's. bottom line is try it out at high volume, change the pre-amp tubes, and treat it good.

Not sure when it was made, very new though. I play high-end metal, this is the amp for that. This amp doesn't have a true EQ for any clean sound, the best way to get a clean sound is to keep the Lead Pre Gain below 1, so that the sound is clean and not muddy. It's a pain in the butt when that knob moves out of place. It has enormous power.

I use an Epiphone Korina Explorer. Perfect for old '80s metal. Very crunchy. I have tried a Metal Zone with it just to see how it sounds, if you like crunch then that is the combo right there. I was blown away at the sound of this amp when I first plugged it in. I found it kind of funny because I realized that almost no matter what sound you use with this amp there is still that hint of Eddie Van Halen in the sound. The sound stays crisp even at high volumes, very little feedback if you don't stand right next the thing.

Very new still, no problems yet, I don't think I will have any.

I have been playing guitar for around eight years and this is the second amp head I have owned. Before the 5150 I had a Mesa single rectifyer. That didn't have enough power so I traded it in for the 5150. I only had to pay them $200 along with the amp. It was worth every penny. This amp can produce just about any sound, so if you can find for cheap, go and get it.

Made in 2002 I beleive. This is just one of the amps that I own. I play metal, hard rock and jazz. For hard rock and metal I use this amp. It is as dirty as my ADA MP-1. I run that pre-amp into the effect return of the 5150 sometimes and it just kills. The 5150 also makes a great tube power amp when you use the effect return because the presence and resonance controls are in the power amp section allowing you to add enormous thump and sizzle to any pre-amp you are using. I also run my Digitech GNX-4 into it the same way with spectacular results. Unreal bottom end and high end sizzle combined. Best tone Iv'e had for all out balls and thump. Palm mutes shake the walls and furniture in my house. PLENTY of power. I use a matching 5150 bottom cab as well. SWEET! The 5150 used on it's own is great. I can get razor sharp massive gain out of it or if you play with the eq a smoother sweeter Boogie type of gain. I think it's all about playing with the eq. You can get alot of cool and different metal tones with it. Sounds great with the master above 3. It's a tube amp! It sounds good at bedroom volumes as well which is one of the reasons I bought it. I use a Boss graphic eq into the front end sometimes and this just pushes the amp into UNGODLY gain. I use an ISP decimator noise suppressor after the eq.

I use a MUSICMAN EVH guitar and an old KRAMER FOCUS with a DUNCAN DISTORTION pickup. My particular 5150 is surprisingly quiet. I use JJ preamp and power amp tubes. That is the reason. This is one of the top 5 amps for metal and hard rock and it can be made to sound just as good or better than amps twice the price or more. A little EQ is all it takes. There is no true clean channel. The amp is not made to get a good clean sound. I use a Fender M-80 solid state for my clean sounds. The 5150 is made to get great dirty tones and in my opinion it is perfect for that purpose. Like I said before the distortion is brutal! And with the EQ. WHEW! Just way beyond over the top, but not muddy and unusable at all. Keep your pre-amp gain no higher than 7 though because after that it gets to be a bit too much and you really dont get that much more gain out of it anyway. Your better off using the outboard eq into the front end to boost. More tonal control and a tighter low end.

Never had a problem with it. Not once.

Emails from peavey with questions were answered the same day or the very next day. very cool.

Been playing for 27 years. Head guitar tech at MUSICMAN/ERNIE BALL for 10 years. All hard rock, metal, and clean jazz. I own 5150 head and 5150 bottom cab. 5150 2-12 combo, Digitech GNX-4, ADA mp-1 pre-amp. Fender M-80 90 watt combo, various delay and reverb pedals, BBE sonic maximizer. Musicman EVH and Kramer guitars. Love the amp. Combo and head. I would compare it with a SOLDANO and a hot rodded MARSHALL. IT's like a cross between the two in sound. And thats what Eddie designed it to be. A cross between his old MARSHALL PLEXI super lead and his SOLDANO SLO 100 which unknown to alot of people he used on an awful lot of recordings later in his career. I do wish the head had come with reverb like the combo, but thats what my BOSS RV-2 is for. Overall AWESOME AMP! Thanks ED. Can't wait to see and hear your next signature amp. One final comment for everybody. Everbody is always saying that the older block letter versions sound "better" than the newer ones. This is a crock of shit only used to get more money for the used ones that are still around . I had two back in 1992-93 and I don't hear any difference at all. Been around these things for many years so I should know. It ALL depends on the tubes you use. Some are good some are bad. Peavey may have had better quality tubes in a few of them so that is the reason. It's the same today. Tube quality makes a HUGE difference in your sound. Sometimes you just get freak tubes that sound like magic. So do your speakers and cab. Those two things are the key(as well as a decent guitar and pickups) If you don't think your 5150 sounds up to snuff email me and I can give you a few tips on how to make it sound better.