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.

Bought this head 2nd hand so dont know what year its from

its the stock 5150head sig version (EVH signature on front of the amp , Ive heard rumors of this one sounding better than the EVH blockletter 5150 but you'all know what they say about rumors..)

120watts
4 6L6power tubes
5 12AX7 pre amp tubes
2channels rhythm(green) and lead(red)
2 inputs ( normal & hi gain)
came with the el cheapo plastic 2 button footswitch
everything works so no complaints, not that sturdy but Id say if you take care of your stuff you dont need a 'triple titanium' footswitch

I kind of took this amp for what it is.I do agree that fixed bias may seem lame when wanting to experiment with other tubes which require biasing.You can always get it modded for that matter.

If you want to practice at home with this thing I recommend you soundproof your walls.I usually run it at just 1 on the volume when Im practicing @ home which already gets kind of loud :D

My main guitar is a Washburn X-81 with EMG's 85bridge 81neck.I play mostly melodic death metal and it is just a perfect match.This amp is very dark sounding and has loads of gain.The lead channel is just a dream come true.If distortion is your thing you will absolutely love this amps lead channel.the EQ is very responsive and by adding some lows this amp can also sound very chunky for those chugga chugga type of riffs.dial in more mids to the eq for some classic carcass or Arch Enemy.So in terms of metal this thing is quite versatile Id say.It is noisy but get yourself noise gate in the loop and problem solved!

The rhythm channel I use mostly for cleans and this is where most complaints for this amp come in but hey come on for this price what the hell are you babbling about!? I think the cleans sound kind of lifeless !!! yeah Im being honest and not biased cause I own the damn thing.but theres ways to make it come alive like use the neck pickup for a warmer sound.with EMG's its necessary to roll back the volume back a lil on the guitar(find your sweetspots).By using these simple techniques Ive found Im still happy with the clean sound of this amp.If your buying this amp for the cleans your def looking on the wrong department.This amp lives for Hi gain performances.

the crunch on this channel can get pretty nice when boosted with an OD pedal.for pure crunch I would rather get a Marshall JCM though, but it aint all that bad.

I have no idea of the age of this thing, but I do know that these things can go for years when taken good care of.the amp is one solid block and looks very sturdy.

havent dealt with them.

Im playing for 8 years now.I used to own a Marshall SS 50 watt combo (dont remember the model name), Line6 spider II.Sold all of it to get me a real tube amp.This is my first tube amp ever and I will probably keep this until it stops working!

If stolen Id definitely get me another one.maybe Id have to go for one of those ugly 6505's cuz these 5150's will be getting rare in time, but yeah its the inside of these things that count.I would probably not get something else cause I have done allot of research on other amps which offer more versatility but cost twice ,triple or even more.I just play melodic death metal and this amp serves me well I dont need all that jazzy clean and marshall crunch stuff so for me this amp is just a perfect fit.

I played allot on my friends JCM900 before I bought this and I like em both but for melodicdeath I definitely prefer the 5150 for its darker higher gain sound.I do wish it sometimes has separate EQ's for the rhythm and lead channels.The 5150II does offer that but is a little different sounding.Fuck it Ill take the 5150 for what it is any day without complaining. thanks

This is a two channel 5150 EVH block letter head, I am using this for a trash meets samba metal band. (Myspace.com/elphantheadrocks) if you want to check it out. The effects loop on this amp is amazing I run a MXR-135 and a boss ge-7 through the fx loop. I really wish this model came with a external bias control, it came pretty cold. I replaced the stock tubes with eurotubes intregrated quad set and it has been amazing. I use this amp live and in studio, I love it, plenty of power. I am giving this an 8 for 2 reasons, first the bias was only kicking out 12mA until I put the eurotubes in & second cause they did not put a bias switch on.

The amp is very versital, the clean channel is a bit dull but the eurotubes warmed it up a bit. Distortion hisses like a snake but thats where the mxr-135 came in, if run through the fx loop it takes care of that. Distortion is great, clean, big, full sound. I am using mainly an ESP Standard Viper with EMG 81's so it also has a very fat sound. Im gonna have to give this portion a 7 cause without the fx and a high end guitar this head will just sound like a bunch of noise.

I fully depend on this amp, I am 100% dependent on it. We have been playing a lot of shows and it has been very dependable. I dropped it once pretty hard as well and no problems at all.

Never delt with Peavey, Unfortunetly I have heard bad things but never experienced it for myself so.....

I have been playing for 13 years, I have gone through a lot of gear. I have had Marshalls, Mesas, ADA, Rocktron, and a VHT to my surprise the Peavey has been my favorite, It is amazing with a few alterations. I am planning on modding it at some point or getting another one just as a back up, but I really want to stick with the EVH block letter which are getting harder to find. If it were stolen I would be pissed and would defently replace it. I saw that FJA does the mod to put the bias meters on the back panel, so after that and I get and iec jack mod done I think my amp will be the best one have have ever had.

two channel, clean and distorted channels, the clean does have a crunch u can put on it. Sometimes I prefer that over the distortion. goes to 16 ohms. On and Standby. normal speaker inputs just 2.

Okk so everyone always says that this amp is only good for the distortion. well i had my bias modded and it actually changed my clean drastically. I use to play in a band with another guy who had a 6505 and we compared the clean his sounded a lot flatter and when he turned it to high volumes it would distort. Mine sounds full and smooth all the way. I play in a hardcore/metalish band and this amp has always pulled out the sounds i was always looking for

never had any problem with it.. just change the tubes and this thing hauls

never used it

great head, im looking to start running two heads live and im gonna keep the tradition of using peavey and im looking at the butcher. This amp was in my price range and I've been using it for 2 years and just absolutely love it.. I couldnt say enough about finding a head under a grand that blows most other heads out of the water!

2003 Peavey 5150 head 120 watts all tube Essentially 3 channels but you can only switch between 2 with the foot switch (Rhythm has a crunch setting). High and low gain inputs you can get a half decent clean tone with the low input. Would have liked a 5150 II but this does the job well enough for me.

This amp is built for metal and hardcore music pick up any hardcore records before bands landed big endorsements (Mesa/Boogie) Chances are the guitarists used one of these heads cos they're cheap, reliable and sound brutal. I used to play in hardcore bands and this amp was awesome I now play in a pop rock band and to be honest this amp is still pretty good for that not ideal but it works.

It's Peavey it'll go on forever just feed it new tubes once in a while and it'll last til the end of time!

Mine was second hand so Peavey wont want to know if anything goes wrong. All peavey stuff I've had in the past they've been more than helpful generally just needing new manuals and stuff.

I've been playing for 13 years my setup goes Heavily modded Fender '72 Telecaster Custom > Boss Tu-2 Tuner > Marshall Supervibe Chorus > Boss Ns-2 Noise Suppressor > Boss DD-20 Digital Delay > Peavey 5150 Head > Peavey Triple XXX Slanted 4x12. I got this just after peavey discontinued them off a friend of mine who wanted a less "metal" amp I'd been after one of these for years so traded him my PRS CE 24 (Which hadn't been out of it's case for 6 months) for it. Before I got this head I was using a Peavey XXL head which also a great amp but just didn't sound as powerful as the 5150.

update on my old 5150 head that I was thinking of dumping due to bad muddy tone. all features have been described

The amp has been resurrected from the brink of being sold. Really did not want to sell the old beast so I went all out and actually found that the amp can sound the way it was designed to. It's gone from muddy and brittle with jcm 800 like gain to hot elastic soldano like gain with a super tight bottom end. Sounds so close to a SLO 100 now it's unbeleivable and as good or better than the 5150 combo. THE CURE: Electro-Harmonix rated for high gain 12ax7's all the way across from V1 to V5 and two Sovtek 6L6 WXT+ power tubes. It is run at sixty watts only. And the other half of the solution: Marshall 1960B cab with 75 watt Celestions. This amp loves celestions. The 5150 cabs sound really bad compared to the marshall. The distortion tone is now a solid equal to the Mesa studio and the 5150 combo and also the Soldano. I couldn't be happier with it. It also sounds as good as a JSX head as well. I am going to purchase one of those as soon as I can too.

never failed

cool people

This is a first rate high gain head. I encourage anybody who owns one that is not happy with the tone, thinking that it is harsh, muddy, lacks gain, brittle, or whatever to play with tubes and speaker cabs before selling. You will be surprised. It is essentially a lower cost SLO 100, just a little different.

it does have a 1/4 and xlr jack, so that is nice. 16 ohms. bout the extent of features on a cab. this cab is def for metal, and that is what i'm using it for and its a dream.

the sound is unbelievable. i read some reviews on hear about people getting their cab and it, "farting." I didn't know what that meant, until i got mine and it started farting. it either sounded like a rattling or ripped speaker... so we opened it up and sure enough the speaker wasn't tight enough, we tightened it up and put it back together. i started playin it... and it wasn't as bad but there was still a really bad buzzing sound. i got this thing used on co-signment at a local muisc shop and i wasn't able to take it back so i was nervous. but we figured out it was the back panel rattling because the cab is so LOUD! so we took it apart again got some carpet padding put it on the sides so that it was tighter and wouldn't rattle. ever since then it has worked like a dream. this thing is soooo loud. i use to use a crappy Marshall MD cab, and this thing is more than double as loud, it is insane.

take the back pannel off and just look at the speakers... the magnets are HUGE! like i said i got this used so i don't know how well it was set up when new, because the previous owner did some mods, like changing the casters and leaving the holes from the old one. i'm going to cover them up and try and get it as air tight as possible, i can't even put my amp over like 4 to play now, and i'm in a hardcore band.

this thing looks like a tank, and is built like a tank, which is good since i'm gona be taking it on the road every weekend and months at a time in the sumer

haven't really tried. but i got endorsed by peavey and they were so nice and helpfull. i'm giving them an 8 cause i haven't worked with them that much.

i love this thing. my other guitarist has a Marshall mode 4, it is really nice cab of the nicest that marshall makes, and would choose my 5150 over it any day. i play on a gibson sg and a peavey valve king head(can't beat for the price, but saving up to get either 5150 head or 6505. my outfit sounds awesome right now w/just the vavle king and i cna't wait to get a 6505.) like i said i play in a hardcore band, like metalish type of stuff. if you are wanting a crunchy, gritty, powerfull cab than this is the cab for you. i'll say this once more... i love this cab....

two channel amp. Crunch and lead. Semi clean if you want, Loop, chan. switching. Plenty of juice.Wish it had verb. All tube.

Gets dirty and dirtier. Not much variety but good enough if you spend the time and like the tones. Not much of a clean sound. Distortion is just ok, not great. Using PV Wolfgang and MM EVH guitars both with Dimarzio pups.Suits my style which is blues hard rock and metal of all types. Not noisy. OK, here is the deal. I have had the amp for three years now. It's been great while I have had it and has been alot of fun, BUT sadly ever since getting my 5150 combo and My Mesa Boogie Studio preamp it has been left in the dust as far as sound quality goes. The Combo simply destroys it for tone and gain. And the Mesa Boogie? Well there is just no comparison. The Boogie shreds the poor 5150 HEAD. It is thin and lifeless compared to those amps. I have swapped tubes , used new tubes , and had the amp gone through with no problems found. I am spoiled by the Boogie sound now which can get ALOT heavier than the 5150 head ever could. The same goes for the 5150 COMBO. Much larger sound and much fatter sound. It is a different amp altogether according to Roger Crimm at PV. Those amps are fat and juicy and the head sounds flat by comparison. Am contemplating on selling it and getting a Mesa Triaxis or Mark III instead. I am going to give it one more go at getting it to sound up to the level of my other amps and then we will see. I might keep it around to use as a power amp with the triaxis or something. we will see.

Very reliable, only blown fuses

The best.

Been playing for 28 years. A veteran of the 80's metal scene. Like I said , one more go round for the old beast. I have basically been converted over to older(not Rectifier!) Mesa Boogie type tone which is far superior for ANY kind of tone, mellow or heavey. MY Studio Preamp sounds like a Mark IIc+! I wanted to keep it for collectability reasons but I still have the combo so...... They will always be around I think if I ever want another one, But i'll probably start collecting old Mesa Boogies instead, better resale value and better sound to go with it.

I'm here to write as much as a definative review as I can on a very sought after piece of equipment. You most likely arlready know the features of this unit and are trying to get insight from other people who own and play it. I own a 1994 Block Letter EVH edition. I bought it for it's acclaimed monsterous sound and collectability, not to mention it's affordability as well. It's shared EQ with both the Rhythm and Lead channel is definately a weakness but otherwise the amp is fairly versatile for all styles of Rock music...especially Heavy Metal!

On to the good stuff. A good portion of 5150 owners are using this amp for Hard Rock or Hardcore/Metal such as myself. As I mentioned above, the amp can be pretty versatile so it definately isn't limited to brash sounding music. However, this amp was certainly made to kick some serious ass and hand it back to ya. Do yourself a favor and take the time to tweek the knobs and sift through different combinations to find your "desired" sound. You will definately find something to please your ears. The amount of gain this amp can cook up is intense. Depending on the settings, it can almost be too much and leave you with a unpleasing muddy sound. With a little invested time, you can acquire anything between a classy, blusey sound to an all out Death Metal assault. Excellent sustain and rich in harmonics. As far as clean tones go, I personally wasn't impressed BUT you can find some nice sounds depending on the guitar you use. I tried an array of different types of guitars and obviously found that some sound more full bodied than others. If you play Heavy Metal music such as I do, you most likey are using a dual humbucker guitar (bare minimum humbucker in the bridge position) and the character of the tone seems blah. By all means it's not horrible but definately not a spine tingler. This is the case as well even when you use the neck position pickup. When you switch over to using a single coil guitar the amp starts to give you more tonal options and gives you a fair improvement on capabilities. My judgement is based on plenty of knob tweeking in both Hi and Normal Gain inputs with mahogany bodied guitars (one with a flamed maple top) and set necks. I tested the cleans with Seymour Duncan hot rails, Fender Texas Specials, PAF humbuckers, Seymour Duncan Full Shred Humbuckers, and EMG 81/85's active hums. Overall the amp can accomplish a great amount of tonal varieties but I suggest to look elsewhere if you plan on playing a lot of songs that are written with swithching between clean/distortion due to the shared EQ of the two available channels. It is highly unlikely you will be completely satisfied with the tones you get from both channels on the same EQ settings. I suppose the 5150 II was the answer to this complaint of many diversified musicians in the industry. In regards to the difference in sound of the earlier "block letter" EVH models vs. the "signature" models, I am happily on the "myth" bandwagon. When I was interested in buying one of these puppies, I did some research on the difference between the two with a little help of a friend of mine that owns a little guitar shop. He disassembled the two "different" models (both years unknown) and did find some of the electronic components to be of higher quality in the block letter head in addition to a slightly beefier power supply unit. I'm certainly no electrition of any sort so I wouldn't know whether or not if that makes any difference in tone. Sure it sounds logical but is it really true? I haven't been fortunate enough to test the heads out side by side so I have no answer to this popular myth in the 5150 world. The amp does provide it's share of hiss especially when using the Hi Gain input. BOTTOM LINE: This amp was made to blaze the world. MASSIVE sound! Huge, tight bottom end (great in more than one way if you know what I mean ;-P). Metal Heads, you won't be dissapointed. The impressive list of artists who uses these should be enough proof otherwise.

I bought my model from Ebay and the unit was supposedly hardly used. From the looks of it I believe it. Remarkable condition. Since I don't know how often it was used and I have put only a couple of hours on it so far I'm not going to put a rating in this category. So far so good. I do hear of these things being work horses and fully look foward to living up to those statements.

A1, A+, First Class, First Rate, however you want to put it...they are true professionals. I emailed them for some tech info and they responded in less than 24 hours! Very friendly email might I add. A couple of years back I had a foot controller issue that needed resolving and they were very supportive of my issue. Outstanding organization overall.

If you ever had any desire in owning this amp from hearing all the ranting and raving, do yourself a favor and GO GET ONE! For the price(which steadily increases as each year goes by) and quality of this unit, you can't beat it. I consider myself to be a tone whore. I love all kinds of different products that produce great tone. Afficionados are always gonna boast and brag about what they think is great. Truth is whether its a Marshall JCM 800, Soldano SLO-100, Engl Powerball, Framus Cobra, Diezel Herbert, Bogner Uberschall, VHT G-100-UL Pittbull, Mesa Rectifier or Mark IV, etc etc etc, they all embody their own unique, individual and versatile tones. Somebody is always gonna tell you why brand X is superior to the others. This review is based solely on the 5150 and I am just proud to post a solid recomendation to anyone who wanted to get an opinion on it.

I bin playing off/on since age 7-41.
Ace simple amp.
Saw one in the paper and raced 20 miles to buy it.
Dont see many around.
I used to play in Deep Purple covers band with it.
Just the job.
Also did a few nice tunes.
The amp is like having a dog... it's just behind you and you bond with it... you hear every sound... it's mean... and subtle too.
No point in buying a Chiwawa to kick ass.

No reverb. Acts like a noise gate.... when u stop playin so does the amp.
Enables clearer soloing etc.
Managed to wack out Sweet Child of Mine through my Les Paul Junior... what a nice sound, full bodied with sustain..i actually got off on that... felt like Slash.
Put the head on a Marshall 4x12 to fill the sound ofcourse.
Basically a UNIQUE WARM valve monster.
In a gig situation it is a perfect SIZE. You never need to turn it down and restrict the valves, they are always pumping. This blows the nuts off 2x12 amps ofcourse.
Now using a Strat Deluxe to experiment with.
I believe in no-fx at all, except Wah. the crowd love a real player (who struggles a bit with no-fx).
This amp has a lot of gain and I find it easier to play than full overdrive on my Marshall 50DFX practice amp... your fingers just race along........
You can get ace feedback aka Hendrix styleeee.

Can be bundled into back of me van to gigs OK.
I had a practice, round my house and ran a BASS guitar throo it!!
Seemed to work at the time but laterzzz...i think i shagged a valve.... had to replace one of the 12AX7s.
Bin gigging over a few yrs, I somehow shagged the send/return effects loop so go inline now through guitar input channels.

n/a.

Good rock amp.

I have a signature series. Features are quite lacking, but like others said, can be a good thing. As there is less that can go wrong. But 2 seperate EQ's for the channels would have been nice.

Come on, how can you not say this amps sound quality is amazing? I spent a very long time searching for the tones only this amp has been able to create. I've played for 14 years, and I've never heard anything touch this. Sound quality is to die for on any style of music you play. I play everything from Jazz - Metal, and I get killer tone in any situation. Not only that, but it doesn't matter what volume you play at either. Still sounds disgustingly good. Gives me the chills most of the time when practicing. Speaking of volume. I don't know who put the 120 Watt label on this puppy, because it sounds more like 1020. I usually practice in my metal band on about 2.5 Post gain, and cut through everything like a steak knife through warm butter. I can't say enough about the sound this amp produces. Anyone who says it sounds noisy, obviously hasn't figured out the proper settings for the sound they're looking for.

I've had mine for 2 years, never had one problem. Replaced the tubes once in that whole time period, but it ended up being for the best. They sounded even better then the originals. I definitely don't fret if this amp will work or not when I hit the stand by switch to on.

Don't know about this one. Never had to deal with Peavey, because the amp has never had anything wrong with it.

I've been playing over 14 years, and right now I own 2 Ibanez's. One RG3120 and another RGT42 for backup. A 76 American Strat, and a custom Hamer. Gone through many others, Jackson's, Gibson's and such. I just sold my TSL 100, because after I got this I never touched it. Been through tons of amps looking for tone like this. If it were stolen, I would either track it down, or buy a new one. I love the TONE!!! I hate the 1 EQ. Although I must say, whatever they did to 5150 II which was made just for this feature. It just is not the same. At all... Overall, I'd say, especially for the money, buy one if you can. Signature or block letter. I can tell you from experience they sound EXACTLY the same.

good enough...2 chanels. eq, etc....resonance...best feature...

i thought it was shit when i bought it....but cause the seller woudn't take it back...i was left with this beast to fuck about....well...i fuckin love it now....it's a really good amp, plus it's crisp and cuts really well on the band mix....

so far so good

yeah...

good stuff, very impressed

5150 head. Two switching channels (lead & rhythm) with effects loop. It is a 120W of all tube power so that is more than enought. I realy like the resonance knob for full bodied sound as well as PRE and POST knob for those of you or should I said us who like to ad a little bit of perfection to the sound.

This is an A/B class amp. It can produce a butifull clean sound as well as storming heavy sounds.I use a Jackson PS4 Performer which I customied for my needs. I've replaced pickups with Dimarzio John Petrucci pickups with Push-Pull: D-Sonic (bridge) and Air Norton (neck), all special order in red/black combination. In the middle I kept a Jackson single which sounds quite nice. I also replaced the bridge with Floyd rose Fast load in crome.So now the 5150 amp can shine in all his glory!The amp is not noisy at all but if you go to far with tha crunch it can become a bit noisy.REALY LIKE THE RESONANCE KNOB FOR FULLBODIED AND RICH SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have replaced on pair of tubes in 5 years and hade some problem with pre amp section. But nothing serious.

The warranty is only 2 years.

I have been playing for 8 years and this is my first all tube amp.I use it with Line6 PODxt pro and Peavey 4x12 slant cab and it is all I need. If it would be stolen I'd probably buy something smaller, like a A class combo (all tube) or all tube power amp for rack but with the same tone capabilities. And I say it again: I REALY LOVE THE RESONANCE KNOB FOR FULLBODIE SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!

made in early 90's
Block letter EVH head
2 channels
clean, crunch, lead
All tube
plenty of power

Have had it for evaluation compared to my signature 5150 head for three months. I have changed out the tubes, swapped tubes, used different cabs and guitars, played in different rooms etc...... After three months of testing on my own and with and without a band I can tell you that the only difference between the two is cosmetic. There is no tonal difference whatsoever other than what tubes you use, cabs, effects and most importantly the player himself.Tubes made a huge difference in tone, but the basic sound of the amps is the same. The EVH block letter scam is total B.S. its the same amp. TUBES make a huge difference in the tones that you get

very tough

good

Good amps for any kind of rock. In the right hands(somebody who can actually play) it can be a monster. If you have poor skills it will show it. A real guitarists amp, and rightly so. Look who designed it. The man himself.

The usual. two channels, shared eq, effects loop. I play rock. good for that. Wish it had reverb but that is no big deal. I use the amp to gig, teach, and jam with friends and to practice at home. All tube amplifier. The only way to get "real" guitar tone in my opinion

The Amp is well suited for any kind of rock and roll. Can get bluesy to very heavy distortion. A word on the tone of this amp. I also have a 5150 combo which sounds a little different than the head. A little more gain, a little brighter,tighter bottom, and a little better on the clean side. I noticed this right away upon purchasing the head and bottom 5150 cab. I changed the tubes out so that the head uses the same tubes as the combo and runs at sixty watts as well. I connected the head to the combo's speakers for test purposes and guess what? no difference in the tone. The combo still sounded better overall. So I call Peavey and get Roger Crimm on the line and he tells me that they are basically two different amps to start with. He said that they tweaked the preamp alittle more on the combo than the head and made it hotter because thats the way Eddie wanted it . He said that they tried and tried to make the head sound the same but they couldn't. I had a feeling that this was the case since I have heard many rumors to that effect. So there you go, straight from the horses mouth. I have found that you can make the head have the same sound gain wise and tonally as the combo by using a graphic eq in front of the amp. Depending on your eq settings you can get them to sound almost identicle that way. very interesting. So I run my head that way and it's fucking great. Smooth and creamy. Veeeerrrry Soldano like. I use a george Lynch tripler and run them together and it's the best distorted guitar sound I have ever heard. In the distortion department they can compete with any thing out there. I run them dry as a bone and they just sound awesome. All I need is a JSX and I'll be set for life. I have Roland jc-120's for clean. Heh!

Has not given me any trouble except a blown power tube. That's it.

Vey good. Roger was very informative.

I have been playing for 27 years. I own a Les paul standard, A peavey wolfgang, a gibson SG, and a hamer sunburst from 78". I purchased the Hamer the same year as I purchased the First Van Halen album, Thats when I started playing..I also own a Soldano hot rod 100 + head. I use most of the stuff to gig and teach with.

- 2 channels rythm/lead
- effects loop
- 120 WATTS ALL TUBE POWER!!!!
- high gain input and low gain input
- it only has one set of equalizers for both channels which is kind of dissapointing

I use a Jackson with a DiMarzio Evolution neck pick up and the DX2 bridge pickup and a Fender Strat which I replaced the bridge pickup with a DiMarzio Fast Track 2.

It's amazing for death metal.(Origin, Behemoth, Nile, etc.) I can aso get a nice rich clean out of it for some jazz.

People often complain about this amp because it's 'too noisy and has too much gain' but I would strongly disagree. If you know how to work the settings it isn't either of those.

I bought it used so I'm not sure how the previous owner treated it but it has broken down on me once. Other than that it has been very reliable. It has fallen off the cab a few times without doing anything to it so it's very sturdy.

I had my repair done locally so I wouldn't know.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably look for another one but since they don't make them anymore I think I'd end up getting a 6505 which I hear is supposed to be basically the same thing.

Just because I'm a freak about my tone and am constantly trying to get a better sound out my equipment I'm hoping to soon get a sonic maximizer and a nice equalizer to hook through it.

If you ever come across one of these I would defanitley recommend getting it.