Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Dave Sloven on June 20, 2013, 06:12:01 AM
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Hello everyone, I'm considering getting something bigger than my current practice amp, something suitable for smallish metal and punk gigs in pubs and whatnot.
A friend of mine has a Peavey 5150 II and cabinet which I really like. It's not for sale - I get the distinct impression he has no plans to ever part with it - but I'd like something similar. I'm wondering what the opinions of people here are with regard to the various amps in the series.
i.e.,
5150 now 6065
5150 II now 6065+
6534+
It seems like the last of these is quite different from the other two, while the first two differ in the pre-amp stage. I'm still tending toward the 6065+, as it seems similar in specs to the new Iommi signature Laney (which also interests me but is hard to find here and likely to be very expensive when eventually released in Australia) which is the other main amp that I'd be interested in.
There is also the question of a cabinet. My friend seems happy with his Peavey cabinet with the Sheffields in it, and I have to admit that thing has an amazing bottom end, but a lot of people seem to prefer a cabinet with V30s to go with the 6065, perhaps because the Peavey cab is too bassy for them
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This is probably a quite controversial opinion, I actually prefer the 6260 (Bugera) to the 6505/+ (Peavey)
First of all, it has the abillity to use pretty much any power tubes you want which for me alone was enough to get it over a 6505. Second of all, I think its tighter sounding than the 6505 (with the E34L's I put in it) which works better with my guitar, which has a Holy Diver Set in it. Third of all, the clean channel on the 6260 is far superior to the 6505, I didn't try the 6505+ clean channel when I played it so no opinion on that.
Other than that, I like Eminence speakers so I got a custom cab by Texas Dragon cabs with front loaded Emenince Legend V12's and a closed back, its very "directional" as in you have to be sitting right in front it to get the full on sound, but compared to my old guitar teachers Peavey combo with V30's and my Ampeg VH-140c cab (with some kind of Ampeg Celestion clones I believe) the TD was very balanced sounding which I personally love, as I hate the upper mid spike of V30's, it also sounds the tightest/smoothest.
I'm sure you would be happy with a production cab but I was just throwing that out there, Mesa Recto cabs are very popular with 6505's and i'm sure would sound great.
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I think theyre pretty cool. Have you though about the new EVH 5150 iii though? Got a far better clean channel and 2 separate overdrive channels.
There are lots of great cabs out there if you like Peavey go for that. I'd consider Orange though very good value compared to peavey or mesa boogie and imo better. Dont pay any thing over £1000 any way whatever that is is aussie currency
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The series is a real powerhouse of an amp. I used a 5150 Mk1 for many years and loved it; I only sold it when I relocated to England from Germany.
The strength of the series are
- awesome high gain sound
- high reliability
- sounds very good recorded
- relatively good low volume sound (you can get it to sound good at lower volumes)
Many artists used 5150s for recording, even if they claimed to endorse other products :-) And its not just metal artists - Joe Satriani used a 5150 in the studio a lot as well.
With the Bugera my worries would be the reliability and the resale value.
Which amp of the series kind of depends on personal taste; they sound quite similar in high-gain. There isn't a difference between the 5150 and 6505 series that I can hear; I'd also wonder if any tonal differences are more down to individual tubes and parts tolerances.
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With the Bugera my worries would be the reliability and the resale value.
I was interested to read the positive comments on the Bugera as I have only heard bad things about them. I have no idea what their reliability is like, I guess that varies from unit to unit, but Peavey have a great reputation for reliability (besides the new 60W 6505+ 112 combo, which is made in China - unlike the rest of the series - and seems to have a fuse problem, leading a local retailer to have them on sale now for the price of a Laney Iommi 15W practice amp!) and subsequently (combined with their studio reputation) an excellent resale value. Even twenty year old 5150s sell for $1000 here in good condition, although the 5150 II seems to be more sought after due to it being apparently more versatile. You can buy a 6505 for $1300 new, a 6505+ for $1600 new, and a 6534+ for $1800 new here in Australia on the internet/ebay at the moment, but the exchange rate is worsening as the US economy improves and the prospect of an austerity regime being elected in September looms. It is the end of the financial year here at the end of this month and I plan to get my tax return in as early as possible so that I can use part of my tax refund to at least buy a head. You can get the cabinets on ebay etc under $1000, but I could also get a cr@ppier cab for home use and use the cab at the local pub (which is 5150 cab) or my mate's cab if I needed it for a gig. I'm not in a band at the moment so it doesn't matter too much. I see the head as a bit of investment as I hope to get something together over the next year or so and by then I might not be able to afford it if the exchange rates go back to those of the late 1990s.
Cheers for all the responses, I figured that given that these are a popular amp a lot of people would have tried them. I'm especially interested to hear from people who have tried both the 5150/6065 and the 5150 II/6065+ and can explain why they prefer one over the other. Obviously a 6065 saves me a couple of hundred dollars over a 6065+ but really for such a small difference (I guess it is a couple of months worth of coffees, but still not that much compared to some other stuff) I'd rather make sure I have a keeper.
From the videos online the 6534+ seems a bit more mellow and vintage by comparison, is that fair?
P.S. On the EVH amps they are a bit of an unknown quantity here as they have been quite hard to get in my area (Adelaide). From what I heard though they seem very different to the Peavey ones. Maybe EVH has changed his requirements in terms of amps? Interestingly the EVH 5150III seems more like the 6534+ than either of the 5150s released by Peavey. Oh and Orange are way overpriced here, usually $1400+ for a cab and it has that ugly orange tolex that rips easily. If I were to get a V30 cab it would probably be a Marshall 1960a, which you can get for around $800 second hand.
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I had a Marshall 1960ac which was a very cool cab but in fairness it had greenbacks. I prefer my Orange PPC412 to it and in England the price gap isnt that silly at at all.... the orange is only a little more expensive. Of course sound is relative but the Orange is built like a tank and like no other cab i could find. Not sure about the tolex but i would have thought all cabs got roughed up if you used them often, besides you could always nickname it agent orange!
I'm can see you're into proper 80's thrash as am I and Peavey's 5150's didn't really fit in with that genre per se as you'll know (Other than Testament). A lot of great thrash and heavy guitarists such as Aborted, Testament, Havok, Fear Factory, Annihilator, In Flames, The Haunted and Forbidden have made the switch from Peavey 5150's etc to the new EVH 5150 iii as well as guitarists who have used other brands.
If people believe the older 5150's were better then fine it's all subjective but obviously guitarists such as Eric Peterson and Dino Cazares feel the 5150 iii is an improvement oh and im a massive Van Halen fanboy so ill just blindly take what he says as gospel!
If I had the cash i'd only consider swapping my orange rockerverb for a evh 5150 iii but to be honest more for practical reasons like the extra overdrive channel and a switchable fx loop which the rockerverb doesnt have. The 5150 iii reminds me of my rockerverb but is probably just better tbf.
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That's interesting. Yeah the 5150 does seem to be associated with the '90s stuff. I'm wondering if the 6534+ might be the more flexible amp. Certainly the 6505+ (5150 II) seems to be less of a 'one trick pony' than the 6505 (5150). The 6505+ and the 6534+ seem to have a similar preamp with a different power amp (or at least different tubes) - I'm wondering how big a difference that makes in sound? I'm having trouble locating relevant comparison videos online. The only semi-useful one I found was all RATM riffs, which is not that helpful, but it did seem like the 6534+ has a more 'open' sound. Personally I don't feel that a guitar shop is a great setting for trying anything out, and when you get home your ideas on whatever it was you thought would be okay based on a brief blast in the shop inevitably change. That's why I value the opinions of others and combine them with those partial impressions from the shop.
Yeah I'm definitely into '80s stuff. Some of the stuff I am into was recorded on rubbish gear though - e.g., Entombed, Napalm Death, Doom, etc so it's hard to know whether all of this money is worth spending! Funny thing is that you have to almost reverse engineer stuff now to get those harder sounds as manufacturers (e.g., Gibson) are generally going for a more vintage sound or some kind of compromise sound (e.g., the Gibson 498T)
Speaking of '90s sound, I've thought that Black Sabbath have a tendency to go down that road and this makes me somewhat wary of their recent endorsed gear. I've considered getting the new Iommi practice amp but I would want to hear one first rather than order it in on spec. I didn't really like the sound on 'The Devil You Know'. I haven't heard '13' properly yet, as our local stockist is still waiting for it.
These are the comparison videos I found on youtube. Both of these are 5150 vs 6534+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD74jyUUz64 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD74jyUUz64)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGdq-INQ3jU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGdq-INQ3jU)
I also found this horrible video that compares all of the high gain Peavey valve heads except the 6505 (the last two are the 6534+ and 6505+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWkcgRhMuwA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWkcgRhMuwA)
Based on all of these I am unfortunately leaning toward the most expensive option the 6534+ :?
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I'd go 5150/6505 or 5150 III. The old ones have a real thump too them that's just amazing. The 5150 III is well worth a look at as it's new and available and it seems like a hell of a thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W46XQ-grJEc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W46XQ-grJEc)
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I ended up buying a 6534+ in one of the deals going at the moment on ebay for Peavey stuff here in Australia. The current downward movement in our currency and the end of our financial year mean that we are unlikely to see these prices again any time soon, so I figure it's a decent investment. Someone is advertising an ENGL E412V here for half new price (half current new price I should say, around a third of 'retail'). It has some scuffs on the bottom due to the fact that it's a 50kg cab that has been dragged up and down of stages a few times but that doesn't bother me much, otherwise it looks in new condition. I had a listen to these samples comparing cabs on youtube and I'm wondering how good a guide they are in comparison. I liked this one, the Krank, and the Marshall on this video, so I guess (together with comments in this thread on cabinets) I am leaning toward V30 cabinet of some kind. I don't like the sound of the MESA, and the Orange sounds a bit muffled going by this video.
Guitar Cab IR Shootout (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JUm3VGwZJQ#)
I also liked the V30 cabs in this video except for the MESA, which I didn't like again.
Guitar Cabinets IR shootout comparison / Red Wirez / (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt_X-LGckZw#ws)
I also thought that the Peavey in the first video wasn't so great. In the second video I didn't like the first Marshall shown much (G 12 75T), the Matchless, the Soldano, the Fender, and the MESA again. I quite like the Orange in the second video though,even though it's the same cab. It might be in large part the difference in guitar, amp, player, and style that made the difference between the two videos there. In general l liked the sounds in the second video more. Most of them sounded a bit muffled in the first one.
Listening to them again I must be partial to a chainsaw sound ... I guess that's why I went with the A-bomb too. I wonder though if there can be too much of a good thing, and combining that pickup in an SG with an aggressive sounding cab might be too much! :?
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I don't mind a chainsaw sound myself which is why I picked up a Boss HM-2 off ebay a while ago. It's a good time to buy gear being end of financial year and our dollar diving. It's why I got a Strat now rather than wait.
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I used the Marshall 1960AV. I doesn't have a lot of low mids (doesn't sound as fat), but cuts the mix really well because of the upper mids.
It's probably my favorite 4x12 overall.
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Cheers Alex, that is definitely one of the cabinets I liked. Unfortunately that specific Marshall cab (the one loaded with V30s) is not common second-hand. I will probably settle for something around the $800 mark from Gumtree (local classified ads) unless some really good deal on a Marshall appears at the end of this month. That ENGL might be the go unless something else turns up.
Yeah Dr Pain the EOFY sales are sweet, I was nearly tempted to buy a Gibson SG Junior at a local shop for $800 and put a dogear Pig 90 or Supermassive into it ... I used to have a HM-2 back in the day (I think it was the Taiwan made version) but traded it to someone (in brand new nick) for something forgettable. You never know what you'll want 20 years later!
I actually have a Peavey Bandit (teal stripe) here that I could have paired that up with for some Sunlight sound action too! Oh well!!
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Cheers Alex, that is definitely one of the cabinets I liked. Unfortunately that specific Marshall cab (the one loaded with V30s) is not common second-hand. I will probably settle for something around the $800 mark from Gumtree (local classified ads) unless some really good deal on a Marshall appears at the end of this month. That ENGL might be the go unless something else turns up.
Yeah Dr Pain the EOFY sales are sweet, I was nearly tempted to buy a Gibson SG Junior at a local shop for $800 and put a pig-ear Pig 90 or Supermassive into it ... I used to have a HM-2 back in the day (I think it was the Taiwan made version) but traded it to someone (in brand new nick) for something forgettable. You never know what you'll want 20 years later!
I actually have a Peavey Bandit (teal stripe) here that I could have paired that up with for some Sunlight sound action too! Oh well!!
Three points I'll make here:
1. Some people will claim that one cab is much better than another one. I'd argue in most cases (i.e. quality cabs) they're simply different and a lot is down to personal taste. For example the ENGL is really very rigid, so it doesn't "breathe" as much, whereas Fryette/VHT and Marshalls have a lighter construction and hence "breathe" a bit more. What's better? The one you like the most.
2. The Marshall 1960 AV V30s are 16 ohm versions. The ones in the Mustaine cabs might be 8 ohms - I don't know. The ENGL and Mesa ones are 8 ohm versions. It does make a tonal difference, and I guess it's part of the the reason the Marshall sounds so aggressive and the ENGL/Mesa sound so fat and full. The 1960 AV IMO is really good to get a classic AC/DC or Michael Schenker sound with a Marshall (eventhough Angus Young doesn't use that cab!). I've actually been so lucky to have been playing for some months in a rehearsal room with my 1960AV, the 1960 A and a Mesa Rectifier cab, allowing easy comparison.
On my 7 band EQ pedal I could see that the 1960AV was pretty lean on the low mids. I can't vouch for it, but I think it was the 400 Hz band.
3. The 5150/6505s EQs are good enough to adjust them nicely to most cabs; the EQ works well and the presence and resonance allow you to trim things nicely. If things don't seem to work, try setting presence and resonance to very low values (1-3). I got the idea from Chris Ammott from Arch Enemy (saw a picture with his EQ settings).
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My HM-2 is Japanese and I got it off ebay, $100 from some chick in Melbourne's West. I got my Strat for $600 but I was really close to getting an American standard Strat for $1300 but I would have had to pay it off for a month or two. But not going to worry about that as the Strat I got is really good.
I'd like to hear a 6534+ as I like that whole Peavey range. I tried a 5150 60 watt back in 1994 and they guy told me not to turn it up as they wanted to stay in the shop. I never forgot it as it made the best noise. I'm still tempted to get a 5150 III 50 watt.
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I got the 6534+ from a place in Melbourne that sells keyboards. Charging me $40 to ship it over to SA. If you want some Peavey stuff here in Australia there's no better time than this week. I had a choice of a couple of places over there in the $1300-1400 price range.
Cheers Alex for the advice on cabs. The one thing I was trying to work out from the Peavey manuals was whether the power amp outputs in stereo, and thus whether I can run two leads out of the head to run the halves of a stereo cab (such as the ENGL cab or the Peavey 430A) at 16ohms? It seems like the cabs can do this but I'm not sure that the head can.
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I'm pretty sure the outputs on all the 6505/5150 etc heads are parallel mono outputs.
I would imagine that cab (430A) is 16ohm mono or two 8ohm stereo pairs. If you used both outputs on a 5150 into a single cab with stereo inputs, you wouldn't be running in stereo.
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I'm pretty sure the outputs on all the 6505/5150 etc heads are parallel mono outputs.
I would imagine that cab (430A) is 16ohm mono or two 8ohm stereo pairs. If you used both outputs on a 5150 into a single cab with stereo inputs, you wouldn't be running in stereo.
Cheers. I think what I was wondering was if put through in stereo the amp would operate like two 60W heads and cabs running through the one pre-amp, and thus have more chance of being able to be cranked louder, although this Peavey series does sound surprisingly good at lower volumes.
Peavey have been really bad at promoting their recent stuff, including the 6534+. There aren't many reviews of it online or videos of it, and I only just found out that the 430 cabinet is the 'matched' cab for this particular head, rather than the 6505 cab. My local Peavey dealer has one of these in stock, but he has on his site that the 6505 is matched for the '6505 series' (including the 6534+) and the 430A as matched with the Peavey Butcher head. The speakers in that cabinet are Stephens Tru-Sonic 30s, which sound to me like a slightly mellower and less middy V30.
Here's a review of the 6534+ & 430A by Guitar World, including a video.
http://www.guitarworld.com/peavey-6534-head-and-430-4x12-cab (http://www.guitarworld.com/peavey-6534-head-and-430-4x12-cab)
To me the cab sounds pretty good with this head. The power handling on it though is half that of the ENGL, which is rated at 240W mono and 120W stereo. I'm not sure if the higher rating is a good thing. Peavey also tend to rate their stuff lower than it is. Maybe ENGL err the other way? Also someone is advertising a used Orange V30 412 with the black tolex, but it seems to have a very high number of views and might go for as high as $950 + $100 freight
EDIT: My local dealer just offered the 430A to me new for $1000 flat. Best deal I've seen on this anywhere. I might just go down there tomorrow and pick it up. At least I know that it's matched to the amp, and it has that V30 sound that goes well with the 6534+ like rather than the bassy sound of the Sheffield 6505 cab. It also has a five year warranty.
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I'm pretty sure the outputs on all the 6505/5150 etc heads are parallel mono outputs.
I would imagine that cab (430A) is 16ohm mono or two 8ohm stereo pairs. If you used both outputs on a 5150 into a single cab with stereo inputs, you wouldn't be running in stereo.
Cheers. I think what I was wondering was if put through in stereo the amp would operate like two 60W heads and cabs running through the one pre-amp, and thus have more chance of being able to be cranked louder, although this Peavey series does sound surprisingly good at lower volumes.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but neither the 6505 or 6534 will never run in stereo, and they won't run in 60watts unless you get a half power switch added to the amp (or they have one already) or you do the old 'pull out two power valves' trick. You need a stereo power amp which none of those amps have, or two complete amps to run in stereo. Using the 'stereo' inputs on the cab and two leads to the head, is exactly the same as using one lead to the head and the cab set to mono.
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Cheers. Yeah I was confused. I'm not exactly knowledgeable regarding anything to do with amps beyond turning the knobs on the front.
One thing I am worried about: is a 120W cab adequate for a 120W head? The 430A Peavey, which Peavey recommends for the 3020 and 6534+ 120W amps as well as the 100W Butcher, is 120W (16 ohms).
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See, that is weird. I don't understand it. A valve head is capable of more than its rated clean power once the power amp starts to clip. 120watt cab does seem low. I'm not sure about the butcher but into 16ohms, 8ohms or 4ohms, the 6505 etc heads will always be 120watt. It might be like you say, that those speakers are underrated in terms of power handling. Peavey might put 30watts on them so people think they are like a greenback or something. But yeah, it seems odd to me that they recommend a 120watt cab for a 120watt head. I've never blown a 4x12, but I've only ever really used Vintage 30's or G12T-75's until recently, and they both handle more power.
Maybe someone here has some experience with old Greenback loaded 4x12's and 100watt marshall heads?
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I thought it strange too. Also a Celestion V30, as opposed to these 'Tru Sonic V30s', is rated at 60-70W, not 30W. It might be possible that they went for a V30 type voicing in a greenback power-rated speaker, but having the cab rated at 120W and then making it THE cabinet for a 120W tube head does seem very odd.
Here's the specs on the 3120:
Four EL34s and four 12AX7s
- Power amp switchable to use EL34s or 6L6GCs (ships with EL34s)
- 120 watts into 16, 8, or 4 ohms (switchable)
Here's the specs on the 6134+ (for which they apparently - although this is nowhere confirmed except on Guitar World to my knowledge, but supposedly that's what they were told by Peavey):
- Six 12AX7 preamp tubes and four EL34 power amp tubes
- 120 watts RMS into 16, 8 or 4 ohms
By all accounts the output of the EL34 equipped 6134+ is comparable to the 6L6 equipped 6505+, which is notoriously loud.
Here are the specs of the 430A & 430B cabinets:
- Four 12" Stephens™ Tru-Sonic 30 watt speakers
- 16 ohms
- Stereo or Mono operation
- 120 Watts power handling (2 x 60W in stereo mode)
It is listed as the speaker box for the 3120 series (http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/series/798/3120%E2%84%A2%20Series) and the Butcher series (http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/series/800/Butcher%20Series%26trade%3B) (4xEL34 100W power section & 5x12AX7 preamp tubes). Apparently it was developed for the Butcher but they seem to be recommending it for all of their 'British' (i.e., EL34 equipped) amps.
I'm tempted to go for a 240W V30 non-Peavey cab with V30s such as an Engl Pro, Krank, Orange, or Marshall 1960AV if I can find one under $1000 (second-hand cabs here are a little scarce with new prices depressed, people seem to be holding on to them until prices rise again).
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Amp arrived today.
Unlike the USA version the Australian version seems to have a separate power cord:
(http://i40.tinypic.com/6745cx.jpg)
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On the basis of advice here and elsewhere I'm going to get one of the Orange PPC412 cabs as it seems like the best all round cab for these amps, despite the lack of wheels.
I'll update this post with a photo of my rig once it's all set up.
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Good choice. That's gonna be a cool rig and the cab will hold value better than the peavey or engl. It'll have enough power to handling to deal with the amp too.
I hate how Peavey don't put IEC's on all there mains inputs. The UK version of the amp is just a euro version with a fixed lead, that has an adapter screwed over the 2 pin euro plug to make it 3pin and fused. It's massive and really annoying to store. Much better to fit an IEC like that.
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Cheers.
Well I have it all plugged in, but no sounds out of it yet. Have the impedance set at 16 ohms to match the cabinet. It's not clear from either the amplifier or the cabinet which of the two jacks on the back of each it is supposed to go into, but I have plugged both into the left jack looking at the units from the back. I've started it up and let it warm up and then plugged the guitar in and turned the volume on post up to 1 but no noises at all besides the sound of the tubes warming up. Any ideas???? This is the first tube amp and the first amp and cabinet I've had but I'm sure there's something that the manufacturers are assuming I already know as there are no instructions on the cabinet and very little except marking the outputs as speaker jacks in the manual.
Anyway it looks nice!
(http://i42.tinypic.com/9hon84.jpg)
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The two speaker outputs on the back of the head are wiring together internally. It shouldn't have a difference which one you plug into there. You do need to match the head to impedance of the cab, and you always need to have the head plugged into a load (a cab or some kind of load box) if you want to turn it on.
On the back of the cab, I imagine one jack is an input and the other is a link to daisychain cabs together. I dunno which is which but google suggests the left is the input, but I think they'll be wired together internally too.
You need some pre gain and post gain to get sound. It might be that you have to get over '1' and then the amp will suddenly spring into life. Other than that I'd check you have the standby switch in the working (amp on) position and you guitar turned up and directly into the amp. Doesn't sound like you've done anything wrong though. Also check what channel you are on and what dials you're turning. All basic stuff but I know I miss things like that easily.
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Cheers. I think it was that I didn't have the green standby light on! Looking at videos on the web that is on when playing (see below). For some reason I thought that was to be on when not playing (i.e., in standby). I'll give it a go when everyone is out of bed! :D
Peavey 6534+ video review demo Guitarist Magazine HD (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plXwqCW74qM#ws)
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Enjoy! remember to always leave a 30s-1min (minimum) time frame between turning it on and pressing the stanby switch to on
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Enjoy! remember to always leave a 30s-1min (minimum) time frame between turning it on and pressing the stanby switch to on
Some people even say that is helps prolong the life of speakers when you after turning the amp on wait a min to have the speaker coils warm up on the noise as well before you hit them with high volume powerchords. Dunno if this really holds any truth and there probably will be a discussion about that now in this thread.
What I am pretty sure of is that even if that is true it should not really matter when playing at bedroom levels. For gig levels this might be a different story though. DUnno.
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It was just that I didn't have the standby switch on. I let it warm up for a couple of minutes before turning that on and playing a bit. It's loud, that's for sure!!
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The "warming up" thing is a myth that comes from cathode ray technology. It's worse to leave your amp in standby for long periods of time. Of course, this all depends on what your standby switch is actually doing in the circuit when you switch it.
I thought it might be the standby. I think when I had a 6505 I did the same thing when I got it.
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I'm happy to report that the 6534+ has a very usable clean channel with a crunch switch. With crunch selected you can produce some great rock tones along the lines of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, etc. The lead channel is quite similar to the 6505+ lead channel, with perhaps a slightly warmer tone.
I made the right choice for me out of the Peavey amps!! :guitar4:
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glad to hear
never had a chance to find one of those el34 versions here in brazil
I used to be a huge peavey fan and had a rockmaster preamp for years
I was gonna suggest you the new mike fortin designed randall amps
I had the factory fortin modded old rd50h model with el34's
it was one of the best high gain amps I ever played and it used to cost under US$500 new (the new 45w model is $599)
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Wow that's cheap!
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Wow that's cheap!
yes they are
and they're offering more features and build quality than jet city
that was a huge step up from all the unreliable and horrible sounding cr@p randall was putting out in the last decade
I was really impressed with everything about the amp
I hope they offer some british voiced model by next year
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I use a 5150-II with the 5150 slant cab, but I replaced the sheffield speakers with 2x EVM Black Label and 2x Celestion G12K100 in an X pattern. The stock speakers are really, very very good, but the (ahem quite expensive) option I ended up with gives me amp an absolutely massive sound. The G12K is a stonking speaker for the price, I cannot recommend it highly enough. :)
Roo
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I've been picking up a few pedals to use with this amp & cab
So far I have the following:
TC Electronics Polytune (this is just a tuner)
ISP Decimator II G-String (noise gate, can route it both before and after the pre-amp)
I'm thinking that besides these two all I really need at the moment is an overdrive that will boost and shape the signal a bit. Although the amp has a lot of gain already a lot of people have said that these amps sound tighter with a screamer of some kind between the guitar and amp.
At the moment I am contemplating the following Maxon models: OD-9 & OD-808
From what I've seen online the OD-9 might be better for controlling the bottom end but it also has a mid-range 'hump'. The OD-808 seems to be 'smoother', with a bit more bottom. Given that I've got heaps of bottom end already and quite high output pickups in my guitars (A-bomb bridge in an SG, A-pig in a down-tuned Explorer) I'm thinking a little constraint on the bass might not be a bad thing.
If anyone with more experience than me in this department (which wouldn't be hard) can give me their 2c on OD-9 vs OD-808 that would be great.
From what I hear they are quite similar, so this doesn't seem like an issue that could really hurt the sound too much either way, but they aren't cheap pedals so I'd like to buy once rather than twice. My basic attitude has been to buy decent gear once rather than buy stuff that I am half happy with and change later.
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I can really recommend the OD9.
I and a friend did some serious testing this weekend with my old Dual rectifier and a bunch of OD pedals in my studio.
We tried the 808, OD9, a spark booster and a Koko Boost. Comparing the two maxons, the OD9 is a little brighter and more aggressive sounding. It cuts through better and gives the upper mid range sounds that cuts through. The 808 came pretty close to the OD9 however when we increased the tone knob to 3 o clock. But even then the OD9 was at 12 oclock. We both preferred the OD9, the 808 is a little smoother.
The TC Spark booster is also a great option, it sounds a little fuller than the Tubescreamers, and is more versatile with both humbuckers and single coils and different amps.
It's not better or worse than the tubescreamers, just a different flavour.
The Koko Boost is in a league of it's own, especially for leads. It really makes all amps sing.
I'll see if I can post the audio files later.
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Thanks!
You have reinforced my thinking that the OD-9 is the way to go. I think one reason why the OD-808 has been more popular is that it is cheaper most of the time. Here though the shops have them at the same price as each other, so cost is not so much of a factor in choosing between them.
By the way, I was surprised when I saw the Decimator II G-String pedal for the first time. I'd seen photos on ebay but it looked different, probably because it was reflecting its environment. This pedal looks like a chrome bumper!
I also got my A-pig calibrated set in the mail today. Not sure if I'll find the chance to install them before I leave for Sydney on Saturday.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/10mq9a1.jpg)
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Going to Sydney in the winter? ;)
Joke aside, I would love to go there!
Good luck with your choices though. All I can say is that you will not be displeased with either one.
My OD9 is actually the Pro plus with the mid boost switch. Makes it a little more mean when it comes to leads with it engaged. It's like a normal OD9 with the switch on normal, all the testing we did was with the switch on normal.
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Weather in Sydney is probably better than here in Adelaide at the moment, as we are further south! I go to Sydney once or twice a year, as my sister lives there and I go there for conferences, gigs, etc.
Cheers for the info on the pedals. I will probably just get an OD-9 ... not sure I want to pay the extra for the Pro - the stuff in the photo cost me nearly $700 already!
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Weather in Sydney is probably better than here in Adelaide at the moment, as we are further south! I go to Sydney once or twice a year, as my sister lives there and I go there for conferences, gigs, etc.
Cheers for the info on the pedals. I will probably just get an OD-9 ... not sure I want to pay the extra for the Pro - the stuff in the photo cost me nearly $700 already!
Ahhh, I didn't understand you are Australian. :)
I lived on the Gold Coast for six month, loved it. I really miss Australia sometimes, you are living in paradise in many ways.
Good luck with the search for the OD!
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If you're looking at tubescreamers I'd suggest looking at the maxon OD-820, pro tone dead horse deluxe edition is rather tempting as well
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With more testing of the amp and some other testing of various outlets on my house I am pretty sure that the problem is a ground fault in the mains of the house itself. By cranking my old practice up high I found that the same basic noise was present in it as well, and I carried it around the house and plugged it into every outlet, including the outside outlets. I think it must be a ground fault near the electricity meter somewhere as it affects everything.
The good news is that it seems that the amp is fine. I think I am hearing more noises in it because playing it in a house I cannot crank it up to even jam room volumes, and haven't had it up past 2, and I don't even know if I've had it quite that high until tonight. Tonight I went to a friend's band practice session, and he A/B'ed my 6534+ against his old 5150 II, through his old 5150 cabinet (both ten years old or more). We set the EQs on exactly the same settings. We did not try out all the channels because I forgot to take my footswitch and his is very temperamental and wouldn't work with my amp (his has been repaired several times). Anyway his settings are very scooped - low and high dimed and mid on 1 - with the gain, presence, and resonance cranked on the lead channel. The other guitarist played through his Krankenstein head and Krank Rev 1 cabinet. Anyway this is what we observed:
The 6534+ has a much more defined mid-range than the 5150 II, even with the huge mid scoop. It also has a lot more cut than the 5150 II vis-a-vis the Krank set-up in a band context and the high end was clearer. This might be due to the newness of my amp relative to his, but he has recently serviced the tubes in his amp so that might not be such a factor.
We didn't use any pedals - not even my ISP Decimator - and it all sounded fine in a band context.
Anyway I am pleased that the amp is sounding good when cranked up to louder volumes. I really think that the issue is that it has been stuck on the lower volumes up until now. I have a jam session with friends on Friday this week but I'm playing with someone with a 20W Laney Lionheart and it is in a house with minimal soundproofing so I won't be able to go past 2 on the post gain but it should still sound better than what I have been getting so far at home.
I also learned that the Peavey 5150/6065 cabinet sounds good with the 6534+ - I can definitely recommend it for death metal and thrash stuff. I left my Orange PPC412 at home, as I will this Friday (then I will have to borrow my friend's 4x10 bass cab - that should be interesting!). It is less middy and directional than the PPC412. Depending on your application I think it can be a very good cab.
Also I let my friend play through my Explorer for a few songs after tuning it to D standard (the tuning for his band). He was very impressed with the Warpigs and plans to buy some BKPs for a new project. It did indeed sound massive through his amp. He didn't try playing my guitar through my amp.
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These videos might be of interest. Peavey 6534+ with a Strat, a different context from the usual.
Test Peavey 6534 plus clean (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3npr0Wd-0M#ws)
Test Peavey 6534 plus Crunch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxfLXtaCpQ#ws)
Test Peavey 6534 plus Heavy Gain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ2-eE6AG0k#ws)
I think you can get those cleans out of the amp if you have lower output pickups. My Warpig pickups tend to overdrive the clean channel. The Cold Sweat neck gets nice cleans, the A-bomb a little less clean sounding. On the other hand his settings on the lead channel or perhaps his guitar and playing style mean that he doesn't get enough gain for the metal stuff he tries at the end. I think there are some videos earlier in this thread that show it playing heavier stuff with more gain.