6505

[Philosoful]

My guitarist got one of these recently, some people I know slag these off but he's clean and distorted tone I think are really quite cool/far from bad, what do you guys think of these amps? Everyone seems to favour the 5150s...

[MDV]

they're pretty cool for darker, high gain tones with some retention of clarity, and without as much sag as the obvious (*cough* MESA *cough) alternatives. They certainly have a place in my ear, but I dont like them that much.

cr@p cleans, but thats not what its about. I've never owned one, but I dont think I've ever seen one gigged where the cleans were used. $%&# knows what goes on with cleans in studios with bands that use them.

I prefer stuff thats a bit more forward in the mids, mainly high mids, and tighter (they're pretty tight, but not that tight).

Great with a decent OD on top of it.

[nfe]

The 5150 and 6505 are the same thing. The only thing that changed was the name as EVH didn;t own any part of the design.

[Nolly]

I've heard some amazing tones from guys using 5150/6505 backlines, and I've heard some terrible ones. For the price, they are unbeatable, and it's testament to their sound quality that they still get so much use on professional recordings.

The 5150 and 6505 are the same thing. The only thing that changed was the name as EVH didn;t own any part of the design.

I've heard from a few recording guys I know that the 5150 and 6505 sound subtly different, as do the II/+ versions of each, and that the original block-letter 5150s sound different again. Now, I'd have to hear it myself to believe it completely, but I do trust their word.

[AdamB]

I had a 5150 II for about 4 years, and loved it! The mark II has more mids and is a bit smoother, aswell as the seperate EQ.

For the price, they're amazing!

[the_bleeding]

I've heard from a few recording guys I know that the 5150 and 6505 sound subtly different, as do the II/+ versions of each, and that the original block-letter 5150s sound different again. Now, I'd have to hear it myself to believe it completely, but I do trust their word.

they're quite identical in every respect. The difference your friend heard can probably be accounted for with parts tolerance, and tube differences.

[Philosoful]

and recording setups... thanks for the input guys, he's probably going to taint the cleans with some chorus/light flange or something but we hardly use clean anyway.

[Roobubba]

I get by with mine. Actually, I love it! The new WezV guitar has really brought the cleans to life, too, which is quite a feat because the clean channel is not great at all!

Well reminded though, I need to buy a new footswitch (I don't know what kind of abuse this thing had before I bought it (all second hand), but the amp is absolutely fantastic!!).

That said, maybe in 5 to 10 years I'll be looking to get a new, tighter amp with better cleans. For now, it's saving up for computer bits time! :)

Roo

[Dazza1004]

I have been thinking about getting a 6505+ to give me more modern sounds than my stiletto can provide. I was thinking initially of a dual rec but 6505 is cheaper and I suspect easier to dial in and will cut better in a 2 guitar band

[HTH AMPS]

the 6505+ and 5150mkII versions sound the same to me, though I've never played them side by side.

the shared EQ versions (6505 and 5150) sound different to the dual EQ versions (6505+/5150mkII) and it's quite noticeable. the cleans are much better on the mkII and the lead channel's gain is tighter in the bass end, also less fuzzy.

[MDV]

That said, maybe in 5 to 10 years I'll be looking to get a new, tighter amp with better cleans. For now, it's saving up for computer bits time! :)

Roo

Ruh roh!

I can scarcely imagine what demonic Babbage youre gonna create. Something with similar performance to a mid-90s Cray, I'll bet.

[Alex]

I've got a first series 5150 (the block letter one) and I love it. Not selling that amp ever. It's just such a simple yet effective workhorse amp.

[AdamB]

There's one for sale in seconds out at the moment!

[Nolly]

I've heard from a few recording guys I know that the 5150 and 6505 sound subtly different, as do the II/+ versions of each, and that the original block-letter 5150s sound different again. Now, I'd have to hear it myself to believe it completely, but I do trust their word.

they're quite identical in every respect. The difference your friend heard can probably be accounted for with parts tolerance, and tube differences.

Parts tolerance, quite possibly, but the tubes were exactly the same (as in, the very same set, swapped between each).
There is definitely a noticeable difference between the original 5150s and the 6505s

[Roobubba]

I've heard from a few recording guys I know that the 5150 and 6505 sound subtly different, as do the II/+ versions of each, and that the original block-letter 5150s sound different again. Now, I'd have to hear it myself to believe it completely, but I do trust their word.

they're quite identical in every respect. The difference your friend heard can probably be accounted for with parts tolerance, and tube differences.

Parts tolerance, quite possibly, but the tubes were exactly the same (as in, the very same set, swapped between each).
There is definitely a noticeable difference between the original 5150s and the 6505s

It's difficult to be completely certain though, without running a few mroe controls - you'd need at least one more of each type of amp to make sure the difference noted (which I don't doubt you heard!) is actually significant compared to the stock differences between 5150s (from each other) and 6505s (again, from each other). You can't necessarily extrapolate to say that all 5150s are different to 6505s!

Sorry, it's the scientist in me, I couldn't help it!

(either way I bet they both sounded great, right? :))
Roo