Peavey 5150, the OG, the GOAT

[HomespunEffects]

Man, I just love the original 5150. I’ve been playing it with single coils lately. Sure it’s a bit noisy but dang it, that TOAN™.

It works so well with the volume knob on the guitar. Just like at the beginning of Drop Dead Legs.

Surely my favorite amp.

I’ve been liking it the best with G12T-75s in my Peavey straight 4x12.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Man, I just love the original 5150. I’ve been playing it with single coils lately. Sure it’s a bit noisy but dang it, that TOAN™.

It works so well with the volume knob in the guitar. Just like at the begging of Drop Dead Legs.

Surely my favorite amp.

I’ve been liking it the best with G12T-75s in my Peavey straight 4x12.

It’s a bucket list amp for me.

 

[norminal]

It’s a bucket list amp for me.

Definitely!

 

[HomespunEffects]

It’s a bucket list amp for me.

I found mine on Craigslist. The guy had it listed for $1000. It wasn’t a great time for me to be spending money (I’m off a lot in the winter) but i figured this would be my last chance to own one. I jumped on it and I’m so glad I did.

It was crackly but I sprayed out the tube sockets with Deoxit and that cleared up the issue.

If you see one locally, grab it.

 

[mk5]

Love 5150s. Had a combo for years. I worked at a music store with a 5150 head and cab and every Mesa Boogie you could imagine. I auditioned every MB vs the 5150 as a reference tone and the only ones I thought matched well were the Tremoverb and Mark IV at the time. Wound up getting a Mark IV after that, but still miss the OG 5150

 

[MatrixClaw]

I have been playing guitar since 2003. I think there's only been maybe a year since 2005 or so that I haven't had some sort of 5150 in the stable. I'm back to not having one again and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm pretty happy with my amps right now, so I don't feel like I'm missing much. The OG 5150 is an absolute monster, though. I must've went through 100 amps or so before it was ever dethroned as my number 1 amp. I had amps in that time that sounded better, but none that sounded better enough to justify the price difference. Nowadays, it's a bit easier to justify, but back in the day when you could pick them up for $400 all day long, nothing could even touch them for anywhere close to the price.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I just plugged in my SG with a Bare Knuckle Holy Diver in the bridge position.

 

[la szum]

Agreed!

It's the most "Marshall" of the 5150/6505/EVH line. The most responsive to
playing dynamics, and the least compressed.

Which is why it is the best 5150/EVH variant. For me.

 

[joezlo]

Still have my 2 in storage.

Not only were they tone monsters, but they could take a major beating and keep going!

 

[HomespunEffects]

Still have my 2 in storage.

Not only were they tone monsters, but they could take a major beating and keep going!

Yeah, man. I think EVH went with them because of how rugged their stuff was. You can still pull a Peavey amp out of a swamp, dry it off, plug it in and gig with it. The amps before EVH’s time with them we’re pretty crappy sounding but they never quit.

 

[sleewell]

I want one but need a dual recto first.


I plugged into my 6505 last night. Haven't played it in a while. Got to rehearsal and no one was there yet. It was cranked. They sound soooooo fucking mean. I might have to suck it up and bring it instead of my 5153 to our show on Friday, it's a pain but worth it.

 

[DrewJD82]

There are times the tone of the OG makes me consider ditching the 5153 for one, but the flexibility of the channels makes up for it. And I really don't mind the Red channel, I use it for rhythm's only and keep the Drive around 4.5 and it's not so gained out that I can't hear differences between pickup. To the point that until I get another Solar with a Nazgul in the bridge, I might have to make some presets with an EQ to get a better balance between my JEM and the Solar.

Yeah, man. I think EVH went with them because of how rugged their stuff was. You can still pull a Peavey amp out of a swamp, dry it off, plug it in and gig with it. The amps before EVH’s time with them we’re pretty crappy sounding but they never quit.

This $500 (brand new) solid state verison of the XXX is 22 years old, has tumbled down cement stairs, lived in a trunk for 3 years in Massachusetts, has had numerous alcoholic beverages spilled on it, pretty sure I pissed on the back of it back in my drinking days and the first time I had an issue with it was last year when I plugged it in for the first time, but I'm certain it just needs the jacks cleaned.

When I started singing in bands and wasn't playing guitar, I kept it in my car the entire time and it's bailed out several guitarists/bands over the years. Occasionally these things will pop up for $150-$200 on CL and I'm tempted to snag them, while they lack in volume considerably compared to their tube counterpart, Peavey did a pretty great job getting them sounding pretty damn similar.

 

[sleewell]

^ Those are sweet. Couple bands around here use them and I'm always surprised how good they sound.