Peavey 6506+ 1x12 - Worth a buy if you swap out the Sheffield or use an ext cab?

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BahamaDada

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It's an amazing hivemind here.

A 6505+ 1x12 in my area popped up cheaply. I only heard and read horrible things about the stock speaker. Is this a proper 6505+ if you swap out the speaker for anything good?

Edited the title to ext cab
 
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I have heard some noise issues on them? I have played a few at random stores and I don't think the stock speaker and 112 is a great fit. I don't think they are available anymore? They are on GC used for $450-$700something. If it was uber cheap; I'd probably snag it out of principal but I love 5150s so I am kinda biased.
 
JiveTurkey said:
I have heard some noise issues on them? I have played a few at random stores and I don't think the stock speaker and 112 is a great fit. I don't think they are available anymore? They are on GC used for $450-$700something. If it was uber cheap; I'd probably snag it out of principal but I love 5150s so I am kinda biased.
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It's 300€ VHB ("haggle with me") from a local dude.
 
That's ~$312 USD. I'd snag it if everything is working as it should. I like the 5150 tones so my choice would be leaning on that fact.
 
These amps are built like a tank. They will take the rigors of the road. There are a number of guys in my area that have gigged them for a while. I think only one of them uses a combo if I remember correctly. The speaker may not be an issue depending on what type of music you are playing. You could definitely turn it into a head or swap the speaker out.

Another nice thing in these is you can change the power tube type and bias it. It has a switch on the chassis to swap the tube type. You can use 6L6 or EL34 tubes in it. I have a couple of other Peavey amps that I swapped over to E34L tubes for a good while. I like the sound of them more with those tubes.
 
The amp and the speaker were designed together, why replace it?

I had a 5150 2x12 and it sounded best with stock speakers. 4x12 with V30, 2x12 with Legends, the sheffields are something I would never buy but I had no desire to swap them.

Play it first and see. Not sure how different the 6505 combo vs the 5150 is but thats my experience. Same results with the 5150 iconic combo although idk what speaker is in that.
 
maddnotez said:
The amp and the speaker were designed together, why replace it?

I had a 5150 2x12 and it sounded best with stock speakers. 4x12 with V30, 2x12 with Legends, the sheffields are something I would never buy but I had no desire to swap them.

Play it first and see. Not sure how different the 6505 combo vs the 5150 is but thats my experience. Same results with the 5150 iconic combo although idk what speaker is in that.
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I did my share of googling and the Sheffield did not come out that good there. Glenn Fricker did a vid on this combo (as I said above) and in his opinion the Sheffield was what held it back. While I don't care much for Glenn and don't consider GF my tone guru I surely consider all of this when buying something. I can see your point here (the pairing), but it wouldn't be the first case of "A classy amp held back by it's ass speaker/s".

You are absolutely right: Need to play it first hand!
 
Ive had two Sheffield loaded 412s and they’re hardly the worst speaker out there. Really depends on what tone you’re after. And, like most speakers some sound better than others. The first cab I had I X’ed in 2 V30s (so, 2 Sheffs and 2 V30s) and it sounded great. In doing that, I checked each Sheff individually and there was a definite difference between the best and worst of the 4.

But, as said above, the 112 format is probably the bigger issue.
 
This amp hasn't left my head the last days and today I drove the 1h (one way) to meet up at the guys house. First: This thing is heavy and HUGE. 2x12 huge. For a 1x12.

Second: The sound was amazing. It's a 6505. I even liked the Crunch on this one and the clean was okay. But it had a horrible high pitched noise in the Crunch and Lead channel. Even at talking volume and low pre and post gain you heard it. I even heard it while playing. Guy was super nice, but said he could not hear anything. That's how a tube amp sounds, he said. Am I really that spoiled by digital stuff and nice noise gates? I tried to find memories of amps long gone in my mind, but could not find any amp I habve ever owned, that would make those sounds. It wasn't noise, it was hissy and like someone scratching a chalk board. I turned the amp around and the power amp tubes were nothing special. Both were equally "orangey". I could not see the preamp tubes (it has 5). Should I ask if guy has some chopsticks so I can slightly, tenderly beat the preamp tubes?

I left without the great sounding amp, bc I could not justify 250€ for a possibly broken amp. I am no tech and I don't want to be one (I also don't know one). Maybe it was a microphonic preamp tube, but I will never know, I guess. Should have taken some chop sticks with me instead of a pick...
 
Sounds like it has some kind of issue. Likely just a tube issue because those are fairly common but it could be something more serious so yeah I'd have left it alone. It'd be worth a bit of extra money just to save the worry and hassle imo. Those are really good when working though...when turned into a head and pushing a bigger cab with better speakers. :)

JT is pretty smart despite his questionable taste in music.
 
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