Opinions on valve amps?

[RockSuperstar]

Hey guys! Sorry to pick your brains!!!

I'm in the market for a new amp, and recently started looking at Marshall TSL's and Peavey 5150's in particular.

Has anyone gigged these amps? Are they reliable?

I'm playing in a working Rock covers band at the moment, and the 3 channel flexibility really appealled to me, although i was smitten with the distortion that the 5150 can produce.
Does anyone know of any other amps that might be suitable (TSL is the most expensive I can afford!!)

Thanks!

Chris

[EricV]

Hi there,

although I am working with Laney amps today ( a Chrome-O-Zone combo is my main amp ), I have been using a Peavey 5150 for a loooong time.
It´s one of my favorite amps, and when I gig with Perpetuum Overdose, I like to use that one in combination with the Laney cuz it has a very powerful sound.

Now, here´s what I like about it:

-It probably is the stock-amp with the most gain. I used to use overdirve pedals to boost the gain a bit for lead sounds. I didn´t need that anymore with the 5150 cuz it has plenty of awesome gain. The 5150 II has a crunch channel too, but when I used the regular 5150, I just controlled the amount of gain with the pre-knob on the amp and with the volume pot of the guitar, which worked great.
So, that is a big plus right there.

- It is extremely reliable. See, it´s just a very simple tube amp, no complicated stuff that might break. It´s just a workhorse-amp. It never failed on me. I was told that you could run it without a speaker attached ( which, on most tube amps, will kill the poweramp-section ) without harming it ( Eddie did so when he was recording stuff ).

- It has a great sound to start with. Has bunches of bottom too, so you can just make the walls shake if ya want to.

- It´s simple.

What I didn´t like that much:
-The loop ( serial one ) has pretty low levels, which might cause troubles when using some older multi effects in the loop. With my Q2 or Intellifex, it was not really that much of a problem.
- It has quite a bit of noise... hiss and stuff. Which is understandable, after all it has bunches of gain, and the electronics are simple, but great tube-circuits... no digital components to reduce noise or whatever.
I used to put my Hush pedal into the loop, and it worked great. Kills the noise. Eddie does the same thing, I was told.

Anyway, it´s a great rock n roll-amp, especially when it comes to higain-lead stuff or punchy rhythm guitar. I heard that the 5150 II has better clean sounds ( due to a separate EQ for each channel ). The clean sound on the original 5150 didn´t bother me, though... I used some slight EQing and it sounded good.
So I definitely recommend it.

Other stuff that is cool:
-Marshall JMP 1 preamp... should be enough versatility for a coverband.
-Marshall Jubilee or 2000, two really cool amps

I definitely recommend Laney-gear. The Chrome-O-Zone is VERY ersatile ( 2 channels, each has 2 gain stages= 4 sounds, 5 loops ( serial / parallel ), bright switches etc. ). It´s a class A-amp.
Also, you should check out the VH100R. Again, 2 channels with different gain stages etc. Great sounding amp, very powerful, with gain galore.
Hope this helps
Eric

[RM II]

I just wanted to say I've been a Peavey user for a long time and have never experienced problems with any amp I've ever had. I currently own and gig with a VTM120.

If I were to buy another head today, I would go with the 5150 series. I've just read and heard too many good things about them.

I look at Eddie's affiliation with Peavey this way; he could have gone anywhere to have an amp made with his name on it but he (for whatever reason) chose Peavey. The man doesn't need to endorse anything.

[RockSuperstar]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I currently use a laney GH100, although I have borrowed a VH100R which I like, but it doesn't have enough crunch and bottom end for my purposes.

I also liked the idea of the JMP1, as I have the 9200 Power Amp sitting in a corner!!!!

Overall, I reckon that the Peavey is gonna be the way to go (everyone raves about it!!!)...... has anyone tried the 2 x 12 combo? From what can gather, it's not much cheaper than a TSL Stack, so am i getting the best deal?

[szulc]

At least half of what makes th 5150 rock is the 4x12 cabinet, these are the most bottomy cabinets made.

[EricV]

Hi there...

James, I agree, the cabinets sound great and work perfect with the amp. I sometimes used it with a Marshall 4X12" ( I always use straight cabinets, not the slanted ones ). That was cool, too, but with the 5150 cabs, it works perfectly.

Superstar, I also tried the 2X12" combo. Very nice too, as far as I remember it had reverb. You can later add an additional 2X12" or 4X12" to it, like I do with my Chrome-O-Zone.
Warm regards
Eric

[RockSuperstar]

Thanks very much for the help guys!!

I think I'll be ordering a 5150 in the near future!!

Where did I put that spare £1400..........?;)

[steve grimm]

Try an Avalon U5 through your favorite amp.

[RockSuperstar]

heh heh, good to see folk still read the old posts :)

I've since bought a few nice amps:)