Amp question

[BenB5150]

I play my 5150 at bedroom volumes. It sounds great! It does sound a little fuzzy at lower volumes, not in a bad way, it cleans up once you crank it passed 3. I've run my Digitech RP 1000 just for the Chorus, Delay, Reverb & Noise Gate. It didn't have any adverse effect on the tone. I've also used individual pedals, MXR Stereo Chorus, MXR Phaser, MXR Flanger & Boss Noise Gate. Both set ups sound good. The 5150 amps do produce a lot of hiss so you will really want some type of noise gate to reduce the high gain tube hiss. Bottom line you will enjoy this amp! Goes great with with EVH/Axis pickups.

Ben

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I play my 5150 at bedroom volumes. Goes great with with EVH/Axis pickups.

Ben

Oh yeah! I have an Ax40 that ive installed real axis dimarzios ( that i got from a fellow forumite) and a sunburst USA peavey wolfgang special. Both ate great guitars! I really love the wolfgang, you can really tell the quality, that its a usa guitar. The Ax40 is incredible quality as well, just not quite as high quality. But for Indonesia... They are GREAT! Especially with the axis pickuos. Cant wait!

 

[mtrejo]

This is really exciting Eric! I can tell you are very excited as well. Nothing better than getting a great amp. I hope you love it.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

Thanks Mario.

 

[nobozos]

I thought I'd jump in and share my thoughts on this thread. I've been through a few amps, including a couple 5150 combos. You are right, the 5150 combo is pretty loud and you won't be able to touch the sweet spot at house/bedroom levels. An attenuator will screw with the tone, regardless of how good it is. I'm just going to throw out conclusions that I have personally come to over the years:

1) Unless you have a place away from everyone to rock out, amps are for gigging and not home use. Back in the day, you pretty much had to have an amp to practice at home. Nowadays, there are some pretty decent apps and low wattage practice amps designed for Bedroom levels. When I practice at home, I plug into my Ipad with a IRig HD, and use the Jamup Pro app in conjunction with the Bias app. I use headphones or plug into the input of a stereo. My amp sits in the corner until gig time, unless I have a rare occasion where my family is out of the house and I can crank it up.

2) You don't need any more than a 30 Watt 1x12 amp to gig. I say this because you typically only mic one speaker anyway. On a 2x12 or 4x12, on stage you get to hear the true sound of all the speakers, but the audience hears only one speaker through the mains. The result is that you are not hearing a true representation of what is being pumped out through the PA. With a 1x12, you adjust your eq so it sounds good through one speaker, and that translates better to the house. In my experience, you really only need a 30 Watt tube amp to be heard above the drummer. It allows you to turn the volume on the amp up and get more of the power tube response from your amp, rather than using a 50 or 100 Watt amp and keeping the master low.

3) I personally worry about how power scaling could damage your speaker. I know it's all the rage lately to have a tube amp that scales down to 1 Watt, but the one thing that I'm not sure about is the voice coil on the speaker. I just don't know how you can take a speaker that is designed to run at 50 Watts, and run 1 Watt into the voice coil without burning it up. I suspect that people who buy the 5150III 1x12 and run it at 1 watt all the time will start having problems with their speakers over the next couple years.

My advice would be to have a small practice amp or app for screwing around at home, and save the amp for when you are gigging or jamming with your buddies.

 

[kimonostereo]

3) I personally worry about how power scaling could damage your speaker. I know it's all the rage lately to have a tube amp that scales down to 1 Watt, but the one thing that I'm not sure about is the voice coil on the speaker. I just don't know how you can take a speaker that is designed to run at 50 Watts, and run 1 Watt into the voice coil without burning it up. I suspect that people who buy the 5150III 1x12 and run it at 1 watt all the time will start having problems with their speakers over the next couple years.

Intersting. Never thought about the power scaling doing anything to the speaker. I wonder if the engineers realize this and are somehow able to show the speaker the actual wattage it needs? My 5150iii 50 watt does not have power scaling so I have no idea how it works, but the newer combo version has that feature.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I have considered all your responses and still want to get this amp, ive always wanted one and they do sound good at low volumes as ive played them on low vol. i know "who needs a 120 watt 412 for the bedroom?" ...... Me ... Thats who lol!! No seriously ive weighed all the options and thought about the peavey mini head, but i want a real made in usa quality amp, and the amp that i think suits my tone is the 5150, . As Benb5150 said earlier in the thread, i will enjoy this amp. He uses his at bedroom volumes and says it sounds great. Ive played them in the store at low vol and had a blast. I really just want an authentic rig, and if someday arises that i do get to play out again ill have my dream rig. But until then it will just be the monster in the corner of my room.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I play my 5150 at bedroom volumes. It sounds great! It does sound a little fuzzy at lower volumes, not in a bad way, it cleans up once you crank it passed 3. I've run my Digitech RP 1000 just for the Chorus, Delay, Reverb & Noise Gate. It didn't have any adverse effect on the tone. I've also used individual pedals, MXR Stereo Chorus, MXR Phaser, MXR Flanger & Boss Noise Gate. Both set ups sound good. The 5150 amps do produce a lot of hiss so you will really want some type of noise gate to reduce the high gain tube hiss. Bottom line you will enjoy this amp! Goes great with with EVH/Axis pickups.

Ben

Thank you, i know i will enjoy this amp!

 

[beej]

I personally worry about how power scaling could damage your speaker. I know it's all the rage lately to have a tube amp that scales down to 1 Watt, but the one thing that I'm not sure about is the voice coil on the speaker. I just don't know how you can take a speaker that is designed to run at 50 Watts, and run 1 Watt into the voice coil without burning it up.

I've heard people suggest this, but I've never understood how driving a speaker with less power would do anything detrimental. Less power translates into less movement of the coil + cone, so you're less likely to do any kind of damage. (Though I suppose over the long-term, a speaker could wear unevenly with respect to its range of motion.)

Here's a blog post from Eminence's website:

"Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage?"
Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage? | Eminence Speaker

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I've heard people suggest this, but I've never understood how driving a speaker with less power would do anything detrimental. Less power translates into less movement of the coil + cone, so you're less likely to do any kind of damage. (Though I suppose over the long-term, a speaker could wear unevenly with respect to its range of motion.)

Here's a blog post from Eminence's website:

"Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage?"
Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage? | Eminence Speaker

Thanks Beej, cause im really thinking about what Tollie said about an attenuator, to crank the power of the amp and get it really goin at low vol, plus it would be good to have a nice attenuator for when maybe my next amp will probably be a non master marshall class A plexi type, or even a little class 5 head, i used to have the class 5 combo and even that little 5 watter at 10 was real loud, but sounded great, so if i get the head version of it way down the road it will be great with an attenuator, or maybe a better marshall?

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

But right now all i can dream about amp wise is the 5150 head and matching cab! Its such a badass looking and sounding machine. And ive wanted one ever since i saw VH when I was 16 at the Boston Garden in 1998 with Gary Cherone, that was such a great show and ive been chasing that live tone since. He was on fire that tour, his solo was out of this world, he was playin a peavey wolf special with a sustainer , sunburst quilt custom. I have a wolf usa sunburst special, almost the same exact guitar, its gonna be so much fun to relive and try to capture that sound, and sometimes im gonna crank that bastard!

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I really love the ebmm Evh's too, i just fear i will never afford one since there collectibillity has skyrocketed out of control! Cant find one for less then 2500! Even in crap shape! But can find some beautiful wolfgangs for around 1500 2000, i really love the peavey sound, and the ebmm sound, they are so similar, i just think the ebmm sounds hotter and thinner, and the wolf is fatter and creamier, but they both are incredible! And have made there place in the pantheon of modern guitar!

 

[nobozos]

I've heard people suggest this, but I've never understood how driving a speaker with less power would do anything detrimental. Less power translates into less movement of the coil + cone, so you're less likely to do any kind of damage. (Though I suppose over the long-term, a speaker could wear unevenly with respect to its range of motion.)

Here's a blog post from Eminence's website:

"Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage?"
Can under-powering a Guitar speaker do damage? | Eminence Speaker

Hmm, It must just be a guitar speaker thing then. I have a friend who is an audio engineer, and he is the one that told me it was not good to run too little power through a high wattage speaker. That must apply to PA drivers. Didn't know guitar speakers were different in that regard. Good to know.

 

[DrKev]

Just like the guitar world, there are many hard-to-kill myths that even some professionals cling to. Does this help?

Can I underpower my speakers?Will clipping hurt them? - BillFitzmaurice.info

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I thought I'd jump in and share my thoughts on this thread. I've been through a few amps, including a couple 5150 combos. You are right, the 5150 combo is pretty loud and you won't be able to touch the sweet spot at house/bedroom levels. An attenuator will screw with the tone, regardless of how good it is. I'm just going to throw out conclusions that I have personally come to over the years:

1) Unless you have a place away from everyone to rock out, amps are for gigging and not home use. Back in the day, you pretty much had to have an amp to practice at home. Nowadays, there are some pretty decent apps and low wattage practice amps designed for Bedroom levels. When I practice at home, I plug into my Ipad with a IRig HD, and use the Jamup Pro app in conjunction with the Bias app. I use headphones or plug into the input of a stereo. My amp sits in the corner until gig time, unless I have a rare occasion where my family is out of the house and I can crank it up.

2) You don't need any more than a 30 Watt 1x12 amp to gig. I say this because you typically only mic one speaker anyway. On a 2x12 or 4x12, on stage you get to hear the true sound of all the speakers, but the audience hears only one speaker through the mains. The result is that you are not hearing a true representation of what is being pumped out through the PA. With a 1x12, you adjust your eq so it sounds good through one speaker, and that translates better to the house. In my experience, you really only need a 30 Watt tube amp to be heard above the drummer. It allows you to turn the volume on the amp up and get more of the power tube response from your amp, rather than using a 50 or 100 Watt amp and keeping the master low.

3) I personally worry about how power scaling could damage your speaker. I know it's all the rage lately to have a tube amp that scales down to 1 Watt, but the one thing that I'm not sure about is the voice coil on the speaker. I just don't know how you can take a speaker that is designed to run at 50 Watts, and run 1 Watt into the voice coil without burning it up. I suspect that people who buy the 5150III 1x12 and run it at 1 watt all the time will start having problems with their speakers over the next couple years.

My advice would be to have a small practice amp or app for screwing around at home, and save the amp for when you are gigging or jamming with your buddies.

I too have used jamup pro with the irig and my iphone 6 plus, and its a good liitle app, i still get much better headphone tone out of my pod 2.0. And i really want this rig more than anything, its been almost a fantasy since i was a kid.

 

[canuck6string]

I'll just come out and say what you're wanting to hear...BUY IT! "Quiet" in a store doesn't equate to "quiet" in an apartment, though. But that's been discussed. Buy it. Enjoy.

 

[gregmusi]

But right now all i can dream about amp wise is the 5150 head and matching cab! Its such a badass looking and sounding machine. And ive wanted one ever since i saw VH when I was 16 at the Boston Garden in 1998 with Gary Cherone, that was such a great show and ive been chasing that live tone since. He was on fire that tour, his solo was out of this world, he was playin a peavey wolf special with a sustainer , sunburst quilt custom. I have a wolf usa sunburst special, almost the same exact guitar, its gonna be so much fun to relive and try to capture that sound, and sometimes im gonna crank that bastard!

Don't rule out the 6505... it's identical to 5150... just no signature. They only recently started making them overseas, so if you buy a used one, it should be made in USA, identical to 5150 and cheaper (the 6505+ equates to the 5150 II)

 

[R and R]

I don't buy the notion that under powering the speaker is damaging. An EVM12L 4x12 has a rating of 1200 watts. I have a Rivera Clubster 25 with a factory EVM10L rated at 200 watts. The JBL K-120's can handle 200 watts. All very efficient speakers. As far as attenuators go, I believe that the Weber is the only one that uses an actual speaker motor for the load.