Anybody got a 5150 combo they want to sell?

[brentrocks]

Anybody out there have a 5150 combo amp in good shape they want to sell?

I think that is the amp i want to get!

 

[dfrady]

It's a killer amp, very LOUD !!!! I played through one for 8 years, and never had not one little bit of trouble out of it. Good luck, just remember if you can't find a 5150 that's in good condition and decide not to get one you could always get one of the 6505's, they're the same amp, just a different number.

 

[nobozos]

Man, where were you 6 months ago?

I had one for about 3 years, and was pretty happy with it, but it does have it's drawbacks.

First, I found the original Sheffield speakers a little harsh for my liking, so I replaced them with Celestion Vintage 30s. That helped alot. Another thing you would have to do is switch to JJs tubes in the pre-amp section immediately.

Secondly, the amp is a heavy S.O.B. It weighs 86 pounds, and there is no good way to carry it. This may not mean much to you now while you want one, but after you have gigged with it for a couple years, it gets pretty old.

Thirdly, it is a two channel amp with only one set of tone controls. This was a major disadvantage for me. I found that once I had my tone dialed in for my crunch channel, when I switched to my lead channel it was too high endy. It was just all wrong. I couldn't find a happy medium where there was a balance between the crunch and lead channel. If you wanted a clean tone out of the thing, you had to plug the guitar into the low gain input and turn your pre gain down and take off the crunch button. So there is no immediate switching from clean to crunch, only from clean to a hidious lead channel tone.

I'm not saying the lead channel is unusable. You could dial it in to sound pretty good, but then your crunch channel would sound muddy. I just couldn't get a nice warm rich sound out of the lead channel.

All that being said, I think the 5150 Combo is the best version of the 5150 that I've heard. I'm not sure why, but the Combo just sounds better than the heads to me.

 

[Knox]

Thinking of selling mine and buying a Vai Carvin Legacy cab and head - the 5150 combo is just too damn noisy even at level 1.........

 

[Ali]

Take a very serious look at the new Peavey JSX Satriani model. It really is a stunning amp. One of those that does everything but retains its own personality.

There should be a JSX combo this year I believe.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

It pains me to say it, but check out Line 6. I have been a firm valve user for years, but after a period of doing 4 odd gigs a week, the unreliability of valves became an issue. I sold my Engl Soverign and replaced it with 2 Line 6 Duoverbs and have not looked back.

 

[jimmyp]

I agree with just about everything that has been said here. I have a 5150 combo and I love it. However, I don't gig and only take it out for a jam once in a blue moon, after which I curse the lack of wheels, side handles or some poor roadie to carry it for me. Yes, it is that heavy. Secondly, it does sound amazing but has quite a lot of noise, even at bedroom volume - I would think twice about using it to record. I'd rather take my chances with my POD. Why do I keep it then? There is a certain something about the sound that Marshall etc don't have and it sounds sweet when I wail on my EBMM EVH through it - all those rock star fantasies come to life. Think carefully before you shell out on one - I'm seroiusly thinking about adding a Line 6 Duoverb so that I can use it for jamming, recording and in the process avoid serious injury when moving my amp around. However, not sure I will be parting with mine any time soon...

 

[calvary_rider]

Anybody out there have a 5150 combo amp in good shape they want to sell?

I think that is the amp i want to get!

Check eBay...I am always seeing great deals on them there!

 

[shreder75]

Man, where were you 6 months ago?

I had one for about 3 years, and was pretty happy with it, but it does have it's drawbacks.

First, I found the original Sheffield speakers a little harsh for my liking, so I replaced them with Celestion Vintage 30s. That helped alot. Another thing you would have to do is switch to JJs tubes in the pre-amp section immediately.

Secondly, the amp is a heavy S.O.B. It weighs 86 pounds, and there is no good way to carry it. This may not mean much to you now while you want one, but after you have gigged with it for a couple years, it gets pretty old.

Thirdly, it is a two channel amp with only one set of tone controls. This was a major disadvantage for me. I found that once I had my tone dialed in for my crunch channel, when I switched to my lead channel it was too high endy. It was just all wrong. I couldn't find a happy medium where there was a balance between the crunch and lead channel. If you wanted a clean tone out of the thing, you had to plug the guitar into the low gain input and turn your pre gain down and take off the crunch button. So there is no immediate switching from clean to crunch, only from clean to a hidious lead channel tone.

I'm not saying the lead channel is unusable. You could dial it in to sound pretty good, but then your crunch channel would sound muddy. I just couldn't get a nice warm rich sound out of the lead channel.

All that being said, I think the 5150 Combo is the best version of the 5150 that I've heard. I'm not sure why, but the Combo just sounds better than the heads to me.

I used to own an original 5150 head/ 4x12 cabinet...and as you said, the one set of tone controls was a BIG drawback...and I could never get a good sound out of it....

I played through a combo at guitar center using an axis (which was set up MUCH better than mine by the way....drat!!!) and it sounded KILLER..so I agree about the combo sounding better..I think the fact that's it's lower wattage helps drive the tubes hotter at lower volumes and it just sounds tighter..