The Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head is great for hardcore or metal players. 6 - 12AX7s in the preamp add up to even more terrifying punch and mind-rattling gain. Includes footswitchable lead/rhythm channel select, effects loop, 3-band EQ, plus resonance and presence controls on each channel. Rhythm channel includes pre/post gain and bright/crunch switches. Lead channel includes pre/post gain controls only. Preamp output. Footswitch included. 4, 8, or 16 ohms.
The 6505 Series guitar amplifiers are named in celebration of Peavey's first 40 years, (1965-2005.) While known as the 5150 Series, these amps became the undisputed go-to guitar amps for scores of rock, hardcore, and metal bands because of their raw tone, relentless power, and roadproven reliability.
120W
Preamp: 6 - 12AX7s
Power amp: 4 - 6L6s
Footswitchable lead/rhythm channels
Effects loop
3-band EQ
Resonance control
Presence control
4, 8, or 16 ohms
Miles of gain and tone deeper than the Grand Canyon. Call or click to get yours.
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Ok so before buying this amp there is a central theme which haunts these amps, and now spending about 3 years with the amp and speaking to a lot of 6505/6505+ owners this is the main "problems"
1. The lead channel gets fizzy when not playing in a band context. (drums to drown out the hiss)
2. It is too loud for bedroom use (and so it should be)
3. Owners don't like the overall voicing and wish it was more like the old 5150 amps. (the mid fq of the 6505 and 6505+ is a bit higher than the old counterparts)
A lot of guys will say you need a eq pedal in the loop to "gate" the high fq and a noise gate, plus a od for boost purposes to tighten up the sound etc. I found myself wondering why would i purchase all of these pedals, the amp should be able to give me a good sound without these extra eq-ing pre and post the amp. It seems everything comes down to people wanting the maximum gain/punch yet retain clarity with minimum fizzy highs. So people try and achieve this by adding way too much gear to the natural sound, making it sound even more compressed, less warm and not musical at all.
People seem to chase the tone they hear on recordings - yet seem to forget that guitars get recorded in dual or even 3 overlaying tracks, different mic positions in the room and different balancing of those in the mix to give you the tone you hear....so no wonder people add too much especially when upgrading from digital modeling pedals (which is over compressed to sound good in a stand alone context) or solid state amps. Dynamics play a big part in the sound, and even more so the thickness of the pick you use and angle of attack (basically playing ability) thick pick gives more pronounced and defined tone, and requires more skill than softer pick which will give you less fizz but lacks the instant attack of a thicker one. Angle aswell, more linear to string less scratch and with a angle more scratch. Volume is actually given by the amount of pick hitting the strings and not strumming more intensely.
Nways enough of the lecture on that.....the solution to the problems associated in my quest for tonal nirvana is as follows:
1. To reduce the fizz all you need to do is replace all pre amp and power amp tubes - it is a MUST, can't believe Peavey sells it with stock ruby tubes. You can either opt for all JJ EC83S 12AX7's or Tung Sol 12AX7's (market currently sells reissues for those who think reliability could be a problem) both sound great, or you can mix 12AX7's and JJ ECC832's (which is half 12AX7 half 12DW7, think the gain structure is 80/20) this in the correct positions with normal 12AX7's will reduce the gain but take away 98% of the fizzy dist.The amp has too much gain for my taste with all 12AX7's
Secondly the settings...there is a lot of variables that impacts heavily on tone, guitar (wood including active or passive pickups) cables and pick as mentioned. A lot think in order to "crank" the amp you need the lead channel pre gain on 7 volume 3/4 ish...with stock tubes ull only hear fizz with that. You really don't need more than pre gain on 3, 3.5 or 4 wich would be max on the lead ch. green ch would probably be pre gain 6 or 7 post on 3 or 4. Presence...just because there is a knob for it doesn't mean you need to max it out, higher treble 5 or 6 with presence set to 0.5 or 0 is plenty, the louder you go the less bass mid and treble you need (some volume curve theory on perceiving sound and the way the sound curve expands as volume increases) Also important is the volume and tone knobs on your guitar....does'nt need to be full.
Bedroom volumes you are better off buying a attenuation module like the hotplate that can handle 120watts. or remove the two outside powertubes to get 60watts. If the fizz still bothers you you can do a mod on the mid pot on the lead channel, very easy to replace it with a 22.5k one instead of the 55k (i think) in place. This will give the amp more "balls" and growl like the older 5150 versions. Or you can make the mid control sweepable. It really aint a must to get a eq, noise gate etc etc to change the voicing, you might want a od pedal to boost the green channel but that would be that. I currently run a mxr zakk od pedal infront of the amp on green channel, and carbon copy delay in loop - and i really couldn't be happier with the amp's tone.
If you replace the tubes as stated and bias the amp hotter to between 32mA - 40mA by itself will change the amp completely to what it should sound like. Highly recommend retube and hotter bias.
This is truly one of the best sounding amps ever made, it has a unique voicing that i love - i will def recommend this amp only with retube done. Peavey should seriously reconsider the ruby tubes and opt for better quality tubes if you are paying retail prices.
Just a last note, the cleans are usable with volume rolled back, but not the greatest.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
. This amp is 120 watts of real tube power. Clean tones are warm and buttery, and respond very well to a little chorus and reverb. The amp does not have these features built-in, so put your own in the effects loop and you are good to go. For the headbangin' tones, this amp has its own very distinct, abrasive, sand-paper-in-your-ear distortion that I haven't heard anywhere else. You don't need tube screamers or anything else with this bad boy. It can crank out more gain and nastier rusty-barbed-wire metal sound than you can handle, and it easily overpowers drums and other instruments at about 3 on the post gain dial (volume). Pair this with a Mesa 4x12 cab and you pretty much have any metal guitarist's holy grail of a rig.
It's a tube amp head. Two chanels, Lead and Rhythm, an effects loop, stereo outs for running two cabs.... pretty standard rig. What I like most about it is that the dials actually produce drastic tone-shaping changes when you tweak them. Think of the EQ as a 5-band, because the Resonance and Presence knobs are basically additional Bass and Treble knobs. When you turn a knob up or down just one notch, you can tell the difference in your tone. I have played a lot of amps that didn't really adjust that much even when you really crank them, but this one certainly responds to inputs.
This is a professional, touring musician's tool. This amp can handle anything you throw at it, and is very versatile, but I think it likes playing metal more than any other genre of music. Ten out of ten for quality. No cheapo parts or loose knobs or breakable crap. This thing is a top notch piece of equipment. Just look at how many big bands out there use these amps! Look at Peavey's web site for a list! Another thing I love about this amp is that the sound doesn't start breaking up and distorting when you turn it up. It just sounds better the more juice you give to those tubes!
It's not cheap, but if you don't blow your money on an inferior product that will leave you wanting upgrades in the future, you can save up for this thing and never want anything more! It is not just a practice amp that you keep in your basement. This is the real deal, and it is worth every penny you will pay for it. Do it!
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.This is the first night I've spent with my Peavey 6505+ and I have to say I absolutely love it! However I'll also say it wasn't love at first note, I barely had time to play it before I had to go to work today and to be honest my first impressions weren't that it was right out of the box 5 on all settings an awesome tone machine, I was rather unimpressed with the tone I was getting out of it for the technical-metalcore I was going for something just wasn't right. After work I found out that that something was a Tube Screamer!!! A MUST, once I got my Ibanez TS-9 hooked up and used it as a boost I fell in love and found that dialing in the tone I wanted a breeze! Of course with the TS a noise gate is a must, I'm using the ISP Decimato.r I also play this through an orange ppc412 and will argue anyone who says the cleans that come out of this baby are sub par! They're actually quite stunning even with the emg setup I currently use. After dialing this thing in I have absolutely no second thoughts on my purchase what so ever! Keep it up Peavey!!!
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.I recently acquired this head through a trade with a friend and I have normally sworn off Peavey amps catered to metal because most of them have the absolute crappiest clean and crunchy overdrive tones. However, I have started playing metal again and I needed an amp with balls and my Bogner boutique amp wasn't cutting it. First of all, the red/distortion channel needs no introduction. It is almost perfect for what it's intended for. The only amps that I've enjoyed a rock/metal distortion out of more have been the Dual Rect. and the Uberschall. That channel gets a 9.8/10 only because it's a little difficult to clean up at certain volumes. The clean/green channel was a huge surprise to me. Do not anticipate this to be the clean tone you get out of a classic 30 because it never will achieve that sound, however, it's definitely up there with higher end dedicated metal amps in quality. With it's stock settings, it does still have a lifeless sound to it, but it does have a lot more depth and clarity than I was expecting. Upon researching the amp, I discovered that the clean channel can be warmed up by biasing it a little hotter because apparently Peavey biases their amps to be really cold stock. I'd give it a 7.5/10 stock. This head takes pedals very well. I don't really care for a tubescreamer through the gain channel, but you honestly don't need it. I've been able to get really nice chunky blues/country tones going through the clean channel with a TS9. The only major complaint I have about this amp is the absence of a solo boost. Overall, it's a pretty good value for a rock/metal guitarist. Definitely Peavey's best rock/metal amp ever.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.THE GUY ABOVE CALLED MOST LIKED NEGATIVE. IS CRAZY! AND IS A SLOPPY PLAYER! THATS WHY HE THINKS THE 6505 ISNT A GREAT AMP! ITS LEAD IS TIGHT! AND THICK! GREAT DISTORTION FOR METAL ! ONE OF THE BEST OUT THERE AT ANY PRICE. I HAVE OWNED OVER 100 TUBE HEADS. AND THIS AMP IS IN THE TOP THREE!
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.I started off in life a die hard Marshall fan. But it seems like all you pay for when buying one these days is the name. My friend has a Kerry King 800 I have used and I missed my 6505 every time. Its a great amp, no doubt about it. If you are into gain and tone shaping this amp is surprisingly versatile. I have always wanted an amp that was one channel and sounded exactly how I wanted.. you can create whatever you want from this head if you know what you are doing. Obviously its not a one channel monster that i would prefer, but in reality that would only be for aesthetics. But i can get the tones i would want from a one channel monster of my design thanks to the resonance and presence knobs that eddie thought up in the 80s. Great amp, I have a first gen 6506+ (from right after the badging was changed from a 5150 II). It has had its faults, changing capacitors/tubes.. but over all it has been my favorite amp I have owned.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.It's louder than a dual or triple rectifier, costs less than both, and sounds better. What more could a guitarist ask for? I run this amp with a giggity and swollen pickle in the loop. I get everything from AC30, supersonic and JVM sounds to rectifier, 5150 and everything in between. Perfect match for any Ibanez and most Gibsons with humbuckers. I run an Audio Technica wireless and never have problems with feedback even with high gain raw relentless rock. Be aware of the limitations of your cabinet. The best decision is to run the matching 6505 4X12. Do not run this thing at high volume through a cheap cabinet, it will turn an MG or Spider into a pile of fire wood. I also recommend mesa SPAX7 and 6L6GC tubes, the factory tubes don't last very long.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.This amp is the best amp hands down. It beats the hell out of any mesa boogie recitifier for half the price. The distortion is one of the tightests i have ever heard. the amp has great cleans as well as a crunch. You can use this for anything from metal to country. I suggest everyone buys one!
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.Overall the amp is exactly what i expeced of Peavey and is of great quality and craftmanship. Like i said above if you want distortion without stomp boxes and processors and true amp tone this is the beast for you.
This amp had plenty of gain and a very controllable eq the only thing it lacks is a clean channel. Even at low volumes the amp produces distortion which is what it is made for so if you play metal this is your answer to tone and sound! Comparable to: In Flames, Machine Head, Unearth, God Forbid just to name a few that use or have used these beasts.
My tolex has some battle scars but it has with stood beer spills and rowdy shows. The build quality is second to none so if road worthy is what your looking for you will find it here.
The value for the money has lasted itself out right already. My amp was purchased in 2005 its been on the road and in studio and still has not lost anything value wise. You get what you pay for so the price tag may be high but the warranty you get is second to none and the quality.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
.I play in a touring death metal band, so first thing anyone in this genre knows as a guitarist, is you need a high gain amp. 6505 or 6505+ both deliver this punch. Ive owned a 6505 and now i own a 6505+, and every time ive played live, they've done their job perfectly. I personally use a Agile baritone 8 string with active blackouts, and on the low E , it gets plenty of full toned bass, not a airy, unpronounced tone that less powerful heads will produce. If you looking for a high gain head, and not willing to empty out your savings for over glorified boutique head, this is the way to go.
Peavey 6505+ 120W Guitar Amp Head
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