Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp  (Used)

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

Just got this amp used yesterday and glad I foudn it! I've played through many amps Marshall, Randall, and Mesa and the Peavey 6505 beats them all for pure aggressive metal. I run my Dean Dave Mustaine signature VMNT throuh this and my only effects are a Boss BD-2 Blues Drive to boost the front end and a Dunlop Dime Crybaby From Hell. This amp just fits me perfectly for the style of music I play. Once you set the EQ and other controls to your likeing you can get the tone you hear in your head from this badboy. Also this is the best combo amp I've ever plugged into and played.

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

I love this amp. I've been playing for 20+ years and this is probably the best bang per buck. Easy to service, find parts, everyone has one to borrow/rent, and simple to get a good sound out of it. 6L6GC and 12AX7 tubes are plentiful in different flavors, it's easy to try out different brands. There are tons of mods for these, and decent following online. I know people who dont even play anything heavy and they like this amp.
I use mine as my main practice amp in the bedroom. 60Watts is plenty and it's the first amp I ever had to dial the gain down. I plug just right in, no effects needed. No, there isn't really a clean channel but it does clean up ok. Just don't expect it to sound like a Fender or JC-120 clean.

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

Built to Eddie's exact specs? Not quite. The specs are the same, but to save on manufacturing the materials and "innards" are definitely not!

I had the original block letter 5150 head, and the 5150 combo. The Sheffield speakers in here are NOT the Sheffield speakers from the original 5150. I replaced them with Celestian Vintage 30s. If you want what Eddie spec'd then get Greenbacks or his new EVH speaker. It's what the 1st year Sheffields actually sound like before Peavey made the change in materials.

The tubes are the worst. I put in JJ's in the preamp and Groove Tubes in the power amp. Now the amp performs as it was intended by the designer.

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

I've had more amps than I can remember and this is the one I always come back to
Hands down the best metal amp ever made. There is no clean so get a noise gate. Its a no bs,frills amp.
Rock solid, you would hurt yourself be for you hurt it
Fair price. Not over rated or over priced like the Mesa recs

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

Great amp, fun while i wanted it.
This is a hard rock/metal amp. There is no CLEAN channel, because it doesnt really even clean up. You can get a good blues tone but nothing really clean. The overdrive is GREAT. Awesome rhythm and lead tones through this amp from when i was into the heavier styles. Lately ive been drifting from that and ive founf this amp isnt voiced to the styles that im interested in. Its got a very "sharp" biting tone to it, that makes certain styles of lead/soloing hard to play. I am personally a fan of Steve Vai and John Petruccie. Both of these have a sort of "smooth singing" lead tone and this amp is not voiced to do this. It can really nail Van Halen and George Lynch tones though.

So be aware that this is a rather limited amp and you have to be sure its what you really want.

Having said that, I am trying to sell mine at the moment.

It was fun while it lasted...
Great, no problems whatsoever with this amp. Stayed true to what its made for.
Its worth it, but i still feel its overpriced because its associated with the 5150 series, which is associated with EVH. Just his name brings in money...

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

Too many people buy this amp thinking "its loud, lots of gain, and loud! Ill shred on it!" its not an amp for everyone. If you have sloppy technique, this amp will make you sound worse. Its a very articulate and precise amp, with godly amounts of gain. You can get plenty of different tones out of it so its quite versatile but if you plan on getting some really clean sounds this isnt for you. Ive played van halen, pink floyd, led zeppelin, and some metallica on it and they all sound great, but youve gotta know what your doing when it comes to setting it up. As many others have said, it is a MONSTER to carry, so i slapped some wheels on the bottom and its helped soo much. its still a pain to load into the car but once ive got it on the ground i just roll it around. Be aware that with this rediculous amont of gain and the way the amp is designed there is a "waterfall" like hiss that will always be heard. This is partially due to the fact that peavey biases all their tubes cold. To fix this you should do the bias mod. Inexpensive and brings this amp to life!

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

I own an original first generation 5150 2-12 combo. On paper, the 6505 is the same exact amp as the 5150. I have compared them side by side. They sound very very similar. However. There is a "life" to the 5150 that the 6505 does not have. It could be that my 5150 is almost 20 years old and well broken in, but the 5150 just has a sound quality that the 6505 lacks. And also the Build quality on the 5150 is MUCH better. Dont get me wrong, the 6505 is a great amp, and worth the money. Its got crazy gain (Black Stone Cherry uses it for recording and live tours), and you can tweek the tone to fit any style. But if you can find one, I would get another used original 5150 over a new 6505 any day. Happy hunting!

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

I own the 5150, but they are the same thing. I purchased mine for $500 used. The amp does a flawless job of playing distorted sounds. Pushing the gain past about 6.5 does not sound very good, but I have never had to go past 5. Clean tones are good enough, but that's not why I bought the amp. It is VERY loud. With the Pre-Gain on 5, you only have to put Post-Gain on 2 or 3 to be heard over a drummer. I leave it on 1 when playing at home.My only complaint with the amp is not necessarily the weight of it, which is understandable, but rather the lack of useful handles. The handles on the top of it are pretty awful.

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

built like a tank, very good natural distortation, spring reverb, nice cleans on rythen channel-no onboard effects except reverb; the way it should be. it is hissy due to such high gain-note; swapping tubes will not cure this-its just in the circutery. very heavy for a combo, due to its heavy duty construction-overall very good amp.-also fair price for such quality construction & sound!

Comments about Peavey 6505 212 Combo 2x12 Guitar Amp:

First of all, let me just say that if you're crazy about all that ultra-distortion Metal, don't buy this amp because of it's insane amounts of gain. Yes, it does have an ungoddly amount gain, but once it gets fairly past 6 or so, you get a hissy kind of tone that is really undesirable. So if that's the case, buy an 'ol JCM 800 and slap an OD in front of it instead. However, if you appreciate good 'ol power tube sound, and a thick chunky tone with a good amount of gain, this amp is without a doubt for you. Another thing is if you want EVH tone, look no further, the 6505 is PERFECT for that. This amp is LOUD. One of my gripes is actually just how loud it is. The Reverb is laughable, but at least it's there. The clean channel on the combo is quite better, and it actually sounds good. The system took me getting used to since I'm a Marshall guy, but once I knew how it all worked it suited me pretty well. The amp is also HEAVY so don't think it'll be a simple pick up and go to your friends house ordeal. All and all good value and I'm happy with it.