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Ok so who has the pro's and con's of both, other than the fact that the xxx has 3 channels. I'm sort of torn between the two, but I havn't played the NEW 6505 yet. THanx!

Have you played the old 5150's? Because that's all the 6505's are, rebadged 5150's.

No, I havn't played them. They are just in my price range right now and I really like peavey gear. I have an xxl head that I love, but I want to upgrade to tubes. The xxx is cool, but I wondered what the 6505/5150 sounds like. Does it have plenty of gain? Is it very noisy? etc.

If you want more of a hot-rodded marshall tone with a more crunchy sound and don't care for cleans, go for the 5150.

If you want more versatility, a better clean tone, and 2 different gain tones, go for the XXX. I'd best describe it as the bastard son of a Single Rectifier and a 5150, with a touch of Marshall flavor in there.Personally, I prefer the XXX. It has a much 'cleaner' gain tone, if that makes sense.

Exactly what deadskinslayer said. I prefer the 5150 because it sounds more like a marshall.

Bue if it sounds like a marshall, why dont you get a marshall but then again i think that the 5150 has more gain than a normal high gain marshall... that is just my thought...
i would get the XXX for versatility and the 6505 for gain maniac...
JJ

LIke I said I have an XXL which is the solid state version of The xxx, and I love the features on the thing. THe clean channel is cool, and I have a good rythem channel, and I can kick in the lead channel for the added volume boost and mid boost to cut through the rest of the band for lead work.

I guess my question is, can the rythem channel half-way clean up when I roll back the volume pot on my guitar? I don't play with tons of gain anyways, I like just enough to fully saturate and no more, that way my sound is still has an edge to slice through the mix with.

I never have my gain anywhere about 4 1/2 on the crunch channel and 5 1/2 on the ultra, so you're good there. It cleans up beautifully, and responds pretty well too dynamics.

I love my XXX, got a 2x12 combo. Ruby pre's and Svet Winged C EL34's and a re-bias and it kills. For some reason the 5150 never slayed me but I guess I just didn't spend enough time with it because I have heard a ton of people use them and sound great.

Wattage, did you actually get it re-biased, or just tweak the little bias knob?

I forgot, EL34's in that XXX turns the thing into a completely different beast.

The XXX is a lot better. The XXX is just a new name for the old Peavey Ultra Plus heads. I own one of those and it's the best sounding tube amp I've ever played. I've owned an assortment of tube Mesas (Dual Recto, Recto Pre, 20/20, 50/50, Studio .22), Marshalls (JCM 800/900/JCM2000), Laneys (GH50, GH100), Peaveys (5150), etc...and I have to say for hi-gain stuff it doesn't get much better than the Ultra Plus/XXX head. It just has this toneful warm raw bite/growl that is so pleasing to the ear.

The 5150 is great too but it's not as versatile. The XXX has dampening switches (tight/mid/loose) which really helps you fine tune your sound to best match your cabinetry and style. It also has 2 lead channels, Ultra and Crunch. Ultra is similar to the 5150 red channel (tremendous for leads, brutal tone), but it has a less mushy, more toneful characterstic to it. The crunch is very versatile, with the gain high it can be great for any styles of metal, but you roll it back a bit and it's a tremendous rock, 80s metal channel. Also the clean channel on the XXX/Ultra Plus is a lot better than on the 5150, althought neither are great anyways. I also prefer the active EQ found on the XXX/Ultra.

Basically it makes more sense to go with the XXX because it's essentially a 5150 but more and better. By the way I've never needed to put the gain above 5 on my Ultra, it's just tremendous.

well, i'd have to say if you're into the scooped mid, bottom end chunk thing, 6505 is the way to go. I borrowed a friend's for awhile, retubed with gt 6l6r's amp; 12ax7c's, and holy crap, TONS of bottom end chunk, and tons of gain. I was never really fond of the mids on this amp

xxx, well, it's really hit or miss on whatever you're doing. I'd say it has less bass than the 5150 (from my trials) but it is definately more versatile, with a more usable midrange


Originally Posted by raglorThe 5150 is great too but it's not as versatile. The XXX has dampening switches (tight/mid/loose) which really helps you fine tune your sound to best match your cabinetry and style. It also has 2 lead channels, Ultra and Crunch. Ultra is similar to the 5150 red channel (tremendous for leads, brutal tone), but it has a less mushy, more toneful characterstic to it. The crunch is very versatile, with the gain high it can be great for any styles of metal, but you roll it back a bit and it's a tremendous rock, 80s metal channel. Also the clean channel on the XXX/Ultra Plus is a lot better than on the 5150, althought neither are great anyways. I also prefer the active EQ found on the XXX/Ultra.

Basically it makes more sense to go with the XXX because it's essentially a 5150 but more and better. By the way I've never needed to put the gain above 5 on my Ultra, it's just tremendous.I have to disagree. The resonance knob takes care of the damping switch. The 5150 is a whole different monster than the XXX. Similar, maybe, but a totally different sound. Both equally cool, it just depends on what your tastes are.

And, if you go with the XXX, use the Crunch channel for your main sound. I find the ultra to be way too 'twangy,' for lack of a better word, for my tastes. Most others with an XXX would agree that the real magic is in the Crunch channel, anyways.


Originally Posted by drew_half_emptyxxx, well, it's really hit or miss on whatever you're doing. I'd say it has less bass than the 5150 (from my trials) but it is definately more versatile, with a more usable midrange

It's not hit or miss at all. Put real tubes like JJ's in there, use high quality cables, guitars and have good technique and it will reward you with some of the best hard rock/metal tones available.

it's a matter of opinion

I've found for some stuff they work, others they don't. I'd use them for lead playing in metal/hard rock/classic rock, but definately not rythm unless all we did was ac/dc covers amp; i wanted my own kinda ac/dc tone interpretation. To me they just sound too grainy for rythm playing

some of my friends love them, others think they're worth less than the parts they're made of, it all just depends on the person

I think that quot;twangyquot; characteristic is great. It's more bite and growl than twang. It just is a sweet cutting tube tone, as opposed to lifeless scooped mids newbie stuff.


Originally Posted by raglorI think that quot;twangyquot; characteristic is great. It's more bite and growl than twang. It just is a sweet cutting tube tone, as opposed to lifeless scooped mids newbie stuff.

I dunno, I personally can't stand it for rhythm. I don't scoop my mids at all, but I still don't like it. It's like playing with my pickup split or something. If I wanted twang, I'd get a telecaster, you know?

What you're describing shouldn't happen. It's superb for rhythm. I've recorded some of best sounding heavy rhythm tracks with my Ultra Plus. I will say some pickups/guitars respond better than others to the amp, so maybe it's the pickup. It's amazing for chording, palm-mutes, single note runs, anything you throw at it....it shouldn't sound like a telecaster or split or anything. Maybe it's because you're using EL34s or tubes that are inferior such as any tubes not made by JJ. In mine I use 6L6 and its got the growl but certainly not twang.

One thing I notice is, you're using a RR-1 with JBs. The RR-1 is a mass of maple, alder and ebony... all bright woods with high-mid peaks. Then you're using a JB which is meant more for mahogany guitars because of it's bright character. I have a JB in a Schecter C7 Blackjack which sounds phenominal. When I had the JB in my RR-1T it sounded like pure ass. I put an Invader in and that was much better. The Invaders fatness meshed well with the bright construction of the RR1.

Point being, maybe you get that unpleasant overtone because of the setup you're using. With my Ultra (XXX) I mainly use mahogany guitars with ebony boards with pickups made to shine in those configurations. If you don't like the Rhythm sound you're getting through your XXX, like I said before... try getting JJ EL34Ls or JJ 6L6GCs (world of difference)....or put in a different pickup besides the JB in your bright as hell alder Jackson.

Or not, just a suggestion. Not trying to be confrontational

as far as i know, he IS using JJ's. the XXX isnt an exact copy of the ultra i dont think. i thought it was only based on it. i dont use my ultra channel for my main tone cause i think its too mushy. the crunch is godly though