Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

[PearlyHellhound]

Which is better and why? Is 6534+ a improvement or just filler for more money? Thoughts?

[super rad stuff]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

the 6534+ recently came out because people have been modding their 6505+ amps with el34 amps for years, and peavey has decided to cash in on this. it's the basic difference between 6l6 tubes(original) and el34 tubes.

[Pestilent Sleep]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

If I'm not mistaken, the 6534+ has more of a British sound to it. I had a chance to play on it and it sounds really good, but the 6505+ more up my alley, which is why I'm a proud owner of one! They sound similar, but just different enough.

[super rad stuff]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

If I'm not mistaken, the 6534+ has more of a British sound to it. I had a chance to play on it and it sounds really good, but the 6505+ more up my alley, which is why I'm a proud owner of one! They sound similar, but just different enough.

not quite, it's just got a barkier midrange to it with slightly subdued lows and less glassy highs. sure, those qualities point towards sounding more "british," especially when the amp is supposed to be somewhat marshally sounding, but i assure you the preamp section of a 6505/6534 will still make it sound as such.

[Pestilent Sleep]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

not quite, it's just got a barkier midrange to it with slightly subdued lows and less glassy highs. sure, those qualities point towards sounding more "british," especially when the amp is supposed to be somewhat marshally sounding, but i assure you the preamp section of a 6505/6534 will still make it sound as such.

Oh no doubt, I don't mean it sounds like a Marshall or anything, just that it leans towards a more British flavor compared to the regular 6505+. Like I said, they sound similar but different haha.

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

I'm not a fan of the 6505+/5150II compared to the original 6505/5150 amps, and the EL34 mod just makes things worse, IMO. I've run my 5150 through my JVM's power section on numerous occasions, and it always ends up thin, brittle, harsh, and grating compared to running through it's own 6L6 poweramp.

[PearlyHellhound]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

I'm not a fan of the 6505+/5150II compared to the original 6505/5150 amps, and the EL34 mod just makes things worse, IMO. I've run my 5150 through my JVM's power section on numerous occasions, and it always ends up thin, brittle, harsh, and grating compared to running through it's own 6L6 poweramp.

Have you heard of FJA mods?

[PVFan]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

yes VK has heard of FJA mods


me? these days I like any 6L6 amp way more than any EL34 amp, pretty much. Esp. these 2

[man-in-moon]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

i owned a 6534+ and i got to compare it side by side with a 6505+. there are some added features besides just putting el-34's in. they made the clean channel better and also reduced the noise in them a good bit. to me the 6534+ sits between a mesa and a marshall type sound. the gain is less fuzzy than the 6505's. but had the bottom end and punch like a mesa. plus i liked the crunch mode on the clean channel that you could turn off and on with the footswitch. the 6505+ i tried did not have this feature either.

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

Have you heard of FJA mods?

Yes - I have owned one of the amps that guy atrociously 'modded' - as far as I'm concerned he opened the amp up and took a dump on the circuit board, because it was by far the worst (of the 6) 5150's I've had. It had the clarity and bias mods done to it - it sounded like a castrated 5150. I love the bias mod, but that clarity mod... removed the grind and balls I loved from the amp, and made it less tight and aggressive.

[BloodRose]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

Yes - I have owned one of the amps that guy atrociously 'modded' - as far as I'm concerned he opened the amp up and took a dump on the circuit board, because it was by far the worst (of the 6) 5150's I've had. It had the clarity and bias mods done to it - it sounded like a castrated 5150. I love the bias mod, but that clarity mod... removed the grind and balls I loved from the amp, and made it less tight and aggressive.

Yikes!! I was considering having them do the 80s mod to my windsor...

[Warheart]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

Yes - I have owned one of the amps that guy atrociously 'modded' - as far as I'm concerned he opened the amp up and took a dump on the circuit board, because it was by far the worst (of the 6) 5150's I've had. It had the clarity and bias mods done to it - it sounded like a castrated 5150. I love the bias mod, but that clarity mod... removed the grind and balls I loved from the amp, and made it less tight and aggressive.

Messed man! I've always been tempted to try out some of his work, see what it was like!

I figured the Bias mod would kinda make is less tight/aggressive, My 5150 is biased at like 9-12ma right now with 2 JJ's. Cold makes for tight, warmer bias makes for a looser feel, was my train of thought. I've heard people on this board say that Older Marshall's weren't tight amps, simply because they had a warmer bias (well, and the EL34's).

I guess at the end of the day, my favorite tones were done with an un-modded 5150 anyways.

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

it's just filler for more money...whatever that means

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

Unmodded 5150s for the win.
I see all these guys on sevenstring.org go on about the FJA mods for 5150/6505s.
Yeah, might make it cooler to listen to when the amp is by itself, but whenever I've heard recorded clips of it in a full mix, the FJA modded stuff just sounded like ass..
People try to justify improving a product that had nothing wrong with it in the first place, it's just ridiculous.
If unmodded 5150s were such bad amps, they wouldn't be all so many fantastic sounding metal albums.

[cvansickle]

Re: Peavey 6505+ vs 6534+

I tried a 6534+ at the Dallas Guitar Show a few months ago. Awesome amp! I didn't realize at first that it wasn't a 6505. I was playing it, and thinking "this is the best 6505/5150 I've ever heard!" When I realized it was a different model, and that it had EL34 tubes, that explained it. I favor the Marshall flavor, and my amp right now is a Mesa Stiletto.