6505 or XXX?

[raglor]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

Well still man. EL34s (bright, hi mids), with an alder/maple/ebony thin guitar, with bright/middy pickups. Obviously with that onslaught of brightness/hi-mid peaks theres going to be twangy characteristics on sensitive tube amps. Maybe you can get away with that on a solid-state/digital amp but not a tube amp I would think.

As for the XXX being different than the Ultra Plus. You could be right, I don't know for sure but it seems very similar to me. I've never played a XXX just an Ultra Plus so I can't say for sure, maybe that amp just isn't voiced as well, -shrug-.

 

[inter]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

Nothing like the response and tone from a tube amp. SS is too effecient to have the dynamics and warmth a roaring tube amp has.

I'd suggest when your trying to decide, try out a 5150/6505, XXX etc, with a guitar that has a high quality low/low'ish output humbucker/pickup.

The plexi/JCM800 type level of distortion sounds great with a high output pickup like the JB, drives it a little harder and fuzzes it up a tad. The hi gain all tube amps don't need any extra fuzz (especially the Peavey stuff) & sound much sweeter with a cleaner signal from the guitar's pickups.

To hear them really growl and show you their different tonal characteristics, I think you'll need a low output pickup not much more than 10k. Actives seem to let the sound punch through without the buzz too.

 

[BigBazz]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

i own a few marshalls, and my 5150 does not sound anything like a marshall, its my favourite giging amp, its just one big power all out tone machine, its not very versatile, the clean channel isnt great but it isnt all that bad either, the crunch button adds some nice gain and gives kind of a marshall plexi type crunch and is really good for classic rock, the lead channel is brutal, awesome for heavier rock and unbeatable for metal, basecly its big ballsy and tight as hell distortion which gives a very powerfull rhythm sound, playing lead on the lead channel seems very one dimensional, you realy have to get it turned up some to get the best from it, it doesnt take distortion pedals well, but overdrive pedals work a treat, up front or even through the effects loop.

ive heard the xxx and its not a bad amp, its more versatile and has a better clean than the 5150, but personally i prefere the 5150, no doubt about it.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

i went to the Peavey warehouse in 1995 and bought myself a 5150 half stack that they were getting rid of..... They had a pile of repaired and slightly damaged goods at their old Toronto warehouse and i was able to get some of it. I have used that 5150 head ever since..... i have a modded JCM 800 as well but the 5150 does an amazing job! I needed a clean channel as well and i was not willing to give up my 5150 so i use a Peavey Classic 50 head as my clean channel... I use a head switcher from Axess Electronics and a/b between the 2 heads!

I have not tried the XXX but the 5150 has the sound i want... oneday i'll have to pick up a 6505 version just for the hell of it....

WhoFan

 

[taphappy]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

One thing I noticed is that the stock Triple XXX I play through is not as crunchy as people are making it seem. Is this because its not biased correctly, or the stock tubes are no good?

 

[Wattage]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

One thing I noticed is that the stock Triple XXX I play through is not as crunchy as people are making it seem. Is this because its not biased correctly, or the stock tubes are no good?

Stock they are biased to the cold side which doesn't help. The stock 6L6's are not that good either IMO. Go to the Peavey forum and do a little reading on bias settings, you'll learn a lot about them there.

Dead Skin - I had to have a new bias resistor grid put in my amp so it was a fresh set of tubes and a re-bias when I switched to the EL's.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

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

I'm going to be honest; JJ tubes are not the best tubes in the world for every application. I hated the set of pre's I had. They aren't, and again, Bob isn't, the be-all-end-all source for all things tube related. That said, I am running relabeled JJ's in the power section. Also, I've tried JJ 6L6's, and I prefer the EH 6L6's to them.

It's not that the JB is very bright, as I get the same sound out of my Custom loaded mohogany Schecter. That said, I'm switching the JB out because I don't like the overall sound of it. I actually don't like the sound of JB's in the bridge in any guitar, period, pretty much. I much prefer the Custom or Custom 5. Also, the Floyd cuts some highs off the guitar, so with a TOM, it would've been a little brighter than my RR-1.

I've had an Invader in an alder bodied bolton Dinky, and personally didn't care for it. Way too overbearing in the lows and low mids.

The JB was not made for any type of guitar, Seymour made it for Jeff Beck, and it was the first Duncan model ever made. He still uses it, in an alder bodied tele-gib. The 250k pots do tame the brightness, though.

I played Ultra Plus's before I settled on my XXX, and came to the conclusion that while one was based on the other, they're totally different animals. The red channel on the UP didn't have the twangy quality that I hear in my XXX, or at least not near to the extent I hear it now.

 

[ex-250]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

man....you start disliking pickups really quickly :laugh2: i love both the JB and DD, but it seems you dont like either now. haha.

 

[JacksonShredHead]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

Well, it is settled now, I'm not getting either of them! I'm getting the JSX

I talked them down quited a bit on the price, and got my credit limit raised just a bit and I will have it friday! hahaha

THanx for all the imput guys!

 

[SwedeNuck]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

Great choice, it's got more versatility than both the XXX and 5150/6505. It can do the down and dirty thing like the best of them, but it has one of the best sounding clean channels around for a high gain head.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

man....you start disliking pickups really quickly :laugh2: i love both the JB and DD, but it seems you dont like either now. haha.

My tastes have been slowly refining over the years... er...months.


JSX's kick ASS! You will absolutely LOVE that amp!

 

[JacksonShredHead]

Re: 6505 or XXX?

Yeh, the JSX is what started this whole thing anyways, it was just more expensive and I didn't think I would have the dough, so I went with the xxx/6505 idea. I got lucky and the store where I getting it from is having a big sale this weekend and I talked the salesman out of a few extra bucks. I had to raise my credit limit a bit too! haha But, I will be happier in the long run with the JSX, the first time I played it I left the store with a woody!
haha