Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

[Blood Orange]

Hello,
I am am new to the site and looking to upgrade from my dinky Fender Bullet 150 Practice Amp. I have been looking around for a good amp at an affordable price and have been most impressed by the Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo. I was just wondering whether the amp would be good for home use, brand practice, and maybe even small gigs. I also am wondering about how good of a clean tone I can get on this amp. I've been told that a good Jazz tone is impossible on this amp, but its distortion is really good for thrash metal and old-school death metal. Sorry for the long post but lastly, when is it better to get a half-stack or full-stack as opposed to a combo and why does the former cost so much more? Thanks.

 

[TSE]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

You don't really need a half stack imo. A 2x12 or 1x12 cab or combo can get you by in most situations including gigs. They mic only one speaker anyway. 60 watts would be plenty for most situations as well. Less gear to lug around with the combo. If you do get the 6505+ 1x12 I would re-tube it with JJ6L6GCs for power amp and a Tung Sol in V6 and V1, JJs or Ruby 12AX7HG5s everywhere else, and a Sovtek 12AX7LPS for the PI.

The cleans are not bad if you know how to use the knobs, it gets better if you put something low gain in V6 like a EH12AY7.

Have fun and enjoy

 

[Blood Orange]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Ok cool. I imagine it can't be too difficult to change out the tubes, since you'd have to replace the stock ones eventually. If you can't already tell I've never had a tube amp. But I've been doing research for two months now and unless I see something amazing, I'll probably be getting this amp. One question though, I've heard you need a noise gate for the distortion on tube amps and that they're not good unless they're loud. Is that true? I'd really like to refrain from using pedals to change my sound. I believe most of your sound should come from you and your amp.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Bah. A half stack purring sounds better, to some people, than a combo screaming. They might only mic one speaker, but you get to listen to all four up on the stage.

Wattage with tube amps is a very misleading number. A 100 watt amp, through a given set of speakers, will be exactly 3db (not much) louder than a 50 watt amp into the same speaker setup. The difference between 60 and 100 is even less. A 60 watt amp is only twice as loud as a 6 watt amp, into the same speaker array.

No, tube amps don't have to be super loud to give up the goods...but they DO have to be opened up a bit. Most makers let the power tubes to start cracking up around 4 on the dial.

Also, don't turn a cold shoulder to pedals...some of your very dearest guitar heros use them regularly.

And, lastly, remember that all tube amps have volume controls that let you turn them down.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

These are great questions to ask, and I wish I had asked them when I started looking into gear. I have to agree with guitfiddle's assessment here. If you're going for super tight or super clean, go with a high wattage head. If you want to get a little more breakup for a little bit looser feel without making your ears bleed, step down to or below 30 watts.

Also, since this is your first time looking into buying a tube amp, I highly recommend going the head and cabinet route. Unfortunately, that will probably cost you more in the short term, but I find my taste in speakers changes less frequently than my taste in amps. It's nice to be able to hang onto a trusty box of noise with the head on top being swapped out when you get bored or uninspired. Or vice versa.

 

[Blood Orange]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Thanks for all the advice. I think for now though since I'm trying to pin down what my sound will be it might be better to go for the less expensive route. And yes I know that many guitar players I respect use pedals and I don't think any less of them for it, but I have heard personally what happens when someone gets "gear crazy" and I'd rather have my playing be mostly responsible for my tone. One more question. Can you plug a guitar straight into the cabinet or do you need a head? Also, does the head just act as an EQ for the cabinet or is it a separate speaker on its own?

 

[SteveAlysis]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I had one for a few months and played 3 gigs with it. Against the other guitarists marshall stack. One being the whiskey in hollywood. It was great and cut just fine, with tons of room left over.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

One more question. Can you plug a guitar straight into the cabinet or do you need a head? Also, does the head just act as an EQ for the cabinet or is it a separate speaker on its own?

An amp is built on a metal chasis .... that chasis can then be mounted into a 'combo' format, which is a cabinet that holds both the amp chasis and the speaker(s). Alternatively an amp chasis can be mounted into a smaller enclosure by itself, without speakers. That is known as a 'head', and will require a speaker cabinet of some kind. Obviously there are pro's and cons to each system. It depends on the requirements of the owner.

If you want an amp that can provide a good jazz sound but also great overdriven and distorted rock sounds, you need to research carefully .... ususally one of those will compromise the other to some degree, which is why you don't see many old Fender amps used for metal, and you don't see many ENGL amps used by jazz players.

The best bet is to read a lot and then go out and plug in to a wide variety of amps with your guitar and see what they have to offer. I suspect to cover the ground you might want to, you might need a low to medium gain amp that can provide good tones for jazz and a bit of break-up for classic rock, and then juice it up with a pedal to get the harder rock sounds.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

If you get a 6505+ then you're not interested in cleans. Granted the cleans can be useable, but they're not really clean.

60 Watt tube is loud enough for band practice/rehearsal and probably the majority of shows you will play. For the ones that it wouldn't be loud enough, you would be mic'd.

Trust me, it's going get loud. On 3 it'll keep up with a drummer.

If buying the amp new, you don't need to do any mods or tube swaps. Get to know your amp first.

 

[Jeremiah]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Don't forget that a lot of combo amps also have a speaker out socket, so you can plug into an additional speaker cab if you need more volume or a different tone to that of the internal speaker.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I do prefer head/cab to combo.

the 6505 is heavy as hell.

 

[lex666]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Not much expereince with the Peavy 6505, but I would like to add a +1 to getting the head & separate cab. Since you're somewhat new, I predict that you'll be seeking tones outside of what the Peavy can do. Invest some $$$ in a good cab. You can always swap heads later...

Not sure what your budget is like, but I'd give Mesa's Mini Recto head an audtition.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

tHATS ONE SEXY AMP

 

[Blood Orange]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

Again thank you for the advice, but I still don't know whether you need to have both a head and cab or if you can buy a cab and use it until you can get a head. If the latter is the case I might consider it.

 

[Blood Orange]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I looked at the Mesa head and its at least $999. That's just too much money for me to spend right now. I'm looking at spending at the most $700.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

A cab is just a wooden box with speakers screwed into it. It does no amplification on its own. An head is an amplifier, and it produces no sound on its own. If you plug a guitar into a head and plug the head into the cabinet, only then will they make sound.

A combo is the combination of a head and a cabinet in a single physical enclosure, hence the name. It would be good to do some basic research on this to avoid wasting money. NEVER turn your amp on without speakers plugged in. It will more than likely fry the output transformer, which is the most expensive part in the amp.

So before you get to rockin', make sure you don't blow up your equipment. Ask plenty of questions. And again, I'll say you should get a head and a cabinet. I wish I had done that when I first started playing, but I bought a combo because it was cheaper. I paid for it in the end, though.

And take a look at the Blackstar stuff. It might be right up your alley if you're looking at the 6505. Plus, they have decent cleans. And if you're dead-set on a combo, there will definitely be one with the right wattage for you in the HT Venue line.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I looked at the Mesa head and its at least $999. That's just too much money for me to spend right now. I'm looking at spending at the most $700.

I think Peavey makes some pretty solid amps and some that sound pretty good, but if you an amp that will last you a life time and always sound good (and is completely professional level for build and tone) you could look for something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MESA-BOOGIE...119?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfbef91b7

P.S. - the Mesa is made in the USA the Peavey 1x12 is made in China.

 

[lex666]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I looked at the Mesa head and its at least $999. That's just too much money for me to spend right now. I'm looking at spending at the most $700.

I hear ya bro, I know Mesa's dont come easy...

All I will say is this. Guitars come and go. A good amp is an investment and the foundation of your sound. Its worth it to wait, save, steal, for a good amp.

Good luck.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

look at bass tube amps and throw pedals in front!

 

[Blood Orange]

Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of Peavey 6505 + 112 Combo

I guess it'd be good to wait. I went to Guitar Center and tried out the Peavey 6505+ 112 and I liked the distortion, though the highs weren't as good as I'd like. I'll try to test some heads and cabs to see if that configuration is actually better. I want to thank everyone who replied. I was getting impatient and might have made a costly mistake. Thanks.