Peavey 5150 Head
Peavey 5150 Head


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nickname009 08/23/2011

Peavey 5150 Head : nickname009's user review


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* 120 Watts RMS
* Five 12AX7 preamp tubes
* Four 6L6GC power tubes
* HI and LO Gain Inputs
* 2 channel preamp
* PRE and POST gain Controls on both channels
* Bright & Crunch Switches
* 3-band EQ
* Presence and Resonance Controls
* Post-EQ effects loop
* Preamp output
* Footswitch included

This is the original 5150, block letter version with I believe RUBY tubes.
It's your typical 2 channel amp with rhythm and lead, best known for high gain distortion sounds and not so much clean.


Pretty simple to use if one is used to playing peavey amps, they almost always have the same set of controls. It's like a universal set of knobs to include onto every amp they've ever made. Especially the pre and post gain features, with the bright and crunch switches too.

No manual is generally needed, it's pretty easy to get a decent tone and tweak further for specific changes.


I first have to say that this amp sounds great generally only at high volumes and not bedroom practice volumes. Yes it's obvious but there are some players out there who don't know. Even though my review of this head is nearly 10 years + too late, I'm sure nearly 99% of the guitarist population knows about this amp, has at least heard of it and most likely plugged this in, or maybe a variation of it.

So what does it sound like? Like the past 10 years+ of all metal albums out there. I can't imagine how many players have played through this model amp, it has become so widely known and so many variations and modifications have been made for it, to it. There's even been clones of these amps made by other companies etc, the list goes on.

This has been the go to amp for anything high gain related. Especially with some sort of boost put out in front. Super tight, raunchy distortion. Perfect in this respect.

As for cleans, no this amp is not known for cleans, although depending on how you tweak it, has potential to be very usable. It is no fender mind you but it does have a clean channel. Though it is rather sterile sounding compared to the jangly fenders and what have you, it's definitely still usable in a live situation.


The 5150 is so famed it's hard to completely tell you every detail about it because you most likely already know. It's a metal amp, a great one with an overdrive, and has become the industry standard high gain amp for metal players.

Is it versatile? I wouldn't say so. The cleans are nothing to write home about and I don't see any blues/jazz or just non high-gain players plugging into this. But what it does, it's very good at. VERY good at.

It's heavy though. All of them are, so be prepared to be lifting something like a ton of bricks every time you transport the damn thing!