5150 block letter vs. 5150 II

[sorceron]

Ive heard people say the block letter is better. what does everyone here think or know about this? i just bought the block letter as a back up to the 5150 II today and havent brought it down to the rehearsal studio yet to check it out. I figured if anyone knew it would be someone on this board.

 

[sorceron]

Ive heard people say the block letter is better. what does everyone here think or know about this? i just bought the block letter as a back up to the 5150 II today and havent brought it down to the rehearsal studio yet to check it out. I figured if anyone knew it would be someone on this board.

Oh btw, i meant besides the obvious extra channel etc... im talking strictly tone here.

 

[JeffTD]

I can't tell you the difference between the Block and the standard 5150's, but the 5150 II has more emphasis on the highs and high mids, with less lows.

Not to say that it lacks lows at all, though. Both amps kick ass!

 

[006]

The 5150II is a more...how to say this..."metal" sound to it. At least with my experience anyway. I own the original 5150 and I bought it instead of the II because I preferred (sp?) it's tone overall. I liked it's bass response a lot more. Again, as DSS3 said, the 5150II doesn't lack lows, it's just that the responsiveness is quite different between the two amps. Some people say the II isn't as smooth as the original, but as far as I could ever tell, the II was just a more modernized revamp of the original. Either one is good though. Depends on your likes/dislikes.

~006

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

The main difference between the Mk1 and the MK2 is the MK2 has 2 lots of EQ, one for clean/crunch and the other for lead rather than one set of EQ for the lot on the MK1. Also the MK2 has a better footswitch. 3 botton cast switch instead of 2 button moulded plastic. Componant wise they are a pretty similar build but the MK2 are apparently more reliable.

 

[Andy Sneap]

this is a bit of a myth with the originals. Robb Flynn swears by his early one with block letters, I've had both and my signature one sounded better. Hit and miss really. I prefer the mark 1 to the Mark 2 personally.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Yeah, I remember reading an interview, two years ago or so, of Robb where he said that he finally managed to find this particular amp again (he thought he had lost it but it was in his attic... !!!) that he used to record "Burn My Eyes" and that has a very unique sound to it, unlike any other 5150 he owned. When I listen to "Burn My Eyes", I can only hope to find one that sound like his... amazing tone !

 

[kaomao]

Yeah, I remember reading an interview, two years ago or so, of Robb where he said that he finally managed to find this particular amp again (he thought he had lost it but it was in his attic... !!!) that he used to record "Burn My Eyes" and that has a very unique sound to it, unlike any other 5150 he owned. When I listen to "Burn My Eyes", I can only hope to find one that sound like his... amazing tone !

Bah I don't think that Flynn's one is better than mine 5150 (eddie sign), in the end to me the tone of Burn my eyes is a really good one, but is a little bit fizzier than every 5150 I've heard in my life, my 5150 has balls!!! again good tone but not the best IMO (I rule! shut up frenchy ).



p.s.
A little trick to all 5150 owners, try this
lead pre gain on 6
bass on 7
mid on 0
high on 5.5
post gain on 4 (or 5 if you can, on 2 my parents/bro kill me everytime I try it, they say "Assholes shut the fuck up, that is not music, is shit" ahahah and then I blast them with an E powerchord ahahha)
resonance on 7
presence on 7.5
you got arch enemy sound if you play with jeff beck pickups
if you set presence on 8-9 you got the fizzy burn my eyes tone, so brett buy a 5150

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

Bah I don't think that Flynn's one is better than mine 5150 (eddie sign), in the end to me the tone of Burn my eyes is a really good one, but is a little bit fizzier than every 5150 I've heard in my life, my 5150 has balls!!! again good tone but not the best IMO (I rule! shut up frenchy ).



p.s.
A little trick to all 5150 owners, try this
lead pre gain on 6
bass on 7
mid on 0
high on 5.5
post gain on 4 (or 5 if you can, on 2 my parents/bro kill me everytime I try it, they say "Assholes shut the fuck up, that is not music, is shit" ahahah and then I blast them with an E powerchord ahahha)
resonance on 7
presence on 7.5
you got arch enemy sound if you play with jeff beck pickups
if you set presence on 8-9 you got the fizzy burn my eyes tone, so brett buy a 5150

Yeah Brett buy a 5150!! Didnt you get offered one recently real cheap?

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

What about the 3 channel Peavey Ultra Plus heads? The ones where the Peavey logo changes color for each channel? I've never played through one, and was wondering if those are at all comparable to a 5150. They go for dirt cheap ($300 or so used) and I'm tempted to snag one...

 

[sorceron]

this is a bit of a myth with the originals. Robb Flynn swears by his early one with block letters, I've had both and my signature one sounded better. Hit and miss really. I prefer the mark 1 to the Mark 2 personally.

I got confused by this for a second. you say your signature one sounded better, and then that you prefered the mark 1 to the mark 2. is the mark 1 not the block letter and then mark 2 not the signature one?

sorry if thats a dumbass question.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

There is a block letter 5150, and a signature 5150.

The 5150II did not have such designations. He was saying he prefers the original 5150 with the sig. and not block logo.

 

[JeffTD]

by MK1 and MK2, most always it means the 5150 and 5150II, respectively.

 

[Kazrog]

I have the 6505+ and I'm loving it (re-titled 5150 II.) Plenty of everything we like here.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

My guitarist slid a mirror behing the 5150 logo in the front of the amp...it looks pretty badass, I'll post pics when I get home if you're interested.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I prefer the mark 1 to the Mark 2 personally.

Same here. I had a bad experience with a MK2 in the studio.

 

[vile_ator]

I have a 5150 and a 5150 II. The II has a little more of a saturated gain, smoother maybe cause of the extra preamp tube. And it has a little more of a metal sound to it. Different mid freq on the mid knob I think. But its has less low end. I think the original is better. A little more raw and punishing sounding. But the II is really good also and if you dont A/B them and just plug one in, you'll end up liking either. They are quite close.

Also I read on the Peavey forum directly from the tech at Peavey that the block letter thing is a myth like Andy said. They used the same schematic the entire time they produced them. They just changed to the signature for a legal reason. Rob's head sound good just like how any one amp can sound good compared to others off the production line. There are tolerances for the parts that change form year to year. Also maybe they got a different batch of output transformers, resistors, etc.

This is a total myth.

Colin

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Maybe it's me but the 5150IIs that I've played with have more gain than the I's. Not that you need it.

 

[kaomao]

My guitarist slid a mirror behing the 5150 logo in the front of the amp...it looks pretty badass, I'll post pics when I get home if you're interested.

Post it post it, I like custom 5150's

Maurizio

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I'm a meathead, sorry--I don't have any pics at home but I'll try and get it up tomorrow.