Help me with my purchase of a 5150 =)

[DigiV]

Now, don't rip my fucking head off. I know there's tons of 5150 threads. Personally, I think a dedicated sticky 6505/5150 and Recto thread should be placed in here but whatever.

So, I sold my beloved Roadster a few months ago. Some of you may remember it here.. it was beautiful. I needed the cash and there was no need for me to have a 1600 dollar amp at the moment.

I'm playing lots of metal right now. Shit like Gojira to In Flames. The 5150 seemed like the best match.

So, I'm about to purchase myself a decent looking 5150. My questions are:

Reliability issues- i've heard the knobs and pots are problematic. Anything else I should watch out for?

Cab- i'm looking into a freyette fatbottom with P50's. Not many people seem to sport these but man i've heard a 5150 through it and it fucking KILLS! How are the standard marshalls with these? Boogie is an option if i can find a stilleto.

What's the best tube config? what have some of you tried. I've been reading Eurotubes babble on the intergraded quad 6L6 and KT88's. Has anyone tried this? it seems interesting. I'm looking to get a bias mod as well (people are swearing by the necessity of the bias mod). I already have a tubescreamer, and i'm probably going to pick up a decimater.

Pickups: passive or active? Emg 81s or Duncans Jb's? I have guitars with both so i guess i'll try it myself but i'm looking for opinions.

Oh and anyone with some decent standard settings I should try out on the get-go? It'd be appreciated.

I'm excited :Smokin:

 

[Metaltastic]

FWIW, I really really really do not recommend the Stiletto cab; Guitarhack had one for months, made tons of recordings and impulses with it, and bailed on it for a Recto cab and has been happy as a clam since (well, except for selling his slant for a straight, but that's another story ). Stupid me though had to go and do my own thing, however, so I too bought a Stiletto cab, used it for months, but then realized I couldn't take all the excessive mids around 400 Hz that just make it feel so stuffy/dense/wooly (hehehe), the Recto cab has that emphasis shifted down to the chunks and the mids feel SO much clearer as a result; haven't looked back since selling my Stiletto cab for it!

For an example of how a Stiletto cab sounds, check out the tone on Misery Signals' "Controller", Strapping Young Lad's "The New Black", Dream Theater's "Train of Thought", etc. - they're good tones, but just so overpowering and dense in those mids IMO! This thread as well has comparison clips I made.

Oh, and EMG's all the way here

 

[Metaltastic]

And I've never played nor heard a VHT/Fryette (lame ) cab, but as far as tubes goes, just stick with 6L6's IMO, Bob at Eurotubes strikes me as a bit of a nutcase and I don't like the fact that they ONLY carry JJ tubes (which are good but not the only good ones)

 

[JeffTD]

For an example of how a Stiletto cab sounds, check out the tone on Misery Signals' "Controller", Strapping Young Lad's "The New Black"

These were both with OS cabs, not Stiletto/Trad. I'd attribute it more to the EL34's Devin runs, if anything.


Half of End of Heartache was done with a 5150 and VHT/P50E cabinet - I've been dying to try that setup for a while now.

 

[Metaltastic]

These were both with OS cabs, not Stiletto/Trad. I'd attribute it more to the EL34's Devin runs, if anything.

Really? I had always heard Devy was a Traditional cab user, and man do they sound like it to my ears!

 

[crazykarl]

1. 5150 hasn't had any reliability issues in my experience. I've worked with them before we came to acquire one. (we use it A LOT)
2. Any full size cab should be able to handle the low end of the 5150. Like metaltastic said, bigger cab def works. Had best results with a fullsize cab with V30s.
3. No clue, we had someone else mod it for us and take care of all that.
4. Both work great I've used EMG81s, Duncan JB, Invader, Full Shred, Distortion through it and other pickups like Dimarzios and Lundgrens, they all sound good. Just gotta tweak it.

As for settings, try the Machine Head settings (try searching for them since I forget where they are). Put that on with one SM57 in a good position and you're probably going to have good tone. Otherwise it's all about making it sound good in the room then finding a mic spot that really works. Mic placement is key.

 

[J.DavisNJ]

And I've never played nor heard a VHT/Fryette (lame ) cab, but as far as tubes goes, just stick with 6L6's IMO, Bob at Eurotubes strikes me as a bit of a nutcase and I don't like the fact that they ONLY carry JJ tubes (which are good but not the only good ones)

Doug's Tubes FTW.

-Joe

 

[DigiV]

Are the mods necessary? I've been looking into the FJA mods, mainly the

"Clarity mod: Gives you a more useable clean channel, get rid of some of the hiss on the lead channel and tighten the overall tone to give you more clarity with less saturation. You get a bigger, tighter bottom and better low volume tones. Includes basic bias mod"

As far as cab goes I'm still looking. I sold my entire previous rig so I don't even have a cab yet. the P50 is calling my name, i just wish i could try it out first. Not many people run that set up but everytime i've heard someone that did it freaking KILLEd.

 

[Metaltastic]

Aren't those cabs mighty expensive, though? And my philosophy on amp modding has always been just upgrading the components (or adding in features such as adjustable bias), I never liked the idea of fucking with the tone stack or anything, cuz I bought the amp for its sound, and if I don't like it I'd rather just sell it and look for another amp! That's purely an outlook thing, of course, but I'd hazard a guess that most awesome recorded 5150 tones haven't had anything more than the bias mod done! (pretty sure Andy favors 'em stock, and I know most people on here kept it to the bias mod if anything)

And yeah, dougstubes.com =

 

[DigiV]

They're about the same price new as any boogie or orange cab. I've found a few used ones for a decent price though.

I hear ya on the mods though, I really don't want to change any of the characteristics of the amp.

 

[006]

Really? I had always heard Devy was a Traditional cab user, and man do they sound like it to my ears!

Jeff knows his Devin Trivia

 

[JeffTD]

Jeff knows his Devin Trivia

No I'm just really fucking obsessed and fanboi'ish hahahaha it's really kind of depressing.

 

[lolzgreg]

Are the mods necessary? I've been looking into the FJA mods, mainly the

"Clarity mod: Gives you a more useable clean channel, get rid of some of the hiss on the lead channel and tighten the overall tone to give you more clarity with less saturation. You get a bigger, tighter bottom and better low volume tones. Includes basic bias mod"

I just bought a modded Peavey Penta from him (Jerry). The amp is nuts, period. He did a great job. I've never heard his 5150 mods in person, but I'm sure he knows what he's doing.

HONESTLY, I'd let Jerry put Mercury Magnetics Output and Power Transformers and a choke in your amp. I would also get the bias modded toward the 34-40 ma area. That's all I've done to mine and I love it to death. I believe at some point Jerry said the POWER transformer doesn't do much for the tonality of the amp, but I beg to differ. I heard the difference when mine was replaced (it was replaced before the output tranny and tested).

Tubes, I would go Sovtek 6l6's. I'm tired of hearing people bash them. The gentlemen who mod amps that I deal with have the choice to purchase any tube they want. No manufacturer is necessarily better than the other (unless they're rebranding someone elses tubes). Right now, according to my friends and Davidson Electronics, Sovtek 6L6's and 6550s are running best. Svetlana EL34's are running best. Mullard EL34's are running very well, for a slightly different tone. Two years ago the Sovtek 12AX7LPS was the preamp tube of choice, then the JJ ECC83. Right now, the JJ ECC83 as at the last of the "golden run."

So,

Sovtek 6L6's and JJ ECC83's.

 

[JMarz]

Mesa OS 4x12 (v30's),

EMG 81/85 or 707's,

Tungsol or JJ tubes,

And yes make sure to take GOOD care of it, because if you LOOK at a 5150 the wrong way, there goes half of your fucking block

 

[JeffTD]

Don't let jerry touch your 5150's preamp section. He makes it un-metal. I don't know how he did it, but my FJA modded 5150 was the worst sounding 5150 I've ever owned (i've owned 5 of them)

 

[lolzgreg]

I knew you'd chime in Jeff.

 

[GuitarHack]

FWIW, I really really really do not recommend the Stiletto cab; Guitarhack had one for months, made tons of recordings and impulses with it, and bailed on it for a Recto cab and has been happy as a clam since (well, except for selling his slant for a straight, but that's another story :heh: ). :

The 5150 mids combined with the mid-heavy Stiletto Cab (mine had the manly "Rectifier Traditional" name as opposed to it's girly name now) wasn't a combo I really liked. Too much mid-stuffiness.

Marcus, as for the Slant to Straight Recto cab thing, I am much happier with the Straight. It may not be the difference between the Slant or Straight (probably moreso that it is a different cab with 4 different V30's) but all 4 speakers in the Slant had a VERY pronounced boost at around 6400Hz. The Straight Cab does not have this ANYWHERE near as strong. Again, probably more the speakers than the Slant/Straight thing, but I don't really know, all 4 speakers in the Slant had this. Similar phenomenon as your 2-Chan Recto 6k fizz maybe .

I have read reviews of clarity or fizz reducing mods that have castrated the amp. Stock is fine or maybe just Bias Mod is all it it needs I think.

 

[DigiV]

Good info here people, much appreciated. I may have made some poor decisions before consulting those in the know.

I considered the traditional boogie cab cuz that always sounded best with my roadster, different amp though, I understand. It's good to know the Rec or any oversized cab is a better choice since those are MUCH fucking easier to come by. How are the Marshalls? I know In Flames always rocked marshalls with their 5150's... did they swap out the G12-75's for V30s though?

I'm still iffy on the P50 fatbottom. I've been searching around to try out one of those suckers around here but I can't find it.

So, good condition 5150 + bias mod. I've found 2 amps so far. One is in MINT MINT condition for 500+shipping the other is in good condition with a lil rust on the top for 450 flat.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[GuitarHack]

Tough choice A MINT one for a brilliant price (compared to the rest of the world) or a GC one for an insanele cheap price. I feel sorry for you.

Go for the Mint. The rust should maybe be looked at as a warning sign for the rest of the amp. $50 spent now may be the difference between a poorly looked after amp that lasts 3 months to a mint amp that lasts for 10+ years problem-free.

 

[DigiV]

Tis true.

Must wait till noon time to hit the guy back up. Imagine if he sold it by then? I'd fookin kill someone.