What would you guys say to this 5150 review?

[kev]

"What separates amps like Bogners and Diezels from the 5150, is that their gain channels sound wider and and richer. The 5150 has a great clean/pushed clean channel, but when you go to the gain channel, the tone thins out a little.
The 5150 will also have more operating hiss when you stop playing. The superior design and components of the Bogners and Diezels allow it to be almost dead silent when you stop playing, even with the gain pretty high. They're also more versatile in their EQ. Still, 5150's are a worthy amp to own, especially since you can find them used for $600. At least Peavey was smart enough to use a big output transformer."

Would you say diesals and bognors are wider and richer? Iguess it depends what your definition is...

Also, on a side note- is the 5150's hiss really that bad!? Well, its 3 days to go till christmas and then i can decide for myself... but until then, you guys go go go!!

 

[Black neon bob]

Yeah, i would say this seems to be a fair review of the 5150 and the hiss problem.. at least, i had the very same "problem"...

when you take the high gain channel and turn up the gain and volume quite a bit, it hisses pretty bad..i was sure to use the rhytm channel, less gain, yet way smoother and more detailed in sound.. less hiss as well.. but it was still there.. i think a simple noise gate can fix this quite easily though...

 

[kev]

Im gonna have some fun and games using the effects loop on my gt6 i can see it lol. I think a whole new gt6 world is gonna be opened up...

 

[Disconnekt]

Yeah, it hisses, but it never really bothers me... for recording purposes, you can always edit the hiss out after the fact if it's audible in the mix. As for thinner tone on the lead channel, I disagree. Granted, I have a combo, which has a slightly different preamp from the head, but the rhythm channel seems to me to be quite lacking in the definition department, and when you crank the gain up to where you can get any kind of respectable palm mutes, there's this weird kind of distortion that comes in on top of the distortion you want, if that makes sense. Just sounds like I'm pushing it too hard and it wants me to turn the gain down. Maybe it's a bit better if you slam it with a Tube Screamer instead of cranking the gain on the amp, but I don't have one. Or maybe there's just something wrong with my amp or tubes. The lead channel, on the other hand, cuts right through, and it's still plenty beefy. There's a bit more fizz in the gain than on the rhythm channel, but if you don't turn the gain up too high, dial in the EQ, presence, and resonance properly, use a decent cab and speakers, and set up your mic(s) properly, it smooths right out. I get everything I want out of the lead channel on my combo and I don't find it lacking in any way.

 

[Fragle]

"What separates amps like Bogners and Diezels from the 5150, is that their gain channels sound wider and and richer."
never played a bogner or diezel, so i dunno.
"The 5150 has a great clean/pushed clean channel, but when you go to the gain channel, the tone thins out a little."
true, although i would not exactly think of this as a negative thing. the lead channel is brighter with more sizzle and cut, whereas the rhythm channel (set for high gain, that is) has more low mids and sounds fatter in general. it's just two different voicings, if you don't like the lead channel then use the rhythm, that's it
"The 5150 will also have more operating hiss when you stop playing. The superior design and components of the Bogners and Diezels allow it to be almost dead silent when you stop playing, even with the gain pretty high."
there's some noise, there's no denying that. it's OK if you don't go crazy with the gain, though...
"They're also more versatile in their EQ."
pretty much BS. the 5150 EQ is very deep, i can get anything from rectifier-ish sizzle and thump all the way to marshall style grind out of my 5150. try that with e.g. an engl.

" but the rhythm channel seems to me to be quite lacking in the definition department, and when you crank the gain up to where you can get any kind of respectable palm mutes, there's this weird kind of distortion that comes in on top of the distortion you want, if that makes sense. Just sounds like I'm pushing it too hard and it wants me to turn the gain down"
the green channel set to high gain sounds pretty crappy, that's right. however, cut back on the gain and use an OD to tighten up the lows, and it's a KICKASS sound, trust me. i'd NEVER use the rhythm channel without an OD, but with the overdrive it sounds stellar. i agree that the lead channel can sound great right out of the box, although i still prefer it boosted.

 

[flhctroll]

All I have to say is the band I recorded last month had a first generation (or something like that. not a big 5150 historian) moded by some guy in New York for Ted Nugent. Even had a Ted Nugent signature on it. This thing was sweet. They got it off of Ebay. The noise/hiss was definately there but the tone was amazing. Had to throw a eq before the amp to kill some mids. There was ALOT of mid action goin on, And I love mids Anyway, It was a nice amp.

 

[Fragle]

yep, very mid heavy amp. not quite as honky as a marshall, but when compared to "normal" ( ) amps it's got plenty of mids with the mid knob set to 9:00 . with the mids cranked it's got more midrange than my jcm800, i'm serious.

 

[Splat88]

I'd take a 5150 over a any Bogner any day of the week. Never played a Deizel though. I've got a 5150 and my friend's band just recorded with a Bogner. The Bogner is not that that great, especially for the money. The hiss in the 5150 is definitely there, but its manageable. Never really bothered me. My Laney GH100R is twice as noisy.

 

[stringyo]

I disagree.

I've owned two 5150s...one bone stock and one with a gain reduction mod for added clarity and tightness. Hell, 5150s have so much gain you're not going to notice the reduction at all.

Just for comparison's sake, here is what I have owned and compared right up against the 5150s.

VHT 50/CL
Rivera Knucklehead II
Engl 530 preamp
Marshall JCM800 2203
Rackmount Mesa Mark IV
Combo Mesa Mark IV
Mesa Triple Rectifier
Tatoo Flash 50

Now, obviously there aren't any Diezels or Bogners in there, but I'd think we could all agree that they are some very worthy amps. After having played and owned all of them, the modded 5150 is STILL one of my favorite amps. I preferred playing the VHT for rhythm because the damn thing was as tight as a virgin...but I actually enjoyed the modded 5150 more for leads.

The 5150 mod was only $99 if I remember right too.

 

[FretsAflame]

I disagree.

I've owned two 5150s...one bone stock and one with a gain reduction mod for added clarity and tightness. Hell, 5150s have so much gain you're not going to notice the reduction at all.

Just for comparison's sake, here is what I have owned and compared right up against the 5150s.

VHT 50/CL
Rivera Knucklehead II
Engl 530 preamp
Marshall JCM800 2203
Rackmount Mesa Mark IV
Combo Mesa Mark IV
Mesa Triple Rectifier
Tatoo Flash 50

Now, obviously there aren't any Diezels or Bogners in there, but I'd think we could all agree that they are some very worthy amps. After having played and owned all of them, the modded 5150 is STILL one of my favorite amps. I preferred playing the VHT for rhythm because the damn thing was as tight as a virgin...but I actually enjoyed the modded 5150 more for leads.

The 5150 mod was only $99 if I remember right too.

The mod you're speaking of is gain reduction? Or is there another facet to the mod that you haven't described?

 

[stringyo]

The mod you're speaking of is gain reduction? Or is there another facet to the mod that you haven't described?

I had a feeling somebody was going to ask me this, I'm happy to give you info.

www.fjamods.com

I got my mod from this guy a long time ago back when he was just starting out...so I'm not sure exactly which one I got.

What happened was I wanted my 5150 to have adjustable bias and less of the fizzy gain. I didn't want to shell out the money to buy packaging materials and pay freight so what I did was just remove the preamp board from my 5150 and send it off to him. He then sent back the modded preamp PCB and sent a bias trim pot with instructions on how to install it. So I popped the preamp board back into my amp and hooked up the ribbon cables then I installed the bias trim pot myself.

Like I said, I have no idea if he still does this or not. I doubt he even remembers me.

Also, he is a GREAT guy to deal with. Very helpful and friendly.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I had the bias mod done too.... it certainly smoothed out the top. If you're really worried about hiss for live, put a cheap gate in the FX loop.

-0z-