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Post by nick on Jan 18, 2007 18:35:52 GMT -5
i changed the front of my amp. i think its pretty badass..   took all the staples out of the front grill, designed a front with a plasma cutting CAD program, cut it out using a mechanized plasma cutter, stapled an old t-shirt to the front section, painted then took the cut out sheet metal, and used wood glue to adhere the metal to the wood. the pictures are right after i put it on, and its not very clean, but im proud of myself. leave comments. |
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Post by MECHANICAL ANIMAL on Jan 21, 2007 18:22:13 GMT -5
Its a 5150
Which means its better than a crate but not quite a Marshall
It should look good from the crowds view though
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Post by nick on Jan 21, 2007 21:32:58 GMT -5
its sitting on a mesa cab if that helps.  the 5150 is badass. little noisy, and the clean channel could be a bit cleaner, but it suits me quite well. |
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Post by fuzz on Jan 21, 2007 23:47:27 GMT -5
swapping the preamp tubes and having a tech rebias the amp could solve some of the noise you're hearing, but the components in the 5150s aren't exactly pricey,so those cheap components will undoubtedly cause noise.. peavey cuts costs on so much shit it's really ridiculous. their new amps are essentially disposable, because they don't keep any sort of spare parts for the amps, so a tech can't service them. you get a warranty and send it back if it happens and have it fully replaced, or you're up a shit creek.
they're certainly usable high gain amps, and hartley peavey does/did alot of stuff for working class musicians, but they're recent choices in amp development have left a bad taste in my mouth and i'm staying away from them.
if i was in your position i'd swap all the components out, have it biased, get some high quality preamp tubes, some good speaker and instrument cables, and them fire it up and see if it's still noisy. chances are your preamp tubes are getting microphonic.
5150s fluctuate in price wildly. i've seen the same model go for anywhere between 350 bucks and 700 bucks. if you could part with it it's my opinion that you could find a much better built amp that was alot more well rounded. i'd like some of the 5150s high gain sounds if i was doing some really compressed metal sounding rythmn guitar,but not much else. also, swapping the preamp tubes to 12au7s or 12at7s instead of 12ax7s might help it's headroom on the clean channel. power wise if it's running 6l6s, depending on several factors, your local amp tech might be able to rebias it to run kt66s (or kt88s, i could be mistaken) and that would help it's overall output and change it's tonal qualities.
i bet that mesa cab kicks fucking ass! nice score!
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Post by Mark on Jan 22, 2007 19:08:26 GMT -5
mesa cabs.... ehh
5150..... you all know my thoughts.
and nice, your little job on the amp..... i'm not going to give an opinion unless i saw the whole head sitting there.
5150 is still my fav amp.
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Post by Mark on Jan 22, 2007 19:09:53 GMT -5
and never mind.... first pic didn't load
looks good, feels like it's missing something, not sure what though... maybe the grill
but it looks really good.
good choice on colors
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Post by nick on Jan 23, 2007 21:52:30 GMT -5
i bet that mesa cab kicks fucking ass! nice score! eh, its alright. i saw it on ebay for pretty cheap ($550) and thats really good for a mesa cab. i get it, and it is a mesa cab, but instead of celestions, it has madison speakers in it. so im looking to replace the speakers sometime soon. it cuts out on the celestion tone i was looking for, but its not like im doing anything music wise over here except for writing. i do have to admit the madison speakers hold up well when i turn it up past 7. i was also kind of thinking that the madison speakers might be to blame for the clean crackling. but jared, ill look into the 12au(or t)7's and see if that helps any. ive been thinking about replacing the tubes anyways. never had a tube amp long enough to change the tubes so im inexperienced with the difference. and mark, i agree about the something missing, was thinking about it during the 3 coats of paint i put on there. i was thinking about taking the peavey logo i screwed off the original back and gluing it on to the left bottom corner. ill probably try that tonight and take a picture to see if that helps any. oh, and the reasons i chose orange, 1. plan on getting my hands on an orange cab sometime in the near future 2. high school colors are orange and black, and ive always been one to have some school spirit. |
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Post by fuzz on Jan 23, 2007 22:17:57 GMT -5
if someone sold me a mesa cab with madison speakers for 550, i'd beat their fucking ass. that's highway robbery.
if you're wanting high gain stuff steer clear of the 12au(or t) 7s unless you're using a gain or boost pedal. i was talking about simply from a clean headroom standpoint. have you ever changed the tubes? can you tell me how many plate volts the 5150 is running? if it's running hot (like 450+) it's going to be very, very hard on fuses and power tubes. if it's running cold, that's probably the reason the cleans are so anemic sounding.
i have a 73 Fender Bassman 100 that i recently had rebiased. it was biased really cold (like 300 plate volts) and the cleans just were nowhere to be found. I replaced the preamp tubes with with some NOS rca and ge's, put a good NOS 12au7 in the phase inverter, and put a good set of power tubes in it and had a tech rebias it to run pretty hot. all of a sudden the amp just comes to life, a fire breathing beast.
orange cabs are extremely overpriced, for what they are the price they charge is really absurd. it's much easier to just get some good materials, the speakers of your choice, and build the cab. however, the construction on the cab is different that most 4x12s, so if you're unsure in your abilities there are plenty of people that are capable cab builders in the area.
just my .02
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Post by the infernal jethroskull666 on Jan 25, 2007 13:14:01 GMT -5
yall are all a bunch of nerds , i built my amp out of old car stereos that i slave together with a generator and plug it in a fat girls ass. not really
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Post by nick on Jan 25, 2007 16:47:41 GMT -5
yall are all a bunch of nerds , i built my amp out of old car stereos that i slave together with a generator and plug it in a fat girls ass. not really lol. |
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Post by fuzz on Jan 26, 2007 23:36:18 GMT -5
but if someone did...oh god yeah.
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Post by MECHANICAL ANIMAL on Jan 28, 2007 2:33:41 GMT -5
I want to skull fuck JD and Jared
until my hot man juice runs out of their ears and nose
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Post by Mark on Jan 30, 2007 11:34:49 GMT -5
nick
get electro harmonix 12ax7
and sovtech 6l6's
any other tubes won't be compatible without spending way to much money being spent for such a small difference in sound... ie- not worth it.
your main difference in tone will come from the speakers.
i read somewhere from paul rivera that changing tubes won't make that big of a tonal difference, try out different speakers.
and if it's noisy, you just need to get new tubes(mainly pre's) and if that doesn't work then take it to a tech if it's really bad. Chances are the tubes will cure it. Run effects through the effects loop as well.
Also, don't take it to a tech to rebias it... that'd be dumb considering a 5150 is a self-rebiasing amp. all you have to do is pull out the old tube and put the new one back in the exact same way.
i've had probs with my 5150 so if you have any questions feel free to ask me. i've gotten to know that amp really well.
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Post by Mark on Jan 30, 2007 11:35:46 GMT -5
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if you aint country you aint shit