Willis Music Oxmoor Product Profile
Peavey 6505+ Tube Head
Made in USA, 120 watts, selectable impedance, independent tone controls for clean and gain channels, switchable channels and FX loop w/ included footswitch, preamp output, clean channel “crunch” switch enables two gain operation
The name may be new, but to many players this will always be the 5150. Peavey worked with Edward Van Halen to create the original 5150 and guitarists the world over flocked to the easy to use, great sounding amp. When the Van Halen/Peavey partnership ended the company wisely chose to keep the amp in production but had to rename it. Don’t worry; the song remains the same!
The 6505+ is the step-up from the 6505 in that both channels have tone controls rather than sharing one master set. The goal was to create an amp that allowed Eddie to replicate the heavily modified Marshalls he had been using (and repairing almost nightly) as well as introduce a more compressed higher gain channel into his sound selection. Since 99% of the players looking at this amp will be using some level of distortion I’ll start there.
The lead channel combines the glassy tone of early British amps and the more saturated gain of US companies. It’s a marriage that a lot of players and techs have been working towards for quite some time and it comes off without a hitch. With the preamp at 9 o’clock and the tone controls set halfway up you’re in the heart of classic 70’s guitar tone. Crank the preamp to the Noon position, pull some mids down and it’s classic 80’s Whitesnake. With the preamp at 3 o’clock and the bass and treble ¾ up you’ll think you’re recording the lost Pantera album. The 6505+ is simple to use with a lead channel that sounds great pretty much anyway you run it. But the real secret is the clean channel.
Sounding like a mix between a Marshall and Fender Twin, the 6505+’s clean channel is nothing to balk at. While it lacks the headroom of a Twin or Krank Revolution it offers a very useable tone that shines particularly well with lower output pickups like single coils. When using humbuckers breakup occurs much more quickly, but slightly rolling off the guitar volume knob resolved most of that. What makes this clean channel so wonderful is the “Crunch” switch next to it. Engaging this activates the preamp tubes and delivers a dead replica of Eddie Van Halen’s much desired ‘brown sound’. Again, with pretty much any array or settings the sound was exceptional. This version of the 5150 was how Eddie was able to pull off both eras of Van Halen so well sonically on the Van Halen 3 tour, and for a guitarist to be able to toggle between both gain sounds is a dream come true.
A great feature of this amp is the ability to select the impedance. This means a player can use nearly any wattage safe cabinet in their arsenal with no worries about damaging either the head or the speakers. The construction of the head is sound and features a cool metal grate front grill. The head weighs less than 50 pounds, so moving it is easy for a guitarist also carrying his or her axe.
It kicks butt! There’s not much to dislike, and though some may see the tone controls as more limited in frequency possibilities than they may like I think the planning is well thought out since this amp sounded good no matter what setting I ran it on.
Reviewed by: Mike McAfee
Contact reviewer at: oxmoorstore@willis-music.com
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About the Contributor:
Manager Mike McAfee is a 13 year plus Willis veteran who has hand picked each employee on his floor because they excel in providing a superior experience to every customer. The confidence, knowledge and courtesy you encounter lives up to an environment tailored for each department of their store. The home-like piano experience alone is worth a visit, and no other store in town carries the stock or selection of Willis’ Oxmoor location. Please accept Mike’s personal invitation to see first hand how hard we’ll work to make sure you’ll always come back home to Willis Music at Oxmoor Center.
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