Members bengerm77 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 My friends been trying to get rid of this head for a year or more cause he doesn't play anymore and is into fixie (stupid) bikes now. It's old, a little beat up and probably needs all new tubes. He sold it to me for dirt cheap, and now I need to know what to do to get this amp back up to snuff. Should I take the whole thing to a tech and pour another bunch of money into this amp that I'm not entirely sure I like yet? I'm looking for a real aggressive rock tone out it, definitely short of the metal territory that this amp is known for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members White_Van Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Bring it to a tech, have him look at it, get a quote. If you don't like the quote, walk out and flip the amp. It will do hard rock with ease. They aren't one trick ponies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kardula Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think they're one trick ponies, but it's a hell of a trick. The 5150 has a distinct tone and load of gain but it's amazing for anything rock/metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Norton666 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think they're one trick ponies, but it's a hell of a trick. Does metal perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KCTigerChief Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 My friends been trying to get rid of this head for a year or more cause he doesn't play anymore and is into fixie (stupid) bikes now. It's old, a little beat up and probably needs all new tubes. He sold it to me for dirt cheap, and now I need to know what to do to get this amp back up to snuff. Should I take the whole thing to a tech and pour another bunch of money into this amp that I'm not entirely sure I like yet? I'm looking for a real aggressive rock tone out it, definitely short of the metal territory that this amp is known for. You could sell it to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nightflameauto Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Honestly, you can go all the way down from metal gain roar to classic rock crunch if you know how to spin the knobs on the block letters. I had one for a while and really liked the crunch mode engaged with the gain around 2-3, bass low, mids high for more rock oriented tone. Hit it with a hot pickup and it just rips with the volume up a bit. 'Course, mine spent more time in br00tz territory, but that's sort of my home range. Doesn't mean they can't cover a lot of other ground. It's mostly a loud bitch though. While they sound OK at low volumes, everything gets better louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madrigal77 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Bring it to a tech, have him look at it, get a quote. If you don't like the quote, walk out and flip the amp.It will do hard rock with ease. They aren't one trick ponies. This. A tech should be willing to at least look at it for fairly cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 "So I bought a 5150 Block Letter head for dirt cheap, now what?" 1. exit hcaf 2. play it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elemenope Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Have sex with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ciula Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well, all you gotta do is:1. Ask what is the best speaker fo 51502.Ask what is the best cab for 51503.Ask about pre and power tubes (prompt:"JJ are dark sounding", "Tung-sol in V1" or "C9 generation")4.You need to find what is (in order) V4 V3 V5 V2 V1 and what they do5.Then you can believe or not in "balanced in PI" 6.You should do a bias mod (minimum)7.You need to know who is JFA or VooDoo8. Ask what is the best booster for 51509.YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO JOIN TO 5150 CREW IN HERE10.Just enjoyed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lord ToneKing Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Play it and see how it sounds. If it sounds good to you then just play it and dont worry about itIf that doesnt work you then get a hold of ValveQueen and order some tubes. If that doesnt work take it to a tech and have a simple bias mod done (very inexpensive). You can do it yourself if youre handy with a soldering gun (less than $10)If that doesnt work for you then sell it and move along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 My friends been trying to get rid of this head for a year or more cause he doesn't play anymore and is into fixie (stupid) bikes now. It's old, a little beat up and probably needs all new tubes. He sold it to me for dirt cheap, and now I need to know what to do to get this amp back up to snuff. Should I take the whole thing to a tech and pour another bunch of money into this amp that I'm not entirely sure I like yet? I'm looking for a real aggressive rock tone out it, definitely short of the metal territory that this amp is known for. What's wrong with it? If it's working and sounding good, just play the damn thing. I've bought some old Peaveys, including BLs that came with the original tubes and they were fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rand-O-Monium Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 What's wrong with it? If it's working and sounding good, just play the damn thing. Yup. A friend of mine bought one & wanted my tech buddy to look at it. Talked to "Tech Man" about it,he said just to call him if/when it starts acting up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 What's wrong with it? If it's working and sounding good, just play the damn thing. I've bought some old Peaveys, including BLs that came with the original tubes and they were fine. do you get the same feeling that the OP has yet to play the amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 do you get the same feeling that the OP has yet to play the amp? yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispsullivan Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 There is no need to take it to a tech right off the bat. Plug it in and see how it works/sounds. If it doesn't seem quite right, put in some new tubes, but only power tubes at first since preamp tubes last much longer. If it's not working properly after the retube, take it to a tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bengerm77 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 I played it at band practice yesterday and I thought it sounded dull, too quiet, and lacking in high end. It may have been that I played it through an MG cab that was at the space (not mine, I swear). I have yet to put it through it's paces in a decent cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 I played it at band practice last week and I thought it sounded dull, too quiet, and lacking in high end. It may have been that I played it through an MG cab that was at the space (not mine, I swear). I have yet to put it through it's paces in a decent cab. Yeah, try with a decent cab before you jump to any conclusions. Those MGs cabs are so {censored}ty they should be illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KCTigerChief Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Yeah, try with a decent cab before you jump to any conclusions. Those MGs cabs are so {censored}ty they should be illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Murdoch Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 I played it at band practice yesterday and I thought it sounded dull, too quiet, and lacking in high end. It may have been that I played it through an MG cab that was at the space (not mine, I swear). I have yet to put it through it's paces in a decent cab.You're judging the tone after playing it through an MG cab? Why would you do that? Those amps have a treble AND resonance control...well, at least mine does, but it's a 6505+. Believe me, those amps do NOT lack high end. I keep mine fairly low because it can get excessive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Murdoch Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 Goddammit, Billy...not only did you beat me to it, you out-HCAF'ed me in doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 MG cabs are shiite but it shouldnt have sounded quiet. still try it at home before getting new tubes, what cab you got at home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuyLoCo444 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 9.YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO JOIN TO 5150 CREW IN HERE {censored}ing this!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 MG cabs are shiite but it shouldnt have sounded quiet. still try it at home before getting new tubes, what cab you got at home? those speakers have an efficiency of like -97dB Every time I played my amps through one it felt like I was running it at half power or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members madrigal77 Posted April 13, 2012 Members Share Posted April 13, 2012 There is no need to take it to a tech right off the bat. Plug it in and see how it works/sounds. If it doesn't seem quite right, put in some new tubes, but only power tubes at first since preamp tubes last much longer. If it's not working properly after the retube, take it to a tech. My only worry trying new tubes in it is if there IS something wrong with it, it could blow the tubes, and then he'd be out the cost of a new set of tubes. It would be cheaper to just be safe and have a tech look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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