Mesa Boogie, 6505, or peavey xxx ???

[Spivonious]

Oh I'll also comment that tube amps are loud. If you're in an apartment or have sensitive neighbors, I'd forget about tube amps.

Also, remember that you'll need to retube the amp every year or so (depending on usage). A nice set of tubes for the recto will run about $75-$100.

[krimson]

I have a Mesa Triple Rec and a 5150. I like them both but if I could only have one. I would keep the Mesa. A friend of mine brought over a Triple XXX once to compare to the Triple Rec and it the Mesa ate it for lunch. I will say that the Mesa is harder to tweak and you really want to have a good cab to get the best out of it. The 5150 and Triple XXX are easier to tweak and both sound great with a BBE 422 in the loop.

The other guitarist in my band has a JSX and I like the way it sounds. It has a very nice, glassy clean sound. With that said though my buddy was talking about selling his to replace with a Mesa.

I personally don't have any experience with a Single, so I'm not sure how different it is from the Triple regarding the tone.

[metalone]

I have a 6505+ with the Bias mod[I did it a few weeks ago] and I really love this amp
I have played just about everything else[I also have a Framus Dragon] and just sold a 30th anny. Marshall
For the money it really is a great amp, save the hiss but it just does what I want it to do.
The bias mod is a must to get the most out of them though
Play it thru a Mesa 4x12 and
My 2 cents

[ozzuk1]

I believe the XXX was used on Testaments latest CD, could be wrong, I know schlonick likes the mode four for live use...

If the XXX is like the valveking or 5150's you should be able to get a fairly decent and usable practise volume from it...

For the used prices you wont get a better deal, especially if your stateside....

The powerballs are nowhere near the best amps Engl make, the new fireball 100 watt amp is supposed to be an improvement on the things that many ENGL's lack...

Plus the majority's Powerball, Fireball, Screamer, are too compressed and have fairly fizzy tone, not an amp range I'd reccomend for someone starting out with tubes.

[petez0r]

i have owned a single rec, and i would advise getting a dual or triple rec....i upgraded my single rec to a dual rec-roadster, its no contest. the only downside to a rectifier is you will tweak it everyday you own it, and you will hate it every other day, but then the next day comes and its amazing again! . if you can afford it though i would seriously recommend getting a markV, i never hate it and rarely tweek it, as its amazing on every setting/channel.
as for 6505, and xxx, i prefered the jsx over them both when i played them side by side, to my ears the xxx was terribad, the 6505+ was good but too sterile for me. you really need to play them, because everyone has different tastes.

[velkan]

I believe the XXX was used on Testaments latest CD, could be wrong, I know schlonick likes the mode four for live use...

If the XXX is like the valveking or 5150's you should be able to get a fairly decent and usable practise volume from it...

For the used prices you wont get a better deal, especially if your stateside....

The powerballs are nowhere near the best amps Engl make, the new fireball 100 watt amp is supposed to be an improvement on the things that many ENGL's lack...

Plus the majority's Powerball, Fireball, Screamer, are too compressed and have fairly fizzy tone, not an amp range I'd reccomend for someone starting out with tubes.

i've tried out the Powerball with a marshall cab with 2 V30's and 2 GT12's with a nice huge volume... and i all i can say is: if the Powerball is nowhere near the best amps Engl does, how can they sound so damn good? i mean... compressed fizzy tone? my tone was wide open, clear and defined! oh, btw, i was testing it with my Gibson V with the 500T and 496R =) i've tried out the 6505+ and i was really disappointed!

the Krankenstein+ was another amp that surprised me! with a 4x12 V30s cab sounds HUGE!

[Firebird V]

The triple x is much more versatile than the other choices IMO. I would get the Rectoverb over the single recto. The 5150 has a killer gain channel. The 6505 is the same amp... The triple X is great with lots of cabs as said so I would probably try all three in person but if you are going by what my ears like it is the XXX. Now build quality the boogie will be the winner... And for balls out lead channel the 5150/6505.

[Mikey2201]

I would take a 5150/6505 over a single rectifier, but I'd take a Dual or Triple rec over the Peaveys.

.

Plus 1

[slash]

I had a XXX then I bought a dual rec... I sold the XXX, the rec suited me a lot better. You may want to consider a Randall MTS head (All Tube). You can buy different modules(tube) for it so you will have more versatility and for a couple hundred bucks for the modules its like buying a new tube amp. But dont listen to me listen to your ears.

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/Amplifiers/MTS-Heads/

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/Amplifiers/MTS-Modules/

[slash]

I like cake, but theirs 3 peices, I can only have 1

^ SEE my post above if you want cake ^

[VoiceX3]

Honest opinion here. If you're on a budget, don't buy the Mesa or the 6505. I am going to suggest the Bugera 333XL. Along with the Peavey 3120 these are truely the best bang for your buck in the versitile tube amps circle. The Bugera does have a little more headroom and the gain is a bit more usable than the 3120.

Most importantly.

*******DO NOT LISTEN TO THE WEB POSTS BASHING BUGERA QUALITY*******

Those are totally untrue. There were some bugs in the first run, but they've got it all straightened out. Check the post dates for those and look for something recent. (within the last year and a half) I've had mine for a year now and there's been no issues at all. I play it loud and long at 4ohms thru 2 4x12 Peavey cabs loaded with 4-100w celestians. It's transported fine and has been to countless gigs, and I've never even had to think about taking the backup out of the truck.

I have posted a detailed review of the tone in this thread.

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98921&highlight=bugera+333xl

Whatever you choose, play it LOUD!!!!!!

[JohnSykes]

6550

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i'm screamin blue murder.

[Nezgual]

Honest opinion here. If you're on a budget, don't buy the Mesa or the 6505. I am going to suggest the Bugera 333XL. Along with the Peavey 3120 these are truely the best bang for your buck in the versitile tube amps circle. The Bugera does have a little more headroom and the gain is a bit more usable than the 3120.

Most importantly.

*******DO NOT LISTEN TO THE WEB POSTS BASHING BUGERA QUALITY*******

Those are totally untrue. There were some bugs in the first run, but they've got it all straightened out. Check the post dates for those and look for something recent. (within the last year and a half) I've had mine for a year now and there's been no issues at all. I play it loud and long at 4ohms thru 2 4x12 Peavey cabs loaded with 4-100w celestians. It's transported fine and has been to countless gigs, and I've never even had to think about taking the backup out of the truck.

I have posted a detailed review of the tone in this thread.

http://www.jcfonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98921&highlight=bugera+333xl

Whatever you choose, play it LOUD!!!!!!

I was really thinking about the bugera333xl, Its sounds amazing, great tone, But I read all the reviews, and Most of them said that soemthing inside burns out, poor electronics, reliability is not that great, I dont want to get a bugera and then something burns out inside that i have to fix. Great amp but for my first tube amp I dont think I want to take that chance.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

peavey's last forever.