Peavey XXX. What should I look for?

[warlok]

That's way past my budget.

[Spivonious]

I've got an El Diablo 60 combo. Lots of sounds in it due to the pentode/triode switch on the back and the dynamic/compressed switch on the front. If you do get a chance to try it out, remember that pentode mode doesn't sound very good until you really open it up. Then it just screams \m/.

It also has a "Global Attack" section which acts as a master upper-midrange boost. Everything is switchable from the footswitch except for pentode/triode (since you should really power down before switching that).

[tgreensl1]

That's way past my budget.

you can get a jsx for 600-800 and they sound better than the xxx

[Spivonious]

you can get a jsx for 600-800 and they sound better than the xxx

I liked the clean and crunch channels on the JSX, but the lead channel was not for me. Sounded too much like Satch's "tone" on Surfing with the Alien.

[emperor_black]

Someone asked this question and I didnt catch an answer. The 5150 II and 6505+ are exactly the same amps. Eddie owns the 5150 name. Hence took it with him when he and peavey separated ways. Both the 5150/6505 and 5150II/6505+ have tons of gain but most of it is unusable. the amp turns to mush at higher settings. Maybe with a good OD pedal most of the gain is usable? But no one puts an OD pedal in front of the 5150's. The cleans are very bad. The 5150II/6505+ have "better" cleans but nowhere as good as even a Marshall clean. Roll back the volume knob and kick a chorus pedal in front of the amp, you can get decent cleans.

The XXX is a great amp. yes stock matched with its mids-heavy Sheffield speakers/cabs will sound very buzzy almost like a Boss Metal zone. but with the right cab like a rectifier cab or a marshall cab and a good eq in the loop, you can tame it down. Add an OD pedal in front and it will sound fantastic. I believe the band Exodus for the longest time used stock XXX's. Trivium or some other bands used them. Many have used them. they are certainly not the amps people conclude them to be.

The JSX is also a great amp but like someone said it does sound a LOT like Satriani's tone. The appalling part is the Satriani uses the amp's clean channel with his mod'd Boss DS-1 and several other effects. So, its unlikely you've ever heard him play/record the amp's lead channel. But the 2x12 amp is a great amp for the money, is very quiet especially with its onboard noise gate and has tons of gain. Not as much as a 5150, but yeah...

[mustaine-who?]

You have to remember the XXX has active controls. Very different for conventional controls. You should start with everything at noon, and make very small adjustments from there. Run your channel volumes high...master to taste. Set the speaker thing on the back to loose, and your effects send high and your return low (yes, it makes a huge difference). There's a 60+page post on Harmony Central on how to get the best sound out of a XXX.

I retubed mine with KT77s, and a 12DWS in V2, and yeow...totally transformed the amp. Didn't care forr either 6L6s or EL34s, but the KT77s just sound wonderful. The lower gain 12DWS in V2 made the gain control totally usable, and gave it better tone as well. I actually have 2 very different sounds now between crunch and ultra...they both sound niiiiiiice.

But if you just walk up to it, and try to set it like a typical amp, and don't know all the little things that can make it sound soooo different, you'll be un-impressed with it.

[emperor_black]

ah yes, active controls! Its been a while since i sold mine and had completely forgotten about them. Very sensitive and you have a LOT of tonal options with them.

[Spivonious]

I love active EQs. So much more powerful than a passive one. My Genz Benz lets me boost/cut each frequency band by 12dB. My B-52 isn't labeled, but I'd guess it's around 3-6dB.

[warlok]

Well, been felling like shit the last few days so haven't done much looking except on the net. The main reason I didn't like the XXX was that the crunch and ultra both sound exactly the same and gain knobs do nothing. Basically either very high gain or nothing. No way to get any kind of classic or any other sound other than super high gain. If new tubes could change that, great. But I'm not looking to get another amp that needs to be modded soon as I get it. I do think the high gain sound would sound better through my cab (Carvin with 4 G12T-100's) but I don't want to buy one just to find out. But I did like the EQ as it did seem very adjustable. I didn't mess with that switch on the back, forgot it was there and the stack was up against the wall in the middle of the rest of them. Maybe that would have helped but I just don't think the head was for me. If I could find one cheap enough I'd get it and mess with for a while, then if I didn't like it, sell it back off. But with the prices everything goes for these days, I'm tired of loosing my shirt everythime I try something out..

Oh, and I'm worried about the el Diablo 60 cause like Spivonious said and what alot of what I've read says, you need to get it past about 3 for it to open up and shine. That may be a bit loud for my sitting at home playing... I still want to get back there and try it out though... What is the story behing the triode/pentode thing?

[data187]

try a mesa nomad. saw one on ebay for under $500.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nomad-55-Mesa-Bo...b#ht_500wt_985

i had one of these and thought it was pretty solid. the cleans and classic rock type distortion were very good. it did a great little wing to ac/dc to early seek and destroy tones.

i like a bit more gain and it didn't have enough for me; but a distortion pedal should be able to get you into the high gain territory.

[skintaster]

Try to find a Peavey ulra+ on ebay that might work for you.It has eq for both channels.
full and half power switch too.
120 watts and a killer clean channel.Its what the JSX and XXX were patterned after.
I got mine for about $250.00 and am real pleased with it so far.

+1. The other guitarist in my band plays one of these, and it sounds great. I have an original 5150 as part of my main rig, and although I love that amp, my friend's Ultra+ is much more versatile in my opinion.

[emperor_black]

What's the difference between the Ultra and the Ultra plus?

[warlok]

Went and played.... and bought the Ultra Plus head. At lower volumes it sounded great. Can't wait to get it home a open it up a bit. Woohoo!

And I'm pretty sure the plus is just the physical facelift.