6534 Amp

[GAR]

Apparently the 5150 is what Eddie wanted at that particular time.

This amp is more the amp I'd like to see EVH with, his 5 years is up with FMIC who haven't given him the better transformers, and he owes Hartley an apology.

Maybe something's up for the #4 designation.. a placeholder for it's future endorsee - as in a 5150-IV?

Are we seeing the beginning of the planets aligning here?
Will Ed use it for VH7 somewhere?
Could it be Ed made more money in 1 year at Peavey than in 5 years combined with FMIC?

OR: Will Hartley do what he did to the public, with introducitn a first-year run with the good transformers then pulling a switcheroo after?

I only see one way of sustaining this kind of high-gain production: some Chinese company, or a Chinese production-contract transformer factory affilliated with a decent American or British designer, is making a really decent higher-voltage tranny set and Peavey's using 'em because you can't make money selling an amp for 1400 retail when you got nearly $200 of fabrication costs in the heavy iron.

[VanHalenFan5150]

Like several other dudes here posted, Ed should let Fender or Marshall recreate his dying Super Lead Plexi head and make a signature model out of an exact copy... Now THAT, I would buy

[GAR]

You can get that anywhere.. there's a kit by Metropolous you can buy and assemble from parts for $1000, or a really good one ready to go for $1600 by Goodsell that's a dead-on 68 plexi.

Also, there's that David Brey guy who mods any chassis with a Plexi board and trannys.. "exact copies" are literally everywhere, and where they are not you can modify.

[VanHalenFan5150]

But Marshall isn't a letdown when it comes to signature amps, you see. Not only that, but they are one of the most trusted names in the business...

[GAR]

At your age, just save up and get a JCM900 - it's the same chassis from the JCM800, workable to modify into a Plexi circuit.

You should find one in functional condition around $450 - 650 depending on how maintained its condition.

Another candidate is anything older, or a Plexi reissue of later years, used about $800 and up.

I wouldn't recommend newer amps than a 95, their pots are just crap, trannies are shit and everythings' a circuitboard assembly. Doubt me just look on youtube, lotsa guys show their chassis and demo those amps, their not what the fancy badge purports em to be. It's one thing to get the fancy badge into your bedroom, you think "ah it's gonna sound great" then start grabbing at straws for reasons to compromise why it doesn't.

[Nitro Express]

You can get that anywhere.. there's a kit by Metropolous you can buy and assemble from parts for $1000, or a really good one ready to go for $1600 by Goodsell that's a dead-on 68 plexi.

Also, there's that David Brey guy who mods any chassis with a Plexi board and trannys.. "exact copies" are literally everywhere, and where they are not you can modify.

My dad and I used to built Heathkit stuff when I was a kid. My dad actually built a color television which was a huge project. I ordered a Metropolous kit and my dad hand wired the whole thing beautifully and it was the last thing he built before he passed away so that amp is pretty special to me. Yeah, they are a good company.

Marshall is a legendary company and I must point out they are still family owned as is Peavey. Jim Marshall and Hartley Peavey are the last of the old guard and neither sold out. Both companies have made their fair share of mistakes and have had some bum products but overall they are still the real deal. Look at what has happened to the others who have sold out. Just a brand name usually with a lot of debt attached and marketing people and finance people wanting to maximize profit.

[Nitro Express]

At your age, just save up and get a JCM900 - it's the same chassis from the JCM800, workable to modify into a Plexi circuit.

You should find one in functional condition around $450 - 650 depending on how maintained its condition.

Another candidate is anything older, or a Plexi reissue of later years, used about $800 and up.

I wouldn't recommend newer amps than a 95, their pots are just crap, trannies are shit and everythings' a circuitboard assembly. Doubt me just look on youtube, lotsa guys show their chassis and demo those amps, their not what the fancy badge purports em to be. It's one thing to get the fancy badge into your bedroom, you think "ah it's gonna sound great" then start grabbing at straws for reasons to compromise why it doesn't.

People hated the JCM900 amps when they came out. You would hear all this "It's not a real Marshall" talk. I bought one brand spanking new for $600. The store couldn't sell them and just wanted to cut their losses . Marshall was using 5881 tubes because the sources of good EL-34 tubes in the 90's had dried up and people wanted a more metal sound anyways. It's just that people were buying Mesa Boogies and not Marshalls for that.

But then I heard the same when the JCM 800's came out. Not a real Marshall and people were horrified to find they had diodes in the preamp to clip the signal. Now they are considered classic amps because Slash plays them.

So there's a lot of mumbo jumbo. Play it, if it sounds good then enjoy.

[Nitro Express]

My 5050 II has huge transformers. I was looking at the Fender 5150 III and it's transformers were smaller. The 5150 III is a decent sounding amp but it's overpriced and I'm not sure if the build quality is as good as the Peavey. The new EVH amp is made in Mexico and my experience with some of the newer Fender amps is the pots and connectors aren't the best.

[ELVIS]

Hmmm...

Splawn can make ANY Marshall sound just how you want it...

[GAR]

But then I heard the same when the JCM 800's came out.

Friend of mine bought a GC sale stack new, xmas 1985 for $999. Unbelievable deal even by today's standards, JCM800 100w, 1960A 1960B cabs both 300w..

He didn't do too bad, took the head to Mike Moron for a Blackmore-type "bass boost" he called it $85 additional. Played it a decade without changing the tubes, never a problem.

That's the kind of amp you want, right there as an intermediate player, before you move up to high-performance / high-maintenance tube-eater which I'd like to have someday but am not up to playing skill to justify the expense.

Although I must admit, I do find the Boogie Mark5 head very flexible and stable, for $2000.00

[Nitro Express]

I picked up a new JTM 45 reissue for $200 new when Musician's Friend sold it's retail stores to Guitar Center. They were clearing out the inventory.

[Nitro Express]

I've played through so many different amps and owned so many over the years. For a high end amp, I think I would go with a Soldano. I really like those amps and they are well built.

[VanHalenFan5150]

So there's a lot of mumbo jumbo. Play it, if it sounds good then enjoy.

Exactly, man. I've played plenty of amps before, and I like them all, pretty much, but nothing adds up to the total tube breakup of a classic Marshall stack, which i've had the luxury to play cranked out when nobody was around at Sam Ash. I will always cherish that pseudo-orgasmic, mindblowing tone that I procured out of that amp, and that Ibanez RG350 that day.

[GAR]

I've played through so many different amps and owned so many over the years. For a high end amp, I think I would go with a Soldano. I really like those amps and they are well built.

Nobody that's owned a Soldano head has said they were unhappy with it. That being said, I've chosen NOT to own one for the reason that I'm willling to have custom engineering done on a used amp.

Not everyone has the time or patience to do that I know. But it's not like I knew how to do that when I first started, and it took alot of effort and technical reading-up to understand what terms to use with a tech in order to have the tone I have now. And I think this 6534 head sounds really good in the clip, more to my tone and more to what I've liked than any other Peavey amp they've ever made, and all here know how I hated the 5150 so this is interesting to me.

Buying a Peavey is about budget watt-per-buck, always has been. But with this amp it seems they get it with all the features, and the tone is a very different one. Really thick and full-sounding, I can tell immediately.

[Nitro Express]

I've been playing around with my 6534 for a few days and it's perfect. It needs no tweaking. It's good for clean, crunch, and high gain and has a lot of variety in the EQ. The resonance allows you to be thick and chunky or tighten it up. It's no one trick pony and if I could have just one amp, this would be it. It's sounds really good with a Marshall cab. I think this is the best Peavey amp I've played ever.