Peavey 6505 Plus | Keeping the Magic Smoke In

[@parachuteman4]

Bought one of those brand new in 2006. American made. I have had a few minor issues. But apart from those it has been rock solid. I love the amp

[@bobjones7082]

Dang Lyle! listening to this in my car on the way home from work. thanks for the living color man!!

[@billneill7567]

You do have good taste! Living Colour and Rush are a great combo!

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

Thanks for the warning. The three problems I face is that the damn things sound good, looks good and if I were smart I never would have taken up guitar in the first place. Afraid you can't help with either problem.

[@seanhammer6296]

Triple X.

[@cotati76]

Grown men still like their toys, they just get more and more expensive as we get older.

[@davidfuller581]

Every time one of these comes in I replace that ribbon cable with soldered wires. That is easily the most common failure point in a heater-cathode short.

[@ysyoon2124]

Can you tell me what are those teflon coated cables you used as a replacement for a ribbon cable?

[@paulgordo7505]

Very interesting video, I have a few of these, one usa and one China. The Chinese one had a few poor connections that we repaired. Is there a video that shows exactly how to do the upgrade in this video, sounds like a good idea!

[@ctcards2636]

The words "Will" and "Might" def have different meanings and I know from experience just as you say about this model Peavey. This is def not about what might or may happen, it is about what WILL indeed eventually happen. ;-). Love your humor in these videos and I trust your opinions of these different amps, very appreciative of you spreading your knowledge with all of us :-) You got me interested in building another amp, im building a 5F1. I wanted to do something small and basic for my first amp build in 10 years. I do work on my amps but i dont build them, well I built one as I said a decade ago. But these videos have gotten me back into and I cant thank you enough. Im also very excited to see more videos on your amp your building ;-) Thanks again

[@goodun2974]

"Will" implies an impending trip to and an extended stay in the Upside Down place....

[@tokenfrenchman]

These might be a nightmare from a maintenance point of view, but they do sound great, especially for the rather low price. I often choose these when I have a choice of amps for fly in shows over more expensive models like Mesa Dual/Tripple Recs, JCM900s and so on. Very easy to dial in a good tone with a boost in front, simple controls that don't have a ton of sweep and are already kind of dialed in for you, uncomplicated effects loop compared to the mesa ones etc...

[@PsionicAudio]

I’d recommend these over the Mesas and EVHs. I find the JCM900s more versatile, but these do have more gain. Different beasts.

[@tokenfrenchman]

@@PsionicAudio the 900 is a decent amp but I can't help but compare it unfavorably to the 800 which is one of my favourite amps of all time. I have an old 2203 that I play all the time, wonderful in it's simplicity. Have you ever serviced any VHT Pitbulls? I've owned one for a few years and it's been running fine but unsure if the guts are sound on those

[@PsionicAudio]

I luuuuuv a good 2203/2204. No Pitbulls yet.

[@hannibalbarkas1350]

@@tokenfrenchman I've been watching Steven Fryettes Podcast (the designer of the VHT amps) and he seems to be the most creative circuit designer you can imagine and he really cares about quality a lot. Genius guy. Hope we get some of his amps to see here at one point.

[@tokenfrenchman]

@@hannibalbarkas1350 awesome, I should check out that podcast! Really like my Pitbull, very underrated amp 🙂

[@JPDESS]

a cause of over heating for the (ribbon cables) i think would be oxidation on the contacts. As with the fuse and a lot of other things . good luck, thanks for sharing this video.

[@cap217cap217]

What are the connectors that you used in place of the ribbon cables?

[@bugeyedmudafuka2]

Hi, you mention a lot of things that aren't rated for the current. Why do manufacturers use these components? Is it just down to cost cutting? I would presume they clearly know this yet do it anyway. Cheers for the vid.

[@middle_pickup]

Yes, it's cost cutting. If I owned one I would be inclined to play it in, let it burn and gather expert testimony as evidence for a lawsuit. Then again, Peavey is on its last leg and probably broke anyway.

[@davidfuller581]

Ease of assembly in Peavey's case. Push on connectors are cheaper than soldering wires.

[@seanhammer6296]

Planned obsolescence.

[@SoloSi2024]

Nice Rush YYZ quote!

[@caseywilson7768]

I have the 112 plus that I modded into a head. Cool amp but I have had nothing but problems. Been into the tech no less than 10 times and I've only owed it since 2014. I call it the Ferrari because when it runs it screams......when it runs

[@beckylogsdon2912]

Hello, I saw your video when I was looking for some other info on the 6505+, so when I opened mine up to clean the pots and jacks, I figured I would check for signs of discoloration (burning) as you had pointed out and suggested. But to my pleasant surprise, my unit did not even have ribbon cables, and everything actually looked very well soldered as well, I didn't see any signs of fatigue near the heater fuses either. I am wondering now, is my unit built to higher standards, since it is a built in USA model? It definitely looked all factory to me, and not modded, unless it was expertly done. The amp has always sounded great, ever since it was purchased used by me.

[@raulromo7930]

sounded like a jam on the YYZ solo

[@Guitar_Ted]

"these problems are baked into the design." < I see what you did there. ;)

[@TheCyberMantis]

LoL!

[@TheAxe4Ever]

You said he asked you to change the power tubes and re-bias the amp. I thought these amps didn’t have adjustable bias. Did this amp have a bias mod done to it?

[@PsionicAudio]

The 6505+ has a bias trimpot, though it is still a very cold range of available bias. Factory setting had the tubes idling at about 22% dissipation.

[@TheAxe4Ever]

@@PsionicAudio Wow! That is cold.

[@jimbeaux4988]

Sorry if you have already answered this, but who is making a well built modern high gain amp that can sound like this or the rec?

[@PsionicAudio]

Suhr, Soldano, Friedman, Diezel, many others. But you get what you pay for.

[@evanpaulsmithfalconfogolin6147]

I wonder how the 6506+ 112 models differ in design.

[@godsinbox]

preamp is pretty much identical in values until the reverb.then it differs, as you'd expect.

[@diabolicalartificer]

I really appreciate your video's, I'm a hifi amp builder, you cover a lot of aspects of valves & valve amplifier circuitry that is pertinent in hifi design, thanks, learned a lot. I noticed you did more to the amp than the customer asked for, do you do that as part of the service? Do you test valves on a tester or by a visual and/or DC conditions only? Lastly a minor point, us old un's love our leaded solder, is invalidating the WEEE classification not an issue? I guess the answer is these amps aren't toasters. Cheers...DA

[@qua7771]

Leaded solder makes a better, and more serviceable connection. It flows better, sticks better, last longer, etc... The only reason I can see for the classification is the fact that so many consumer products are designed with a short life expectancy in mind, and they don't want tons of lead in landfills. The irony is that non-leaded joints are more likely to cause failure, and contribute to short life expectancy of electronic products. My 2 cents.

[@formallynamed85]

Any idea if the 60 watt 112 combo version was the same as this

[@Imajica69]

As a guitar player who know almost nothing about electronic circuits and amp technology I find your channel very interesting. I am wondering though why you don't have any videos about Hughes and Kettner amps? Do you not fix those? Do they not break? You didn't mention them in any of your other amp videos that I have seen. Just curious as if they're not a serious amp or if you just don't deal with them for one reason or another. Thanks!

[@PsionicAudio]

Not a lot of people seem to be playing them around here. I did fix one of the big ones with the clear panel that lights up in blue. The light broke and H&K wanted about $400 for the replacement element. It wasn't a very well built amp either.

[@Imajica69]

@@PsionicAudio Good to know, thanks for the reply!

[@kennethh2430]

Does anyone know how the Peavey 6505 MHs hold up? They look like great little amps and the sound they produce is exactly what I'm looking for. Not to mention its Direct Input capability, FX Loop, etc...

[@ernestschultz5065]

Was that the Detective Grim Reaper riff?

[@jerrywalaszek2473]

What is your opinion on Peavy combos from the 70s 80s?

[@jesusmsm86]

Hello. I have a Peavey Rage 158 with a presumably broken "Post Gain" (Volume) pot. The original pots have plastic shafts that don't touch the chassis. There would be any problem if I replace the pot with another of the same value but chassis-mounted? I can't find the original part.

[@PsionicAudio]

Shouldn’t be.

[@jesusmsm86]

@@PsionicAudio Those are great news for me! Thank you so much!

[@rnhtube]

LIKE MUSSOLINI!

[@AvLGuitar]

I have a 6505 MH the lunch box 20 watt version. I had to re-bias the tubes when I got it. Do you know if the MH has the same build quality problems as the bigger ones? Or any common failures?

[@dameinsosa8972]

Would the Peavey Ultra plus 120 fall under the same category as the 5150 and 6505 amps ???

[@fluidaudiogroup]

Cult of Vernon!

[@rnhtube]

LIKE MUSSOLINI

[@fluidaudiogroup]

@@rnhtube and Kennedy!

[@aristocaster]

Living Colour Cult of personality riff 😀

[@shaunkitson6941]

YYZ…..nice!!

[@middle_pickup]

I was interested in this model. Are early 6505 or Peavey 5150 amps better?

[@davidfuller581]

Marginally? The electrolytics are usually somewhat better quality.

[@danielsaturnino5715]

Cant find any video on a jcm 2000 dsl. Are those any good?

[@PsionicAudio]

Search this channel for “why grumpy tech is grumpy”

[@misterknightowlsguitarrant6984]

Based on your videos, I’m starting to think modeling is the right way to go unless you have the money for boutique or vintage lol. Seems like everything has a design flaw.

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

Only if you enjoy fault checking your pc when some of that modelling software won't play nice.

[@pauldavis6356]

"Ribbon cables, traces and connections aren't rated for the current." What the hell are these companies thinking?!? Are they basing their profit margins on out of warrantee repair costs? They sure don't make 'em like they used to...

[@TheCyberMantis]

I always wanted to see inside one of these. I'm not impressed. I'll bet the newer Chinese made amps are even worse.

[@seanhammer6296]

You did a lot more stuff than what the guy asked for.

[@PsionicAudio]

Or did I call the owner and discuss the options then perform approved preventive maintenance?

[@seanhammer6296]

@@PsionicAudio I guess I missed that part in the video.

[@stevencraig]

@@seanhammer6296 it wasn't in the video. It doesn't need to be in the video.

[@bernhardnizynski4403]

Dreadful amps to work on!