Ultra Plus/ Triple XXX/ 5150- your opinions on these Peaveys

[germX]

dear friends

which one of these Peavey tube heads would you recommend?

1.Ultra Plus
2.Triple XXX
3.5150II

i've been trying out several heads & IMO, the Peavey brand gives off very good high gain tone with my Ibanez (Duncan equipped) S540.

i'd like to hear from you guys with regards to the above-mentioned heads' overall performance, tube life included. if you have swapped tubes, what brand are you using now? i'm rather impressed with the Ultra, it has bits of the Triple XXX & 5150 in itself, IMO it's the most versatile of all the 3 listed above.

thank you in advance.

[winterlong]

I really recommend the ultra. For most metal it is by far the best of the three. Unless you want to play in flames and then the 5150 is a little better but that is what they use anyway. Tube life on 5150 and the ultra is actually rather good(little experience with the triple x,Because I think it stinks). I like Peavey more than a mesa for most high gain stuff.

On a final note you life in a emperor album? That must be a really confusing place.

[jem777az]

I used to have the Ultra Plus and its a very good head. The clean sound is much, much better than the 5150. Triple XXX clean is slightly better than the Ultra Plus.

As far as gain sounds, they are all completely different sounding. The 5150 is probably the best bet for getting a bone crushing metal sound. But that's about all its good for. The clean and crunch suck IMO.

The XXX has a pretty good clean and crunch and decent 3rd channel high gain.

The Ultra Plus has a fair clean, crappy crunch and good 3rd channel high gain.

Make sure you test these with different cabinets. The Peavey's seem to work best with their matching cabs. Especially the 5150. I used to run my Ultra Plus through a Mesa rectifier cab and didn't like it. It sounded better through either the 5150 or Ultra cabinets.

[germX]

it seems that the ultra is getting a fair bit of performance notes here, not surprising as it is simply a good amp. it's just overshadowed by its other 2 siblings whose reputations are in the current spotlight.

of the 3, i must say that the 5150 wins hands down in the gain dept, despite whatever others have to say about the triple XXX & its acclaimed mesa-like overdrive. i'm certainly not trying to acquire a mesa type high gain in other brand names because the truth is, no other brand sounds like mesa. after personally trying the triple XXX, it seems that there's inaudible difference between its crunch & lead channel (maybe i didn't crank it up enough @ my dealer's...). as for the 5150's clean channel- i wouldn't buy this one to look forward to its clean channel.

i've acquired a V-30 equipped 4X12 to plug my head into. at my dealer's, the pairing of the ultra & this cab is simply impressive. the peavey cabs are decent but they don't generate warm mids- i have a strange setting, i turn my treble down & raise the mids generously.

i have not plugged my tele & les paul to the ultra, wonder how it'll sound like...

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**winterlong: you are the first to have spotted that. nope i don't live there , it's just my way of paying tribute to an impressive debut from emperor, the standard of which supassed many current established acts.

[BucketBot]

I have had all three, (I guess my 5150 wasn't a 5150 II). The only one I kept was the Ultra. It sounds great and you can't beat the illuminated Peavey logo!
I am, however, considering picking up a 5150 II for a backup.

[germX]

what made you sell the other 2?

i'm putting my $$$ on the Ultra because it simply sounds good gain-wise. it can handle all my shred/ fusion/ metal tones. the illuminating logo is a bonus...

[BucketBot]

I guess the Ultra just had the sound I was looking for. It seems to be smoother than the other 2. Less of a harsh midrange. The XXX and the 5150 both seemed really harsh and out of control. Especially the XXX. That amp could really benifit from a presence control. It seems like on the XXX the high end is either on or off. The 5150 probably would have stayed If I had the 5150 cab to go with it. I was running it through Soldano cabs and those cabs seem to be pretty picky when it come to matching a head to them. Of course after I got rid of the 5150 I picked up a 5150 cab to go with the Ultra. Go figure.
I'm never totally satisfied with any amp I buy. The Ultra in more like my flavor of the month. I'm sure I'll pick up something different soon.

[germX]

SMOOTH- i thought i was the only one who heard this coming from the Ultra

the 5150 lacks reverb, this is a consideration for me. but that's expected because it has inputs from van halen. he's not a reverb fan, he prefers delay. i'm the exact opposite.

the THD Univalve was on my list but its not available at my dealer's. i've heard demos & it sounds pretty good. the good thing is it's self biasing if you switch tubes. also, a single tube is less costly to maintain.

[mike777]

I don't have much experience with the ultra but I've found the Tripl-X and the 5150 series to be a bit muddy-sounding. Believe it or not, I liked the XXX's clean sound over its dirty sound and I LOVE that mud-flap girl vibe!

Peavey amps are often more affordable than similar amps but they tend to be built very well. My preference for many years has been Marshalls. I'd continue to shop all the brands. Just make sure you are buying the right amp for YOU.

[germX]

i believe that the peavey brand is overlooked because there are other brands in the market hogging the limelight. MESA, Soldano, Marshall... but at the end of the day i always re-audition the Ultra Plus & it makes me happy. not my dealer though...