Just bought a 5150 Combo...

**F'nRockstar** · 06.05.07, 04:35 PM

Is there anything I need to know about it? Any tricks or tips to making it sound better? I got it for $499 used. The tubes have been replaced.

I am picking it up tonight. I am really stoked about it. I need a new gigging amp.

**Eddymon** · 06.05.07, 05:00 PM

Just turn it up to 11.

**F'nRockstar** · 06.05.07, 05:40 PM

lol...

**joey-tromollo** · 06.05.07, 07:06 PM

good luck lifting it up ,It weighs a ton...I love my combo..and it sounds great ..crank it up !!!!!

**Bugs Meanie** · 06.05.07, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by F'nRockstar

Is there anything I need to know about it? Any tricks or tips to making it sound better? I got it for $499 used. The tubes have been replaced.

I am picking it up tonight. I am really stoked about it. I need a new gigging amp.

Here's a link that helped me out a lot when I bought mine:

http://www.wolfgangregistry.com/5150...settings.html#

People submit their settings for different sounds and tones they like. The "Balance Tour" settings submission I thought was excellent. Give 'em a try.

AT · 06.05.07, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by F'nRockstar

Is there anything I need to know about it? Any tricks or tips to making it sound better? I got it for $499 used. The tubes have been replaced.

I am picking it up tonight. I am really stoked about it. I need a new gigging amp.

You got a good deal on it too.

I scored one real cheap back in January. So far I'm still finding EQ settings, as it does not mimic my 5150 heads in "thickness" and low-end response. I've found I like how it sounds better sitting on the floor than raised up. And a super-cool feature it has that the heads do not: spring reverb!

**Chop** · 06.05.07, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by F'nRockstar

Is there anything I need to know about it? Any tricks or tips to making it sound better? I got it for $499 used. The tubes have been replaced.

I am picking it up tonight. I am really stoked about it. I need a new gigging amp.

Congrats , what kind of guitar or guitars you playing ? I have a combo also and I love it

My main axe is Les Paul Standard it sounds great with the combo . It will be a workhorse for your live gigs . I got mine used in 97 and it still sounds great , Tubes is the only thing I have ever had to replace . So crank it

**tease** · 06.05.07, 11:14 PM

Congrats, you don't have to go to a fitnesscenter anymore.

Draggin this monster around is a pain in the ass. But it's sounds pretty damn good. I would recommend getting a good noise-gate, because this fucker is noisy!

**clawedmonet** · 06.06.07, 07:25 AM

The noise gate suggestion is spot-on. Also, depending on how charitable your neighbors are, you may need an attenuator (I use the THD Hot Plate.) Aside from that stuff, rock on!

**ziggysmalls** · 06.06.07, 10:20 AM

Noise gate helps. I also would get the BBE Sonic Maximizer. The foot pedal version of it. It just adds something which is hard to define.

Don't go insane with the gain. I like the tone I get from Eurotubes. The bright switch really does not do anything. I leave mine in. The crunch button does make a difference. Depending on what song I am playing will depend on the switch position. The resonance dial is great.

Congrats on getting a great amp.

**F'nRockstar** · 06.06.07, 03:04 PM

Thanks for all the help!

I am playing a Purple Flame EBMM Axis. (I beat the shit out of this guitar!)

**F'nRockstar** · 06.06.07, 03:05 PM

Any suggestions on Noise Gates? How expensive are they? Do they affect the tone much?

**HipCat5** · 06.07.07, 06:32 AM

I use a Boss NS-2 and the envelope isn't too bad. It doesn't clamp down 100% the way I have it set but that allows for some playing nuances to make it through the gate.

One thing I have done, and I'm not sure exactly why it sounds the way it does, is to place an effects device with input and output controls in the loop. I then set the amplifier master on "7" and control the overall volume of the amp with the effects OUTPUT control (probably best to put it at the end of the effects chain). For some reason [to my ears], having the amplifier's master volume up a ways gives the preamp some more thickness and yet I can play at lower volumes with the effects unit being the gov'ner. I use an Alesis nanoverb, in case you're curious, and I really don't even use the effects on it (the mix is like 90-95% dry). Might be worth a try before spending money on a HotPlate.

You might want to try rolling the tubes too. I heard somewhere that the layout of the preamp tubes was odd (like looking at the chassis with the power tubes on your right and the controls closest to you on the combo, the valves are like V1, V2, V5, V3, V4 or something goofy like that). Anyways, I tried rolling the ones I thought were V5, V3, and V4 and it sounds pretty nice. If V5 is the phase inverter (I still don't know for sure), I have an old RCA 7025 (12ax7) in there and it made a big difference in tone. Somewhere I heard that swapping around the phase inverter can have a big impact.

Just experiment. The 5150 won't let you down (love the tone, hate the hiss).

AT · 06.07.07, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by HipCat5

The 5150 won't let you down (love the tone, hate the hiss).

I can't offer much of a reason why, but the hiss of the 5150s never bothered me much. When I take it off standby it's like the thing is "alive" and ready to go. During breaks when rehearsing I kick on my Boss TU-2, which is in in the effects loop, to kill the noise. On stage the noise is hardly an issue. And in the studio I usually run a slight gate off of a Focusrite compressor for smoother and cleaner in and out "transistions."