Hard rock half stack ampli fiers

130
&
£780
(cab)
£1,182
(head)
£725
(cab)
£1,399
(head)
Peavey 6505+
B
ack in 1991 a tap-happy
Eddie Van Halen and
Peavey came up with a
high-gain amp design
called the 5150. It would go on
to become a staple for high-gain
guitar tones, with Trivium, Bullet
For My Valentine and Machine
Head among its user base.
At the end of 2004, however,
Edward Van decamped from
Peavey and founded the EVH
brand, taking the 5150 with him.
So Peavey relaunched the amp
that year, introducing the 6505
– and the 6505+, which features
an extra 12AX7 valve (making a
total of six) in the preamp stage.
An amp with as much heritage
as this could make it easy for you
to form preconceptions. It has
the highest count in the group
when it comes to preamp valves
and on paper it’s eyeing the prize
before we even start. The clean
channel delivers a bit of colour
to the sound as it starts to break
up, but the real winners here are
the Crunch and Lead channels.
From the former, you can conjure
‘on the edge’ drive sounds
through to punky crunch tones
and beyond.
Kick into the Lead channel,
however, and you tap into the
heavy metal mother lode. Crank
it up a bit for a low end kick from
the cab that sounds amazing in
isolation, but overdo that EQ in a
band setting and you might find
it to be a little too flabby.
Conclusion: The 6505+ sounds
the most hi-fi in the group; you
get a rounded out sound that’s
still sharp enough to cut if you
tweak the presence control. It
misses out on the gold in this
test, but only just.
For: Massive sounds, tried and tested
Against: Cab can sound a bit woolly
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: An eruption of tone
Hughes & Kettner Switchblade TSC
That’s not a knife!
H
ughes & Kettner’s
mantra is ‘Technology
of Tone’; the company
clearly swears by
it. The Switchblade has been
around for a few years, but its
latest incarnation is packed
with features you’d expect from
NASA, not an amp builder.
The TSC (Tube Safety
Control) monitors the valve
performance and continuously
re-biases your amp. The result
is longer-lasting valves that give
optimum performance. It even
lets you run the amp at half
power if a valve blows mid-set,
and you can save up to 128
different amp settings that can
be recalled using the footswitch.
It’s also the only amp in the test
with digital effects onboard. It’s
clever – and it delivers.
The awesome build quality is
immediately impressive; the pots
move with a reassuring weight
and the large chicken head
mode selector stands out among
the other controls. Tone wise,
you get classic punk, hard rock
and a slaying metal from this
bad boy. With the gain cranked
high the Switchblade becomes a
little muddy but a boost with the
presence control clears it up into
a cutting metal sound.
Conclusion: Our only complaint
with the Switchblade is to do
with control. When you shift
between radically different
amp settings the control panel
can become a little confusing.
Besides this minor grumble, the
Switchblade has proven itself to
be one sharp character.
For: Sounds, awesome features
Against: Control is a bit messy
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says: It’s a blade-runner up!
Valves ■
The 6505+
delivers crushing
gain courtesy
of no less than
six valves in the
preamp stage
■฀Build
The design is
spawned from a
classic and boasts
an impressive list
of users
■฀TSC
The TSC technology
will make sure the
Switchblade is always
reliable onstage
Logo ■
H&K’s usual
illuminated logo
has been replaced
by a more rock
looking badge
At a glance
OUTPUT: 120 watts
SPEAKER: 4x12” Peavey
Sheffield 1200
VA LV ES : 6x 12AX7, 4x
6L6GC
CONTROLS: Channel
switches, pre gain, EQ, post
gain, resonance, presence
SOCKETS: Speaker,
footswitch, FX loop, pre out
W E I G H T: 21.9kg (head);
43kg (cab)
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
(head) 260x673x300mm;
(cab) 822x762x360mm
C O N TA C T: Peavey
01536 461234
WEB: www.peavey.co.uk
At a glance
Hughes & Kettner
Switchblade
OUTPUT: 100 watts
SPEAKER: 4x Celestion
G12M
VA LV ES : 2x 12AX7, 4x EL34
CONTROLS: Volume, FX,
presence, EQ, gain, mode
SOCKETS: Speaker, FX
loop, MIDI, footswitch
W E I G H T: 17.6kg (head);
41kg (cab)
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
(head) 286x750x258mm;
(cab) 750x750x360mm
C O N TA C T: Headline Music
01223 874301
WEB: www.hughes-and-
kettner.com
■ Head
The 6505+ is based
on Peavey’s original
5150 design and is
a popular amp for
heavy music
■฀Controls
The Switchblade’s
build quality is more
than sturdy enough
for gigging with
Peavey 6505+
Ready Eddie?
TGR193.gear_test 130 14/8/09 7:47:15 am