So, guys and girls, help me choose which one to get:


Peavey 6505
http://www.zzounds.com/item--PEV6505H


Krank Chadwick
http://www.zzounds.com/item--KRACHADWICK

To give you some idea of what I'm looking for, my band plays some kind of death metal, but we're still searching for out "thing". Personally I also like to put some thrash here and there.

The Krank is a more expensive model, but since it's discontinued (or something) I can get it for the same price as the 6505 at my local store. I've been testing both, and so far I really like the thrashyness of the 6505, and it also seems to have more low end. Also, it's rated to 120W compared to the 50W of the Krank.

The Chadwick, on the other hand, has a pretty modern sound with a very "clean" distortion (if that makes any sense, think Amon Amarth maybe). It's not Krank's most high-gain model, and this makes it quite versatile, and I think the tone would be easier to handle, especially live.


Should I go for the classic thrash of the 6505 or the modern convenience of Krank? A third option would be the ENGL Fireball, but in my taste it couldn't quite compete with these two. Any experiences with either or both of these amp heads?

the peavey. personally for me i need as much of the wattage as i can get. death metal needs VOLUME! also when playing death metal you need a more clean distortion to shred so that it doesent end up sounding all muddy and all over the place. so maybe you should consider a higher up krank model

The Peavey looks cooler. That's all the help I can provide.

The Peavey looks cooler. That's all the help I can provide.

But "Krank" is more badass name!

The Peavey looks cooler. That's all the help I can provide.

But "Krank" is more badass name!

True! Aaargh, this isn't helping!

Indeed the Peavey does look cooler, and now that I've been thinking about it today I'm leaning towards getting that one. Both would probably be versatile enough, but 120W vs 50W could be a huge difference if we end up playing small shows where we can't mic the cabs --- and this seems quite likely, in fact.

(Higher end Krank models are out of the question, the only reason I could afford this one is because there's a huge discount on it. )

No idea about the Krank, sorry, but the Peavey has stupendously good dirty sounds at the price of really shitty cleans.

No idea about the Krank, sorry, but the Peavey has stupendously good dirty sounds at the price of really shitty cleans.

I wouldn't say the cleans are really shitty...just very very ordinary.

I've got a 5150 II and I've got nothing but praise for the distortion.
Haven't had any problems with it since I bought it (second hand).

The cleans..well, you'll want to try and breathe some life and character into them with some subtle effects (or even better, a separate amp).

No experience with Krank so no comment there, just praise for the distortion of 5150 / 6505.

Also: if you can find a 6505 Plus (i think that's the equivalent of th 5150 II), I'd take that over the standard any day (the Crunch on the clean channel is really nice ...especially for masking the shitty cleans )

Yeah, the not-so-great clean tone is not a huge issue, as this is metal we're talking about, after all. For recordings I might have to use another amp, we'll see.

For some reason the 6505+ is significantly more expensive here (the difference in the US seems much smaller). But as I understand the only difference is that it has one additional tube and separate EQ & presence controls for each channel. The 6505 does have the same "crunch" and "bright" buttons as the 6505+ for the cleans, maybe they changed this since the 5150s.

Anyway, the choice seems clear now. If possible, I'll pick it up today so I'll have time to get to know it before our show next week.

I now have the 6505 here. I don't have a cab at home, but soon I'm off to crank it through some Marshall 1960 4x12s

sexy shit bruthah! good choice

I'd personally go with the Peavy if your playing death metal aswell. Is the 6505 the new version of the 5150? I heard Eddie Van Halen copyrighted the 5150 for his own line of amps or something?

True. Same amp, different number.