To every guitar player, tone is key.

I have played Marshalls, Mesa Boogies, and Fenders, and all are great amps! They are very unique in their own individual ways, and each have sound that has become characteristic of each company…

But when I was on the look out for a monstrous set up that could blow doors off hinges, I wanted an amp that could sound huge, widespread and loud and I wanted the distortion to be crisp and clear with a lot of weight behind it. But, at the same time, I wanted to be able to play with a clean sound that was as smooth as glass. That’s why the first head that I turned to was the first generation of the Peavey 5150. This head is a classic high gain metal head that will blow your mind! It is 120 watts of power, which will take paint off the walls, and features five 12AX7 preamp tubes and 4 6L6GC power amp tubes. The EQ is a pretty standard one of any head with a low, middle, high, and presence setting, although it does offer a resonance setting which will give you a little bit of a low end boost which is nice when it comes to chugging, fast, “thrashy” riffs. It also has a lead and rhythm channel. The lead channel is definitely one to be used for more of a metal sound, but if you want a classic rock or funk sound you can switch over to the rhythm channel and it does wonders. This amp is very versatile and although it has the reputation of being the premier metal head, you can get other great tones out of it which is another very appealing thing I found about this head.

Last but not least one of the most appealing things about this head was that I got it for under 500 bucks used! Great news for any musician out there! They don’t make this model any more but you can find one similar to it that Peavey continues to make called the 6505. In my opinion I prefer the older models of these amps but both are very comparable, and if you can find a 5150 used that’s in good condition you can save yourself 600 bucks! Not a bad deal.

After making my decision on the head I knew that I couldn’t compromise the tone with just any speakers so I decided to hunt down the classic and legendary Marshall 1960a 4×12 cabinet. This cab comes fully equipped with G12T75 Celestion 75W speakers, which deliver a full bright tone. It can handle up to 300W of power and runs 4 or 16 ohm mono, or you have the option of running 8 ohm stereo… the options are great! I would say that this is probably my favorite cabinet and I have always used it over anything else. They run anywhere from $799 brand new, or again you can find these things used and in great condition for as little as 300 bucks in some cases. I also decided to add a little bit more to my rig by investing in a Behringer 2 x 31-band equalizer with FBQ (Behringer’s feedback detection system). Now this is probably a bit overboard for a guitar rig, but I also don’t just use this things for guitar so I get multiple uses from it. However, it is great to have options and you can really dial your tone down with an equalizer this powerful. The ability to shave off or bump up certain frequencies will do wonders for your tone in a live and studio setting. It will also allow you to cut down on frequencies that you get feedback from, which is great because then you are left with a noiseless amp that only rocks. This is a great EQ and I would recommend it highly… but any EQ unit you can get can really help you dial in your tone to the exact sound you want. This is a good thing.

Now comes the million dollar question: what guitar!? Fifty if not sixty percent of your tone is going to be coming straight from your guitar. Stratocasters have a very specific sound, as do Les Pauls. I use a few different guitars with this rig and they all sound great! For more of a hard rock sound I use my Paul Reed Smith McCarty standard which sounds brilliant, and for more metal stuff I use my Ibanez RG which sounds beastly. I have also used Stratocasters for more of a classic rock sound on this rig and those sound amazing as well.

When it comes down too it, tone is all subjective. Everyone has a specific sound that they are going after and its really up to you to find the tone of your dreams!