Peavey 6534 Plus Guitar Amplifier Head (120 Watts)

This 120-watt monster has all the power and gain you want from a Peavey 6505 -- this time with a distinct British flavour, thanks to four EL34 power tubes.

Overall User Ratings (based on 5 ratings)
  • Overall:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(5) (see rating details)
Submitted February 8, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com

"The 6534+ is what the 6505 series should have been from the start."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Im overall super pleased with my decision to get this amp. For the longest time I had a sound in my head that wasnt attainable. The sound in my head is in this amp.
Sound
The amp simply sounds amazing. I play metal for the most part and always had a soft spot for the 6505 series. But I felt those amps lacked that gut socking, chest kicking punch you get with an el34 equipped amp. It marries the best of a marshall to the gain and intensity of a regular 6505+. The cleans are much more usable and the amp is less noisy though not by much. You can get a great scooped mid sound that still has the inherent mid like quality and cut you would want or you can push those mids and really get into that marshall roar territory. I found many usable tones and very easily. The crunch channel and clean is a nice touch. They feel like two totally separate sounds. By ENGL standards this is a three channel amp. If you like the 6505 but think its missing something you can find it here.
Features
The amp has a better clean channel with footswitchable and front panel crunch option, two distinct channels and the awesome presence and resonance controls. The cord is hard wired in like on the older amps but there is a speaker wrap on the back to keep it out of the way. Also has an FX loop and easy bias controls and test points. But I would still recommend a bias probe.
Ease of Use
Its a peavey, dont really need to say more. The amp has a very simple layout and dialing it in is a breeze. This unlike other amps is very hard to get a bad sound out of.
Quality
Flawless build quality. No marks or tolex flubs. Peavey has great QC and reliability.
Value
To get this sound you looking at engl. This amp to me is toe to toe with a fireball or powerball. In features I would say it compares more to the latter which will cost you more than twice the price.
Manufacturer Support
This company cares about people in general. They also offer one of the best warranties you can get on a production amplifier. 2 years or 5 years if you fill out the extended warranty info on there sight. 5 Year warranties on amps is virtually unheard of with most amps.
The Wow Factor
Its simple but effective. A classic design that you wont get sick of. No stupid LED lights to burn out. Neon is for a store window not your amp.

Musical Background:

hobbyist

Musical Style:

metal
24 of 24 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted December 24, 2011 by a customer from att.net

"Pound for pound the 6534 is the new king of metal amps"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Sound
I bought a Marshall JCM 2000 a few years ago from zZounds and love it BUT it falls a little short in the metal department if you like your gain tight and not fizzy sounding. So I bought a Peavey 6534+ and the difference is night and day. Very versitle amp. The cleans are wayyyy better with the 6534 then the 6505 and it has a noise reduction circuit in it that the 6505 doesn't. Quieter is better when you dime the gain. And I agree with the other reviewer in that the 6534 is what the 5150 should've been.
Features
Independent EQ's for each channel is great feature that the 6505 doesn't have. My clean Strat tones shouldn't have the same EQ setting as my hi-gain metal channel. Thanks Peavey for that simple but extremely effective touch.
Quality
Peavey amps are built to last.
Value
$1100-$1200 for a amp that can melt your face like $2200 overpriced amps.
Manufacturer Support
You won't need it but if you call them for information, you'll speak to a rep that's friendly and works here in the USA.

Musical Background:

20 plus years

Musical Style:

METAL, rock and jamming out
16 of 16 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted October 20, 2012 by Joe F in Columbia, SC

"More gain than anyone will ever need!"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Very versatile amp! The EL34's in the 6534+ gives it a warmer sound than the 6L6's that are in the 6505+. I keep thinking and saying that this amp is the illegitimate child of a Marshall JCM800 and a Mesa Boogie Rectifier! Has the warmth of a Marshall with the tight lows and gain of a Mesa. I'm running this head through a Marshall 1960B cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. Great combination!! I have found there is a certain low midrange frequency (around 200Hz) that drives me nuts with this amp but is easily dialed out with an EQ pedal in the effects loop. That's the only reason I give this amp 4.5 stars by "Overall" and "Sound". That is the only "fault" with this amp, and it's just a personal tone thing, not really a "fault" with the amp itself. It's awesome to be able to switch the effects loop on and off using the included pedal. I never realized how bad some of my effect pedals sucked out the tone, even when off, until I used this feature for the first time. Overall one of the best sounding amps I've ever played through! I highly recommend it to anyone. It's built like a tank!!

Musical Background:

23+ years playing guitar, bass, and drums. Guitar is my main instrument though.

Musical Style:

Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal
3 of 3 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted November 3, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com

"6534+ is all the 5150 was and much more. The Very Best!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Back in the day when I got my first 5150 Block Letter I fell in love with this tone. Ever since then I've only replaced it with other versions of this amp, and this is the very best version. I believe it beats the III Fender edition, because this one has the real tone James Brown & EVH wanted to create but with an even better bonus, polished cleans. I've seen 5150's using EL34's but this one is DESIGNED to use them with precise clean and less noise. This amp is the very best version of this whole amp family.
Sound
If you have any experience playing american metal, playing death metal, hard rock or are just a tube amplification enthusiast, you are familiar with the 5150. After Eddie Moved on to Fender, I was extremely please Peavey not only kept the line alive with the 65** generation of amps, but has perfected and improved construction materials, electronic connections within the amp and has proven they continue to work hard to perfect it with the 6534+. This is hands down the very first (5150) that I am completely satisfied and will keep for life. I've owned them all 5150 block letter, signature, 5150II, the 6505 and the 6505+. The main draw back these amazing amps had was the lack of a clean tone, though achievable, it involved tricks, mods and additional processing hardware in most cases. The 6534+ has truly amazing clean tone, smooth dynamics and still has it's aggressive crunch and lead tones. The very best of it's entire line and I'm keeping it for life!
Features
The 6534+ is a meat and potatoes amp that delivers amazing tone every time. It's not packed with tons of features but it has 2 channels with 3 gain signal options and amazing contour control with the EQ's provided. Its true versatility lies in the Presence and Tone flexibility. It doesn't have stuff like reverb or trem, but you don't need it, the amp is geared towards straight forward high gain playing and now amazing clean and noise control with this new design. There is an effects loop and running effect pedals straight to the input also works for some people just fine. The loop is very good. The included footswitch is straight forward and incredibly easy to use. Biasing ports and easy access grill for tube changes.
Ease of Use
with a 3 stage EQ and presence / resonance control it is very intuitive and you can dial in amazing tone in just a few moments, even better as you pump the volume the eq stays and just grabs more and more body. The included footswitch is very easy to use.
Quality
Peavey. I've had about 5 different variations of this amp, IT HAS NEVER BROKEN DOWN. Keep in mind, tube amps have to be treated correctly, you need good quality tubes and good power line quality to conserve them, if you do, you have an amp for the rest of you life. Mesa's are amazing boutique type amps, and yes I mean that in a bad way, because in metal, and gigging you can't have boutique delicate gear. Peavey sounds ridiculously amazing every time and is road proven, trusty and reliable, every time.
Value
Hands down the very best value in high quality amps. I've had ENGL, MESA, H&K and these amps are all great but I could never rely on them, Mesa blew the rectifiers, the H&K's transformer blew out. Engl is well made but I was too nervous taking them to shows and had tube issues twice. The peavey has always been consistant, never let me down at a show EVER, never had tube/pot issues and is about half the price of the other amps in it's category.
Manufacturer Support
I've had to contact Peavey only once for a pedal for the original 5150 II and they were great, fast and easy to contact. I've never had an issue with amps, ever so this is the only experience I can gauge by and it was a 10.
The Wow Factor
For me it's a 10, but I realize some people want fancier looking gear. I care about the tone not the looks, but even so its a well built sturdy looking beast. Straight forward and a very easy to use panel.

Musical Background:

Active Musician, Recordist

Musical Style:

Metal, Death Metal, Blues, Rock
16 of 17 people (94%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted April 10, 2013 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Extremely Impressed"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
You can't go wrong with this amp if you play any kind of metal music. I bought this amp purely on Peavey's reputation of rock-solid reliability and was even prepared to settle for a "lesser tone" to what I was using. This thing blew me out of the water; I use it with a Tube Screamer and noise suppression and the amp is dead quiet with crushing levels of distortion (if you need more then I use you're crazy). It cuts the mix like a hot knife through butter without sounding like it's too loud. I am also confident that it can cater to a wide variety of other styles. Bottom line is: I am truly proud that I have the privilege to own this amp and I'm totally blown away.

Musical Style:

Metal, 8-strings
3 of 3 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.