Peavey 6505 412 Slant

The Peavey 6505 cabinet was designed as a cabinet to match the famed 6505 and 6505+ amplifiers in Peavey's line. It's a fairly standard 4x12 that is supposed to be optimally designed for the amps for which it shares its name. However, I'm not sure if it's poor design or just cheap/bad speakers, but in my honest option the 6505 cabinet really isn't worth considering, especially for the prices they sell for new. It's loaded stock with a set of Peavey designed and built Sheffield 1200 speakers and is constructed of high density plywood. At approximately 96lbs it's a bit heavier than some 4x12s that I've seen, but overall you've got to expect heavy weight when using a 4x12 cab anyway.

I've tried the cabinet both with the matching 6505+ head and with other Peavey heads in the line (JSX, XXX, etc) and the results are basically the same. At low volumes, there's really no definition in the tone, and it can get muddy fairly quickly unless you dime treble or presence, which results in ear shattering highs that aren't very pleasing to listen to. As the volume is turned up, the general buzzy texture goes away a bit, but it's replaced with more of the harsh and piercing highs. The midrange is also fairly subdued and scooped out, so it's not really the best balance harmonically. I've found that the low end on this cab isn't nearly where it should be for a 4x12. Cabinets like the Mesa Rectifier or Orange PPC412 have a bunch more bass and low end plus they cut through much better, whereas this one lacks a lot of that tight low end and just gets sort of lost, especially if you use a lot of bass or play an extended range guitar.

All in all I think the Peavey 6505 cab really is not worth the time of day. At $750 new it's completely outclassed by cabinets like the Mesa Boogie Rectifier or EVH 5150 III, both of which have a much better harmonic balance and tone than this one.

These are an interesting match for the Peavey 6505 amps. I have never really heard of Sheffield speakers other than Peavey using them for certain amps in their line. I don't know a whole lot about them but match with the Peavey 6505 amps they are definitely a good fit together. The sounds is loud and thumping and that is the best way I can describe it. They have a punch to them that is similar to a British sounding speaker but with a crisp high end that matches the voicing of the 6505 amps perfectly. I have also heard the 6505 amps with V30 from Celestion but I think these speaker give the necessary unity with the amp.

Each speaker I believe is rated at 75 watts, but I'm not sure since I have never opened the back up off of these cabinets. The construction of the cabinets are pretty decent, but they certainly are no Bogner cab, a Mesa Boogie cabinet, or a Mills acoustics cab. They match the amp but I'm not sure how well they match other amps. My guess is that if you buy this cab it is going to be because you have a Peavey 6505 or 6505+ and you want to get what the manufacturer intended.


Peavey 6505 Angled Guitar Extension Cabinet Features at a Glance:

Angled, closed-back guitar cabinet
Made of high-density plywood construction
Loaded with 4 x 12" Sheffield 1200 speakers
16-ohm input
Locking XLR or standard 1/4" inputs
300-watt (RMS) power handling
High-density plywood construction
Recessed handles
Heavy-duty casters


Detail
Speakers 4 x 12" Sheffield
Cabinet Type Angled
Construction Material Plywood
Mono/Stereo Mono
Inputs 1 x XLR, 1 x 1/4"
Outputs No outputs
Other I/O No other I/O
Power 300W
Impedance 16 ohms
Height 35.75"
Depth 17"
Width 32"
Weight 90 lbs.

At new these cab come in at around $750 which isn't bad for a 4x12 cabinet. Marshall cab come in well over that price. So you could probably pick one of these up on the used market for half that since Peavey doesn't retain their resell value all that well.

I would recommend this cab to a Peavey 6505+ or 6505 owner or someone who needs a relatively inexpensive 4x12 cab. I don't have much info on the speakers since the brand name is not familiar to me. They do sound pretty good though coupled with the appropriate amp.