Despite some flaws, it's flat out amazing!

So I've lived with this amp for a few months now and have gigged with it a number of times. I am going to address some of the common negatives this amp gets. One is the extreme noise/hiss on the blue channel (Gain channel). Yeah, it's noisy as hell out of the box. Highly recommend swapping out three tubes on this amp. One the Phase Inverter (preamp tube position 3 next to the power tubes). On here, the phase inverter tube is a 12ax7, which is an odd choice as most tube amps use 12AT7's for this job. it has a bit less gain on tap and can help calm down the noise as well as assist with the volume jump going from green to blue channels. Quick side note here, tubes with more gain in create more heat, which is great for the preamp! But can cause damage to the amp over time in this particular position.

The other tube I'd replace is in position 4 (Effects Loop). 5150's have been notorious for noisy effects loop and this is no different. Similar issue with the phase inverter, the tube in this position is a 12ax7 and is a bit overkill for the effects loop. Fender and Orange amps for example use 12AT7's in here like in the Phase Invertor and it really helps with the hiss/excess noise.

Lastly a lot of 5150 owners do this, swap out the first stage preamp tube with a 5751. It's basically a military grade 12AX7 with a little less gain on tap, this will help with the amps overall gain sweep while still sounding like the same amp and will help calm the excess noise down as well. Now even doing that, I would still put a noise gate/suppressor in both the front end and loop of the amp. Most, if not all high gain heads have that issue, it's just something to get used to like 60 cycle hum on a strat.

Second big issue I've seen folks complain about is the high end frequencies sounding thin and harsh at higher volumes. There are a couple of things contributing to that, one is the power tubes being EL84 tubes, they naturally get harsh with higher frequencies the harder you push the amp. The resonance control on the back of the amp can REALLY help with that issue. Also peel back the treble a bit on the main EQ, and push forward the presence control if you need more highs. I ran into this issue once at a gig when swapping out guitars and all I did was adjust the resonance and EQ a bit and it was fine after that. Another trick to help with this is by throwing an EQ pedal in the effects loop. You can add/remove/tinker with the high, low and mid frequencies and remove the harsh highs EL84's typically have at high volumes.

All that said It's important to keep in mind that this amp was designed by Eddie in conjunction with Fender, and Fender basically did what Eddie wanted at the end. Eddie was not an engineer at all, he tinkered and found sounds he liked doing that. He rigged these amps to basically explode (not really but... yeah) Doing the tube swap is pretty inexpensive and will help the amp last longer while not changing the core sound of the amp... and the swap will also help with the excess hiss but it won't kill it completely.

After saying all of that, this amp is AMAZING!!!! Both green and blue channels on here sound fantastic and I am not sure I will ever be able to wipe the grin off of my face the first time I rocked a power chord on the blue channel of this amp! I've used it for a number of worship gigs through my pedal board/rig and a Captor X during those gigs and I used it a ton at home through a Panama 2x10 oversized guitar cab and it's just magical anyway you slice it. It's a great professional level tube amp at a decent price. DO NOT LET THE SIZE FOOL YOU!!! This amp is REALLY LOUD for 15 watts!!! You can easily hang with a loud drummer at a rehearsal or play most venue's/gigs fairly easily and sound great. Also a lot of folks have mentioned this in other reviews but this amp does take pedals really well. I run this amp with pedals in the front and loop and it takes it better than some boutique amps I've owned.

The only negatives I have is the lack of a Cab Simulated XLR Line Out, Headphone out or USB Direct out. The 6505 Mini comes to mind in terms of those features. I tried the 6505 MH out a few times at a local music store and it has all the options I mentioned earlier but doesn't have the musicality/brute force of tone that I feel the 5150 LBXII has. Even with those gripes and technical issues with this amp I have to give this guy a 5 star rating because the sounds you can get out of both the green and blue channels are just incredible. It's a professional sounding and gig worthy amp and it does have manageable volume levels that won't sacrifice the righteous tones you can get out of this thing. If you can find one for a good price, I would jump on it.

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