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Peavey 6505+ w/Kruse Kontrol Supercharge+Variac Mods - $900 (Van Nuys)
Sepulveda near Vanowen
make / manufacturer:
PEAVEY
model name / number:
6505+ w/footswitch
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The Kruse Kontrol modded head is still available:
Head 1 - unmodified (top head in pics): SOLD
The head with the bright white logo is an unmodified/stock 6505+ head. SOLD.
Head 2 - incl. 2 Kruse Kontrol mods (bottom head in pics): $900 obo
The head with the darker gray logo in the pics has 2 “KRUSE KONTROL” modifications, performed by Jens Kruse in Sunland (https://krusekontrol.com/). Includes foot switch (But needs a 7-pin MIDI cable to connect it... somehow I lost that):
SUPERCHARGE MOD (I paid $250 for this mod):
Lets the amp cut through the mix better. Sounds even more aggressive and in-your-face, compared to an unmodded head, or when the mod is switched off (a switch for this was added in the back - see pics).
- VARIAC MOD (I paid $100 for this mod at a discount, by getting it done with the Supercharge mod):
Allows to reduce the over-all volume of the amp in 5 steps via an added knob in the back (see pics), and get power tube saturation at lower and more useful volume levels.
This has two purposes:
1. It lets you play the amp at lower volumes - definitely needed with this kind of 120 Watt tube amp, if you want to use it for practicing in an apartment, but still want to get a decent low-end tone out of it.
2. It allows to get power tube saturation at more useful volumes (aka without drowning out your drummer), by dropping the voltage the power tubes receive.
This is a 120 Watt tube amp, and it is brutally loud when cranked - but you normally only get power tube saturation, when the amp is operating close to it's full wattage.
Before the mod, I ever only had this amp set to a "Post" level of maybe 3 or 4 (out of 10). There will be no power tube saturation when set to "only" 3 or 4 (you'd probably get that from around 8, but that's INSANELY loud with this amp).
Anything louder than 3-4, and you're unlikely to still hear your drummer, and in a live situation, the sound guy WILL tell you to turn down by A LOT!
So, you don't get power tube saturation out of this kind of amp in any kind of useful setting (unless modified), because it would simply be WAY too loud.
By dropping the voltage the power tubes get via the VARIAC mod, the power tubes start saturating earlier and at lower levels, and you can get nice harmonics at levels that are actually useful when playing with a drummer (or even by yourself at home in an apartment, by dropping the voltage even more).
The VARIAC mod has a knob in the back, that allows to step through 5 different amounts of reduced voltage to the power tubes, giving you control over at what volume level the power tube saturation kicks in. So, you can have power tube saturation at pretty much ANY volume level.
You might have heard of Eddie Van Halen coming up with this technique to achieve his "brown sound" by dropping the voltage for the entire amp with an external variac box he connected the amp's power cable to.
The VARIAC mod installed in this amp lets you drop the voltage for just the power tubes... so, you get the power tube saturation without an unwanted impact on the pre-amp tubes. It's also healthier for the tubes (at least that's how I understand it).
Somehow, the standby LED is always on, on the modded head ever since these mods were performed, but the standby function itself continues to work as it should. Jens Kruse said that’s only cosmetic and doesn’t impact functionality.
The Mesa cab in the pictures is also for sale. Click on “mode ads by this user” for details.