# Peavey 6505mh VS Laney Ironheart Studio



## Constructivist (Mar 10, 2015)

I look to replace my H&K tubemeister 5 with the most brutal sound I can find in a small pack for silent home recording. Micing up a high wattage beast with a bunch of infants living around is not an option. So I am thinkning of the following 2:

Peavey 6505MH





20W/5W/1W Tube Guitar Amplifier Head with 2 Channels, 3-band EQ, Direct Out, Effects Loop, Reverb, USB, and Headphone Out

Laney Ironheart studio




Laney IRT-Studio all-valve guitar head, 15 W, 2x EL84 & 3x ECC83, <1W input option for cranked power tube thomann tones at low volume, Full IRONHEART pre-amplifier (3 channels, pre-boost, pull boost EQ controls, reverb), Speaker-emulated record out direct from the power tubes (delivering all-valve tone recorded as well as live), Internal dummy load (no need to connect a speaker), USB Audio thomann I/O plus re-amp send jack for use with any DAW
check the review in this forum Laney Ironheart Studio - IRT 15

Never tried any of the two. I live in Europe so i guess I have to wait a bit for the Peavey. All stores say that Peavey Europe support does not exist at the moment so no info on arrival and pricing. Laney is available. Peaveys are a classic in metal for sure. What are the Laney's reputation for ultra high gain agressive sounds? I dont mind versatility, I am going full metal on this one!

If you have any other ideas please let me know!

People with experience... HELP!

Cheers, Nikos
PS check out my solo metal project, the Constructivist
The Constructivist
Like here if you like!


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## jonsick (Mar 10, 2015)

A friend of mine has the Ironheart Studio. Personally I quite like what I've heard of it, but he's struggling a little to get the brootz. He's not played around with it too much yet though. 

If silent recording is what you seek, why not something like the Pod HD? I have one and record with it. I love it for silent recording personally. And it can do some pretty grimey tones if you're into that.


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## Constructivist (Mar 10, 2015)

I was looking for something with valves. Never want to go again to digital stuff. I was never happy with that. I found out that especially my baritone sounds waaay different with valveamps.


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## jonsick (Mar 10, 2015)

My experience with these mini heads and silent recording isn't good, I'm afraid. I got better results with my pod but similarly find digital doesn't play too nice with lower tunings. At least, I haven't been happy.

If it helps, I tune to C for one project. I generally tend to plan out structures and things using the Pod and then when I'm happy, run off to a rehearsal studio or figure out some free days where I can mic up some amplifiers...


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## mikah912 (Mar 10, 2015)

The Laney Ironheart and Blackstar ID:TVP heads both have options for recording with the amp tones audible and simultaneously sending a DI signal to your DAW for re-amping. 

So if you don't like the onboard cab sim of either, you can either re-EQ the wet signal OR re-amp the dry DI with a great software VST and some kickass IRs.


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## chassless (Mar 10, 2015)

the IRT Studio is a little gem really. but to get the most brvtal of brootz, you will probably need a pedal to boost the front. i personally use a boss ge-7 to add some low end and a little high mids spike and it nails a KSE type of sound and can easily do a very convincing Versus the World-era Amon Amarth sound. i'm guessing other people would probably use a tubescreamer type of pedal, and if you have one, i believe you're all set.

i haven't tried the Peavey yet though, i would love to if i ever find one.


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## Stijnson (Mar 10, 2015)

Both would be nice, I own the Laney IRT studio, and while it will deliver on high gain metal tones, it does need a boost for that. To really get the agression out. It is slightly warm and british voiced, which wasn't really my cup of tea. It is a great amp for sure though.

The main difference to me, besides the Peavey probably sounding a bit more agressive, is the fact that you can run the Laney IRT direct into a DAW without a cab-sim (because you can choose to have it on or off) and use some nice 3rd party IR's, which is how I did it. 
As far as I know, you can't turn the internal cab-sim on the Peavey off. Which makes it much less versatile. Ofcourse, there is a way around this, by just using the FX send into your DAW, so using it as a pre-amp, then you would need power amp modelling and a cab sim in your DAW to make it sound good. A little bit of a pity if you ask me. Ofcourse, the small powertubes in these amps aren't that awesome sounding, but still. 

I did a little comparison with my Laney IRT for exactly this issue, because I was considering the Peavey too, and wanted to find out how good the power amp modelling VST's are and so I could use the Peavey with 3rd party IR's instead. See if you can tell which is the Laneys poweramp, and which is the Ignite TPA-1 power amp vst.
[SC]https://soundcloud.com/stijn_bos/laney-irt-studio-vs-ignite-tpa-1-power-amp-comparison[/SC]

Besides that, both have an internal load, the Laney's clean will most likely be better and the Laney is slightly cheaper. Also a big plus for the Laney, the re-amping option!


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## mr coffee (Mar 10, 2015)

jonsick said:


> I generally tend to plan out structures and things using the Pod and then when I'm happy, run off to a rehearsal studio or figure out some free days where I can mic up some amplifiers...



This. Exactly this. I get a close enough sound with my Pod to rough in tracks, figure my neighbors don't want to hear the songwriting process. Sometimes I'll leave layered tracks in that were recorded with the Pod just to fatten up parts recorded with a miced up amp, but that depends on what I'm trying to do at the moment.

-m


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## mindwalker (Mar 11, 2015)

I have the Laney IRT Studio and I also live in the Netherlands so I know more or less what kind of volume is "acceptable" in certain older buildings 

I run mine in 1w and even so, I can hardly push the volume beyond 2-3/10 or it gets too loud for comfort.

I agree that doing the brootz will probably need an OD in front. I don't use one but I'm also not playing so much brootz.. I prefer a little more "progressive" kind of tones and for that the IRT is pretty good. Nice and defined!

If you want to do silent recording just run it into your PC with the USB connection provided and use some impulses... should work a treat! For an amp without such a USB connection then you will need a sound interface.

You could also look at the Laney IRT Pulse.. but it's not really an amp but rather a preamp / pedal. Sounds good though.. look up Martin Miller's demo for Laney on youtube


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## Constructivist (Mar 11, 2015)

Stijnson thanks a lot for the comparisson! It's difficult to distinct what is the Laney poweramp and what is the VST. I would guess that the first i the Laney poweramp. It is a bit more clear. The second has a bit more gain so I guess this comes from the VST.

I intend to run a Protone Attack overdrive in front fo it as a clean boost. It has pretty high density as a clean boost. The sound you get from the Laney is really impressive. Do you use the onbard speaker emulator or another IR?

Geeting the brootz is indeed the point but with considerable clarity and space as I tend to layer A LOT in my songs. A LOT im saying. Thats why i like the Peavey 6505 sound. Lots of space.

Mindwalker since you are in the Netherlands do you have any suggestions on where I can try out the Laney? That would be vital information mate as I cannot find a place to test it. Who is the official dealer in the Netherlands>? Bedankt!!


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## glpg80 (Mar 11, 2015)

I'll put my two cents worth.

As someone who has built 1W amplifiers, 1W is enough to do a bar gig with. If you're thinking low wattage = excellent recording at baby safe volumes, you're quite misguided.

To help put things into perspective, 1W is only half as loud as a 10W amplifier. A 10W amplifier is only half as loud as a full on 120W amplifier.

So a 1W amplifier is only 1/4 as loud as a 120W tubed amplifier, which is still quite a bit of headroom for gigging levels.

If you desire tubes AND recording, then you need to be looking at a reactive load. I recommend two notes or scumback's reactive load as he purchased the patent rights from a very well and respected engineer.

If you desire a preamp then know there are needed speaker and poweramp simulations involved which may or may not be an option for you needs. Depends on your tweaking preferences.

Have fun


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## Constructivist (Mar 11, 2015)

glpg80 lots of food for thought man! Thanks. I am acquainted with some terms so I have some studying to do. Do you suggest that I need volume anyway to get such tones? Then should I be looking for an iso cab instead of a DI recording solution?


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## glpg80 (Mar 11, 2015)

Constructivist said:


> glpg80 lots of food for thought man! Thanks. I am acquainted with some terms so I have some studying to do. Do you suggest that I need volume anyway to get such tones? Then should I be looking for an iso cab instead of a DI recording solution?



I usually tend to prefer tube amplifiers at volume into a reactive load, so that you get the complex width a poweramp adds to the tone without it sounding shrill, small, and thin with just the preamp itself. From there, run the reactive load output directly into an interface (scarlet i4, focusrite, etc) and using impulses through a DAW, add VLC's for all of your effects. You would then have your studio recording at baby volumes with big tube sound complete. 

This solution also gives the best of both worlds without having a small fortune tied into mics. As for the isolation cabinet solution, iso-cabs are not truly silent recording. It's more for recording without cutting your head off when hours of playing are needed with re-tracks. Or for the mics you have allow you to take advantage of higher wattage speakers without the ear fatigue that follows with needing to record at those levels. You also have to take into consideration the phasing of multiple mics with iso-cabs, in addition to line leveling. It gets more complex, whereas impulses are much easier to use.


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## TauSigmaNova (Mar 11, 2015)

As an ISOCab owner, I wouldn't recommend it for recording generally. Depends what amp you couple for but to me its more for playing at a quieter volume, since anytime I mike up my JCA with an ISO it sounds messy and muddy and 'empty'


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## mindwalker (Mar 11, 2015)

Constructivist said:


> Mindwalker since you are in the Netherlands do you have any suggestions on where I can try out the Laney? That would be vital information mate as I cannot find a place to test it. Who is the official dealer in the Netherlands>? Bedankt!!



I got mine from Thomann and had a go previously in Cologne, but looking at the official Laney webpage, you can search for distributors in the Netherlands and some shops at least seem to "display' it. You need to contact them first to check if they have it in store..

I remember when I got mine that I had a hard time finding it here so I just got it from Thomann

But for other musical needs Bax-shop.nl | Online shop & muziekwinkel in pro audio, verlichting, DJ gear, studio apparatuur, muziekinstrumenten en video is like a dutch version of Thomann... highly recommended (although they don't have Laney products, but they carry many other brands


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## Constructivist (Mar 11, 2015)

Oh boy listen to this. It comes up very niclely with the protone pedal and a baritone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFnhOpZCc1A


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## mr coffee (Mar 11, 2015)

You know, I didn't even think about the wattage aspect. I had an Epiphone Valve Jr v3 that I thought would be great around the house...it wasn't. Even after modding, to get the snarl out it had to be cranked, and that shizz was LOUD. There was no turning that puppy on while the wife was home.

-m


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## Constructivist (Mar 12, 2015)

Ah... women. I had a nice Ibby MTM at her place to practice. I took it to the studio and replace it with an acoustic. AN ACOUSTIC.... what am i doind with my life...


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## thahgr (Dec 13, 2017)

I know its a little late, just 2 years later, but wtf did you choose ?? are you happy with it ?
I am on the same situation now, i would prefer the peavey but unfortunatelly i cannot try it somewhere near me..

(actually just joined the forum to ask about this)


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## karjim (Dec 13, 2017)

Could I suggest a used peavey 6505 for 500e and a torpedo captor 229e...here is the brutz at home. Nothing beats a 120w head with some good IRs. I ve always have some boxy thin results with these little El84 heads compared to a full cranked head with a load box


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