is because thats as high as the scoring system goes! I give it a 10 in all areas. The 6505 is for everyone. Some say its not, but it has two inputs, high and low gain. If you don't want the ultra-high gain feature, plug into the low input. I have used this amp for several years and have never had a problem with it. Some complain of its 'clean' channel. All you have to do is find your volume knob, give it a slight twist, and voila, instant pristine cleans! Best tube amp on the market today!!

I have owned my amp since it was first released in 1992. Back then it was called the 5150.

My half stack is a brute! It is a solid built power house. It has be played daily for almost 17 years with ZERO Problems! I still have not needed to retube it!

I decided to write this review after reading the others here. Some have said it is a one trick pony, too distorted or what ever. It is true that the 6505 is not for everyone and does not have all the bells and whistles but it a well built road worthy machine.

You can get about any tone out of it that you want. The rhythem channel is as clean and singing as a fender. The lead channel will give you that nice, warm brown sound that is so covented by E.VH. And yes if you go balls out with the extreme gain it will give you a harsh death metal tone.

I also use a 31 band EQ in the effects loop which helps with the tone shaping and can dial in what ever tone I want. Most of my guitars have seymore duncan TB11 (custom, custom) PUs in them so with the gain set @ 5 or less I get a warm, deep tube tone. Brown if you will.

But like I said this amp is not for everybody. If you need a soild, dependable hard working tube amp give it a test drive!

This amp does one thing well: it's loud.

The lauded distortion/gain/overdrive this amp churns out is difficult to manage, fizzy, and overkill.

It's worth noting, I OWN the Music Man Axis, the supposed compatriot to this EVH designed relaunch. Even still, it's a testament to this amps reputation that it's somehow adored by deathmetaL musicians everywhere.

That's because the tones this amp puts out are FAR from musical, or useable in any practical melodic application without some outboard processing.

Because of this amp's severely horrible tracking capabilities, shredders need not apply. Each note slaps you back in the face with a punchy, nondescript THUD.

All this said, if you wanna play percussion on your strings instead of actual, musical notes, by all means, buy it. You'll be in death metal heaven.

But I've already found musical bliss with my Mesa Triple Recto.

And for those that think this amp has a somehow *ahem*, more MODERN tone than the classic stalwarts (Marshall, Mesa, Soldano, etc...), you might be kidding yourself to save some money.

This amp is a legendary amp. First created with Eddy Van Halen in the 90's, after the fallout with him they re-released the 5150's as 6505's.

These amps are excellent for any rock, hard rock, or metal music.

If you really want that brutal sound for extreme metal, get the 6505, not the 6505+, the + model does not have the same level of brutalness as this head has.

Now, I had mine modded at FJA, it tightened the bass up, got rid of the fizz that is notorious with these amps, and cleared up the clean channel a little bit, and it is now a perfect metal amp, a bias mod at least is a must, as these come biased cold and you will not get the most out of your tubes. Throwing a OD pedal in front is a good idea as well, and a noise gate is a must with this amp.

I gave it a low score on features because it does lack a lot of feature that more high end amps have, but that's part of what makes this amp so great I guess, just straight forward brutalness.

The sound is unique and legendary, you can go from Van Halen to the heaviest drop tuned metal songs.

Overall: Great amp for rock and metal, throw about $500 more into it on mods and you will have a perfect metal amp

This amp is brutal. If you like mesa's and want that sound this isn't the amp for you. Huge amounts of gain and more importantly tone. I play thrash metal and have never needed the pre gain to be as high as 5. Even with all the gain, your guitar retains tonal quality. Despite its affordability it is not a cheap substitue for another head. It is a 6505, (or 5150 for us old guys) and thats what it sounds like. It has a distinct and fantastic sound, and thats why so many players, famous and almost famous have played them for years. The only drawbacks are only one EQ and lack of reverb.