The ESP Guitar Company

So, I live in Europe and I just bought a used 5150 from the USA. The amp is 110 Volts and over here we use 230 Volts.

Ive looked around for solutions and it´s either a new power supply (which is kinda pricey), or get a power transformer. I chose the last option, but I was
wondering which model I would need.

The amp, as you know is 120 Watts.. but on the back, where the power cable is, it says 400 Watts. I found a store that carries these and they have a 500 watts and an 800 watts model. The guy says I could get the 500
model, but I would need the 800 model if I want to fully use the amp (this is not a guitar/amp store btw, just transformers etc).

So seeing as it´s a 120 Watt amp, and the back says 400 Watts, would I really need the 800 Watts transformer or will the 500 Watts one do just fine ?

Well you say it's 110V then you say 120V?

But you just need a 500W 230-110V Stepdown Transformer...

USA = 110V, Peavey 5150 = 120 Watts ;)

last time i checked here in the states, its 120v, japan is 110.

hmm, thought it was 110.. ah well, same difference..

Anyway, someone said that you need the transformer to have a lot more Watts cuz (tube) amps use more power or have high peaks in power usage or something, I dunno

well the amp is 120 Watts, but the back of the amp (by the power cable) says 400 Watts. Getting a new power supply put in will cost 250 euro or more.. So I´d prefer a transformer.. either the 500 Watt model or the 800 Watt one, Id think the 500 would do since the amp says 400, but the guy says I should get the 800 if I want to use the amp at full force

your not going to get more of your amp with 800 watt transformer, thats just the limit on that transformer.

the difference between the different voltage amps is their power supply, see if you can trade the old one in and buy a new one. a output transformer is going to change your tone...depending on which one you get, and thats not a good thing, some transformers are designed for audio equipment so if you just go out and buy a transformer that say wasn't designed for power distribution of audio equipment, there will be no guarantees that it won't sound horrible. And in the equation, the power supply comes first and then feeds the transformer...if the PSU is still 120 volts and you plug that into a 230 volt outlet, it doesn't matter what transformer you have in there, you just fried your entire amp.

you sound a bit confused on what does what in the amp, i will research some articles to help out, and i suggest that you talk to an electrician that has experience with audio technology. sounds like that guy you spoke with is trying to get you to buy shit that you don't need, probably to make some extra money off of you, or he lacks knowledge with pro audio equipment.

i will add...from my knowledge any tube amp that is 100+ watts always has two output tramsfprmers and a power supply transformer (a total of three units). The PSU is what plug directly into the wall and that sends the proper voltage to the two output transformers, and those two transformers distribute the plate voltage to each tube.

go to a guitar/amp tech and tell them that you need to mod the amp to convert it from 120v to 230v, don't go trying to figure the shit out yourself, its so much more complex than getting a new PSU and replacing it, all he specs have to match, and that might not be all that you will have to replace, you might replace the PSU and other parts will have to be changed that you don't know about, you wont know it and the first time you fire your amp up, it dies, smokes and its done for. a guitar tech will know what to mod and how much it will be, and from that you can decide whether is worth the money for the amp, or to just sell it.

you can never be too careful, seek out a professional to do the work for you.

or just get a step down transformer like poid said, the are cheap and do all the work for you, you just have to make sure that you take it everywhere with you.

As far as I can tell 120 watts is what your power amp pushes to the speakers, but 400w's is what it pulls from the wall.

yeah thats what I thought Pig.

dont think Deathroll got what I ment.. I wont get it modded by a tech, cuz it costs too much and I will get a step down transformer. The point is to get either the 500 Watt or 800 Watt step down transformer. Some people said I should get double the amount of Watts for some reason, even the guy that sells the step down transformers, he reccommends the 800 Watt model, while the amp only pulls 400 from the wall

When I lived in Argentina (also 220) i always had to buy stepdowns for my amps. I just read what usage wattage (400w in your case) and got close to slightly over. I had LOTS of stepdowns because we always had alot of electronics from the US (PS2, VCR's, Amps, Stereo's, etc).

I did notice that it would get pretty hot when I ran my amps through them, never overheated on me, but I made sure to keep them wherever there was airflow.

I have an idea... if & when you do get a different power transformer than can handle europes 220/240 volt power.. here's what you do-GET THE TECH TO INSTALL A SWITCH SO IT CAN READILY GO FROM 110-240 VOLTS or whatever you need.

Just like there is a switch on the back of most computers.

It should NOT be this hard people & you should not require an offboard stepdown anything.

Hell most likely you could get a variac & do the power down yourself.

peace

yeah, I heard about that.. not sure which amp it was, but the 5150 unfortunately doesnt have that. There are some power supplies in amps that are ready for both 120 and 230 Volts, if thats the case, it would be an easy fix and maybe it would be possible to put a switch in it, but I read somewhere that the 5150 doesnt have one of those

well, I sent Peavey an e-mail asking about the stepdown transformer... After about a week or so, I got a mail back about a Peavey replacement part, so I asked again.

Couple of days later the guy said he asked someone and said that I should get the max power of the amp or more (400 watts). Having heard this straight from PEAVEY, I bought the 500 watts step down transformer..

Next day, I get another email from Peavey.. saying he didnt trust that the guy he asked knew what he was talking about, so he asked a tech and he said I need atleast 1,5 times the power of the amp (so 600 Watts).. good thing I already bought the 500.. :(

Thanks Peavey!

i will help out, since i have been heavily researching tube amp and electronics for a few months now.

the power transformer in the amp has what is called an average output limit and a peak output limit. That 400 rating written in the back of the amp tells gives you the maximum peak rating of the stock installed transformer. for a good measure you want to get a transformer than has the same rating as the stock one, or as close to it as possible, never going under.

the 500 watt one would be the best choice if they don't have a 400 watt transformer, but always get matched transformers when replacing

and 800 watt transformer will do nothing more to your amp than a 500 since the amp is already pulling its maximum load, all your doing is giving your power a higher headroom, which there is no use for since your fuses would blow as son as you start pulling too much power.

I ended up using the 500 for my 5150 head and it worked great. Gigged for an hour and it all worked, sounded good and nothing got too hot or anything.

It was at pretty high volume too.. I was deaf on my left side for 4 days :P I know it's stupid but I was just excited to gig with my new 5150 so I had it a bit too loud :P