The 5150 and 6505 are supposed to be exactly the same, just slightly different cosmetics. I'm not sure what brand tubes come stock, but the types are 6L6's for the power tubes and 12ax7's for the pre's. Mine has all JJ tubes, but I'm not too crazy about them in the pre's. The JJ 6L6GC's are great power tubes though. I love the way my PRS sounds through the 5150. The amp is bright, and the guitar is dark, so they meet very nicely in the middle. I run it through the high gain input.

Here are my settings IIRC: (all settings in o'clock) Rythm Pre: 9-12 depending on desired cleanliness or grittiness, bright in, crunch out ; Lead Pre: 10-12 ; Bass: 2-3 ; Mid: 11-12 ; Treb: 10-12 ; Resonance: 9 ; Presance: 7-8 ; Post: around 12 if possible.

Those settings sound great in my drummers big room, but I have to do a bit of adjusting for it to sound right in my much smaller living room. Again, those are just my general settings, which vary slightly each time I play :rolleyes:. I also have to use different settings if I use my Schecter. Very different tones between the two guitars.

Good luck with your search!