Ampeg PF 500 or Aguilar Tone Hammer 500???

[Don Electron]

Hey guys,

After much research I have reached an impasse in my decision making process.

Some things to consider:

I currently own a TC Electronic BH500 that runs through an EBS Classic 410. I use no effects, and play a geddy lee and a
frankenstein p bass both strung up with la bella flats.
I play in a three piece funk/jazz (think The New Mastersounds) that will hopefully be adding an organ player to the mix. I always play fingerstyle, so I don't need an extraordinarily versatile amp, but it needs to nail the fat, warm motown tone.

I'd originally considered getting a small back up head that I could take to gigs in my backpack, just to be on the safe side, but am open to usng either one of these as my main rigs and using the BH500 as a rehearsal head/backup.

I have had a chance to play a PF500 at the local GC through a GK 4x10 and thought it sounded good but didn't seem to be as powerful as my BH500. That doesn't seem like it could be right, and could be due to a multitude factors.

I know the normal cab configuration is a 2x10 and a 1x15, has anybody used the PF500 with a sealed 4x10 cab?

As for the TH500, I haven't had a chance to play it, but played some Aguilar stuff years ago and was blown away. I have a hard time finding anything about this head on the internet, beyond promotional material put out by Aguilar. I have a feeling I'd like the TH500 better, but it is almost twice the cost of the PF500 and the lack of reviews/feedback and that I'd have to order sight unseen is disconcerting.

So, which would you pick?

Thanks in advance.

[thisSNsucks]

I've used both and they're both nice amps.

The practice place I go to has a PF500 through 2 Ashdown 410's that I believe are sealed. The sound is great, however on a few occasions, the sound would completely cut out. I hear that has something to do with the limiter, and how it's set on the amp. It's happened to me on a few occasions, so I don't play through it anymore.

If you want that Ampeg sound in a lightweight format, I think it a good amp, though reliability is questionable.

I used to own the TH500. It's a very nice and versatile amp. It doesn't have the same heft as the DB750/1 has, but it has a similar vibe, except more versatile. I never had the opportunity to play it through anything larger than 2 GS112's on a gig. It didn't have enough clean volume for me (it's a loud amp, my band just happens to be very loud rock) so I sold it.

The TH500 is the higher quality amp, and it does sound great, so I'd pick that.

I got to tour the Aguilar factory last week and they really have high standards over there. I wish they'd come out with a TH750 instead of going with a lower wattage TH350, but I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

[tdub0199]

The only advise I can give is to go play both heads and decide with your ears

[JimmyM]

The BH500 filters out the lows below 70hz and compresses the signal in order to make a lower wattage amp sound as loud or louder than a 500w RMS amp. That's their APM circuit. Don't know what wattage amp the BH500 has, but the RH450 has a 236w RMS amp. The PF500 and TH500 don't have that. On the other hand, if you want to turn the compression and filtering off in the TC, you can't.

Not played the TH500, but I've played the PF500 many times and I think it's great and sounds like Ampeg to me. I have not had any cutting out issues in the ones I've played, and neither have the vast majority of folks who have them, but for those who have, Ampeg has been quick to provide replacements, so as long as you buy new, you're covered. That said, Aguilar is also a quality company that makes nice gear too, so it's a matter of taste.

[jeff7bass]

The Ampeg takes a little getting used to because the good sound (IMO) requires a fairly high setting on the GAIN. Once you get past midnight on the GAIN the amp comes to life with true Ampeg tone. I keep my GAIN at 2:00 and adjust the MASTER for volume. When I use my “hot” bass (active Spector Euro) I engage the limiter which works without overly squashing my volume (or attack).
Haven’t tried the Tone-Hammer but have no doubts it’s a fine amp. Aguilar rarely releases a dud. The name carries weight not un-like Mesa. The question is whether or not it’s worth it for YOU to spend the extra money.

[Musicman20]

Aguilar all the way. Made in NYC, great guys, stunning gear. No issues with the amps as yet either. I

[bassfootballguy]

Having heard the PF500 and owning the TH500, I would make the call on $ and which tone zone you'd prefer. The Ampeg has a sound of its own around which a cluster of other tones can be built.
Same with the Aguilar.
play both if you can and choose one.

[ElMon]

Just got in a PF500 and spent some time A/Bing it with my Aguilar TH500. I had both heads stacked on top of two Accugroove Tri112L's, and I was using my Sadowsky UV5 Metro. Ash/maple with SS strings.

Let me start off by saying that I'm VERY impressed with this little Ampeg amp. I started using Aguilar stuff years ago, in particular the DB750 which is hands down my favorite amp of all time, because I thought that they had a unique spend on what I consider to be the classic Ampeg tone. They just had a better design that was a little cleaner sounding, but definitely in that tonal ballpark.

This PF500 nails the classic thick Ampeg sound, and tonally speaking is my favorite sound out of any Microhead I've tried (markbass/aguilar/GK/Epifani/EA). Just warm and thick with a IMO more musical sounding hi end than anything else in its class. Here's some direct comparisons. The underlined heading is for each parameter I evaluated:

Tone set flat, 15db switch in, into 8ohm operation

Honestly the Ampeg won out in spades here. Of course this has to do with matching bass to cab to head, but all the same, Ampeg's the winner here. It has a lot more oomph and overall volume over the Aguilar that probably has more to do with the voicing of each head than it does the power rating.

Same setup as above, but with 15db cut OFF, into 8ohm cab

Strangely, the Aguilar got a LOT louder in this scenario than did the Ampeg, but again this is IMO because of the Aguilar's brighter, more mid forward voicing. Kind of baffled at this actually. I think I'd be more happy with the Ampeg's tone in this setting, but that the Aguilar would slice through a mix like a razor.

Amps set flat, 4ohm setup and with 15db cut engaged

Ampeg was more pleasing to my ears here, and it's a close call to say which has more fire power here. To me, the full and thick low mids that the Ampeg has in spades would wrap a round a mix more and would support a band better, and the Aguilar would offer a more midrange-forward bright fusion tone in comparison. Both amps of course could be EQ'd closer to the other of course.

For me: Ampeg wins out.

Same setup as above, but with 15db cut OFF

HOLY CRAP!! I could easily cover all but the loudest gigs with either of these heads. At this volume level the Aguilar is snarly and bright. I think for aggressive pick style playing this would be my obvious choice. The slap tone was very modern and bright and I preferred the Ampeg's more old-school take in that instance.

The Ampeg overall wins out, though I'd say that the Aguilar has a little bit more headroom here. The Ampeg just sounds thick and full. It sounds more like the 'sound in my head'.

Now, to get into the EQing capabilities of these two heads.

Aguilar: by adding in some drive, boosting some low mids and bass, I could get close to the flat sound of the Ampeg. The Aguilar is a lot more versatile in the sounds it can cop, and the midrange is way more useable IMO. But this is all kind of irrelevant to my needs because I prefer the flat tone of the Ampeg more than any other sound I can get out of the Aguilar. YMMV.

Ampeg: A note about the midrange selector option on this amp.
At a lower volume (db cut in) into an 8ohm load, it's virtually worthless until turned all the way up. Even still, at this extreme setting there was a lot to choose from. I kept the switch on the first setting in this instance. Just a touch more low mids. Cool.

When experimenting either with 8ohm+db cut OFF or even better, two cabs at 4ohms and db cut on or off, THEN I could notice some more variance in the mid control. I still leaned towards the 1st setting for more low mids, but all 5 were useable.

I wasn't as impressed with the compressor on this amp, but that's ONLY because I never like any sort of compression in my signal. That aside, I could dial in some more scooped slap tones by goosing the compression, boosting the ultra high switch, and cutting some upper mids. Not a sound I would use, but cool all the same.

Note on the ultra-low switch:

I don't see where I would EVER use this switch. It added what were to my ears sub lows, around 20hz and below. Maybe a diehard reggae guy could get more out of this.

SUMMARY:

Ampeg is my new go-to amp, and the Aguilar will be a more than capable backup.

[diglo]

@ElMon....I totally agree with you. You put it in more technical way, which is good. I too like the thickness of the Ampeg. The Aggie had too much mids going on for my taste. Also, the Ampeg sounds the same regardless what cab I use. The Aggie was selective to me. Actually when I bought Aggie, I played through Aggie cabs. Sound great, but when I played through my glock 410 and DNA 12's, the glock sound better. The Ampeg killed with both. I got rid of the Aggie and looking at getting another Ampeg for backup. The weight was the only thing the Aggie won for me.

[Dan55]

Re the ultra-low switch: I think you would find it useful if you were playing through one of the PF cabs, or some other sealed cab. With a ported cab, I agree with your observation.

Dan

[ElMon]

Good points. Can't wait to get this out and about town.

[Don Electron]

An update: picked up the TH500 sight unseen and so far am really liking it. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted, but I can't imagine being much happier with an amp.