Ampeg PF500/PF350 - part 3, I think

**bassybill** · #1 10-10-2011, 01:18 PM

Continued from Chef's enigmatically named thread here:

Ampeg PF500/PF350 Pt II.5

**Chef** · #2 10-10-2011, 01:19 PM

Ah: you mock me, for letting the last one run 1500 posts...fair enough.

You let the last one go 34 posts over.

I suggest II.5.0034...

**bassybill** · #3 10-10-2011, 01:21 PM

Mock you? The undisputed king of us amps mods? Never!

But your suggestion sucks.

**Chef** · #4 10-10-2011, 01:22 PM

'oh no you di-int'

snap!

carl h. · #5 10-10-2011, 02:34 PM

Pic of my PF500 driving a pair of 410HE cabs at the county fair.

Down_Low · #6 10-10-2011, 03:04 PM

Hi Carl, how's it sound with the 410HE's? Or have you tried it with a single 410HE?

carl h. · #7 10-10-2011, 04:06 PM

Nice with a single 410HE. With 2 it seems to go a bit deeper, and is just overall MORE of a good thing. Good bass response down to low C (probably would do a good B, but I didn't go there on this gig, just a lot of low C's) with solid mids. With 2 tweeters at my disposal I suppose I could have done haircuts from stage, but I am not a slap or pop guy, so I kept it on the mellow.

I never had to push it hard, and it never got even warm. It kept nice and cool even though it was upper 80's to lower 90's on stage.

I used 2 different basses that day with 2 different bands, and it seemed to really bring out the individual character of each bass I used. It has it's own color, but it doesn't obscure the instrument being played.

I later heard a recording from this set, and damned if that combination didn't sound like an upright on the tunes I was going for that vibe on! They told me it did, but I didn't believe them. I play upright, and an electric bass guitar can't do that sound - ain't going to happen! But I heard the recording and unless he did some dubbing, it was as close as I've ever heard to a good upright bass sound, and better than most of the CRAPPY uprights that I've heard played through amps. I'd never take it to an upright gig, but for the random tune, it is nice to know I can get there without lugging along an upright.

You could call this rig GasX - I no longer have GAS!

ritual · #8 10-10-2011, 04:47 PM

I got a pf350/115 combo last week, and I'm very happy with it, except for the slight rubber smell from the tolex in the room now..... hopefully that will get less noticable in time.

From a few pages back, people were talking about adding new side handles to the PF cabs, but were concerned with the look of the handles messing up the "feng shui". What about adding a handle to the bottom of the cab? Don't think there would be any clearance issues with the feet, and definitely not with the casters installed. Then you'd have the 2 handles you need without messing up the look.

JimmyM · #9 10-10-2011, 05:36 PM

It all depends on the handle you install.

stevemac · #10 10-11-2011, 08:47 AM

From reading the previous thread it sounds like the pf115 and pf210 play well together. Our guitarists like a "bass-y" sound and have gotten into 12" speakers, so I'm feeling like I should add a pf115 cab to my pf210 setup, if only to get a bit lower. I've read about the cancellation problem (and dont really understand it well), but I understand it depends on the setup and this one seems to work..?

Anyway, I dont think volume will be a problem with the 2 cabs even with the pf350 amp, so it will just be to fill it out more. Now to save up the chump change, maybe a little xmas present for myself!

60bass · #11 10-11-2011, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevemac

From reading the previous thread it sounds like the pf115 and pf210 play well together. Our guitarists like a "bass-y" sound and have gotten into 12" speakers, so I'm feeling like I should add a pf115 cab to my pf210 setup, if only to get a bit lower. I've read about the cancellation problem (and dont really understand it well), but I understand it depends on the setup and this one seems to work..?

Anyway, I dont think volume will be a problem with the 2 cabs even with the pf350 amp, so it will just be to fill it out more. Now to save up the chump change, maybe a little xmas present for myself!

One thing to note. If your guitarists are adding low end they will be entering into "your space" so to speak. If you try and compensate by adding more low end, you will end up lost in a low end muddy mess. To still "stand out" in the mix you will need to add mids to get punch and definition. That is the key to cutting through. 10's might be better suited for that.

Honestly, I can't get into the thing of guitarists adding a bunch of bottom to their sound. In the end they can't figure out why they get lost in the mix and crank up the volume to compensate. Thus the war begins!

To all guitards - Run your guitars through smaller wattage amps, crank em up loud to get tone and punch at low stage volumes. 15 or 20 watts cranked up through a 212 or 412 cab kills on stage. If you need more low end, mic it and cover it with lows from the FOH and let your bassist cover bottom like he should.

Keep Low

Slackerprince · #12 10-11-2011, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60bass

One thing to note. If your guitarists are adding low end they will be entering into "your space" so to speak. If you try and compensate by adding more low end, you will end up lost in a low end muddy mess. To still "stand out" in the mix you will need to add mids to get punch and definition. That is the key to cutting through. 10's might be better suited for that.

Honestly, I can't get into the thing of guitarists adding a bunch of bottom to their sound. In the end they can't figure out why they get lost in the mix and crank up the volume to compensate. Thus the war begins!

To all guitards - Run your guitars through smaller wattage amps, crank em up loud to get tone and punch at low stage volumes. 15 or 20 watts cranked up through a 212 or 412 cab kills on stage. If you need more low end, mic it and cover it with lows from the FOH and let your bassist cover bottom like he should.

Keep Low

Why don dey jus slappa da bass, den, mon?

lfbassguy · #13 10-11-2011, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60bass

One thing to note. If your guitarists are adding low end they will be entering into "your space" so to speak. If you try and compensate by adding more low end, you will end up lost in a low end muddy mess. To still "stand out" in the mix you will need to add mids to get punch and definition. That is the key to cutting through. 10's might be better suited for that.

Honestly, I can't get into the thing of guitarists adding a bunch of bottom to their sound. In the end they can't figure out why they get lost in the mix and crank up the volume to compensate. Thus the war begins!

To all guitards - Run your guitars through smaller wattage amps, crank em up loud to get tone and punch at low stage volumes. 15 or 20 watts cranked up through a 212 or 412 cab kills on stage. If you need more low end, mic it and cover it with lows from the FOH and let your bassist cover bottom like he should.

Keep Low

+1!!

i deal with it all the time with one of our guitar players. the other knows what he's doing. thank GOD!

stevemac · #14 10-12-2011, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60bass

One thing to note. If your guitarists are adding low end they will be entering into "your space" so to speak. If you try and compensate by adding more low end, you will end up lost in a low end muddy mess. To still "stand out" in the mix you will need to add mids to get punch and definition. That is the key to cutting through. 10's might be better suited for that.

Honestly, I can't get into the thing of guitarists adding a bunch of bottom to their sound. In the end they can't figure out why they get lost in the mix and crank up the volume to compensate. Thus the war begins!

To all guitards - Run your guitars through smaller wattage amps, crank em up loud to get tone and punch at low stage volumes. 15 or 20 watts cranked up through a 212 or 412 cab kills on stage. If you need more low end, mic it and cover it with lows from the FOH and let your bassist cover bottom like he should.

Keep Low

Haha yeaaa... thats a good point. I dont like when a band sounds too muddy, I've been there before and dont want to be sucked in again.

My thinking is with a 15" and 2x10" theres some diversity and can use either or both for a given situation. I dont think I'll ever actually need both plugged in, but if I want to rock some peoples socks off I'll have the extra speaker(s) on tap. If nothing else the 15" will make a nice stand for my 2x10's.

The only downside would be if the extra 210 would fill out my sound so much that I'd be dumb not to get it and use it always.

JimmyM · #15 10-12-2011, 11:23 AM

Honestly, I don't hear the diversity with the PF210 and PF115. Other than more low end with the PF115, they might as well be the same cab to my ears. Maybe that's why they work well together, I don't know. But I'm committing to the PF115's and getting a second one very soon.

TheCush · #16 10-12-2011, 11:06 PM

I just got my PF115HE to go along with my PF350. Like Carl above, I've been using it with a 410HE with great success. I have two regular gigs, one all electric and the other all upright, and I've gigged that set up quite a bit over the past 2 months.

But I've gotta say I'm really excited about the 115 cab. All set up and I played through it for about an hour tonight to get a feel for it, and all of you good people's discussions and recommendations made me feel confident in getting it over the 210, considering what and how I play. I don't post too often but I really enjoy reading these posts and get a lot from it. Tomorrow night, blues rehearsal with it, Monday, rockabilly rehearsal, and next Wednesday should be my first gig with it.

JimmyM · #17 10-12-2011, 11:23 PM

Nice, Cush! As a user of that rig my own self, I predict success

TheCush · #18 10-14-2011, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Nice, Cush! As a user of that rig my own self, I predict success

Well, if blues practice was any indication of what I can expect with this combo, then you're right. We're a four piece (guitar, keys, drums and bass). The PF350/115 really delivered the tone. I've mentioned elsewhere I use an SVT-CL through 410HE for larger rooms and get wonderful tone for the music I play. I'm pretty amazed at that this combo gets me right there.

Monday night will be the first serious attempt with the upright, but I'm not expecting anything less than a great experience at this point.

TheCush · #19 10-15-2011, 12:31 PM

I've been messing with my Hofner CT a lot lately, and now playing even more through the new Portaflex. A nice pair both audibly and visually (but I wish my camera could do better justice to these).

JimmyM · #20 10-15-2011, 12:53 PM

Nice! My Radio Shack violin bass also sounds great through it. I just ordered a second PF115he, too. Got this sickness where I can't have just one small cab