Portaflex PF-350 vs Eden E300 vs Fender Rumble 350 head

Egbert89 · #1 12-31-2012, 12:40 AM

Hello everybody,
I need some help with a decision and I was hoping fellow TB'ers could give me some insights.
I'm looking for a new bass head that's around €300. It has to go into a self made 2x10" 4Ohm 400W RMS ported cabinet (got 2 celestion speakers in there in parallel). Got (cause of money) an old Maine PA as an amp now, but you can hear it can't properly push out the lows of my bass (Epi T-bird pro).
I found three contenders (any other suggestions that can be shipped to Holland and are around €300 are welcome).
I almost only play blues/blues rock/old funk (no slapping stuff) and soul and like a warm deep sound (and yes I know, there's only so much a €300 amp can do) the current Maine amp delivers 200W and is loud enough for my band. I never put my bass through the PA so the line out options (post or pre EQ) are not that important to me.

These three amps caught my eye on the site below, also I played a PF-500 (but it was to expensive for me

) over a 2x10 and I really liked it, but I don't know how the PF-500 is compared to the PF-350.

Ampeg Portaflex PF-350, looks nice and simple also Ampeg is a good brand and I already liked the PF-500, also what I like about this is that I can just disconnect the cab and use my headphones (which is nice for practicing in the wee hours)
Eden E300, Eden is (just as ampeg) a good brand, this amp also seems proper, not too much bells and whistles
Fender Rumble 350 Head, caught my eye cause it has an extra EQ band and the shapes, though I probably wouldn't use the overdrive channel so would those extra EQ options be worth the extra €55 bucks

I was thinking about ordering from here: Musicstore Germany (got experience with them, proper store) since there are little music stores in Holland which have amp heads for this price range in store....

Any help and/or advice is welcome

Ow and have a nice NYE from Holland

JimmyM · #2 12-31-2012, 12:54 AM

My PF350 has been a champ for almost a year and a half now. Sounds really good and is easy to get a sound quickly. Also has a pretty cool medium distortion when you crank the gain. No experience with the others.

darius8 · #3 12-31-2012, 01:07 AM

Did you ever consider this:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ba500h.htm

It's a copy of Ibanez's P500h Prometheon.

Bassmann1968 · #4 12-31-2012, 01:45 AM

Hi Egbert,
you can't go wrong with Music Store or Thomann as well.
Both are great stores in Germany.
I would go for the Eden. There is no tone to dial in, it just sounds great with everything in neutral. You only need the EQ to adjust to the room. This amp is build like a tank and has that warm Eden sound even it is only an E series.
Have a nice NYE

vin*tone · #5 12-31-2012, 02:14 AM

Hey Egbert ... Have you tried your cab with any of these amps? When someone says to me their rig is lacking in bass the cab is the first thing I'd check - especially given that it's home made. (No offence!) :-).

Egbert89 · #6 12-31-2012, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darius8

Did you ever consider this:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ba500h.htm

It's a copy of Ibanez's P500h Prometheon.

No i have not, thnx for the tip. Why would it be better then the other?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vin*tone

Hey Egbert ... Have you tried your cab with any of these amps? When someone says to me their rig is lacking in bass the cab is the first thing I'd check - especially given that it's home made. (No offence!) :-).

No i have not, but seeing my amp is an old PA amp (so in no way a bass amp) i really suspect it for the bad sound, also had it with the previous speakers in the cabinet. Also the rig ain't completely lacking bass, the bass tones are just overdriven no matter what, the higher i play the less overdrive. so thats why i'm sure the main problem is the current amp. the cab is nth more then 2 proper speakers wired to a neutrik jack input. calculated the ports with a program, winisd from the top of my head but i'm not at my pc now.

darius8 · #7 12-31-2012, 03:40 AM

I only mentioned the HB BA500h is because it's a direct copy of Ibanez's P500h Prometheon and that you can get it fairly cheap where you are. This amp head has been mentioned before here at TB:
Harley Benton BA500H

I like Eden's amps, really warm tone, but I never sampled the E300.

shaginwagin · #8 12-31-2012, 05:38 AM

I will vote Eden. I own one. I'm pushing an 8 ohm 410 and it seem really loud for only putting out like 150 watts. It's deep and bright, I don't know how much of that is from the swr cab. I want to add another cab so I get the whole 300 but I don't think I need to be that loud. I really like the contour control, leave it off or add a little scoopy goodness... Mmm... I usually have it somewhere between flat (off) and about 9 o'clock.

I have had a fender rumble75 combo, I would assume the rumble series have the same sound so I wouldn't be interested in that Fender.

Never had a chance to try the pf350. It was in my short list when I was shopping for a new amp. I wish I would have so I could help you figure this out.

Good luck, try before you buy! I didn't but I think I got lucky...

MuthaFunk · #9 12-31-2012, 06:13 AM

I'm partial to the Eden sound myself but I've had both the PF-350 and PF-500. Those Ampegs are a great value in the Bass world. If you like the sound of the PF-500 with your cab I'd suggest going with the PF-350.

The Eden sound is quite different from the Ampeg and IMO much more clean and "modern" yet with a warmth that is very pleasing to the ear. It's a little more what I hear in my head and much prefer the Eden sound for Rock, Country, Alternative, and Funk.

When I want that Ampeg tone, I use a Tech21 VT Bass pedal in front of my Eden. Sounds awesome!! Conversly, I have used my Eden WTDI inserted into the FX loop return of the Ampeg PF-350 to get that Eden tone.

username1 · #10 12-31-2012, 08:54 AM

My vote is for the ampeg pf350. Ive owned both the 350 and the 500 and loved them both.

shaginwagin · #11 12-31-2012, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuthaFunk

I'm partial to the Eden sound myself but I've had both the PF-350 and PF-500. Those Ampegs are a great value in the Bass world. If you like the sound of the PF-500 with your cab I'd suggest going with the PF-350.

The Eden sound is quite different from the Ampeg and IMO much more clean and "modern" yet with a warmth that is very pleasing to the ear. It's a little more what I hear in my head and much prefer the Eden sound for Rock, Country, Alternative, and Funk.

When I want that Ampeg tone, I use a Tech21 VT Bass pedal in front of my Eden. Sounds awesome!! Conversly, I have used my Eden WTDI inserted into the FX loop return of the Ampeg PF-350 to get that Eden tone.

Good comment! VT pedal is on my wish list...

**CL400Peavey** · #12 12-31-2012, 09:13 AM

The real question is, what cab are you going to pair any of these with?

Egbert89 · #13 12-31-2012, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

The real question is, what cab are you going to pair any of these with?

This cab

Loaded with these speakers Celestion BL10-200X

**CL400Peavey** · #14 12-31-2012, 12:19 PM

I would hold out and save for the PF-500. The shift able mids and compressor are really worth the extra con imho.

Steve Dallman · #15 12-31-2012, 01:00 PM

I do really like the compressor on the PF-500. The features are all great. Depending on the cabinet(s) I use, the venue, I run the bass anywhere from 10 to 3. There is no lack of bass. I love the amp, but it is completely different from my GK1001RB which is an amp I used for many years, but never bonded with. Even with a BDDI, (which helped tremendously) it just wasn't what I was looking for. The PF-500 is.

Steve Dallman · #16 12-31-2012, 01:10 PM

I actually forgot my PF500 one night, and used my backup, a PV PA head, newer, with two 600 watt class D amps in it. I used a channel along with my BDDI. It got me through the night, but I was unhappy with any of the tones I got, despite a 9 band Graphic EQ and the three band channel tone controls.

There is some low frequency protection in that amp that may have caused it not to be a good bass amp. I probably should have patched the BDDI straight into the power amp.

JimmyM · #17 01-01-2013, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

I would hold out and save for the PF-500. The shift able mids and compressor are really worth the extra con (sic) imho.

Ya, the PF350's very cool for a simple little head, but the PF500's mid controller comes in handy. And it's got a DI with pre and post EQ. That said, I never upgraded to a PF500 because I never felt the need to. PF350 a killer little head for the money.

**CL400Peavey** · #18 01-01-2013, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Ya, the PF350's very cool for a simple little head, but the PF500's mid controller comes in handy. And it's got a DI with pre and post EQ. That said, I never upgraded to a PF500 because I never felt the need to. PF350 a killer little head for the money.

+1
No doubt the 350 is a killer little amp. The skill set is a little bigger with the 500, and is worth the extra coin to me.

Egbert89 · #19 01-01-2013, 10:44 AM

Thanks for all the advice guys!
I'm leaning towards the PF-350 for now, or a PF-500 but that will depend on if I can get the coin for that quick enough

RBX4 · #20 03-19-2013, 11:17 PM

I'm getting ready to buy an eden 300 head and pair it up with the swr workingpro 210 cab.. Can't wait!!