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Ampeg PF 350/500 Part VII

#2
I'll probably jinx it one of these times, but I'm still rocking my PF rig that I got at launch!

EDIT: First time I've ever had first post! It's the small pleasures in life, right? ;)

5sg.

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#9
Latches are good. My lid is warped so it leaks when the head is up. I put another latch on the middle back and covered the entire top surface of the "hatch" with good closed cell neoprene weatherstrip. It's all good now. You wouldn't need to if your lid is flat. Wood can warp so I don't blame Ampeg. I Love the cab and I also have a Pf-115lf that is great and they sound great paired together even though many advise against a sealed and a ported being mixed.

Certainly their sex appeal isn't an issue. Dead sexy.
 
#10
ITucker_034I said:
Hey guys. Was looking to get one of these later in the year. Is the pf500 worth the extra money? And whats the quality of the 15 cabs like? (Latches etc)
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Disclaimer: It's not my only rig. But after gigging my Portaflex stack for a little over two years now (I think?)...

Whether the 500 is worth it is something that you'd probably need to decide. To me, the extra features and power for only $100 were. One PF115 with the PF500 packs a pretty good punch, and the full stack is sometimes overkill for me. Just last weekend, I only used one cab for a quick gig with my 14-piece urban gospel band in a full 150-200 seat church. We have 10 vocalists, two keyboard players, a loud@$$ drummer and backing track sequencer. I'm not sure the PF350 would've been able to quite pull that off, and the 500 didn't even break a sweat.

As for the quality of the cabs: Mine have been to quite a few venues... bars, theaters, indoor/outdoor stages and the like, and while they've got a couple scuffs and dings, they've held up quite well. Pretty "tank-ish" and the tolex seems pretty tough. Early on, I did leave one in my car on a hot day and the glue under the lid with the amp came loose, but a little glue fixed that problem. The latches are pretty solid, but after two years of gigging, the lid slips just a little bit when schlepping the cabs by the top handle. Tough to accurately describe in just words, but it doesn't impact the playability of the stack when the rig is set up.

Overall, my PF500/PF115x2 rig has been a solid contender and it gets a lot of compliments, both in looks and sound.

Hope that helps.

5sg.
 
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#12
ITucker_034I said:
Helps a lot! Was worried the latches would be poor. The 350 is probably enough for me. Now to get saving :D
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Nope, definitely not poor latches. I've caught my fingers in those barstards a couple of times and they're no joke. lol

As for the lid thing, a little clarification: I think the lid has just that tiny bit of slippage because when you lift by the lid, the latches eventually bite into the tolex just that little bit which allows just enough space for the lid to move slightly when lifting by the top handle. i.e... the weight of the cab pulls down just enough to allow the lid to move during transportation.

Don't know if that helps or just confuses things. lol

5sg.
 
#16
Observation about the PF-500 -- I have mine set up in the basement with an Ampeg 115he and an Avatar SB-112. My son has been doing some recording with it, and when I am upstairs, it really sounds great -- I keep asking myself, is he really getting that sound with my amp? He's playing a Squier Precision bass, no ultra high or ultra low, pretty much flat EQ. It really has a nice basic rock and roll sound signature.
 
#19
It's been well documented the early problems with the PF500's...but I hear that those problems have been taken care of and the newer production units are just fine. Does anyone know what the timeframe was on this? In other words, recently did Ampeg start shipping the "updated" units without the problems?
 
#20
mimaz said:
It's been well documented the early problems with the PF500's...but I hear that those problems have been taken care of and the newer production units are just fine. Does anyone know what the timeframe was on this? In other words, recently did Ampeg start shipping the "updated" units without the problems?
Click to expand...


I would (always) defer to JimmyM, but I think he has said anything made within the last year seems to be good - or low/no issues like earlier runs.
 

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