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Ampeg PF-50T Humbuster
- Thread starter mnats
- Start date
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- ampeg ampeg pf-50t pf-50t
New board revision is good news! Altough it makes my decision more difficult. I purchased a PF50T online last week. I discussed it here:
Tonehammer350 or PF50T soundwise
I`m about to send it back. The hum on this one is just too much for playing at home or recording with a mic. Really sad because this amp is perfect for me otherwise. I love the sound and features. It could replace my old V4B. Problem is the store is selling at a good price and the remaining 3 items are probably from the same lot and not with the new revision board. At full price it would be too expensive for me and I don’t want to mod it at this point.
So my question is from what serial number (approx) would the revisioned bord be present?
Also any advise what to do would be appreciated.
Thank you and sorry for the long post!
Tonehammer350 or PF50T soundwise
I`m about to send it back. The hum on this one is just too much for playing at home or recording with a mic. Really sad because this amp is perfect for me otherwise. I love the sound and features. It could replace my old V4B. Problem is the store is selling at a good price and the remaining 3 items are probably from the same lot and not with the new revision board. At full price it would be too expensive for me and I don’t want to mod it at this point.
So my question is from what serial number (approx) would the revisioned bord be present?
Also any advise what to do would be appreciated.
Thank you and sorry for the long post!
Contact your retailer and tell them the hum is unacceptable, Ampeg has a fix and you want an amp with it in place.
Their mod is not implemented the same as the one found here. They should fix it or give you an amp that does have the update.
Their mod is not implemented the same as the one found here. They should fix it or give you an amp that does have the update.
Thank you beans-on-toast, that’s a good advise. I’ll give it a try. I was under the impression that the hum was not considered a fault by Ampeg. The tech-talk goes over my head. Hopefully the retailer will sort it out, their responsebility I guess...
It's actually not, because the noise level is within its published specs. However, I know that Sweetwater took care of a guy this way, and Yamaha aims to please, so I think chances are good. Ampeg's top CS guy Hodgy originally demonstrated the mod to the folks at LOUD so he's sympathetic to the cause
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It's actually not, because the noise level is within its published specs. However, I know that Sweetwater took care of a guy this way, and Yamaha aims to please, so I think chances are good. Ampeg's top CS guy Hodgy originally demonstrated the mod to the folks at LOUD so he's sympathetic to the cause
That was me, and I just got it back totally hum-free. It took a little while for them to get the parts in, but this thing is dead silent now. The folks I talked to at Ampeg and of course Sweetwater were very serious about straightening it out.
Curious... I just ordered a PF50T today from Sweetwater. Is this hum something I should expect with the head? Or is it hit and miss?
Ampeg told me some magically don't have it, so it is hit or miss. If your order didn't ship yet, your rep will test it out for you if you ask.
Any chance that you can get Sweetwater to open the amp and inspect for the mod before they ship it?
The mod as performed by the manufacturer is shown here Martin Beer post 118. Sweetwater should be able to recognize if it was performed.
Yeah, I'll call them right when they open
Thank you guys for this thread!
I got a used PF-50t on eBay for a great price before I knew about the hum situation. Well to my surprise when I turned it on that hum was there, and I thought something was wrong. It was pretty loud.
Well I spent $2.70 and 20 mins and now it is much more quiet.
Thanks again.
I got a used PF-50t on eBay for a great price before I knew about the hum situation. Well to my surprise when I turned it on that hum was there, and I thought something was wrong. It was pretty loud.
Well I spent $2.70 and 20 mins and now it is much more quiet.
Thanks again.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
Awesome that this thread resulted in a factory mod that’s electrically identical to the street version!
Just got mine from Sweetwater, audible hum for sure, through both cab and direct into board. It’s quite distracting to me, but I noticed in post 128 above, that the hum appears to be there a bit post mod or is that not audible? I wonder if I’m hearing the post mod hum and being a drama queen, lol. I’ll tell you this- I can hear the hum in a silent room from over 20 feet away- I’m guessing this doesn’t have the mod, or am I being overdramatic? Please advise
Hard to say...I can hear mine or any amp in a silent room from 20 ft away
A little bit of operational noise is normal, and in a silent room it's noticeable. But if it seems legit too much to you, it may not have the mod implemented. Got anything you can compare it to?
This is my first all tube amp, I will look for the mod inside as posted in pics here- if you say you can hear it, then I may be out of the loop on what to expect here. Just plugged in my Tonehammer 500- it has a hiss that is a bit quieter than the PF50 hum.Hard to say...I can hear mine or any amp in a silent room from 20 ft away
I may be tripping out here- but some posters are saying that it is dead silent (not the case to me). One guy said he passed by the amp at night- saw the light on, and that was the only way he knew it was on- I’m thinking I hear a lot more noise than that, I’d hear it
