Awesome, $55 is a lot better than the other sites Ive been looking at (they mostly go for $80-$90). I just wonder how much the official Ampeg one is, do you think its more or less than a custom cover?
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Ampeg PF350/500 Part V
- Thread starter Chef
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Awesome, $55 is a lot better than the other sites Ive been looking at (they mostly go for $80-$90). I just wonder how much the official Ampeg one is, do you think its more or less than a custom cover?
+1 on Custom Amp Covers. I added some purple to match the Ampeg light. My guitarist looked at me funny until I told him it was "Black Sabbath Purple".
Just had a chance to play through a PF-500 and a GK 800RB with one of those pro series Ampeg cabs. My son liked the tone of the 800RB better, but I preferred the PF-500. It has a lot more tonal options, with the EQ, ultra hi, ultra low, and compression. I also like the mp3 input and the headphone jack on the PF-500. Power-wise, the thing totally rocked. I was lucky not to get kicked out of the store.
Well, I finally got to gig with my pf500/pf115he/pf115lf rig over the weekend. Some quick observations:
-Tone, tone and more tone!
-Just as I had hoped, the LF added some (much needed) depth to the overall sound of the pf500
-Running the 500 at 4ohms all night had no ill effects. In fact, I was most worried about this because I was one of the first to experience the "cut out" issue. However, after reading how to "dial in" your bass (read: setting up the gain properly) I haven't had the cut-out issue since. Plus, being careful not to "over equalize" helps as well. Generally, I run the EQ flat (noon) with the bass control bumped up to about 3 o'clock.
I have another gig Friday and I'm looking forward to shaking the rig down some more. This was the first time I used the pf500 for something other than rehearsal, so I am glad it worked. Maybe after it works again this Friday, I won't have to carry around a spare amp!
-Jeff
-Tone, tone and more tone!
-Just as I had hoped, the LF added some (much needed) depth to the overall sound of the pf500
-Running the 500 at 4ohms all night had no ill effects. In fact, I was most worried about this because I was one of the first to experience the "cut out" issue. However, after reading how to "dial in" your bass (read: setting up the gain properly) I haven't had the cut-out issue since. Plus, being careful not to "over equalize" helps as well. Generally, I run the EQ flat (noon) with the bass control bumped up to about 3 o'clock.
I have another gig Friday and I'm looking forward to shaking the rig down some more. This was the first time I used the pf500 for something other than rehearsal, so I am glad it worked. Maybe after it works again this Friday, I won't have to carry around a spare amp!
-Jeff
- Apr 3, 2003
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
thanks Tom, nice review. I am enjoying my PF500/PF115HE rig very much. Will BGM be doing a technical review of the PF amps ?
Nice review Tom. I am excited to see a tech review if you guys do one.
I have been running my pf-500 with my ampeg 8x10 in a very loud rock band, and I am just as pleased with it as to when I was using a 7 pro.
Also sounds great and powerful with my Carvin brx 10.4neo cab.
As in your review, you talked about the compressor, I did find it different than the 7 pro. I find it very musical and useful. I however think it does react sooner than you stated, in my experiences. The compressor is one of the best onboard ones I've used for slap.
So, I need some advice. I've been using my pf500 for a couple months now without any issues. But I had two gigs this past week where I didn't use my own cabs. One gig had a vintage looking ampeg 8x10, the other had a very inefficient, boomy, and indistinct 8 ohm 4x10 (it was garbage). I use a mild overdrive pedal always on and occasionally step on a bass fuzz. At both gigs I had momentary cutting out when I tried to use the fuzz?? Am I pushing the front end of the amp too hard with it on? I play short (30 min) sets, so I didn't have any time to experiment on stage. I just don't want it to happen again... and I haven't had this issue with my own cabs.
My typical settings: gain around 1 or 2 o'clock. Bass at 2-3 o'clock. Mids set to the highest option (3k?) and boosted to about 2 o'clock. Treble at about 1 o'clock and ultra hi on. Compressor just barely on (8 o'clock?). I did crank the treble and mids up a bit on the crappy sounding 4x10.
The 8x10 ampeg was plenty loud (and sounded great!) with the volume around 11 o'clock. I had to push the volume up while using the crappy 4x10 to about 2 o'clock.
Is this typical with others experiencing momentary cut outs? Do I just need to back off the preamp or something?
My typical settings: gain around 1 or 2 o'clock. Bass at 2-3 o'clock. Mids set to the highest option (3k?) and boosted to about 2 o'clock. Treble at about 1 o'clock and ultra hi on. Compressor just barely on (8 o'clock?). I did crank the treble and mids up a bit on the crappy sounding 4x10.
The 8x10 ampeg was plenty loud (and sounded great!) with the volume around 11 o'clock. I had to push the volume up while using the crappy 4x10 to about 2 o'clock.
Is this typical with others experiencing momentary cut outs? Do I just need to back off the preamp or something?
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
short of the full on BGM technical review, any speculation as to how much of the internals are shared between the 7Pro and the PF500 ?
I already understand that the compressor may be different, but other than that, they might only be separated by different class D power modules. Any thoughts ?
Set the gain based on your level through the pedals - your maximum signal. The cutting seems to come from too much gain. Settings of the gain are totally dependent on what YOU are feeding it so it is up to you do do it properly. So whatever you set the gain to means nothing in relation to what anybody else is running it at.
A volume setting of 11 is too low, crank that sucker to 2 or 3 o-clock anyway. The amp has plenty of power if you use it correctly.
I know nothing of bass..but want to buy this amp...
do you think it would be great to run a musical trade show?
keep in mind I know nothing of bass signal..so this would be my 1st bass amp...
do you think it would be great to run a musical trade show?
keep in mind I know nothing of bass signal..so this would be my 1st bass amp...
I guess my question is, does too much gain in the preamp cause cutouts? Seems weird to me because I have cranked the gain almost all the way up before to hear what the distortion sounds like and it didn't cut out.
FYI, I generally set the gain so the red clipping light comes on when picked hard (with the overdrive on).
FYI, I generally set the gain so the red clipping light comes on when picked hard (with the overdrive on).
Compressor fully off?
I'd take a very dim flicker at the hardest of hits, but not much more than that. Then roll in some compressor, then again I don't detect much compressing going on with mine til the level is quite high. I use it more as gain controller than anything else.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,942
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Well, there's a different output section, different chassis, different cooling layout, and a tube (two valve stages) in the 7Pro that's not there in the PF-500, but other than that, they do seem to share a lot of the same features/controls. I'll pull the lids on both at some point and see if that sheds any more light...
Got my PF-500 today from a fellow TBer. Played around with it for half an hour or so. A couple notes:
1. The thing will get very loud with my 2 cabinets (PF-115HE and Avatar SB112). More volume than I will need, but notably can get much louder than my GK Backline 600 without compromising sound quality.
2. The compression is a nice feature. I never found it necessary before but I think it is going to come in handy with the band.
3. The ultra low selector switch is nice. I like the tone both with and without it engaged. Two distinctively different sounds.
4. For those who have said it does not make sense to have one of these and a VT Bass pedal, I can tell you that they sound great together. I plugged the output of the VT Deluxe into the main input of the PF-500. It sounded good flat, using just the VT to shape the tone. But playing around with the compression and ultra low provided some nice variations.
5. The PF-500 does a good classic tone, and there are lots of EQ options, but it really doesn't do much of an overdrive sound if that is what you are looking for. The VT Bass has a much bigger range of sounds.
6. I don't think it really sounds like a tube amp, but it doesn't weigh 80 pounds and it doesn't cost over $1,000 and it sounds pretty damn good anyway.
7. I did get the amp to cut out, but only when I turned it way up and was starting to get feedback from a single-coil pickup.
That's all I've got right now. Very happy with the amp.
1. The thing will get very loud with my 2 cabinets (PF-115HE and Avatar SB112). More volume than I will need, but notably can get much louder than my GK Backline 600 without compromising sound quality.
2. The compression is a nice feature. I never found it necessary before but I think it is going to come in handy with the band.
3. The ultra low selector switch is nice. I like the tone both with and without it engaged. Two distinctively different sounds.
4. For those who have said it does not make sense to have one of these and a VT Bass pedal, I can tell you that they sound great together. I plugged the output of the VT Deluxe into the main input of the PF-500. It sounded good flat, using just the VT to shape the tone. But playing around with the compression and ultra low provided some nice variations.
5. The PF-500 does a good classic tone, and there are lots of EQ options, but it really doesn't do much of an overdrive sound if that is what you are looking for. The VT Bass has a much bigger range of sounds.
6. I don't think it really sounds like a tube amp, but it doesn't weigh 80 pounds and it doesn't cost over $1,000 and it sounds pretty damn good anyway.
7. I did get the amp to cut out, but only when I turned it way up and was starting to get feedback from a single-coil pickup.
That's all I've got right now. Very happy with the amp.
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