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Ampeg PF350/500 Part V
- Thread starter Chef
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RTA lite works well, and is handy on a gig now and then.
JL audio isn't bad either from studio six digital, it has a few more bells and whistles.
JL audio isn't bad either from studio six digital, it has a few more bells and whistles.
Plugged my new(ish) PF500 into my 1994 Eden D410T again. Still tweaking the EQ, but the overall sound is, frankly, somewhat bullying (which is fine, since at least one of the guitarists NEEDS that, I assure you.) No cutting out, a little gravel on the tone from residential power issues (bringing the gain down helped, but the 60-cycle isn't going all the way away. This only happens at the rehearsal basement, so I shrug and move on.)
What 2x10 or other light (2x12 neo, unusual config, 1x15 neo) cab will let me move air while being able to tote it down a tight stairwell (or pack it into my roomie's Smart Car, which is a consideration?)
What 2x10 or other light (2x12 neo, unusual config, 1x15 neo) cab will let me move air while being able to tote it down a tight stairwell (or pack it into my roomie's Smart Car, which is a consideration?)
60 cycle hum is because of the bass, not the amp. If your bass has single coil pickups, it can't be helped if there's interference going on around it.
So I did a little testing....
I dialed in the same settings as stated above with the ultra low on, ultra high off, mid range control at #2 and no compression. I am using a passive Am Standard Jazz with stock Pups. Ive got a PF210 and a PF115 horns off.
I started with just the 210. Using my fingers, I was unable to get the peak light to come on even when digging in pretty good. I was reluctant to really slap the strings hard, but with a moderate slap... still no peak light. My only complaint was some vibration/rattling of the head.
Switching to the 115 was basically the same as the 210 except it seemed to take the lows a bit better. Still no peak.
With both cabs daisy chained together everything cleaned up a bit. Still no peak. I was more interested to see if was going to cut out. No problems.
I have not had this rig in a gig situation only playing in the basement and jamming with friends. This is why I bought it and I think it works great for what I need it for.
I did have one problem several months ago with the fault light coming on and the unit shutting down. After several attempts of turning it off and on I was still getting nothing except some clicking noises. I thought it was fried. After checking my connections I noticed one of my speaker cables was loose. I let it cool down for a good hour before trying it again and it fired up without a problem. It's been flawless since (knock on wood).
Also...
I downloaded a decibel meter app on my android as well to test the fan noise. With the head off, the room noise was around 37. The click of me turning the head on jumped the meter to 66. The fan turned on after a few seconds and the meter settled down to about 40 DB. I had my phone about about 1-2 feet in front of the head.
I dialed in the same settings as stated above with the ultra low on, ultra high off, mid range control at #2 and no compression. I am using a passive Am Standard Jazz with stock Pups. Ive got a PF210 and a PF115 horns off.
I started with just the 210. Using my fingers, I was unable to get the peak light to come on even when digging in pretty good. I was reluctant to really slap the strings hard, but with a moderate slap... still no peak light. My only complaint was some vibration/rattling of the head.
Switching to the 115 was basically the same as the 210 except it seemed to take the lows a bit better. Still no peak.
With both cabs daisy chained together everything cleaned up a bit. Still no peak. I was more interested to see if was going to cut out. No problems.
I have not had this rig in a gig situation only playing in the basement and jamming with friends. This is why I bought it and I think it works great for what I need it for.
I did have one problem several months ago with the fault light coming on and the unit shutting down. After several attempts of turning it off and on I was still getting nothing except some clicking noises. I thought it was fried. After checking my connections I noticed one of my speaker cables was loose. I let it cool down for a good hour before trying it again and it fired up without a problem. It's been flawless since (knock on wood).
Also...
I downloaded a decibel meter app on my android as well to test the fan noise. With the head off, the room noise was around 37. The click of me turning the head on jumped the meter to 66. The fan turned on after a few seconds and the meter settled down to about 40 DB. I had my phone about about 1-2 feet in front of the head.
I searched for "decibel meter" in the Android market and the first one that came up was Sound Meter Lite for free.
Obviously this is a highly scientific process we've got going here... lol
Different phones, different room situations, etc. Kinda fun to mess around with though!5sg.
I searched for "decibel meter" in the Android market and the first one that came up was Sound Meter Lite for free.
Obviously this is a highly scientific process we've got going here... lol
5sg.
Yea that's that the one I got too.
In an earlier thread there was a discussion about the fault light turning on for a few seconds while the PF500 was powering up and shutting down. Everyone's was not doing this. Mine does this and I have not had any cut out issues. I wonder if the heads that don't have the fault light coming on are also the ones prone to the cutting out issues.
My first PF-500's fault light would illuminate when powering up and off. It had cutout issues. My replacement's fault light does the same thing, and it hasn't cut out so far.
SkiFor3 said:
My fault light does the same thing as yours and so far no cutting out issues on my head . I can't believe that would make a difference but stranger things have happened .
Interesting, too many little things with the amp, maybe I got a bad one.
just for the hell of it I ran the MB head from my Jeff Berlin model ( which I think is the LMII) into the ampeg speaker. sounded better but a lot of vibrations from the cab with the gain at 3, master at 5 and the eq flat with no filters.
whatever, it was worth a try.
Hey Guys
I was thinking of gettng either the PF-350 or the PF-500 but saw this thread and read only part V (this one). Regarding the cutting out, does that only happen when running at 4 ohms out? If I get the PF-115HE or PF-210HE could I still get the cut out issue?
Also from what I gather these cabs are 8 ohms so does that mean I will not get the full 350 watts (pf-350) or 500 watts (pf-500)? would I need 4 ohm cabs to get the full wattage... not sure how that works as I am a noob to non combo amps.
I can't decide if I want the PF-350 or PF-500 with PF-115HE or PF-210HE
I was thinking of gettng either the PF-350 or the PF-500 but saw this thread and read only part V (this one). Regarding the cutting out, does that only happen when running at 4 ohms out? If I get the PF-115HE or PF-210HE could I still get the cut out issue?
Also from what I gather these cabs are 8 ohms so does that mean I will not get the full 350 watts (pf-350) or 500 watts (pf-500)? would I need 4 ohm cabs to get the full wattage... not sure how that works as I am a noob to non combo amps.
I can't decide if I want the PF-350 or PF-500 with PF-115HE or PF-210HE
You can download the manuals. It will give you some of the information you are asking about. It is a good place to start.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Trying to throttle a small 4 ohm cab with a butt-ton of wattage is pointless. The cab isn't going to take it, and you're going to blow it in short order when you keep turning up and up and wondering why you're not getting more volume. If you want to be that loud, you need a bigger cab rig than a 210 or 115.
The 7Pro is a killer sounding amp. I would still own one if mine didn't blow up(it was a first generation when they had the problems with the chip). If I was in the market a new 7Pro would be at or near the top of my list. I wasn't super impressed by the PF500, although it wasn't bad at all. Its probably not a fair comparison, but I do like the Pro series more. At the price point, the PF series are certainly worth checking out!
In my experience, the cut-out only happens with 4 ohm cabs/loads. This is why I finally sprung for the PF115HE.
And mine has never cut out powering 2 410 cabs @ 4ohms.
People seldom report lack of problems, because that is the expectation. The problems are readily discussed to the point where the overwhelming majority of posts discussing these heads are about failures of one sort or another.
I'm not saying these failures didn't happen or were a result of operator error, just giving a context for what you will find if you look for feedback on these heads.
People seldom report lack of problems, because that is the expectation. The problems are readily discussed to the point where the overwhelming majority of posts discussing these heads are about failures of one sort or another.
I'm not saying these failures didn't happen or were a result of operator error, just giving a context for what you will find if you look for feedback on these heads.
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