I had two of them replaced as well. The first played great but had some cosmetic damage that was done in transit. Even with a bashed-in chassis and pieces broken off of it, it still sounded great. The second cut out once so I boxed it up and sent it back too. The one I have now plays like a champ and I've had nothing but compliments from everyone that's heard it, seen it, etc. I am thrilled with mine. Sounds to me like someone had a problem (probably with one of the early models), got impatient and didn't feel like waiting for customer service to take care of him and tried to modify his amp himself and is now angry about the situation he's found himself in. Understandable to be upset, but to call it a scam ? Come on, man.
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Ampeg PF500/350, part 4
- Thread starter Chef
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My new PF500 is on the way. I still use it until the replacement gets here.
I've been getting goods results running mine with the master volume wide open, and using the gain for the volume with my passive Jazz bass. Bass and treble flat, comp off, ultra hi and low off, mids on setting three with the level at 3 0'clock. Very good.
I've been getting goods results running mine with the master volume wide open, and using the gain for the volume with my passive Jazz bass. Bass and treble flat, comp off, ultra hi and low off, mids on setting three with the level at 3 0'clock. Very good.
Well count me in boys, went to gc today to get a new mic and a couple other things, went to the bass dept,started shootn the sh%t with the manager who i know , told him i tried the pf500 last week and thought it was great, (and he knows i use a mb8 in my band) long story short, he said i could have one for $329 which was the sale price lastweekend, damn if i didnt walk out with one! just got done tryin er out thru my gk neo 2x12s, dont think it will replce the gk in the band, but it sure sounds great with the warwick fretles with flats, hope my wife doesnt get to pissed that i bought more gear!
Hello TB!
I'm thinking of purchasing an Ampeg PF-500 and an Ampeg PF-115 Cabinet to go with it. Using a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being a small coffee shop and 10 being a stadium, how much potential volume would I get out of this? Also, would I get a significant amount more volume if I bought another cabinet to make it a full stack?
Thanks,
colbyAKAbobby
I'm thinking of purchasing an Ampeg PF-500 and an Ampeg PF-115 Cabinet to go with it. Using a scale of 1 - 10, 1 being a small coffee shop and 10 being a stadium, how much potential volume would I get out of this? Also, would I get a significant amount more volume if I bought another cabinet to make it a full stack?
Thanks,
colbyAKAbobby
Everyone's definition of volume is different. I'd say with a PF-500 and a 1x15 you'd be in the 4-5 range on that scale, but I don't think it is a truly linear scale either, more of a sigmoidal curve.
Yes, you will get more volume with a second cab, and more than using a 4 ohm 1x15 vs an 8 ohm 1x15.
Yes, you will get more volume with a second cab, and more than using a 4 ohm 1x15 vs an 8 ohm 1x15.
Today I went to my shop to test the long-awaited PF-500 on my Peavey 410 TX cab. I really WANTED to be crazy about this amp but I was just.... disappointed. A loud fan, lots of hiss even with the tweeter of my cab turned down, and when I cranked the master volume I heard a noise like a vacuum cleaner... With the input signal muted...
The guys in the shop said they got one back last week, for the same reasons.
It wasn't even loud. I tried a 250 watt Markbass Little Mark II, and I thought it beat the PF500, hands down. I'm ordering the 500 watt version, the Mark III.
Sorry folks, maybe we just had a bad batch of PF-500s shipped here in Holland. Hope you have more luck.
Cheers,
Theodoor
The guys in the shop said they got one back last week, for the same reasons.
It wasn't even loud. I tried a 250 watt Markbass Little Mark II, and I thought it beat the PF500, hands down. I'm ordering the 500 watt version, the Mark III.
Sorry folks, maybe we just had a bad batch of PF-500s shipped here in Holland. Hope you have more luck.
Cheers,
Theodoor
I don't get it, you were in a music store and you cranked 2 amps? Or do you just estimate how loud they could be, relative to what the volume is at and stuff? I just can't picture someone cranking the volume till it farts out or whatever in a music store
Hi Dymond,
The shop has three separate small rooms of four square metres each where you can test till you drop without bothering other customers. Now, cranking an amp sure isn't my ultimate goal, I still have good hearing and like to keep it that way. I tried lots of EQ settings on the PF500, with the gain to the maximum where the tone was still clean. I found out I had to turn up the master volume way up to make it "feel" good. No headroom left. And then I noticed the noise. Also with the input muted.
Maybe the PF500 and my Peavey 410 cab are not a good match soundwise. The cab is 350 watt continously @ 8 ohm
, and you need a 4 ohm cab for the PF500 at full throttle. But the same goes for the 250 watt @ 4 ohm Markbass head. I didn't need to push that one so far, and got far less noise. Also a quieter fan. I'm curious what that will be like on the 500 watt LMIII.
Cheers,
Theodoor
The shop has three separate small rooms of four square metres each where you can test till you drop without bothering other customers. Now, cranking an amp sure isn't my ultimate goal, I still have good hearing and like to keep it that way. I tried lots of EQ settings on the PF500, with the gain to the maximum where the tone was still clean. I found out I had to turn up the master volume way up to make it "feel" good. No headroom left. And then I noticed the noise. Also with the input muted.
Maybe the PF500 and my Peavey 410 cab are not a good match soundwise. The cab is 350 watt continously @ 8 ohm
, and you need a 4 ohm cab for the PF500 at full throttle. But the same goes for the 250 watt @ 4 ohm Markbass head. I didn't need to push that one so far, and got far less noise. Also a quieter fan. I'm curious what that will be like on the 500 watt LMIII.
Cheers,
Theodoor
My PF500 is still 100% good, its my No 1 for sure !
Same here. No noisy fan, no hiss, no noise at all, just solid bass as loud as I want it with two PF115HE cabs.
Marty Forrer said:
Ditto! She purrs like a kitten when quiet, no hiss or louder than normal fan noise on any of the 3 that I've owned.
I've been accused of drowning out the band with my PF rig... with a ton of headroom to spare!
Couple of points. First, if I could sit in a 4 square meter room with a PF500 maxed and not get ear bleed, I would seriously consider an appointment with an audiologists. Second, I own a PF350, and I had actually forgotten that it has a fan, until I moved to switch the unit off and felt the air blowing on my hand. YMMV
Ditto on the PF350 - I love mine, never notice the fan, never any performance problems, and I use even for big rooms and run through the house system.
I found a great deal on a 500, should be getting it next week!
This one was a music shop and was used for a few days, looks brand new. I would of picked it up but i have some stuff I want to trade in to get an even lower price.
Wonder how it will work with my Ampeg Classic 2-10?
This one was a music shop and was used for a few days, looks brand new. I would of picked it up but i have some stuff I want to trade in to get an even lower price.
Wonder how it will work with my Ampeg Classic 2-10?
I'm in the beginning stages with my new PF-500 too. Got it a couple of weeks ago, but had to send it back for a new one. Ampeg CS is pretty outstanding, no issues in getting it replaced.
I've been using a VT Bass pedal and a Crown Drivecore XLS1000 power amp. I will probably keep the Crown in case I need 1100 watts some day. OTOH, I may need to rig up that Ric-O-Sound cable for two separate rigs. Hmmm...
I've been using a VT Bass pedal and a Crown Drivecore XLS1000 power amp. I will probably keep the Crown in case I need 1100 watts some day. OTOH, I may need to rig up that Ric-O-Sound cable for two separate rigs. Hmmm...
Marty Forrer said:
I'm running my PF-500 through 2 Hartke HX115's and no issues with volume. So far no cutting out either. I will say that my fan is fairly noisy though. It's been like that since day one. Never hear it when playing but might be a problem in a studio setting. If it gets worse I'll just contact Ampeg.
What's the highest you guys ever run the master volume on your pf350? Can I run mine with the master all the way up as long as the amp is performing okay (not distorting or cutting out)? The highest I've needed to go so far has been maybe 2 o'clock (which sounded great), but I anticipate some gigs needing a little more volume than that.
Its all about gain structure. Set the input gain with comp off to just about audible clipping, then eq, then turn up the master to your required volume. You should hit the built in limiter before you clip the amp much. If you are distorting at some point, turn it down or adjust your eq. Listen to what your cabs are doing when pushed.
Wes
Wes
Yes, but I use the signal from the tuner out to feed an ART tube-pre. Signal from the tuner out is straight guitar, signal from the effects loop out is post EQ section of the PF500. What I wind up with is essentially two pre-amps blended through a single power amp. You might try this to address your overdriven, and "dropping of the balls" issues.Does anyone here use the effects loop and blend knob on their PF500's? I don't use any effects live anymore, but when I did - I would always run maybe a flanger or a phaser straight in line to the amp. I've been playing around with some pedals again at home so I thought I would try using the blend knob on the PF, but I'm noticing that I get an overdriven sound as I turn the blend knob past noon and the "balls" of the amp drops off. Is that normal?
I know, I know, read the manual...
Good luck and give us an update.
I was just trying this today with my PF350 paired with a SVT410HE. Playing a MIM Fender Jazz, with both pickups and the tone wide open, I set the amp gain until the peak light just started blinking (3 o'clock). I find that the tone is better with the gain pushed. Then, with the limiter on, I set the master until the limit light just started blinking (2 o'clock). Finally, I switched the limiter off. Bass was at 1 o'clock, mid at noon, and treble at noon.
I found that this setting provided the maximum loudness I could get, while maintaining what I consider a good tone, without any farting. I did discover my first dislike with the PF350. The limiter is too harsh, IMO. Still, with this setting, I would not worry about blowing any drivers in the SVT410, even with the limiter off. For me this was plenty loud. I would not want to be on a small stage for long at this volume. Larger venues/bigger stages may need some FOH/monitor support. YMMV I would be interested in hearing other responses.
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