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Ampeg PF500/350, part 4
- Thread starter Chef
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Digging the purple drum kit with the PF500 - any plans for a purple guitar/bass in your future?
I did a gig last weekend with my rockabilly band. It was open air at a Soundshell. Took my PF500 and two PF115s and thought I'd try a bit of Ampeg grind on the upright bass. 
Had the gain on 2 and the volume about 12. It was a huge sound with a bit of grind. Normally I shoot for a clean sound, and this bit of grind confused the hell out of the FOH guy!
He was twiddling knobs frantically and even came up and checked the DI connection on the back of my amp. I never did let him into the secret....
I had many people, including some musos, tell me the bass sounded fantastic, so I guess it's grind for me!
Had the gain on 2 and the volume about 12. It was a huge sound with a bit of grind. Normally I shoot for a clean sound, and this bit of grind confused the hell out of the FOH guy!
He was twiddling knobs frantically and even came up and checked the DI connection on the back of my amp. I never did let him into the secret.... I had many people, including some musos, tell me the bass sounded fantastic, so I guess it's grind for me!
When we went looking for a good drumset, we came across the purple and pink Mapex Saturn 6 piece. It appeared the store was having a hard time selling it because of the color and she loved it. She uses a smaller Orion set when we play live because it transports easier. She thought it was pretty cool of you to mention it. No plans to get a matching bass or guitar.
I've been lurking this thread series since part 2 and got my PF500 & 115he in part 3. So far I've been nothing but happy with it. It sounds awesome with my Jazz and Precision. It can give a great 60's tone and a great modern sound too. I've played rock and country through it and even used it on my pit orchestra gigs. No cutting out at high or low volumes. The fan noise is practically non-existant, especially compared to my GK fusion 500 which sounds like an airplane winding up.
Just my little review for people on the fence about this amp.
Just my little review for people on the fence about this amp.
I know this is off topic, but this is a true story. You may have heard on the news that several tornados touched down in Missouri. Recently I posted a Youtube link to our band playing at a local club where I was using my Ampeg PF500/PF115 for the very first time. It's where we usually play. It's gone! Tornado took it out yesterday very early morning when they were closed. At least no one was hurt.
And to Bassplayer92: Glad you are liking your new Ampeg. I was definitely on the fence for a while but I am so glad I got one also. It puts out all of the right tone and none of the wrong tone to be heard in our mix.
And to Bassplayer92: Glad you are liking your new Ampeg. I was definitely on the fence for a while but I am so glad I got one also. It puts out all of the right tone and none of the wrong tone to be heard in our mix.
MF has a sale on the PF-500 for $369. The PF-350 is $279. They also have 15% off Although the discount may not pop up online so u may have to give a call. They also have both Portaflex cabs for $369. It could potentially be about $80 off total. Not bad.
Also if you're going through MF hit up Skaught at [email protected]. I don't know how much he can help with a bunch of sales but he did right by me back in January when I got a PF500 an a 210.
Greg, are you in Branson? I heard some clubs and restaurants were hit hard down there. Sounds like most of the theaters came through unscathed though with some minor cosmetic damage. We keep hearing on the news that tourists should not change their plans to go to Branson, so it sounds like you guys are taking it in stride!
Just sold my PF350 and bought a PF500.
This thread is so huge I just want to ask how is the compressor on it?
This thread is so huge I just want to ask how is the compressor on it?
I am in a small town about 15 miles away. Branson is pretty resilient. Last year a part of downtown flooded. "The show must go on" fits Branson pretty well.
Acceptable, but not great. I usually put mine on around 10-11 o'clock just to kind of even out my effected/clean levels and get some semblance of what my SVT would be doing while practicing with the PF-500.
Yeah playing in a rock cover band I don't really care if it's "great" as long as it doesn't change the tone a whole bunch and just evens it out so I don't kill the gain stage. Clipping the gain going direct to a 6,000 watt PA system doesn't tend to do well to the ears. I tend to "dig in" on the heavy stuff
fenderhutz,
Did you talk the soundguy into not using a compressor on your FOH channel as well? Most bigger systems tend to have them on the kick vox and bass by default around here.
Did you talk the soundguy into not using a compressor on your FOH channel as well? Most bigger systems tend to have them on the kick vox and bass by default around here.
I am the sound guy lol. We run the mixer rack by my amp. We are a trio and the drummer owns the PA. With digital drums we don't run overly loud so if it clips it is noticeable. I do run a slight compression on the channel. The PF350 runs a hot DI and I switch to a line level cable and it helped.
If a tornado was taking my Ampeg gear, it would be doing so with me attached to it......
I'm glad you're okay and I hope the club's insurance will cover it...
Well, I pulled the trigger today. I put a deposit down on an Ampeg PF-500 head. I got a decent deal with a local indie dealer that I've been going to as long as I've been playing bass. I want to eventually get one of the PF series cabs, but my Eden & EBS cabs will serve for now. I think the PF-500 will serve as a nice contast to my Eden WTX-500 head.
If a tornado was taking my Ampeg gear, it would be doing so with me attached to it......
I'm glad you're okay and I hope the club's insurance will cover it...
Our equipment wasn't there but a close friend's drums were. They are almost exactly where I moved them offstage when we played last time. The building is gone, but the drums were spared. Before I moved here 10 years ago, I had no idea what a tornado could do except from The Wizard of Oz. Here is a picture of our stage now. Also I will include a link to the stage when we are playing for comparison. Just to keep this a little bit on topic, you will see the purple glow of my Ampeg PF500/PF115 behind me. If you read the description of the video, you will see why you don't see a bass guitar.
Another One Bites The Dust played by a two piece band - YouTube
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