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Ampeg PF500/350, part 4
- Thread starter Chef
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I did the exact same thing. Markbass to Ampeg. I still haven't had one of my PF500s cut out. I like my live tone much better now.
The speakers were pushed out to max more than normal, to the point were I stopped playin from fear of damage, in addition they stopped producing sound. I anticipated ya'll pf lovers to retaliate. Hey' I' just describing my experience with the amp. Thank God I was able to unload it.
My volume was down, the part your missing, is that the pf500 has quality control issues that are affecting some of those amps in the lots produced on there assembly line.
It doesn't take Stevie Wonder to see that! being that other people on this thread had issues with this product. No one on here is complaining about Markbass or SWR mechanical failures.
It doesn't take Stevie Wonder to see that! being that other people on this thread had issues with this product. No one on here is complaining about Markbass or SWR mechanical failures.
With all due respect, your discription isn't very clear. At least it isn't to me. Sorry you didn't like the amp.
To be more specific, this doesn't sound like the volume was down:
Here is my list of efforts to find great bass tone. First I ran a Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver into the board with two Peavey 18 inch subwoofers. Sounded good; too big. Next it was two powered Yorkville subwoofers. Too muddy. A Peavey Max115; it cut out and failed when I ran too much bass through it (a bass amp). An Ampeg BA112; not powerful enough. Markbass Jeff Berlin; Fantastic, but too muddy in the low end and I couldn't dial it out. Ampeg B-100R Rocket; I thought I'd found perfection; bought a second one. Started reading about the PF500. Joined Talkbass. Met some great folks. Got a PF500/PF115. Loved it. Sold one B-100R. Got a second PF500/PF115. The PF500 gives me a room full of bass with no mud. For now I am happy. I wish everyone could be. At least there are options out there for all of us. If I couldn't have my Ampegs, I'd probably be looking into another Markbass. A different cabinet! I really did like it a lot. A/B'd with the B-100R, the Ampeg won every time in a blind test. For now it is PF500/PF115HE.
Cool, sounds like you when' t through some trail n error to achieve your ideal sound. I liked the pf500 while it was in the store. I did think that that high, mid high, mid, mid low, low eq. had a kind of cheezy, unreal sort of tone. I really would like to have an SWR. I had a Silverado, 4 x 8 combo. I want a head with that aurial enhancer, but can't afford one.
Sure they are. I bought an SWR amp new a year before Fender took over (was not cheap) and had troubles with it the first year I got it. Had a chronic problem for a couple months. Finally got it fixed and it ran fine until I sold it a few years later. Hey, it happens. Sometimes it's your turn in the barrel. That's what warranties are for.
I had two SWR SM400s, a WM12 and a Baby Blue. They were the most frustrating amps I've ever owned. I would spend the whole gig trying to improve the sound by twiddling knobs. To be fair I had similar experience with Eden and Trace. GK and Mesa 400 were good, Markbass was OK but didn't knock my socks off like Ampeg does.
Picking up my pf500 tomorrow. Have about a 10 song set Sunday morning and and then a 6 song set Sunday night. Fretted morning and fretless evening so ill get to really break into it 
I've been playing my PF500 at all of our gigs (all our gigs are PA supported), including some outdoor venues where I had to push harder than usual; playing through a single 8 ohm Avatar 210 neo and have zero problems. I keep gain at about 2:00 PM, master at 11:00 or so, no compression, everything else at 1:00 and midrange on 3 or 4. I play a Stingray, Surveyor 414 and a Fender fretless; all sound great, and output is roughly the same. Interestingly, the Surveyor sounds the bets of the bunch through this rig (w/chrome flats). Plenty of gas, smooth sound, and all I could ask in a head. I store it and the cables in a nice gator equipment bag. I am using the xlr out in the bag with no issues--the soundguys prefer it to their DIs.
C.Linton said:Seems everybody wants to use any speakers other than the ones made for it.
Go figure.
If it was only meant to be used the the 115 or 210 cab, then it would have been built as a combo, no?
To those that have asked about trying different cabs... I had it cut out with 2 different 4 ohm Avatar cabs, and also when 2 8 ohm cabs were connected to it (for a 4ohm load). For practice, I use a Acoustic 410 8 ohm cabinet and it never cuts out.
I called Loud months ago, and they were quick to send out a new one (although it took quite a while to get as they were backordered at the time). When my replacement showed, it was brand new and i was happy about that. however, the problem remains. whenever I use a 4ohm load on the PF500, it cuts out.
So, I use it for practice with an 8 ohm cab, or as a preamp into my power amp at a gig when I don't want to use my SansAmp. I can't use it with a 4 ohm speaker load. End of story I guess.
Different strokes, etc. Can't say about the mechanical failures, but I have an SWR sitting in the corner that I never hook up, because it sounds like a tin can.
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