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Ampeg PF500/350, part 4

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#982
PluckyThump said:
Hey folks, just want to share my positive experience with this amp. I've had a PF-500 for a couple months now, was on sale for $359, couldn't resist at that price! I am very pleased with it so far. Gigged it for the first time last night through my Shroeder 1212L 4ohm and it performed flawlessly. Also got complements on my tone from people in the crowd. It's plenty loud enough and there was lots left in reserve, heck the gain wasn't anywhere close to clipping. It was easy to get a good sound, ran these settings all night, didn't do any fiddling after sound check:

compressor: 12 o'clock (pretty much turned off)
gain: 12 (-15 pad turned off)
bass: 12
mid: 10
mid selector: position 3 - 800hz
treble: 1
volume: 1:30
boost buttons turned off

What I like about this amp:

- Tone! It has a really smooth and full bottom end that isn't muddy or too sub-bassy. The EQ is voiced well and very effective, particularly the mid control which makes it easy to dial out un-wanted honk.

- Relatively small and light - of course.

- It's loud enough. I am up against two guitarists and the singer also plays guitar on about half the songs. No problems being heard in the mix.

- It's transparent at low volume. Playing at home I can really hear the differences between instruments and the change in tone when I change playing position or technique, much more so than with other amps I have used. Nice!

What I don't like about this amp:

- The compressor. It isn't transparent enough for my taste. It seems to be too aggressive; at low settings it engages with an audible blip and at higher settings it squashes the notes too much. Not that big a deal, being a fingerstyle player I don't have much need for compression.

- The ultra-low and ultra-high buttons. These are pretty useless. The ultra-low might be good for a small cab with no bottom but for anything else it boosts the lows too much and cuts the mids too much. I would rather they killed the buttons and used the space for a knob that makes the amount of low boost/mid cut adjustable.

All in all I am very happy with it, especially for the price. Fingers crossed for long-term durability!
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I think your review was well worded and it said a lot. When you mentioned not being muddy or sub-bassy, I agree wholeheartedly. That is why I sold my Markbass Jeff Berlin. The Ampeg is just more defined in the low end (for me).

I actually chose the PF500 over the PF350 because I used the ultra-low on my B-100R and I also use it on my PF500. And I use the second notch on the mid control and no compressor because I agree that it is too agressive even in the lower settings.

The cool thing is with all the features, it seems to have something for everyone. I am glad to hear that you are also enjoying yours. I like mine well enought to have sold both my B-100Rs now. Thanks again for the good review.

__________________
 
#985
Well the PF500 was easily the most popular SS head last year. It got like 10% of the market from what I heard. And the more heads you sell, the amount of failures will seem higher than it would be for a head that isn't selling as hot. Like you heard about a couple failures with the PF350, but nothing like the PF500. That's because the PF350 doesn't sell as well. But there's nothing inherently wrong with the amp that I can see. Just an insane amount of sales making the failure rate look higher.
 
#986
BIG97BEN said:
Hey so funny story. After reading all these horror stories about the PF500, I'm looking for stuff to go wrong so bad that the second that my battery on my active Warwick goes bad, I'm looking up numbers and finding warranty information so I can return the amp. After trying both cabs, and different cables it occurs to me to try other basses. Then it occurs to me to pull the active/passive nob on the Warwick after my other two work and presto. My PF500 is still going strong. These stories are kind of a drag, I think I'm gonna have to bow out of reading this stuff. Just so you all know my amp works perfectly, with both active and passive basses, with the gain and bass nobs turned up on both the amp and the bass, and with pedals cranked at times, and with both 8 ohm and 4 ohm loads. I'd sure like to see some positive posts about these amps.
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1. So far, I love my PF500. It's very defined, especially if I detune...which, granted, I don't do often, but when I do, I need an amp that can stay with me. As I've said, this is my first out-of-the-box-new head in almost twenty years.
2. That said, I now REEEEEALLY miss my Thumb BO 5. I may cry, actually.
 
#987
so, what are the diffs between PF-500 and PF-350 that are worth considering, aside from the obvious? I'm figuring on giving one of these a try.

JimmyM said:
Well the PF500 was easily the most popular SS head last year. It got like 10% of the market from what I heard. And the more heads you sell, the amount of failures will seem higher than it would be for a head that isn't selling as hot. Like you heard about a couple failures with the PF350, but nothing like the PF500. That's because the PF350 doesn't sell as well. But there's nothing inherently wrong with the amp that I can see. Just an insane amount of sales making the failure rate look higher.
Click to expand...
 
#988
Zapp said:
so, what are the diffs between PF-500 and PF-350 that are worth considering, aside from the obvious? I'm figuring on giving one of these a try.
Click to expand...

Aside from the wattage, with the 500 you get the compressor, mid freq selector, DI-pad, effects loop with blend, and I think I'm missing something, but that's what I remember.

For me I was going from a Micro-VR to the PF-500 for my practice amp and since I was running out of power with my Micro I decided to get the 500 over the 350. The compressor has been nice to give a little squash with my effects/when I push the amp since my main gigging amps are tube. The DI pad has been nice as the output is really hot. My cover band practices with everything running through our in-ears and the DI from the amp without the pad would be way too hot for our board.
 
#989
well said.
thanks for the clarity. sounds like the 5'er wins

coreyfyfe said:
Aside from the wattage, with the 500 you get the compressor, mid freq selector, DI-pad, effects loop with blend, and I think I'm missing something, but that's what I remember.

For me I was going from a Micro-VR to the PF-500 for my practice amp and since I was running out of power with my Micro I decided to get the 500 over the 350. The compressor has been nice to give a little squash with my effects/when I push the amp since my main gigging amps are tube. The DI pad has been nice as the output is really hot. My cover band practices with everything running through our in-ears and the DI from the amp without the pad would be way too hot for our board.
Click to expand...
 
#991
Found a three month old PF-500 with the 2x10 cab on CL for $400. Loving the tone.

DSC00515.jpg
 
#994
peddles said:
I know this may sound weird, but has anyone with the pf cabs really enjoying the smell of them? It's really weird but it's been making my room smell really awesome, almost like a bbq or something!
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Yes! The other day my buddy walks into my room, asks what the smell is, and sniffs everything, finally settling on the amp. I guess I don't really notice it too much, I'm used to it. Funny you'd mention that :p I know that the innards of the cab smell strong as well, because I left that little fresh air packet in there.
 
#999
fatillac said:
Been a couple of months now with my PF500 and SVT-215E, no hiccups or failures, just creamy Ampeg tone! I do have one complaint, I had to buy a practice amp for when the kids go to bed! Even at low volumes the 215 reverberates my house!
Click to expand...

You reminded me of the headphone jack just now. I tried it but the speaker was still working also. Then I remembered you can run it without a speaker being plugged in so I did that (totally safe). If anyone hasn't tried the headphone jack yet it is pretty cool. Sounds great. It will be perfect for my late night practicing.
 
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