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Ampeg PF500/350, part 4

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#101
Rob Martinez said:
I hear you! Believe me, I was very impressed with the PF500, esp at that price. I may still get one. Bummer is, GC does not have a PF115 cab for me to try it with, I am sure that is what I would want. Also, they have the PF350 which I was not able to try and am curious about. I wonder which one sounds the most like a B100R?
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I can't say which one sounds more like the B100R, but right now I do have both the PF500/115 and the B100R in the same room with our band set up. We A/B'd them several times at practice volumes. I really like the tightness of the PF. The B100R seems a little looser in the lows to me. Maybe it is the porting. It's not a bad thing, just different. As far as the difference between the 350 and the 500, JimmyM said something like there weren't any tones he got on his 350 that he wouldn't be able to get out of a 500 if he tried (not a direct quote). Others said the 500 has more power and a couple nice additional options. I went with the 500 because of the ultra-low which I always use on my B100R. We are really liking it!

I got a pretty good deal also. I traded my MIM Jazz bass in for $300 then I got $40 off the head, so I bought the 3 year pro coverage.
 
#105
I recently traded my '59 Fender Bassman Re-issue amp for a pf-500 pf-210 combo. My working setup for the past 14 years or so is a Hartke 3500 head on an Ampeg 8x10. When I plugged my pf-500 head into my Ampeg 8x10 cabinet I got a low volume pop and then it smelled burnt. The fault light was on and no sound after that.
It is at the shop now so I am hoping for an easy low cost fix.
I wanted to post this here to be sure this is a rare happening. It seems to be from the other posts I have read, but the issue does not seem to be unheard of.
 
#106
This is the bottom line, at least fore.

I never had a B15 . Had Fender Bassman 1966, Acoustic 370 ,1976.

I now have a PF500.

If you can get this head and pair it with 2 PF115 HE's , you are rocking it !!!!

You will have a B15 X 10!!!!!

It is an absolutely awesome rig ! That will give you a totally '60's Motown tone!
 
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#107
hexogon said:
When I plugged my pf-500 head into my Ampeg 8x10 cabinet I got a low volume pop and then it smelled burnt. The fault light was on and no sound after that.
Click to expand...

Are you saying you had the amp plugged in to the A/C outlet and switched on, before you plugged up the speaker cabinet? :ninja: I hope you didn't hurt it too bad. That's something I would never do.
 
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#108
tidder65 said:
Oh yeah, I read somewhere about some PF500s having noisy fans. I don't think that's going to be a problem on a stage, but in a studio?

Thanx again,
Theodoor
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fan noise should be nearly impossible for an ambient mic to pick up.

When recording, if possible separate the cab and head in separate rooms. I usually hang with the engineer at the console with whatever head I'm using. Any cab or cabs are usually in a separate room mic'd which makes things easy as I have no problem with an engineer adjusting my tone.

I'm easy that way...:smug:
 
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#109
Picking up my PF500 Tomorrow night! I called Ampeg today and talked to a tech about the cutting out issues. He says they replaced some diodes and made some other adjustments and there hasn't been too many complaints for the past 8-9 months.I'll running mine with a pair of B115e cabs. If the speakers won't take it I'll probably swap em out with some Eminence Deltas.
 
#110
About the loudness issue. I currently have a Hartke LH500. 500 watts. I run a Markbass Compressore which gives a boost, Radial Buffer/Booster,and an MXR M80 and my volume never goes above 3. Never, ever had any issues with this head. LOTS of long loud practices and countless gigs for 2 years. When I tried the PF 500 at GC I pushed it hard and it was flawless. I knew with my pedals the gain would have to drop down and I can't imagine how much louder someone needs to be. I would say if you really need to buy a monitor and have the soundman run the bass in it for you. I play with really heavy hitting drummer and he ain't got **** on my Hartke! Wait till he's fighting an Ampeg!
 
#111
mattsdad said:
Picking up my PF500 Tomorrow night! I called Ampeg today and talked to a tech about the cutting out issues. He says they replaced some diodes and made some other adjustments and there hasn't been too many complaints for the past 8-9 months.I'll running mine with a pair of B115e cabs. If the speakers won't take it I'll probably swap em out with some Eminence Deltas.
Click to expand...

Hey, thank you for your post. That is information that is so valid to this thread. Undeniably, there were some issues in the beginning. It is great Ampeg figured out what was going wrong and fixed it. And thank to you for calling and then posting what you found out.

I picked mine up only yesterday and Saturday will be her maiden voyage. I am going to use it at the Valentine's party we are playing at. I am only expecting great things.
 
#112
GregT said:
Hey, thank you for your post. That is information that is so valid to this thread. Undeniably, there were some issues in the beginning. It is great Ampeg figured out what was going wrong and fixed it. And thank to you for calling and then posting what you found out.

I picked mine up only yesterday and Saturday will be her maiden voyage. I am going to use it at the Valentine's party we are playing at. I am only expecting great things.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg. I expect to hear good things too. I'm putting mine to the test next Thurs. and Fri. We play hard rock/metal and I'm also in a Judas Priest tribute band. So if the PF500 can handle the Priest volume? Should be perfect then.:bassist:
 
#113
RC52 said:
This is the bottom line, at least fore.

I never had a B15 . Had Fender Bassman 1966, Acoustic 370 ,1976.

I now have a PF500.

If you can get this head and pair it with 2 PF115 HE's , you are rocking it !!!!

You will have a B15 X 10!!!!!

It is an absolutely awesome rig ! That will give you a totally '60's Motown tone!
Click to expand...

That's my set up, although I only use the second cab for big, outdoor or nightclub gigs. Most of the time, one cab is plenty.
 
#117
Sometimes only the deep, rich sound of 15" speakers will do—that's why we offer the B-115E. Featuring a custom-designed 15" speaker, with a massive six-pound magnet structure, the B-115E plumbs the subsonic depths, producing chest-thumping low end like nobody's business. And we're talking serious low frequency reproduction—all the way down to 35Hz. We suggest you pair it with an amp that can drive it to its potential, like the PF-350 or PF-500.

All about Ampeg tone and value, the B-115E is one of our best-selling and most affordable speaker enclosures.

Baltic Birch Plywood
2" Swivel Casters
 
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#119
Well I've got my PF 500 today! Just got done jamming for about an hour and........Man this thing f'n ROCKS!! The sound is so awesome! Playing with a pick I can cop so many different tones. Playing with fingers I can get that Steve Harris tone. So far so good. But, I have to put my foot in my mouth from my earlier post about the PF115HE. I just bought new Eminence CB158's and seems like they can't handle that much so I guess I WILL be getting the PF115HE's.
 
#120
We just got back from setting up for tomorrows gig. The sound check went great. If anything, I will need to back off just a hair on the volume of the PF500/PF115 tomorrow. When I brought it in yesterday the bartender asked me about it. They just look that cool! Today, the owner wanted to see it because he'd heard about it. I will let you all know what I think after tomorrow night.
 
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