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Ampeg PF500/PF350 - part 3, I think

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#841
belgabass said:
I had my first cut out issue last night at a gig. I've had the amp for 6 months and it's the first time it's happen. One difference was I pluged the pf 500 into the headliners bass cab ( a Boogie 1 15). I never checked if it was 4 or 8 0hms. To make sure we are all talking about the same problem, the amp would cut out for a millisecond when I would hit an open E. Reading through all the comments I'm wondering if part of the problem is I'm using SPB3 quarter pounders on my precision (high output passive), maybe I should engage the -15db pad like it was an active bass. Is anybody having problems with regular passive pick ups ?
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I haven't had any problems with passive basses - including my very high output 70s p - or my effects setup, but if you are clipping the inout gain it may be advisable to either dial back the gain or use the pad and see if you can reproduce the issue. Either way, if it's still under warranty I'd contact ampeg about a possible replacement. Why mess around if you don't have to.
 
#842
coreyfyfe said:
In a full bridge amp, but not a half bridge. My point was that dc signal is not passed to the speakers.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

I'm not an expert on this stuff so I'm hoping one of our usual technical experts will chime in soon, but I've always heard t that dc being passed to the speakers would lead to very quick failure.
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Hey, Corey. I'm in your camp. Just agreeing with you.
 
#844
Good morning! I just wanted to lighten things up a little by sharing my favorite "hidden" feature of the PF cabs!
 

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#845
In the spirit of lightening things up a bit, I have a non-technical question.

Is there a web site that lets you research when your amp was made? My serial is PF500ANDU0520. The only site I could find, that mentions dating ampeg products, indicates mine was assembled in the UK in 2010?:eyebrow:

Does anyone have a reliable source of this info?

Thanks
 
#846
A while back ampeg posted this picture on their facebook page saying the 12th digit corresponded to the year made with A being 2008, but I think I've seen elsewhere since that they changed it to be the model number followed by the letter code, which makes more sense with the PF series amp serial numbers. Going by that, your amp would be a 2011. The U code was SLM for UK distribution, not UK manufacture, but I don't think LOUD carried over those same codes. The amps were introduced in 2011 and not readily available for the first few months or so of the year so it would be unlikely that yours was made in 2010.
 
#847
coreyfyfe said:
A while back ampeg posted this picture on their facebook page saying the 12th digit corresponded to the year made with A being 2008, but I think I've seen elsewhere since that they changed it to be the model number followed by the letter code, which makes more sense with the PF series amp serial numbers. Going by that, your amp would be a 2011. The U code was SLM for UK distribution, not UK manufacture, but I don't think LOUD carried over those same codes. The amps were introduced in 2011 and not readily available for the first few months or so of the year so it would be unlikely that yours was made in 2010.
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Excellent!!! Thank you very much.
 
#848
Well had a gig with the PF stack last night and had issues with the PF500 cutting out. Sound was really good though.

To be frank, I had to push this thing pretty hard, harder than I think I should have had to for a 500 watt amp with two single 15 cabinets.

My gain was set to about 1 o'clock, compressor off most of the time - never past 9 or 10 o'clock. EQ was set pretty flat and the master at 3 o'clock (!).

To be fair, I was set up very near the main speakers, which were thumping pretty hard - canceling my low freq's maybe. Stage was kinda hollow, too. I always seem to have issues with that stage.

Anyway, the replacement will be on the way this week. I hope the next one will have no issues, because I'll just keep sending these babies back until I get one that doesn't cut out.
 
#849
i am so stoked with my pf500. haven't been able to stop jamming for the past few days. put new strings on my bass aswell and the tone is GREAT.

Just curious what EQ settings you guys use? mainly in terms of mids. I never used to utilize mids that much, but im finding with this amp it sounds awesome with the mids cranked and highs rolled back a little. At the moment I have Bass 2 O'clock, Mid 2 setting 5, Hi 11.
 
#850
G3Mitch said:
i am so stoked with my pf500. haven't been able to stop jamming for the past few days. put new strings on my bass aswell and the tone is GREAT.

Just curious what EQ settings you guys use? mainly in terms of mids. I never used to utilize mids that much, but im finding with this amp it sounds awesome with the mids cranked and highs rolled back a little. At the moment I have Bass 2 O'clock, Mid 2 setting 5, Hi 11.
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That is pretty close to my typical settings. I like the ultra low too though.
 
#853
G3Mitch said:
Just curious what EQ settings you guys use? mainly in terms of mids. I never used to utilize mids that much, but im finding with this amp it sounds awesome with the mids cranked and highs rolled back a little. At the moment I have Bass 2 O'clock, Mid 2 setting 5, Hi 11.
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Bass 45 said:
That is pretty close to my typical settings. I like the ultra low too though.
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Wow that setting seems mighty bassy to me. I find the PF500/115 setup to have plenty of low end. I generally run gain up to 12:00, sometimes as high as 1:00; bass 11, slight mids cut, 11:00 at selector position 2, highs at noon, no low or high boost. Compressor maybe at 10-11, then master from 11-2:00 as needed. And that is loud. If I took my settings and moved bass up to 2, added low-mids back in and added low boost it would be way too boomy and I'd also have to cut gain back.
 
#854
interesting. I've only had this amp for a few days, and I'm enjoying my current settings, but no doubt after more experimenting they may change. My gain is set at around 12 aswell.. I've been unable to crank the volume up to much(neighbors) , I should also mention I use a VT Bass pedal aswell , just to thicken things up a little. Looking forward to seeing what it can do with a band. Got an audition this week, will post how it goes.
 
#858
b-b-b-bass said:
...It seems to me that the folks with PF-500 heads that are having trouble, are all using 4-ohm cab setups. Even though the cab(s) are a nominal 4 ohm, the actual DC resistance of those setups can be in the 2 to 3 ohm range. For example, a single Eminence Basslite S2012 has a DC resistance of 5.1 ohms (8 ohm nominal). Two S2012 in parallel works out to 2.55 ohms (4 ohm nominal).
That is an overload for a 4ohm head, and the head will try to protect itself, or fail trying.
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An audio signal is AC (an alternating current). Speaker ohm ratings are a measurement of AC reactance, not DC resistance, and DC resistance has absolutely nothing to do with audio into a speaker.

Measuring a speaker with an ohm meter uses a DC signal, so does not have anything to do with the 8ohm or 4ohm rating. An 8 ohm cabinet is not really 5.1ohms; a 4 ohm cabinet is not really 2.55 ohms.
 
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