belgabass said:
The gain setting changes for every bass I've plugged in. Generally though, somewhere around 1-3 o'clock seem to work. Just set the gain so that the clipping light comes on when you dig in and experiment with what works for you.
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Ampeg PF500/PF350 Pt II.5
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The gain setting changes for every bass I've plugged in. Generally though, somewhere around 1-3 o'clock seem to work. Just set the gain so that the clipping light comes on when you dig in and experiment with what works for you.
I love it for upright, too. My setup is a PF350 with a PF115he (soon to be two), but tonight I used it with two SVT 210av's and it was great. All these new amps Ampeg is making all sound like slightly less tubey versions of the tube amps. Bass is an Upton Hawkes laminate with a Revolution Solo II pickup.
Thanks, man. The PF500 looks interesting to me, more for the EQ flexibility than the additional power, and I like the speakon connector (a small detail, but, you know). It might have to wait until the move back to the old country, but I can dream in the meantime.
By the way, how do you keep your hat on when you're in thumb position?
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Got the call from the local music shop that my Portaflex had finally come in. I couldn't decide between the PF115 and the PF210 so I got one of each, topped with a PF500.
I've only spent a couple hours playing through it so far, but am loving the 210/115 combo. No phase issues at all and I think they complement each other. To me they are very close in sound anyway. I don't think you can go wrong with any combination of these cabs.
I'm surprised at how many tones can be had with this head. I've found several that I love and would be hard pressed to pick only one for a gig right now. I can't wait to try it in a band situation next rehearsal.
This rig is LOUD. I can't go over 4-5 on the volume without shaking the windows and doors.
I'll try and write more once I've tried it with the full band. For now I have to figure out how to handle the wife when she comes home. She knows I bought it, but is not going to be happy seeing it set up in the middle of the living room.
Got the call from the local music shop that my Portaflex had finally come in. I couldn't decide between the PF115 and the PF210 so I got one of each, topped with a PF500.
I've only spent a couple hours playing through it so far, but am loving the 210/115 combo. No phase issues at all and I think they complement each other. To me they are very close in sound anyway. I don't think you can go wrong with any combination of these cabs.
I'm surprised at how many tones can be had with this head. I've found several that I love and would be hard pressed to pick only one for a gig right now. I can't wait to try it in a band situation next rehearsal.
This rig is LOUD. I can't go over 4-5 on the volume without shaking the windows and doors.
I'll try and write more once I've tried it with the full band. For now I have to figure out how to handle the wife when she comes home. She knows I bought it, but is not going to be happy seeing it set up in the middle of the living room.
Nice! I can't wait to get my second cabinet! Was planning on another 115 but now you are making me rethink that.
I played a PF500 with a pf210 at the Tempe GC today.
Ok to the skeptics, I'm sorry but i have played a lot of rigs in my almost 20 years of playing bass and this setup is absolutely wonderful. People have said in previous threads that it doesn't pack enough punch, well i have to disagree. 300 watts into the 8ohm 210 was quite loud. It wasn't blow me away "OMG that thing is loud" kinda loud, but you could easily rehearse with it or play bars and normal size venues. Has plenty of mids, and good low end for a cab that size.
onto the good stuff.
I played an American special P bass through it (great sounding bass btw) and i was floored with that amp. I went from sweet mo-town to sizzlin funk with just a couple knob twists. The gain knob loves to be turned up, it really does. I liked the tweeter on full blast, and then -6 settings the best. My last rig was a SWR headlite so I really like the modern sound. This amp nails that sound too. Punch in the ultra lo and hi settings put the bass/treble knob at about noon and cut the mids and bam! modern sizzle.
So if anyone is skeptical about the pf210 don't be. If you tend to like 10inch drivers like myself, you wont be disappointed. I had the svt7pro, and I dug the tone of that amp. I think I like the pf500 a little bit more though. I cant pin point it, maybe im crazy or biased because i have one arriving at my house on Tuesday, I do though.
I trusted Ampeg and bough it sight unseen(or should i say sound unheard?), and I'm glad i did. They have come through yet again. These threads have been helpful as well.
Side note, I felt terrible when the salesmen, who was a nice guy, kept trying to help me with it and I showed interest, and probably got his hopes up that i was gonna walk out with it. I guess its all good though, some other lucky bass player will get to scoop it up. I was getting alot of attention playing it. People are really buzzing about these amps, and i can see why.
Jon
Ok to the skeptics, I'm sorry but i have played a lot of rigs in my almost 20 years of playing bass and this setup is absolutely wonderful. People have said in previous threads that it doesn't pack enough punch, well i have to disagree. 300 watts into the 8ohm 210 was quite loud. It wasn't blow me away "OMG that thing is loud" kinda loud, but you could easily rehearse with it or play bars and normal size venues. Has plenty of mids, and good low end for a cab that size.
onto the good stuff.
I played an American special P bass through it (great sounding bass btw) and i was floored with that amp. I went from sweet mo-town to sizzlin funk with just a couple knob twists. The gain knob loves to be turned up, it really does. I liked the tweeter on full blast, and then -6 settings the best. My last rig was a SWR headlite so I really like the modern sound. This amp nails that sound too. Punch in the ultra lo and hi settings put the bass/treble knob at about noon and cut the mids and bam! modern sizzle.
So if anyone is skeptical about the pf210 don't be. If you tend to like 10inch drivers like myself, you wont be disappointed. I had the svt7pro, and I dug the tone of that amp. I think I like the pf500 a little bit more though. I cant pin point it, maybe im crazy or biased because i have one arriving at my house on Tuesday, I do though.
I trusted Ampeg and bough it sight unseen(or should i say sound unheard?), and I'm glad i did. They have come through yet again. These threads have been helpful as well.
Side note, I felt terrible when the salesmen, who was a nice guy, kept trying to help me with it and I showed interest, and probably got his hopes up that i was gonna walk out with it. I guess its all good though, some other lucky bass player will get to scoop it up. I was getting alot of attention playing it. People are really buzzing about these amps, and i can see why.
Jon
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I've only spent a couple hours playing through it so far, but am loving the 210/115 combo. No phase issues at all and I think they complement each other. To me they are very close in sound anyway. I don't think you can go wrong with any combination of these cabs.
Sweet. Makes me want to get another cab.
Man these stacks look sweet!! I just picked up a PF500 and getting ready to order a 115. Gonna take advatage of the weekend sales. I had a GK MB500 with my NEO112 II...nice(sold the head). Wanted a Genz shuttle 6 and almost bought one. PLayed thru one of these and it changed my mind about the others. I should have went with this to begin with. I always had my best tone with my old ampeg gear, never should have went to other brands.
Anybody find a gig bag for the head that it fits into snug? I'll be using the head with other cabs for jamming at a friends house.
Anybody find a gig bag for the head that it fits into snug? I'll be using the head with other cabs for jamming at a friends house.
Is anyone concerned about the seemingly wimpy clips that hold the top of the cabs on ? Those look like they could be easily broken, IMO. Recessed ones would be much better. Something like this but with a shorter draw bar and the strike plate recessed into the top.
I also would have liked to have seen handles on the sides, at least as an option. I know one can add them if they choose to. I do like how the PF-500 with the 2/10 cab sounds. I played it yesterday for an hour or so. It can't handle really deep lows at higher volumes ( to be expected ) but the tone was great when playing at moderate volume. I was using an American P-bass and could get a wide variety of tones. It seemed loud enough for a moderate volume gig. An extra cab would be needed for larger venues or louder bands/gigs I think. A nice little package, except for those wimpy clasps.
I also would have liked to have seen handles on the sides, at least as an option. I know one can add them if they choose to. I do like how the PF-500 with the 2/10 cab sounds. I played it yesterday for an hour or so. It can't handle really deep lows at higher volumes ( to be expected ) but the tone was great when playing at moderate volume. I was using an American P-bass and could get a wide variety of tones. It seemed loud enough for a moderate volume gig. An extra cab would be needed for larger venues or louder bands/gigs I think. A nice little package, except for those wimpy clasps.
tombowlus said:Now I am definitely an Ampeg fan, but before you sell your WalkAbout, you gotta try this setup:
The WalkAbout really, really kills with two 210AV's!
Tom, coming from you that means I'll give it serious consideration.
=JR=
Thanks JimmyM
As you can see I'm still trying to get a warmer tone with my Tots so I'm thinking of trying a different head...only thing is that I like the LMII and like the MB cabs's warmth which seems to be lacking in the Tots....I like the tone of the Tots but it's just not warm enough somehow but I really am trying to keep them because of the size and weigth so I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad.......That PF500 seems interesting to me though it's 11 lbs (not much I know but) and it's cheaper than the Genz Streamliner.....
Not sure if I want to keep the Schroeder also.....
As you can see I'm still trying to get a warmer tone with my Tots so I'm thinking of trying a different head...only thing is that I like the LMII and like the MB cabs's warmth which seems to be lacking in the Tots....I like the tone of the Tots but it's just not warm enough somehow but I really am trying to keep them because of the size and weigth so I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad.......That PF500 seems interesting to me though it's 11 lbs (not much I know but) and it's cheaper than the Genz Streamliner.....
Not sure if I want to keep the Schroeder also.....
1. PF350/500. Used to have an LMII. Liked it quite well at the time. Thought it sounded pretty tubey for a clean amp. But the PF stuff is quite a bit warmer and tubier to me. Plus it'll do a great mild overdrive when you crank the gain as well as doing clean tones.
2. It would sound like a slightly less tubey sounding SVT run through a Schroeder Mini 12+LIt would also totally rule in your Audiokinesis cab.
Here are a couple pics I snapped of my rig this past weekend. I loved it Friday night with the Realistic, and I loved it tonight with the Fender and the Upton Hawkes. I was way too loud, but screw it:
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I like this one because of all the pretty colors:
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And earlier today, I did a gig where we do old time 30's and 40's jazz in a New Orleans style restaurant, and I play upright and sing a little, and this was my rig there:
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That's right...I used a BA108. A $100 practice amp with 25w and a single 8". And it was overkill. At that gig I just need to get a little louder than the upright can do by itself, and it's perfect for that. Quite a good little practice amp. Has some balls on the bottom and sounds like Ampeg to me. Won't handle my main gig but it's loud enough to annoy the wife.
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I like this one because of all the pretty colors:
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And earlier today, I did a gig where we do old time 30's and 40's jazz in a New Orleans style restaurant, and I play upright and sing a little, and this was my rig there:
Invalid Link Removed
That's right...I used a BA108. A $100 practice amp with 25w and a single 8". And it was overkill. At that gig I just need to get a little louder than the upright can do by itself, and it's perfect for that. Quite a good little practice amp. Has some balls on the bottom and sounds like Ampeg to me. Won't handle my main gig but it's loud enough to annoy the wife.
So, I'm selling a MIM Jazz today and then I'll have just enough extra $$ to get the PF350 and a cab with the GC %15 sale.
Quick question. My current rig is a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo. I have to use a VT Bass to get the voicing I like. Do you guys who have PF heads and cabs still have to use your VT Bass or is it unnecessary?
Thanks
Quick question. My current rig is a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo. I have to use a VT Bass to get the voicing I like. Do you guys who have PF heads and cabs still have to use your VT Bass or is it unnecessary?
Thanks
Jimmy the 350 with the two svt210av's is interesting. What is the sound like? It looks like a versatile/light weight setup.
Used my pf500 and a svt 15e and my '57ri pbass last night on a gig that I have always used my upright on. Had to try it. It sounded pretty good. I can't say it was great, but I am so used to the response of my upright that I was kind of thrown off with my pbass.
The tone was really good, the playing not so much. I had it krunk pretty good, gain @ 1 o'clock, master @ noon. Although it's an acoustic bluegrass type band the volume in this band can get quite high.
The di on the head is really hot. I had to use the pad. The 40db pad is just too much pad IMO. I had my channel on the pa krunk really high. Upon listening to the recording of the gig the bass was way too subdued. It sounded fine on stage and I'm sure it was loud enough going thru my 15e for the crowd but the recording was done with a h2 zoom straight from the pa head. It was obvious that I did;nt have myself up enough in the pa for the recording.
I'm going to try it again tonight. This time I will use the pad on the pa head instead, it's only a 25db pad so I think I'll be able to get in the recording mix better. The times the rest of the band was playing quietly the tone was superb on the recording. It is just a shame I played all night and did'nt realize I was not in the mix very good.
The tone was really good, the playing not so much. I had it krunk pretty good, gain @ 1 o'clock, master @ noon. Although it's an acoustic bluegrass type band the volume in this band can get quite high.
The di on the head is really hot. I had to use the pad. The 40db pad is just too much pad IMO. I had my channel on the pa krunk really high. Upon listening to the recording of the gig the bass was way too subdued. It sounded fine on stage and I'm sure it was loud enough going thru my 15e for the crowd but the recording was done with a h2 zoom straight from the pa head. It was obvious that I did;nt have myself up enough in the pa for the recording.
I'm going to try it again tonight. This time I will use the pad on the pa head instead, it's only a 25db pad so I think I'll be able to get in the recording mix better. The times the rest of the band was playing quietly the tone was superb on the recording. It is just a shame I played all night and did'nt realize I was not in the mix very good.
hermanmunster said:
I have my Shuttle 6 in a laptop bag and it works really well. If you can't find an actual amp bag, might be worth checking into. I found mine for $19 at a local shop... Fits my amp, pens/pencils/highlighters, charts when applicable, both my Speakon cables... and snacks for those longer gigs!
LolTeamTrejo said:
I have a VT Bass on my board for occasions like that as well. Depending on mood, I sometimes use it with my other rigs when I want a little more flavor, but I've never felt the need to use it with my PF setup.
5sg.
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