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Ampeg PF500/PF350 Pt II.5
- Thread starter Chef
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I know, right? Fans today are a lot quieter than they used to be. 20 years ago those little fans sounded like current SVT fans, which are a million times quieter than the originals. And nobody ever cares. It boggles my mind that people are bothered by fans that you have to strain to hear.
Here's some reality:
PF500 fan - YouTube
I was joking about the fridges but if you're straining to hear it maybe you should have your hearing checked.
PF500 fan - YouTube
I was joking about the fridges but if you're straining to hear it maybe you should have your hearing checked.
No offense Nutdog, I'm talking generalities in this post. Not aimed at you specifically.
What I find more funny is that people talk about the loud fan on the PF500 when there are other things that create WAY more noise in a rig... pedals, pickups, whatever.
The guitarist at my church constantly has some buzz or hum in his rig from a noisy a$$ pedal or the pickups in a guitar, and he can't hear it because he's DEAF. lol Bugs the holy living crap out of me. lol
I'm completely obsessive about having as silent a rig as possible. I've gotten rid of pedals and replaced pickups for being too noisy, but the fan on my PF500 hasn't bothered me once.
Sorry... /rant. lol
5sg.
Put a mic a foot away from it and I'm sure you'll pick up any fan that level. Hardly a fair representation.
Thanks for asking Jimmy. Actually it's minor. The clip/hot signal, stage doesn't work on this head either. Yeah, I tend to test new gear to see if the extra bells and whistles work, besides the things I really do care more about.
The shared LED does light up when the mute is engaged. To be honest I never cared for nanny indicator stages of this nature. I think after nearly 40 years of playing experience I can tell if I'm slamming the preamp stage or not, lol. I like a good general warm tonality with plenty of clean headroom, so it's not like I'm one to be pushing the gain stage into meltdown mode anyways.
Other than that, the gain and power sweep is much better on the new head, than my old one, and it delivers the goods. I think I'm gonna gig it for awhile. At least there is a two year warranty if any serious bugs should develop. Minor gripes and issues aside, I really do like the PF500 head and the whole new Portaflex concept and line of products. Thanks again for asking.
It is what it is. I'm sorry you don't think it's fair. I've been using a shuttle 9 and a TF550. An LMII before that. None are this loud. But if it will make you happy I'll do the same shot of the STL when it get's here.
I agree that they make quieter fans these days. Ampeg just didn't use one on this amp.
I only mentioned it because I couldn't help but notice it when I turned it on. I had several positive things to say about it but for some reason you've latched on to the fan thing. The shuttle is much quieter, however when pushing the tone shaping buttons while playing there is a pop. The ampeg buttons are quiet.
The fan's not a real problem for a rock gig, but a church can be very quiet at times. We don't have noisy equipment. It will probably blend in with the white noise but I will be the one next to it hearing it.
And I'll say it again. I like the sound. Pardon me for pointing out a minor fault.
Yep. The gain stage works just fine like it should, but the warning indicator light that would normally blink a little bit when the preamp
is cranked up high , does not come on at all. Other than that, this head seems good to go.
The Ampeg fan come on and runs all the time, where my GK fans come on when it needs it. If this is the way ampeg does it, then Ampeg users are probably used to it. I noticed it right away when I turned it on in my practice room for the first time, but I haven't heard it once at any gig I have played with it yet. I have no problem with it. I have had a couple of GK temperature circuits fail, and you don't know it until the amp gets hot and shuts off when you need it most. This thing is so affordable, I'm not worried about it...
hmm.. that will be too loud for my little studio.. darn.. I'll need to continue to use the GK for practicing. Sounds like a variable speed fan would be a good idea on this.
So you are saying a 500 watt PF500 is perceivably as loud (or louder) as a 900 watt Shuttle 9.0? I've got a Shuttle 9.0 and have been thinking of replacing it with a PF500. But I'm one of those guys that came from the PA world and I think the more watts the merrier even if it far exceeds what your speakers are rated for. Within reason of course.
To say your claim struck a chord with me is an understatement.
PM me or please reply! Thanks.
To say your claim struck a chord with me is an understatement.
PM me or please reply! Thanks.
Ah thanks. The fan on my shuttle is dead silent. The fan on my Eden WTX-260 is audible but far from bothersome.
The Demeter HB-600 I just sold sounded similar to a vacuum cleaner and my former Ashdown ABM500 was audible in the medium range but once you played a note at just about any volume was drowned out.
The Demeter HB-600 I just sold sounded similar to a vacuum cleaner and my former Ashdown ABM500 was audible in the medium range but once you played a note at just about any volume was drowned out.
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