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Ampeg PF500/PF350 Pt II.5

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#701
I was going to order a PF-500 from the states (a couple of hundred bucks cheaper than buying local, and the voltage switch on the back means they're the same amp), but given all the issues people seem to be having, I'm thinking I might wait. If things seem to get better than maybe I'll buy one in the future, if not I might start looking at other brands again. I guess this is what you get from a cheap amp - bad quality control/components/workmanship?
 
#702
To be honest I think the issues have been fairly few and far in between. They've been selling like hotcakes since they came out, and the majority of people haven't had a problem. Mine has been solid for months now. I think if you buy from the US, you'll probably have a tougher time should you have a warranty issue, but I wouldn't bank on having one.
 
#703
mentalstampede said:
I'll have to post a vid or soundclip. A good fur is all I'm really looking for, but whatever this is, it doesn't sound good at all. The first time it did it I was afraid a speaker had blown or something. Gnarly in a bad way. It doesn't sound like something you should be able to get with a passive bass plugged directly into a normally functioning amp.

I just recorded a quick vid of what it does. I'm uploading it to youtube now...

Here's what it does. I'm inclined to think there's something wrong with my head, and am planning on contacting Ampeg about it....

PF-500 Clipping issue. - YouTube
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be doing that. I'm on my second PF500 head which replaced the first one, which had some defects. I can push my gain up to 3 or 4 o'clock, with either a passive P or J Bass and all it does is get a good deal louder quickly with a bit more growl for lack of a better cliche; yet it's not truly overdriven by any means. It certainly doesn't produce the nasty sort of clipping noise you are getting when you dial your gain stage up. I'm normally running my gain at noon to one o'clock, no more than 2 o'clock, for a good warm tonality. I'm sorry your head has issues. I had to exchange one myself, and I'm still not too sure about my replacement head either as it has the minor issue of the clip indicator light stage not working on this head which was one problem with my first one, and the master volume stage still needs to be cranked up to about two o'clock to start truly making volume with the PF210HE cab it's running through.

It seems that the q.c. is generally good for these new heads, but it is still spotty as other PF500 and PF350 owners have noted. I hope your exchange process proves to be relatively painless for you, and the next head works like it should.
 
#704
mentalstampede said:
Here's what it does. I'm inclined to think there's something wrong with my head, and am planning on contacting Ampeg about it....

PF-500 Clipping issue. - YouTube
Click to expand...

Listened to your issue and that does not sound normal or good to me either.

EQd my PF-500 just like yours and I could increase the gain to 10 and nothing like that happens.

Disappointing for sure. Needs to be sent back.
 
#705
TeamTrejo said:
Listened to your issue and that does not sound normal or good to me either.

EQd my PF-500 just like yours and I could increase the gain to 10 and nothing like that happens.

Disappointing for sure. Needs to be sent back.
Click to expand...

But does your bass have Quarter Pounders? The hot pickup is the issue. With my 7Pro and my Bongo, I have to use the pad or else it clips.

If his amp doesn't do that with other passive basses, then there's probably nothing wrong with the amp but more of the hot pickup issue.
 
#707
Mine does that as well actually with all my basses. They're all passive. I just assumed that I had the gain up too high and was blasting the pre-amp. Perhaps shoot Ampeg an email with a link to the video and see what they say?

EDIT: I also meant to add that none of them have particularly hot pickups.
 
#708
yea i think this is actually normal. They are hot pickups. His preamp may be clipping early tho. I still think that if the bass has hot pickups its going to do that no matter what.

If anyone has a pf500 with an 18v preamp and cant get the head to do that, then they should post here. but i highly doubt that. I think hes just pushing the preamp too hard and its clipping, rather yuckily but it sounds like digital distortion to me.

I can make mine do that as well. but i have to max out the gain and with the pad in it doesnt do it at all. so like i said maybe those pickups are hotter than you thought?

i could be wrong, and have been in the past though, so what do i know?
 
#709
mentalstampede said:
Hey all. I just jumped into the portaflex world; demoed a pf-500 and pf-350 at guitar center, and ended up ordering the PF500 and two PF115s. I have no issues using my jazz bass with it, but I did notice that there's not much in the way of overdrive available with this head.

However, my P-bass has a Seymour Duncan Quarter-pound pickup; it's still passive, but it's wayyy hotter than most. I was excited to see what I could get out of the gain control, but if I crank the gain much past 2 oclock I get a sudden pop, and increase in volume in the midrange, and a very harsh-sounding fuzz when I dig in. If the lows are boosted, this happens earlier. It happens on any cabinet, and also through the headphone out, so it's not being caused by speaker damage or anything, definitely something in the amp, and I'm thinking in the preamp specifically. Using the -15db pad prevents this, but it obviously limits the gain available too. Is this normal for this amp? If so, that's disappointing, because the amp starts to get a wonderful furry overdrive sound that's pretty cool right around where this starts.

EDIT: Playing around more, and I get an occasional fuzzy pop with my Jbass too, and with the P using the pad. But only occasionally with the gain all the way up and playing hard. And the pop sound is NOT coming from strings hitting the polepieces on the pickup.
Click to expand...

So I replied to you yesterday saying I have th pf 500 and a Precision with QP's. I played my amp today and was not able to replicate what I heard in your clip. I would say that's not normal. Time to use that warranty.
 
#710
Well what do you know? after having my first PF500 head have a d.o.a. clip indicator for the gain stage, and seemingly the same problem with my replacement head, which does have a better gain and volume sweep than the first head, the clip indicator light finally kicked in a little bit today when I did some further testing. The gain had to be cranked to about 3 o'clock using a clock face reference point, and the MV dialed back around 10 o'clock or so, but it finally it came to life. I tested things out last week when I got the replacement head, but it seemed to be as dead as the first one, but like some micro circuit Frankenstein, it's sparked into life! It's Alive!!! I get to gig this head in a week under real world gig conditions, so I'll keep posting on how my replacement head does. As to my PF210HE cab I have no complaints so far.
 
#711
after much further testing. my amp is indeed doing the same thing as mental's. i realized that i had the compressor on so when i turned it off viola! clipping noises just like those in his video.

very interesting indeed. i emailed LOUD and ill see what they have to say about it next week. i can get it to make the noise with the pad depressed as well.

i love this little amp though. such great tone. i hope we figure this issue out. if it indeed is considered an issue.
 
#712
Jheake said:
after much further testing. my amp is indeed doing the same thing as mental's. i realized that i had the compressor on so when i turned it off viola! clipping noises just like those in his video.

very interesting indeed. i emailed LOUD and ill see what they have to say about it next week. i can get it to make the noise with the pad depressed as well.

i love this little amp though. such great tone. i hope we figure this issue out. if it indeed is considered an issue.
Click to expand...

I've been playing with mine some more too. I sure hope that this isn't a "feature." The amp sounds great with the gain backed off, but I really like it cranked up in the neighborhood of where the noise starts. The sporadic clipping is really a mood killer. I'll be emailing LOUD as well.
 
#713
i had the that issue when i ran my cirrus through it. i just backed the gain off a little and used some compression and it stopped. i just use passive basses now. a g&l so its pretty hot, and it doesn't do it. of course i always have my compressor on, so maybe thats why. i just figured it was one of those heads you had to use the compressor at really loud volumes. doesn't bother me cause i really like the sound with the compressor on. oh it is usually set around 10 to 11 o'clock.
 
#714
mentalstampede said:
I've been playing with mine some more too. I sure hope that this isn't a "feature." The amp sounds great with the gain backed off, but I really like it cranked up in the neighborhood of where the noise starts. The sporadic clipping is really a mood killer. I'll be emailing LOUD as well.
Click to expand...

I just played with mine briefly and tried the same settings as Mental had on the video and was unable to reproduce the problem. Can't say my pickups are very hot though.
 
#715
yea i think it pretty much only happens from hot preamps, or hot pickups. which in all honesty makes total sense that it wouldn't occur with more quiet and mellow set ups.

i don't own a passive bass. but i can make my MM jazz passive and i have done that, and i cannot get it to make that noise. Im just wondering if active basses normally do that to preamp stages of amplifiers. I mean if thats the norm then why haven't i ever had an issue with it until now? i guess is the real question.
 
#716
Jheake said:
yea i think it pretty much only happens from hot preamps, or hot pickups. which in all honesty makes total sense that it wouldn't occur with more quiet and mellow set ups.

i don't own a passive bass. but i can make my MM jazz passive and i have done that, and i cannot get it to make that noise. Im just wondering if active basses normally do that to preamp stages of amplifiers. I mean if thats the norm then why haven't i ever had an issue with it until now? i guess is the real question.
Click to expand...

That's why there's a 10-15 dB switched attenuator on many amps, for the active basses if you have a problem with their higher output.
 
#718
okcrum said:
That's why there's a 10-15 dB switched attenuator on many amps, for the active basses if you have a problem with their higher output.
Click to expand...

It doesn't surprise me that the preamp overloads and clips. If you listen, it actually starts to clip and get that slight overdrive around the point where the peak light starts coming on. That happens well before What I find surprising and disturbing is the sudden and violent abruptness of this change in the sound. Clipping and distortion don't surprise me, but I would expect a smoother onset and not such a violent change at the point of saturation. I've never had this issue with any other preamp before, solid state or tube.
 
#719
Well you could go to a store and play one with that bass and see if it does it. Honestly, I think it could go either way. If it does it on a second amp, then it's more than likely the bass being too hot at the normal setting. If you are able to get a good sound out of it with a mild grind and enough volume, then it doesn't really matter what it does past that point, because that's all you can really expect out of it anyway. It's not built to do any more than that.
 
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