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Ampeg PF500/PF350 Pt II.5
- Thread starter Chef
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bugsy said:
Yep been discussed. Seems those that have tried the pf 2x15 really dig it. There was some concern about phasing issues using a2x10 and 1x15 but those who have used this combo deny any problems. I have a pf210 and a svt115e and I like the sound. Seems like you can't go wrong.
I agree with you Jimmy in regards to the aesthetic cosmetics of uncluttered Portaflex style cabs. However as one who has grown old with the results of normal use and abuse from the athletic and hard labor endeavors of my younger and fitter days, this still burly looking, big old dude needs some side handles for my AARP pre-qualified sometimes aching back. Some of us need side handles, and we have to figure out what we can live with in regards to function versus looking pretty. Now I will admit that if I had a true blue vintage B-15 series amp, it would remain free of added handles. I can only go so far.
Here's a noob question for you guys - I've never owned any head/cab type amplifiers before. Having always used combo amps, I'm unfamiliar with the capabilities/limitations of "stacks" and am wondering - could someone power four 210 cabs with one of the PF500 heads- essentialy creating a modular 810 rig ? I'm somewhat familiar with the concept of "daisy chaining" cabinets but wonder if there's a limit to how many you can link together or if there's a rule of thumb guys follow as to what works and/or sounds okay ?
ddbassGA said:
Tuki cover arrived yesterday and it fits perfectly. 2-day turnaround including shipping. Good protection, very happy.
No. The PF-500 head has a 4 ohm minimum load rating and the PF cabs are 8 ohms each. The outputs on the heads and the input/outputs on the cabs are wired in parallel so any combination of two cabs will give you a 4 ohm load.
I'll add that if you want to do a modular 8x10 approach your best bet is to get two 8 ohm 4x10 cabs.
I might actually have a use for this rig as I just got hooked up with a weekly blues gig. Last night was sort of our "audition" as the event wasn't advertised. Anyway I had to bring my big 215 with my v4b. It sounded good but I don't have a car that can transport that 215 and I don't want to borrow my girlfriends car once a week. Plus that cab is overkill.
Anyway, I might pick up the pf115 to play with my v4b. I'm digging it a lot. I'm aiming for a little grit but not the full blown growl that I usually get with my rock band. I'll see how that goes and then I'll figure out if I want to invest in the amp.
Anyway, I might pick up the pf115 to play with my v4b. I'm digging it a lot. I'm aiming for a little grit but not the full blown growl that I usually get with my rock band. I'll see how that goes and then I'll figure out if I want to invest in the amp.
+1. I'll add that you wouldn't have enough headroom either. 500 "light" watts(digital) to push 1600 watts of cab capability would be a little anemic, imo. (2)2-10's should be fine. They look to me that they're high enough when stacked to be heard well.
Well, I finally had the opportunity last night to give my 1974 V4B a shot with a PF115!! It was a lower volume gig, so I didn't need both 15's and the power of the PF500. The combination of the old-school amp with the new-school cab and my Pbass V... Man, what an awesome tone! Easily the best tone I've had to date. Oh man... tone for DAYS. 
5sg.
5sg.
Well, I finally had the opportunity last night to give my 1974 V4B a shot with a PF115!! It was a lower volume gig, so I didn't need both 15's and the power of the PF500. The combination of the old-school amp with the new-school cab and my Pbass V... Man, what an awesome tone! Easily the best tone I've had to date. Oh man... tone for DAYS.
5sg.
Haha awesome! Funny that I just posted about rocking that very same setup. Now I know that this cab will work. How much volume can you get?
edit: Also how would compare the power, tone and sound of the pf500 compare to the V4B?
- Apr 3, 2003
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Nice. A new band I'm going to be in is a three piece and the sound is pretty versatlile for bar gigs because of the covers we do(New/Classic Rock, Funk, Country and 80's Pop but the original sound overall is somewhere around The Hives, Greenday, Blink, Kings Of Leon. Would the opinion be to go with (2) 15's or the 2-10's ?
The strangest thing just happened. I recently got a PF500 and with the gain on anything above 9 o'clock, I would get distortion that sounded like it was being phased. Weird. Anyway, I was thinking about having to send it back, so I decided to really push the gain to see what would happen. So, at full gain, I clipped the amp, of coarse. That nasty clipping that was talked about a bit earlier. Two or three times. So here is the strange part. Now the amp functions perfectly. No harmonic, phazed fuzzy distortion. Just clean gain all the way up. 
This amp sounds killer now...
This amp sounds killer now...
and now she is an angry little beast. On a side note, if this is anything close to what an SVT might sound like, then, I curse all the years I have been without one.
Sorry, not true. 500w is screaming loud no matter how you slice it, especially going into a large cab rig. I've put as few as 25w into an 810e that handles 800w and it didn't sound like anything even resembling anemia. And watts is watts regardless of how they're generated.
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