Ampeg PF500/PF350

[jumbodbassman]

ampeg doesn't use mdf or osb or any of that "miracle" wood anymore. they used osb from 1998-2005. since then, they've used nothing but plywood. the description of the pf cabs clearly states poplar ply for the wood:

Ampeg: Portaflex Series - PF-115HE

as for whether they can take 250w, i have a couple b-15 cabs with eminence delta 15a's in them. not exactly the same design but pretty close in size. when i had a markbass lmii, i cranked that head as loud as i possibly could without clipping with one cab hooked up to it. my cab took it pretty easily. i'm not big on throttling a single cab with a ton of wattage, but it did take it. so yeah, it's very possible these cabs could take it with ease, too.

Jimmy, as usual , thanks for that info. I so want to love this portaflex amp. I was thinking about getting one of the other aftermarket flip cabs but maybe this will work out. Fingers crossed that the pf 500 and one of each cab will rock the house.. My back will love me.

 

[jumbodbassman]

Jimmy, as usual , thanks for that info. I so want to love this portaflex amp. I was thinking about getting one of the other aftermarket flip cabs but maybe this will work out. Fingers crossed that the pf 500 and one of each cab will rock the house.. My back will love me.

Does anybody know what type of porting is in the 15 cab. One of the pictures on mf shows a rear slot ports but other pictures on other sites don't. anyone know for sure??

Buy Ampeg PF-115HE Portaflex 1x15 Bass Speaker Cabinet | Amp Cabinets | Musician's Friend

 

[JimmyM]

not ported...they're both sealed.

 

[krovx]

Received my PF500 today. Right out of the gate it is familiar Ampeg sound and controls. I was using my P since that is the only bass I have right now ( I am more of a J guy and had wished I had a J to play! I am still waiting for mine).

In the pic you can see the GK MB200 I was A/Bing the Ampeg against. I had to buy the GK to have while I waited for my PF. The GK turned out to be an amazing little head. The PF500 is heavier than you would think... or perhaps I am used to the 2 lb GK? I cant comment on the volume since I was playing in my room and couldn't crank the amp too long. However, the lil GK kept up volume wise with the PF which kind of surprised me. People who noted the lack of power of the PF I think are right. I am only playing through a GB Shuttle 12 so take my observation for what it is worth. My biggest complaint is how loud the fan is on the PF500, it is very loud, anyone else notice that?

The Ampeg sounds good and has some awesome features. It is an 'Ampeg'. However, I think I just prefer the GK - and I have never really played GKs before. I really wanted to dig the PF500 because I missed my SVT but perhaps my tastes have changed since then because I have used Mesa Boogie and GB since, and now really digging this GK. I am now going to look into a MB500 or Fusion for some more tone shaping capabilities.

I might throw the PF500 into the classifieds for 350 shipped cont. 48 if anyone is interested before I return it, shoot me a PM.

 

[fivestringgecko]

Sorry you're not digging it, Krovx! I know you were almost as excited as I was for the new Portaflex gear. I still really dig mine and am chomping at the bit to get the cab and give it a run. If it ever gets here, I'll try and do some more clips.

Not to derail the thread or anything, but I'm a J-bass guy too. The one I played in those clips has become my go-to bass! Holy SMOKE, though... I'm GASing for a Carvin SB5000!!!

5sg.

 

[Slackerprince]

Received my PF500 today. Right out of the gate it is familiar Ampeg sound and controls. I was using my P since that is the only bass I have right now ( I am more of a J guy and had wished I had a J to play! I am still waiting for mine).

In the pic you can see the GK MB200 I was A/Bing the Ampeg against. I had to buy the GK to have while I waited for my PF. The GK turned out to be an amazing little head. The PF500 is heavier than you would think... or perhaps I am used to the 2 lb GK? I cant comment on the volume since I was playing in my room and couldn't crank the amp too long. However, the lil GK kept up volume wise with the PF which kind of surprised me. People who noted the lack of power of the PF I think are right. I am only playing through a GB Shuttle 12 so take my observation for what it is worth. My biggest complaint is how loud the fan is on the PF500, it is very loud, anyone else notice that?

The Ampeg sounds good and has some awesome features. It is an 'Ampeg'. However, I think I just prefer the GK - and I have never really played GKs before. I really wanted to dig the PF500 because I missed my SVT but perhaps my tastes have changed since then because I have used Mesa Boogie and GB since, and now really digging this GK. I am now going to look into a MB500 or Fusion for some more tone shaping capabilities.

I might throw the PF500 into the classifieds for 350 shipped cont. 48 if anyone is interested before I return it, shoot me a PM.

Did you buy it new, with some sort of return policy?
Why would you take a hit by putting it in the classifieds?

S

 

[vin*tone]

Received my PF500 today. Right out of the gate it is familiar Ampeg sound and controls. I was using my P since that is the only bass I have right now ( I am more of a J guy and had wished I had a J to play! I am still waiting for mine).

In the pic you can see the GK MB200 I was A/Bing the Ampeg against. I had to buy the GK to have while I waited for my PF. The GK turned out to be an amazing little head. The PF500 is heavier than you would think... or perhaps I am used to the 2 lb GK? I cant comment on the volume since I was playing in my room and couldn't crank the amp too long. However, the lil GK kept up volume wise with the PF which kind of surprised me. People who noted the lack of power of the PF I think are right. I am only playing through a GB Shuttle 12 so take my observation for what it is worth. My biggest complaint is how loud the fan is on the PF500, it is very loud, anyone else notice that?

The Ampeg sounds good and has some awesome features. It is an 'Ampeg'. However, I think I just prefer the GK - and I have never really played GKs before. I really wanted to dig the PF500 because I missed my SVT but perhaps my tastes have changed since then because I have used Mesa Boogie and GB since, and now really digging this GK. I am now going to look into a MB500 or Fusion for some more tone shaping capabilities.

I might throw the PF500 into the classifieds for 350 shipped cont. 48 if anyone is interested before I return it, shoot me a PM.

I'm interested to hear more about why you preferred the MB200. How did the tones compare?

 

[krovx]

Did you buy it new, with some sort of return policy?
Why would you take a hit by putting it in the classifieds?

S

I ordered the head as a part of a President's sale, so I received a discount. Figured I would pass along the discount to a fellow TBer since I have to ship the head back anyway.

I'm interested to hear more about why you preferred the MB200. How did the tones compare?

If you are familiar with the Ampeg sound you know how it is very 'colored'. This can be a great thing if you dig the Ampeg tone. I haven't owned an Ampeg in years so the SVT tone I used to cherish I think has been replaced. I am more familiar with Genz Benz and Mesa Boogie, which tend to be transparent in comparison to the Ampeg. I feel the bass is able to breathe more, expressing its own character. The active? EQ on the GK is just awesome, and I would place the GK more on the side of transparent amps than colored. Granted, I think Ampegs sound the best through their own cabs, go figure. So playing it through a GB cab is probably not the best representation.

 

[bassacechase]

Received my PF500 today. Right out of the gate it is familiar Ampeg sound and controls. I was using my P since that is the only bass I have right now ( I am more of a J guy and had wished I had a J to play! I am still waiting for mine).

In the pic you can see the GK MB200 I was A/Bing the Ampeg against. I had to buy the GK to have while I waited for my PF. The GK turned out to be an amazing little head. The PF500 is heavier than you would think... or perhaps I am used to the 2 lb GK? I cant comment on the volume since I was playing in my room and couldn't crank the amp too long. However, the lil GK kept up volume wise with the PF which kind of surprised me. People who noted the lack of power of the PF I think are right. I am only playing through a GB Shuttle 12 so take my observation for what it is worth. My biggest complaint is how loud the fan is on the PF500, it is very loud, anyone else notice that?

The Ampeg sounds good and has some awesome features. It is an 'Ampeg'. However, I think I just prefer the GK - and I have never really played GKs before. I really wanted to dig the PF500 because I missed my SVT but perhaps my tastes have changed since then because I have used Mesa Boogie and GB since, and now really digging this GK. I am now going to look into a MB500 or Fusion for some more tone shaping capabilities.

I might throw the PF500 into the classifieds for 350 shipped cont. 48 if anyone is interested before I return it, shoot me a PM.

That is why mine went back to Musician's friend. My $130 Hartke HA2500 is half the watts and twice as loud...

 

[maevinj]

so I'm wondering if these heads are geared up more for the sealed cabs aka... the portaflex cabs verses other manufactures cabs or maybe more specifically ported cabs.

I'm really want to get this head, but now I'm concerned how it will sound with my orange obc115..

 

[bassacechase]

so I'm wondering if these heads are geared up more for the sealed cabs aka... the portaflex cabs verses other manufactures cabs or maybe more specifically ported cabs.

I'm really want to get this head, but now I'm concerned how it will sound with my orange obc115..

Try it! You might really like it. At worst, you lose shipping costs, $19.43 with insurance for me. It was definitely worth the try.

 

[Slackerprince]

I really wanted this amp to be a winner, but so many mixed results, rather than this thread exploding with enthusiasm.
Too many units being returned for me to even try one. Noisy fan is a big downer for me.
I've been on the Genz Benz Streamliner thread and a lot of love for those, so far, although they can be tricky to EQ. Twice the $ of the Ampeg, but I'm so ready to have my rig, keep it, play it, and GAS down.
Anyway, hope some people find what they are looking for with the new Portaflexes.

S

 

[TUEP]

I'm currently in the hunt for a head, and one local place has a PF350 and a PF500 in stock. I spent about an hour testing them for the second time yesterday, and it's hard for me to believe that the PF500 is a 500w amp. In fact, if you read the specs in the manual, it's rated at 500w at 10% THD. Compare that to something else that's putting out 500w at 0.5% THD, which some products on the market seem to be doing. I'm no expert, but I think that based on what people are used to reading in specs and the growing availability of clean wattage, this 500w/10% is a bit misleading.

FWIW, the other amps in the store that I ran through the same cabinet for comparison were a Tour 450 and an NA320. The NA seemingly had a lot more swat, even with the PF500's gain and bass controls dimed. I'm waiting for another used head to arrive (it's coming from another store), and when I go to test it I will try out the Ampegs for a third time.

If you were playing through a 8 ohm only cab, then you would have been pushing only 225 watts and not 500.

 

[JimmyM]

noisy fan, you say? of all the things to complain about, i think noisy fan is probably the lamest. sorry, but who the hell can even hear the fan at a gig?

 

[bassacechase]

noisy fan, you say? of all the things to complain about, i think noisy fan is probably the lamest. sorry, but who the hell can even hear the fan at a gig?

Lol! At a gig, you wouldn't hear it. I complained about it. Although I typically use go Avalon U5>channel strip>compressor, it would be an issue for recording if you like to mic your rig. You would have to cut those frequencies.

 

[vin*tone]

noisy fan, you say? of all the things to complain about, i think noisy fan is probably the lamest. sorry, but who the hell can even hear the fan at a gig?

I'm using my amp practicing 1-2hrs a day. Loud fans drive me nuts.

 

[Slackerprince]

noisy fan, you say? of all the things to complain about, i think noisy fan is probably the lamest. sorry, but who the hell can even hear the fan at a gig?

I'm a bedroom dork, so while I'm woodshedding, it's an issue.

S

 

[xjeremiahx]

On today's shipment of gear we got the PF350 & PF500 heads in...so naturally I grabbed em both and plugged em in!

I must say that these are great little heads that get the job done in typical Ampeg fashion. Plugged em each into an Ampeg 410hlf. Played through each of them with 2 different P basses - both American Specials, one with a Maple board & roundwounds, and one with a Rosewood board & flatwounds(yeah I strung one up w/ flats @ my work).

I started with the 350. This guy did NOT have a speakon jack on it, just 1/4 inch. Just want to note that. Upon first look, it was awesome. Simple. Straight forward. No frills. Few knobs. I liked it. Plugged it in, left everything flat and I must say it was a great sound. Not the modern Markbass-esque sound, but more of a mix of a smooth thumpy vintage vibe & a mild mannered top end, but not muddy. Messed with the EQ a little bit, rolling off the treble & playing the P w/ flats for that beautiful smooth thump you get w/ flats on a P(I'm a believer now.). Switched it up and plugged in the other P and dialed a little more treble and midrange and got a great straight-forward rock tone. Pulled out a pick and it sounded just as great. Not a ton of volume w/ this guy, which is to be expected, but it sounded great even cranked up.

Next I switched to the 500, which is basically the same amp, but has the Ultra Hi & Low switches, compression & a mute switch AND a speakon jack. Followed the same EQ pattern as above and it was dead on with how the 350 sounded, just with a bit more headroom. Turned on the compression to see what it would do, and it really just squeezed the lows a bit, didn't really hear any other noticeable difference in tone - compared to some other compression/compressors I've heard & used I felt it just didn't do a whole lot...kind of removed that sub bass range of tone. Ultra Lo switch did just that, but I also felt it kind of scooped the mids a bit, really smoothed out the tone of the amp. Ultra Hi added just enough brightness to give this amp, compared to the 350, much more of a modern tone.

Overall I think these little amps are a great move for Ampeg, especially with Class D amps being as popular as they are right now. Only problem I have with these amps...they aren't rack mountable, and they're shaped just a little funky. The tone on these things is super versatile. In about 20 minutes of playing through the pair of these I was really able to dial in a lot of different tones with a relatively simple EQ setup.

 

[JimmyM]

Lol! At a gig, you wouldn't hear it. I complained about it. Although I typically use go Avalon U5>channel strip>compressor, it would be an issue for recording if you like to mic your rig. You would have to cut those frequencies.

or run a long speaker cable and put the amp in another room. or not worry about it because everything else is going to cover up the sound of it anyway.

well, i guess it's your prerogative not to like a fan you can hear, but i can't think of any heads that have a fan that you can't hear.

 

[Hnz]

i can't think of any heads that have a fan that you can't hear.

Those of which you forget to turn on the powerswitch