Also incredible value for the price point.
I can't think of anything that inexpensive that sounds that good.
I tried a Portaflex cab 210 and did not care for it. That being said I love my two Micro SVTs cabs, these little guys are magic.
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Ampeg PF500/PF350
- Thread starter maevinj
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Also incredible value for the price point.
I can't think of anything that inexpensive that sounds that good.
I tried a Portaflex cab 210 and did not care for it. That being said I love my two Micro SVTs cabs, these little guys are magic.
Next gig I do, I'm bringing them and my SVT. Been threatening to do that for the longest and have never done it.
Anyway, I'd be far more interested in the PF115 than the 210, but a 210 is a good move to get sales from those who don't care for 115's, so I get why they made it.
I agree, if the 115 share some the tonal character of a B15, I might have to get one.
My local GC has two PF350's and no PF500's. Te only reason they have two 350's is because I returned one to get the 500.
I was never really an Ampeg person, and what drew me to this series of amp was the price. I really like how this amp sounds and I'm quickly becoming an Ampeg believer.
I do have one issue - this amp doesn't seem to pair up well with my 4-ohm Avatar cabinet at all. When I push it, the amp cuts out momentarily. This never happens with any of my 8-ohm cabs.
I think I might get the matching Ampeg 15" cabinet and just be done with it.
I was never really an Ampeg person, and what drew me to this series of amp was the price. I really like how this amp sounds and I'm quickly becoming an Ampeg believer.
I do have one issue - this amp doesn't seem to pair up well with my 4-ohm Avatar cabinet at all. When I push it, the amp cuts out momentarily. This never happens with any of my 8-ohm cabs.
I think I might get the matching Ampeg 15" cabinet and just be done with it.
Played the 350 at church today. Man, I was surprise how well it filled the room. I had the bass boosted to about 1 o'clock, but turn back to 12 position like the other knobs. It made my LEJ5 sound fat and warm. I'm pleased.
Jeff, from what I hear, nobody else is having trouble running these heads at 4 ohms. I tried both heads in a 4 ohm cab at the store and cranked them pretty good and they held up, although for not as long as you might on a gig. Maybe you got one with a bad fan or something.
I've read all 53 pages of posts and seem to remember another user who was trying to run the PF500 with his Avatar TB153 cab and was also having some issues, but I don't think his was cutting out.
Did see some others report that they were having the cutting out issue too. I'm wondering if the cut out thing has something to do with the limiter section of the amp? If it gets pushed hard at 4 ohms and the amp starts to clip, the limiter kicks in and clamps the signal. Just like it's supposed to do. If the circuit design for the limiter doesn't allow the limiter to "smoothly" apply the limiting, then you get cut outs. I've seen this on older amps when limiters were first starting to be used that acted that way. The design was just not quite ready for prime time yet.
Has anyone having the cut out issue turned off the limiter to see if it cuts out still? Or maybe the amp when pushed hard at 4 ohms just can't deliver the goods and the cut out is your signal to back off to a safer volume? Is the cutting out happening when you really dig in and the input peak LED is on strong and Possibly hitting the preamp section too hard? I'd love to know the answer to this as I'm considering the PF500 and would be running it fairly hard at 4 ohms. If it cuts out, even a tiny bit then it's a deal breaker for me. After playing tons of different amps over the last 35 years, I can't and won't tolerate an amp the cuts out. Even if it's just for a micro second. I'd always be wondering "when is it going to crap out all the way" and then I'd have to carry a BU amp.
Did actually get a chance to stop at my local GC for a look see. It was close to closing so I didn't get a chance to play one. Going back tomorrow and try a few out. My first impression was how much smaller the whole amp / cabinet looked than what I thought it would look like. They had the PF500 on a PF210HE. That cab looked really small for having two 10's.
I'm like JimmyM and tend to believe Ampeg's frequency and watt specs are very realistic, but I find it hard to believe that that small sealed cab can actually do the 37 Hz they list in the specs. Maybe but at what kind of realistic volume? It's not listed as "useable" low like other Ampeg cabs, but rather as the standard rating. Maybe JimmyM or another solid Ampeg user can chime in on that? The SVT210AV cab which looks bigger is listed as only 58Hz-5kHz with a usable low of 40Hz, so now more confused. I've never really understood the "useable" part of Ampeg's listing. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that as I'm
Plus I haven't played through sealed cabs in years and don't know if I'll like them. Any thoughts on that?I'm very interested in the PF500 and two of the 15 cabs. However, I don't want to dump money into that rig and have the 4 ohm cut out issues mentioned here. Have we heard anything definitive from Ampeg support about the cut out thing?
I also checked out the SVT7 PRO and it looked like a pretty nice amp. I loved the weight and a 1000 watts is nice. Costs as much as the PF500 with the cab. I thought if I got the 7 PRO, I'd pair it up with a single B-115E or a SVT15E to start and add a second one later. Is the B-115E a ported cabinet?
TIA for any input and keep low
Ampeg usually uses two quotes for the lows, the -3db point and the -10db point. The higher quote is the -3db point. The usable low frequency is the -10db point. You will have to boost your lows to hear it well, but if you do, you can hear it.
Both Ampeg 115's are ported, BTW.
Both Ampeg 115's are ported, BTW.
I bought the PF-500 together with 2x GK Neo 112-2 (8ohm each, 300w each), for a total 4ohm load. I stack them up vertically and get an incredible sound. This rig is extremely loud and I did not get any kind of issue pushing the PF-500 to the limit in these conditions. It is just unbelievable how huge and nice the rig sounds given its size/weight (PF500=11 lbs, each cab =30 lbs). Its truly a match made in heaven.
Having this said, if some people have clipping issues this may be due to another factor than the impedence. Moreover, there are other light weight options than Portaflex cabs or AV210. The GK Neo Series (112 x 2 in my case) are serious contenders if you enjoy punchy & gritty sound, high power handling at at a low price point and light weight.
Oh yes.. and for those (Im one of em) who also care about the looks, the PF500 width perfectly matches the vertically stacked cabs and the silver front panel of the PF500 matches the silver GK grille pretty well
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A pair of Ampeg svt15e's are a great match for this head. I have not tried the pf cabs but the 15e's are great sounding with this head.......and loud as hell.
I picked up a PF-500 and PF-210 this weekend from a local music store. I had first tried it a month ago, and was holding out to see if I could find a PF-115 to try, but none of the stores around here ever got one. I went back with my own bass to try it again and decided I liked the sound of the 210 well enough to get it.
After getting it home and tweaking the knobs a bit, I was able to dial in the sound I wanted, which is pretty close to my B-15R, just a bit more "modern". It's much lighter also, so I think the PF-500 will be going to more gigs. The older I get, the heavier that B-15R feels... They do look great next to each other, though
All in all I think this is a great sounding rig, and a great value. Probably one of the best Solid State heads I've ever played.
After getting it home and tweaking the knobs a bit, I was able to dial in the sound I wanted, which is pretty close to my B-15R, just a bit more "modern". It's much lighter also, so I think the PF-500 will be going to more gigs. The older I get, the heavier that B-15R feels... They do look great next to each other, though
All in all I think this is a great sounding rig, and a great value. Probably one of the best Solid State heads I've ever played.
15 gigs with the PF500 head now. NO issues....except I forgot to turn the PAD off at input when I was playing a passive bass.....and needing to PAD the output into a soundboard - because for that setup it was pretty hot.
Played 3 outside gigs, have one this coming weekend.....
played 12 inside gigs....2-3 with sound support and an 8 ohm cab....two without sound support and a 8 ohm cab....the rest with a 4 ohm cab and I am loving it.
Its voice is nice - very nice! I have had to goose the controls....and it throttles just fine!
My mileage may vary....objects in the mirror are larger than they appear, etc.....
Played 3 outside gigs, have one this coming weekend.....
played 12 inside gigs....2-3 with sound support and an 8 ohm cab....two without sound support and a 8 ohm cab....the rest with a 4 ohm cab and I am loving it.
Its voice is nice - very nice! I have had to goose the controls....and it throttles just fine!
My mileage may vary....objects in the mirror are larger than they appear, etc.....
I got my PF500 in today. So far, I'm liking the PF350 better. It sounds fatter and warmer. The PF500 seem a lil more modern, hi-fi ish. I know the 350 is solid state and th 500 is mosfet. Could that be the difference?
I think it's more the voicing of the preamp itself than the topology. You could most likely get the same sounds out of each...but the knobs definitely don't correspond with each other.
I may be pulling the trigger next month on one of these. I tried one last month and could easily get the sound I want and more...I am just afraid of the price being so low compared to say GB or MarkBass mini heads. I have an LMIII, some times I get the sound I want and other times I do not. My P sounds better on my LMIII than my Jazz, but the PF500 I think would put a stop to that. I love my BA115 practice amp. Has that Ampeg tone! I am glad to hear someone has gigged this amount and still likes it and going strong for the price.
Playing a PF500 through Bill FitzMaurice Jack 10's..no tweeter arrays. P bass with flats SD Antiquity PU. Bluesland/Chicago/Putnam at Universal/Bass at Chess 1963 to a T..or is that B? The ghost of Louis Satterfeld tapped me on the shoulder as I was digging into "Grits Ain't Groceries" (appropriate tune for these times) "good one son, roll the treble off some though". Ampeg makes good again.
Hey JimmyM! Since you’re all over this topic and also own a Carvin BX250 micro head, what do like better, the PF-350 or the Carvin BX250? Keep in mind I’ll be using it to drive my 8-ohm Avatar SB112 NEO, which is rated at 250w. The Carvin pumps out 200w @ 8 ohms, so it’s a good match, as is the PF-350. Both cost 300 bucks so that's a wash.
I like what I’ve been reading about the PF-350 (tone-wise), but I also love the tone of my Carvin MB10, which comes loaded with the BX250.
I like what I’ve been reading about the PF-350 (tone-wise), but I also love the tone of my Carvin MB10, which comes loaded with the BX250.
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