Ampeg pf500: to buy or not to buy

From what I've read, it's worth the extra $$ to go for the PF800. Extra headroom, fewer reports of issues, etc. Used PF500 units have a reputation for being a bit of a gamble.

 

Save up a little more and get the 800. They seem to be a lot more reliable.
The 500's have had way to many problems for me to ever take a chance on.

 

I own an early PF500, and I love it. If the PF800 would have been available at the time, I would have bought that instead. I will be buying a PF800 eventually. I would never need 800 Watts of continuous power, but the extra headroom the PF800 provides is nice to have considering it is a solid state power section.

 

for your desired tone I think you're nailing it on the head! I too would snag an 800 though- after playing them both a lot. Either way though, motown in spades!

 

Like the others said: Save a little more and get the PF800. Even though you might not need 800 watts (of power, or the extra headroom it provides), it's much more reliable.

 

PF-500's are getting even cheaper. MF, new is $249. I've had mine a couple years without a hiccup and absolutely love it. I usually have no PA support and it never fails to fill the room. My last amp was a 1001RB and I never bonded with it. I didn't like the low end character. I look forward to gigs just to hear the Ampeg again. I probably would have gotten an 800 had it been available, but I have no reason to "upgrade" at this point.

 

Since the reports of pf500 failures tapered off months and months ago, I'm willing to bet that the issues have been engineered out by now. Strengthened by the fact that they haven't been discontinued. If possible the 800 is the way to go though.

I have a 350 and it is great with a pair of 15s. A single 15 8ohm (250w) is JUST enough for average weekend rock bar stuff though. Just have to keep an eye on it. The 800 would be my next bump up: 400w @ 8ohms whereas the 500 is 300w, barely a hair over the 350.

 

I've had my PF-500 since about the time they came out and it's been rock solid, though it's mainly been my backup/practice/lazy-load in amp. If you like that warm, low-mid, vintage ampeg sound the PF-500 can definitely do that. As much as my amp has been great I usually say if you're going to buy one get it new with a warranty, should anything happen it's their problem and you aren't left high and dry.

 

as a PF500/115He owner/user, I'm going to come down on the side of the "spend a little more money and get the PF800" argument. The PF500 sounds fine, really gets the ampeg tone, but the touchiness of the design with its tendency to go into to fault mode (hard shutdown) makes it difficult to rate it very positively. Mine (mostly) gets used for rehearsal anymore, I can't deal with an amp that shuts down on a gig. As has been said already, the PF800 (and the PF350) have far fewer negative user reports, and both bring the tone just as well as the somewhat risky (IMO/IME) PF500. And the PF800 has the major headroom benefit too.
the good news is that there are so many good options to choose from.
good luck with your choice.

 

I ordered the PF500 last fall, then thought better of it and returned it unopened for the PF800. I'm more confident in that unit.

 

I have been using mine almost exclusively for about three months....I haven't had any issues at all...knock on wood..

 

my pf500 is great...it is played for weekly 3 hr practices at volume and is used for recording in studio and it sits right next to my desk for practice...best tone i ever had, it cuts in a recording mix and the Ampeg tone really has bumped up my sound a notch..great amp..super cool and portable

 

i would go with the 800 i think they sound nice i played 500 at 8 ohms it was not loud but it was smooth deep and great for the money

 

PF500 or PF800, both will give you great sound with a PF115HE or PF210HE, IMO.
I have used my PF800 loads of times with the 115HE and/or the 210HE cab.
I just love the sound of it. The vintage/Motown sound is easily dialed in.

 

It's not a stupid question, but there is this thing called search which helps you get started.

 

In that case, I'd say do the 500.