Yes, I did get them from Ampeg to be sure I got the right ones. I think they were about $38 delivered. I am loving them every time I move my amp.
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Ampeg Portaflex PF115HE Mods
- Thread starter stiles72
- Start date
Yes, I did get them from Ampeg to be sure I got the right ones. I think they were about $38 delivered. I am loving them every time I move my amp.
Stiles,
It has been a little more than a month now. How are you liking the ports on the PF115? Is it still all you had hoped it would be?
I was wondering, since some speakers are good in sealed cabinets and others in closed cabinets, how is the speaker sounding to you? Have you used it in a band situation yet?
It has been a little more than a month now. How are you liking the ports on the PF115? Is it still all you had hoped it would be?
I was wondering, since some speakers are good in sealed cabinets and others in closed cabinets, how is the speaker sounding to you? Have you used it in a band situation yet?
After much thought, I decided to mod one of my PF115HE cabs. The one I am modding will be designated as the top cab when using two and the go-too cab when using just one.
Today I went ahead and installed side handles and a tilt back bar. I think the side handles will be most useful when stacking the cabs. I never found an ideal way to stack the cabs without the handles, but now it is easy to do even with the PF500 attached.
I, like a couple others have reported on the PF thread, have had trouble hearing myself in rehearsal situations with the single cab - and found myself turning my amp up louder after every song. I think the tilt bar will alleviate this problem - although during preliminary listening tests the combo seems to lose significant low end in the tilted position (maybe ports will be my next move - what do you think Stiles?). I still think it will be an asset for rehearsals and jazz type gigs the way it is now. I figure I will use the Ampeg labeled pouch for storing the tilt bar in when not in use.
If anyone is curious, you can got a tilt bar and hardware at fliptops.net. I got my tilt back bar from an Ebay auction. The seller re-listed a messed up B15S cab a few times but there were no takers (probably because of the cost to ship the poor beat up cab), so I made him an offer on just the hardware - which had already been removed. I also got the B15S's handles, corners etc.
The matching handles I used on the PF115 came from here Invalid Link Removed
I don't know if they were made by the same supplier that Ampeg uses, but I could not tell if there was a difference in a side by side comparison.
I did consider making ports in the sides that would double as handles (like my '61 B15N has) but I don't know enough about porting and I did not want to mess up the tolex (which is unavailable to the public as far as I know).
Anyway, I will post some pictures of today's progress.
Today I went ahead and installed side handles and a tilt back bar. I think the side handles will be most useful when stacking the cabs. I never found an ideal way to stack the cabs without the handles, but now it is easy to do even with the PF500 attached.
I, like a couple others have reported on the PF thread, have had trouble hearing myself in rehearsal situations with the single cab - and found myself turning my amp up louder after every song. I think the tilt bar will alleviate this problem - although during preliminary listening tests the combo seems to lose significant low end in the tilted position (maybe ports will be my next move - what do you think Stiles?). I still think it will be an asset for rehearsals and jazz type gigs the way it is now. I figure I will use the Ampeg labeled pouch for storing the tilt bar in when not in use.
If anyone is curious, you can got a tilt bar and hardware at fliptops.net. I got my tilt back bar from an Ebay auction. The seller re-listed a messed up B15S cab a few times but there were no takers (probably because of the cost to ship the poor beat up cab), so I made him an offer on just the hardware - which had already been removed. I also got the B15S's handles, corners etc.
The matching handles I used on the PF115 came from here Invalid Link Removed
I don't know if they were made by the same supplier that Ampeg uses, but I could not tell if there was a difference in a side by side comparison.
I did consider making ports in the sides that would double as handles (like my '61 B15N has) but I don't know enough about porting and I did not want to mess up the tolex (which is unavailable to the public as far as I know).
Anyway, I will post some pictures of today's progress.
Attachments
nice mod. I have not found the PF500/115HE to be a huge problem to carry with the handle on top. I use casters on mine, so I mostly push it (so far) with my gig bag riding on top.
regarding the tilt bar, that's also an interesting mod. I usually just pull the rear casters off on mine to tilt it up. I wonder how much more tilt your mod gives compared to using the caster method ? Just eyeballing it from the pics, looks like your tilt bar is a bit more of an angle.
The distance from the front bottom of the cab to the floor is about 8 inches. I wanted it to tilt as much as possible while the two back rubber feet remained on the floor.
The mods look great!
I've made a few of the tilt bars out of round aluminum rod that I buy by the foot from aircraftspruce.com. You can cut it any length that you want and it polishes easily.
I've made a few of the tilt bars out of round aluminum rod that I buy by the foot from aircraftspruce.com. You can cut it any length that you want and it polishes easily.
Ya, the tilt bar tilts it back way farther than taking out the back wheels. I'm against the handles ( 
not really, but I don't mind them not having handles), but a tilt rod would be nice.
not really, but I don't mind them not having handles), but a tilt rod would be nice.
Tilt back is a great idea. Fliptops charges $40 for the unit, which seems a bit steep to me. How do you mount the rod to your homemade version??
The amps that I made the legs for all had the original cup on the cabinet. For some reason, these things are often missing on vintage amps.
I've never seen the tilt back kit available from anywhere other than flip tops. The part that mounts on speaker cabinet has a sealed cup the holds the leg. It would probably cost you more to make it than what flip tops sells it for.
There are also two broom type clips that are mounted inside the cab to store the rod when it is not in use.
I've never seen the tilt back kit available from anywhere other than flip tops. The part that mounts on speaker cabinet has a sealed cup the holds the leg. It would probably cost you more to make it than what flip tops sells it for.
There are also two broom type clips that are mounted inside the cab to store the rod when it is not in use.
Thanks! I'll have to give this some thought. I'm sure I can come up with a reasonable alternative. I'm thinking about those large threaded rods and a simple bolt type system, but the trick would be sealing it... Time for an exploratory trip to the hardware store!
Fender tilt legs suck. I've had more Fenders fall over from those stupid tilt legs.
Nice mods. I just took the plunge on a PF115 today. Just out of curiosity, what is the distance between the bottom edge and the floor with the caster-method? Just trying to get a handle (no pun intended) on what my options are.
We've been really slow lately (mainy due to our day jobs) and so I haven't had a chance to use it at a live show yet. But I will be taking it out this Friday & Saturday with my oldies/classic rock group. I can say that so far I'm very happy with it at home and at practice. Full gig report to come...
Nice work! I too have found the handles make it much easier for stacking. I think the regular lid handle works fine for transporting, but stacking the top cab when the PF500 was flipped over required giving it the bear hug treatment.
I concur about not being able to hear a single PF115 in a live setting all that well. The first time I took it out, I had my B-100R running alongside of it and I could hear and feel the the B-100R much better. I think Greg described the B-100R as "filling the room better". With the addition of a second PF cab that has been ported, I'm very pleased with the results so far. Nice big bottom that seems to "radiate" much better.
Std casters that come with the amp give about 4" of space from the floor to the bottom of the amp.
Bass45's tilt bar mod gives 8", so it tilts the PF up quite a bit more.
The 2 caster method works for me and allows me to hear the rig better than when its flat on the ground. If you wanted more "tilt" but did not want to do the tilt bar mod, you could just go for larger casters - as an option.
While I think the tilt bar is a cool mod, I will still use the casters to move my PF500/115HE around anyway, so I'm going to stick with that approach for tilt back. I have been thinking of getting larger casters (with somewhat softer wheels) because bigger wheels makes for an easier move.
enjoy!
