Ampeg users, what do you use...ultra hi...lo...both...none?

[Camaro69]

I got to thinking about this, and here is my manifesto. I jumper the two channels. So here are my tone options:

1) Bass goes into Channel 1 Normal, out Bright and into Channel 2 Normal.
2) What if we go out of C1 Bright and into Ch 2 bright?
3) What if we go into Ch1 Bright, and then from Ch1 Normal to Ch 2 Normal?

Okay so, about Ultra Hi and Ultra Low:

4) Ch 1 Ultra high on -
5) Ch 1 Ultra high on +
6) Ch 1 Ultra Low on -
7) Ch 1 Ultra Low on 0
8) Ch 1 Ultra Low on +

Now.....what about...

9) Ch 1 Ultra Hi on - and Ch 2 Ultra Hi on +
10) Or what about Ch 1 on + and Ch 2 on -
11) Or what about Ch 1 on - and Ch 2 on -
12) Or Ch 1 on + and Ch 2 on +

And then there are the six configurations of the Ultra Low switches. Multiplied by the four combinations mentioned just above, we've not no less than 24 different permutations of Ultra Hi and Ultra Lo positions.

And then there is the treble and bass knobs. And finally, lest we forget, there is the magical three-position midrange switch and the knob just below that.

And so, my dear friends, I think we've got tone options way in excess of the venerable Walkman and WD800 Mesas. Arguably....too many tone options to even navigate. Boom.

Can you record all those for us please?

Nah I’ll go downstairs and twiddle knobs for an hour. Nothing better to do

 

[Bobbadfinger]

I enjoy the ultra-low on my SVT Classic for home thumping.

 

[acoustic951]

Warning Opinions Ahead.....

From the sound man half of me: I always had trouble with bass players and the "smiley face" EQ, Remove the mids, boost the lows and highs, no character left in their sound. (Generally younger players who have not yet learned to EQ to the room) To each his own, everyone has the right to find "their sound". I just hated dealing with the rogue low frequencies causing trouble on stage.

From the bass player half of me: I run my PF500 pretty flat, I try to let the character of the specific bass that I brought to the gig sound like it should. You can't make Precision sound like Ric by using EQ, or at least I can't, and why would you? I take into account the sound of the venue and make the necessary tweaks. I find myself usually cutting problem frequencies, rather than boosting anything. I feel that if I have to EQ my head TOO MUCH it may be the speaker cabinet or the bass not giving me what I want. Once again, my opinion.

Rock On

 

[baxter_x]

From the sound man half of me: I always had trouble with bass players and the "smiley face" EQ, Remove the mids, boost the lows and highs, no character left in their sound. (Generally younger players who have not yet learned to EQ to the room) To each his own, everyone has the right to find "their sound". I just hated dealing with the rogue low frequencies causing trouble on stage.

I agree and see whet you mean. However, if set up correctly with some knowledge the "smiley face" can be not so hard to deal with from a sound man perspective. Especially if used with an HPF.

 

[halcyo]

I have an Ampeg PF800, and I have hardly ever used the Ultra Lo or Hi, but I do crank the bass knob to about 3 o’clock, with slight mid boost too at maybe 1 o’clock. I mean it’s BASS, so it should have some bottom!

Recently I have been using the Plugin Alliance SVT plugin for some mixing and will say that the character of the Lo and Hi buttons on the SVT plugin is much more musical and useful, so it’s causing me to experiment with the Ultra Lo on the PF800 a bit. I just wish it didn’t suck the mids out so much. The Ultra Hi is clacky as hell- I don’t see myself needing it for anything.

 

[Shlabotnik]

I like the Ultra-Hi on my 7-Pro especially with my 4003 to get the grinder sound but I usually roll off the treble knob a bit if I have it on. My need for it could be attributed to hearing loss.
To someone else listening it might sound like bats. I dunno!!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

ultra low is a must for jazz basses and other basses with weak low end.

Tell that to Family man Barrett.
Weak low end jazz bass I think not.

 

[Treblefree]

I voted both because sometimes I do use both, but sometimes I only use ultra low without pushing the bass knob so it helps fill up the spectrum when playing with a 3 piece (think of a pad being added, but I lose a little clarity too), but honestly I think the sound I like best on my SVT 7Pro is with neither engaged. Sometimes though it also depends on just the song and what I want to sound like for it or even the bass I'm using at that time too.

I almost always run my gain about 75-80% and I get more of that SVT sound I like when neither ultra high or low are engaged unless the song calls for it or as I mentioned I'm trying to fill the room more.

The ultra high tends to give me stage noise in my cab/s if I run it. If I disengage, most of the stage noise goes away. Ironically, the ultra low also gives a tiny amount of hiss that if I disengage it too, the amp is quieter overall.

 

[baxter_x]

sometimes I only use ultra low without pushing the bass knob so

THat's to me the secret when you use the ultra low switch. I always use it, but I massively reduce the bass know down to 25%. So it never gets muddy or puts in danger the cab.
I should have mentioned that earlier actually

 

[Zbysek]

Neither.

That’s (one of the reasons) why I chose PF-20T over PF-50T...

 

[beans-on-toast]

The ultra-lo is a carry over from the first SVT design.

This is a quote from Bill Hughes describing why he added the ultra-lo to the early Ampeg amps:

That ultra low switch notches in the upper frequencies to give the illusion of more bass without causing overload on the low end. It was formulated for certain Gibson basses. The same principle was used in other Ampeg and some Fender amps, as well as the Peavey Probass 1000 preamp.
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Engaging it can help with some pickups. If you have a lot of low end out of an EB-O for example, you can compensate.

 

[JimiLL]

Sometimes I use the LO-switch on my SVT3PRO. It scoops the mids a little too much so I usually dial back some mids (freq 3) and cut a little bass. The resulting sound is nice & usable and a little bit different than just boosting the bass and cutting mids with the rotary controls.

I agree

 

[Scott Shaw]

Sometimes I use the LO-switch on my SVT3PRO. It scoops the mids a little too much so I usually dial back some mids (freq 3) and cut a little bass. The resulting sound is nice & usable and a little bit different than just boosting the bass and cutting mids with the rotary controls.

I tried this setting last Friday at a gig, and it sounded great with my Roscoe Beck Jazz V through the bridge pickup in humbucker mode. Had a very Stingray vibe (think "Smooth Operator" tone).

 

[Martin Beer]

I use the ultra hi on my PF-50T occasionally, but the only time I've found the ultra low useful was through an 8x10 from the "dark years" in a rehearsal space, where the dip in the mids seemed to help with clarity.