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Official Ampeg Portaflex Club

#16,181
JimmyM said:
Man, if this is true, I don't know who to be more mad at...Sputnik for knowing before me or my Ampeg gang for not tipping me off first :D
Click to expand...

The design cycle is a long and involved process. It starts at a high level with a time frame, budget, and marketing strategy. The designers work on specifications propose a design, there's an iterative prototyping phase where revisions are made, different components, such as the transformers, are tried. Many decisions are required. It is more cost effective if you can use building blocks from existing designs that the company has. There are listening tests and revisions. Parts have to be sourced. A circuit board, chassis, cabinet, and even the packaging has to be designed. Extensive documentation is required. The final product has to be designed for manufacturing. Automated machines need to be able to do most of the work. Extensive testing has to be done, both in the lab and in the field. Safety agency certifications are needed for around the world. Internal company training has to be set up as does training standard operating procedure documents for the service centers. It's a complicated process that involves a lot of different groups.

It is difficult to respond to current trends in a short time. A good way for a company to be able to stay ahead of the curve is to have designs in the queue waiting on the shelf for the right time to come along. No doubt, Loud has products waiting. Products have life cycles come into play. Products need to retired and new ones put in place. They want to introduce products when the economy is good and when it won't impact on the sales of another products. So many things have to be right. At the same time, they need new products to keep their line vibrant by changing or adding to it.

What could be in the queue? I'm guessing a lower wattage tube amp with a dummy load built in and a good DI output for recording, a Heritage SVT-VR, a flat back 810, a revamp of the solid state PF series.
 
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#16,182
beans-on-toast said:
The design cycle is a long and involved process. It starts at a high level with a time frame, budget, and marketing strategy. The designers work on specifications propose a design, there's an iterative prototyping phase where revisions are made, different components, such as the transformers, are tried. Many decisions are required. It is more cost effective if you can use building blocks from existing designs that the company has. There are listening tests and revisions. Parts have to be sourced. A circuit board, chassis, cabinet, and even the packaging has to be designed. Extensive documentation is required. The final product has to be designed for manufacturing. Automated machines need to be able to do most of the work. Extensive testing has to be done, both in the lab and in the field. Safety agency certifications are needed for around the world. Internal company training has to be set up as does training standard operating procedure documents for the service centers. It's a complicated process that involves a lot of different groups.

It is difficult to respond to current trends in a short time. A good way for a company to be able to stay ahead of the curve is to have designs in the queue waiting on the shelf for the right time to come along. No doubt, Loud has products waiting. Products have life cycles come into play. Products need to retired and new ones put in place. They want to introduce products when the economy is good and when it won't impact on the sales of another products. So many things have to be right. At the same time, they need new products to keep their line vibrant by changing or adding to it.

What could be in the queue? I'm guessing a lower wattage tube amp with a dummy load built in and a good DI output for recording, a Heritage SVT-VR, a flat back 810, a revamp of the solid state PF series.
Click to expand...

+1 What I think is interesting to note here, is that Ampeg did several revisions of the B-15 between 1960 and 1975. So even after an amplifier is "rolled out" there are always things that will be changed, some of those changes will
be design inprovements, while othere will simply be cost cutting. An example of that in the 60's was the shift over to single baffle cabinets, because they less labor intensive to build. While the change over to the Thiele cabinets was
a new design. When the amps were built "in house" as they were in the 60's and 70's, they could incorporate design changes on the production floor. The difference today is that with outsourcing, there's a lag between new products
being concieved and tested, and their rollout. So as David mentions they have to have various stages of a new product "in the pipeline" all the time, some of which we never see.

Ric
 
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#16,183
Ric Vice said:
+1 What I think is interesting to note here, is that Ampeg did several revisions of the B-15 between 1960 and 1975. So even after an amplifier is "rolled out" there are always things that will be changed, some of those changes will
be design inprovements, while othere will simply be cost cutting. An example of that in the 60's was the shift over to single baffle cabinets, because they less labor intensive to build. While the change over to the Thiele cabinets was a new design. When the amps were built "in house" as they were in the 60's and 70's, they could incorporate design changes on the production floor. The difference today is that with outsourcing, there's a lag between new products being conceived and tested, and their rollout. So as David mentions they have to have various stages of a new product "in the pipeline" all the time, some of which we never see.

Ric
Click to expand...

...and sometimes products are changed just because they want something new for trade shows such as NAMM. The 1967 model was given a new look then they changed the design not long after by adding the ultra-tone switches. The B-15 evolved over time, not necessarily better, but different.

You can certainly see cost cutting over the years. In the case of the SVT and V4, the circuit boards in 74 have not stood up as well as the initial revisions. There are exceptions, the modern SVT VR and CL have remained much the same over quite a span of time. These are big sellers that they probably don't want to mess with. The 810 cabinets have had a number of changes over the years though. Cost cutting is a fact of life then and now.
 
#16,193
First gig with the new bass!! This thing has only been played through B15s!!! The luthier has one in his living room for test rides when you pick up a finished project. This rig is outrageous. Never played a jazz pickup before and the Aguilar pick ups do a fantastic job!!

cheers

photo_zpscsyczkbz.jpg
 
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#16,194
jbd5015 said:
First gig with the new bass!! This thing has only been played through B15s!!! The luthier has one in his living room for test rides when you pick up a finished project. This rig is outrageous. Never played a jazz pickup before and the Aguilar pick ups do a fantastic job!!

cheers

photo_zpscsyczkbz.jpg
Click to expand...


I very much like the look, from the headstock to the dark tortoise shell pick guard against the white.
 
#16,197
beans-on-toast said:
Me thinks so. Given their product lineup, it makes sense that this could be the next logical step.
Click to expand...

Twould be very interesting, me thinks. On another note. I was blowing out the dust and cleaning the input jacks on my B-15N(C) and thought I'd attempt to clean and lubricate the volume, treble and bass pots, but
I can't find an entry "portal" to spray Deoxit into the pots, and I don't want to mess any of the componets up considering that the tone stack has those large square ceramic components on the outside, as part of the
assembly. Any suggestions? Heres a couple of pics.
Ampeg B-15 Tone Stack Assembly.jpg


Ampeg B-15 Tone Stack Assembly.jpg
 
#16,198
Ric Vice said:
Twould be very interesting, me thinks. On another note. I was blowing out the dust and cleaning the input jacks on my B-15N(C) and thought I'd attempt to clean and lubricate the volume, treble and bass pots, but
I can't find an entry "portal" to spray Deoxit into the pots, and I don't want to mess any of the componets up considering that the tone stack has those large square ceramic components on the outside, as part of the
assembly. Any suggestions? Heres a couple of pics.
View attachment 688280

View attachment 688280
Click to expand...


There are a few simple but important details to keep in mind when cleaning pots. Apply Deoxit D5 spray where it will be effective, don't apply too much, and use it only when necessary. Chemicals can rejuvenate a pot but they can also destroy it.

The attached image shows where to apply the deoxit and where not to. Not all pots have an access port where the deoxit can be applied, some are sealed. With sealed pots, you can sometimes bend back the tabs and remove the case to gain access to the resistive element and wiper. With CTS pots like the ones used in the B-15, it's best to apply the Deoxit where the terminals are. Apply a drop at a time or small spritz and work the pot back and forth to work it in.

The adjustment shaft has lubricant at the top and at the opposite side where is indicates not here. If the lubricant is dissolved by the Deoxit and migrates onto the resistive element or wiper, it can destroy the pot.


cts pot 1.jpg



​
As the pot is used and with time, oxidation, dust, and other gunk build up and make the pot noisy and rotation sluggish. The following links show the anatomy of a pot: The Secret Life of Pots and Repairing old potentiometers. The links show you where the surface of the resistive element and the wiper are. There are the parts that need to be cleaned. When cleaning a pot, visualize where these parts are so you can apply the deoxit where it is needed.

When a pot can't be cleaned from the outside, you can carefully disassemble the pot and do a better job of cleaning it from the inside and sometimes save having to change the pot.
 
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#16,199
Beginner question:
I have a PF-500 head and a PF115 cab. I would like to eventually buy a cab for the mids. I was thinking a PF-410 to keep the PF series going. I am reading here that the PF-410 is heavy on the lows. It there a better option for the mid-range?
I play mostly punk, thus need some more bright attack.
 
#16,200
shortschoolbus said:
Beginner question:
I have a PF-500 head and a PF115 cab. I would like to eventually buy a cab for the mids. I was thinking a PF-410 to keep the PF series going. I am reading here that the PF-410 is heavy on the lows. It there a better option for the mid-range?
I play mostly punk, thus need some more bright attack.
Click to expand...

Buy another PF115 and turn some knobs. Otherwise, buy a PF 210, since it is a better match.
 

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