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PF-50 or Subway D-800 +?

#41
I played a PF-50 at a local Sam Ash and I am hooked. The tube tone is just amazing and it was much louder than I expected with the matching 15" PF speaker cab. I always play through the PA anyways, so I am not worried about being heard as well as we have a recording project coming up soon. I am saving gig money now and I hope to purchase by the end of this month.
 
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#43
SpirosGer said:
Thank you very much all for your replies! So as it seems most people here prefer mesa.But again its a full tube amp vs class D amp . I dont care about how much loud will be the amp so i dont care about how many watts will be . Instead i want to take the amp with the "Best" sound quality thats my point .
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Since I am myself looking at the Ampeg Pf-20 and 50, I'd be inclined to lean that way.
But that is because I have a solid quality class D head with enough power to get me as loud as I wish, with headroom to spare. And a backup. (And a backup backup Peavey Lead Sled, that will probably outlive me). 50W is just not enough when the guitar player is bringing a halfstack.

My priorities as someone who rehearses with multiple bands and gigs regularly would always be:
1. A reliable working head with more than enough power for rock music.
2. some sort of backup (could be old, barely cutting it, not sounding so good - just as long as it is something that can bridge the gap)
3. a fancy looking low wattage tube head.
 
#45
I love Mesa amps, and would love to pick up a Subway 800 if I could find one in good, used condition or new with a sizeable discount. I just don't see these pop up very often. I also love Ampeg amps and I was able to pick up a pf-50t for about 600 bucks new at a local store sale. This would not be my go-to amp for gigging, but I absolutely love the tone for playing at home or in a studio.

I guess what I'm saying is,
1) The Mesa amp and Ampeg amp both produce great sound, and
2) The Ampeg products seem to be more mass-distributed than Mesa products, and so I can find used and/or discounted models more easily than Mesa Boogie products.
 
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#46
Korladis said:
PF-50T for recording. D-800 for gigging (metal at least).
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Like he said.

The PF-50T is a big, heavy hunk of metal and tubes bolted to the roof of my cabinet. It likes to be left alone in the corner of the room and only be asked to do one thing: provide fat, buttery low-end when turned on and warmed up. It was not built to be moved around all the time -- just look at its shape!

On the other hand, the Subway was made for big output and easy transport. It comes with its own carry bag! Small and light and high tech. When you turn it on, it thinks for a moment... then clicks to life and lights up like Iron Man's helmet!
 
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#47
Well
Back when all there was was tube amps, we moved them all the time.
I disagree with your assessment that tube amps need to be left at home on principal.
 
#49
I'll be the odd voice out. I recently sold my D-800+ and just acquired an Ampeg B-25 (similiar in spec and probably sound to the PF50T, only 50 years older... :) ) Admittedly, I don't plan on gigging with it, but I never really understood what folks meant who were looking for that "tone in their head" until I played straight into this Ampeg...
 
#50
Chef said:
I disagree with your assessment that tube amps need to be left at home on principal.
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I did not say that tube amps need to be left at home. I have spent many years hauling around big heavy all-tube heads from gig to gig and town to town.

In the context of, "Which should I choose, amp A or amp B," I agreed that I would choose one for gigging (Subway) and the other to keep at home (PF).
 
#51
If you want an all tube ampeg and plan on gigging at all, save some more money and go with the V-4B. It isn't small, but you aren't going to get a tube rig that's small and loud enough to play gigs without PA support. The Mesa is very nice (I used to own one) but nothing to my ears beats that all tube tone. It may be worth it to invest in both a tube and a class D amp at some point.
 

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