PF 500: Failure Issues?

[Crater]

Is this still an issue?

No. (in my opinion )

What corrective steps were taken?

See the attached file in post #10. I think the "added snubbers" was a key change in making these more reliable.

How these be identified?

Revision number on the main circuit board, Rev. D or higher.; manufacture date of 2012 or later as determined by the serial number. Good luck.

I would actually consider if:it was revised with no failures, it actually put out an honest 500 watts, and that it sounded very good.

It has been revised, and the new ones are said to be much more reliable. It DOES put out an honest 500 watts into a 4-ohm load. Output into an 8 ohm load is about 325 watts. But like all class-D amps, doesn't have any headroom beyond that. Whether it "sounds very good" is of course a personal preference. There are other compact class-D bass heads to choose from if you don't like Ampeg's offerings.

 

[M.J.F.]

Thankyou from me and others im sure for a stamped concrete update.So much debunking on this issue.And the faulty 50 or so units, sounds more like 1000 plus.Im mean come on..Yes I like its features and will demo one soon.I find Ampeg heads to have a "murky" tone in the mids.I don't mean that in a bad way.To me they all seem to have a hint of svt nasal air .they are just different than say Fender, or Markbass..Cheers

 

[JimmyM]

You can dial those mids down if that isn't your thing.

 

[lifeoffroadbass]

Looks like the 50 or so are all members of talkbass.

Portaflex cutting out poll | TalkBass.com

That's if the people actually complaining about the faulty amp actually had the same issue which cannot be proven even with a poll. How many trolls you think post on this issue or take a poll just to take a pool that do not even own an Ampeg. I wouldn't trust a poll on any forum.

 

[lifeoffroadbass]

Thankyou from me and others im sure for a stamped concrete update.So much debunking on this issue.And the faulty 50 or so units, sounds more like 1000 plus.Im mean come on..Yes I like its features and will demo one soon.I find Ampeg heads to have a "murky" tone in the mids.I don't mean that in a bad way.To me they all seem to have a hint of svt nasal air .they are just different than say Fender, or Markbass..Cheers

Actually, you can dial it to sound exactly like an SVT at 1/4 of the price. There's a video on Youtube about it.

 

[JimmyM]

Actually, you can dial it to sound exactly like an SVT at 1/4 of the price. There's a video on Youtube about it.

Well, kinda sorta There's a reason they cost less than an SVT besides being light.

 

[lifeoffroadbass]

Well, kinda sorta There's a reason they cost less than an SVT besides being light.

I dont know i think its pretty spot on. Let's put it this way, if i blindfolded you in a room with them i bet you couldnt tell which was which. Haha. I think other factors come into play like which cab you have and what bass. I'm sure you this however I'll post for others.

Watch "Ampeg Portaflex and SVT Comparison" on YouTube
Ampeg Portaflex and SVT Comparison:

 

[JimmyM]

I own most of those heads and two SVTs, bro. They are quite good and sound quite Ampeggy. But I could pick out the real SVT 100 percent of the time.

 

[marko138]

I've watched that video half a dozen times. The PF is VERY convincing but it's not 100% identical.

 

[beans-on-toast]

All new electronic equipment has failures. Here is an example of the Xbox 360. According to the artice, their failure rates were around 16% which is way higher than normal industry levels. The Playstation 3 had a failure rate of around 3% out of the box. Check out the charts in the article for longer term failure rates. It's really eye opening.

I don't know what the failure rate of the early PF-500 amps were. Certainly their engineers worked at getting it down to a minimum acceptable level. Since it is a current product, I assume that they addressed the issues. There are a lot of reasons why a product fails. The consumer doesn't care what they are, they just want a reliable product. When there are issues, this is where good customer service makes a difference. If Loud made 100,000 amps and there was a failure rate of 0.5%, that would amount to 500 amps. It sounds like a lot and would be a lot as far as we are concerned. Failures garner a lot of publicity and even 25 people posting here would catch everyones attention. They addressed their issues and complaints seem to have subsided. I assume that customer satisfaction levels with the product are higher.

This applies to any transistorized amp: I'd buy a new one with a warranty in a heartbeat. I wouldn't buy a used one unless I know that seller and the amps history well. Even then, for the average buyer, the price would have to be low enough to write off the amp if it developed an issue any time after the sale.

 

[lifeoffroadbass]

All new electronic equipment has failures. Here is an example of the Xbox 360. According to the artice, their failure rates were around 16% which is way higher than normal industry levels. The Playstation 3 had a failure rate of around 3% out of the box. Check out the charts in the article for longer term failure rates. It's really eye opening.

I don't know what the failure rate of the early PF-500 amps were. Certainly their engineers worked at getting it down to a minimum acceptable level. Since it is a current product, I assume that they addressed the issues. There are a lot of reasons why a product fails. The consumer doesn't care what they are, they just want a reliable product. When there are issues, this is where good customer service makes a difference. If Loud made 100,000 amps and there was a failure rate of 0.5%, that would amount to 500 amps. It sounds like a lot and would be a lot as far as we are concerned. Failures garner a lot of publicity and even 25 people posting here would catch everyones attention. They addressed their issues and complaints seem to have subsided. I assume that customer satisfaction levels with the product are higher.

This applies to any transistorized amp: I'd buy a new one with a warranty in a heartbeat. I wouldn't buy a used one unless I know that seller and the amps history well. Even then, for the average buyer, the price would have to be low enough to write off the amp if it developed an issue any time after the sale.

I think price is a good point that's overlooked. I could see being concerned if it were a super expensive product but for what your getting its pretty cheap. Especially considering most users spend thousands on guitars themselves. I don't think I would buy a warranty. It already comes with a minimum and statistically, things break right after the warranty period anyway. At least in my experience. And if you pay for a 100 warrenty, you've now increased that write off amount.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I think price is a good point that's overlooked. I could see being concerned if it were a super expensive product but for what your getting its pretty cheap. Especially considering most users spend thousands on guitars themselves. I don't think I would buy a warranty. It already comes with a minimum and statistically, things break right after the warranty period anyway. At least in my experience. And if you pay for a 100 warrenty, you've now increased that write off amount.

I wouldn't buy a warranty either. Buy a new amp and it comes with a warranty. Buy a used amp and you take your chances.

Tube amps are a different story. They can be easily fixed and can last indefinitely. My '63 B-15 is 52 years old and in better condition than when it was new.

 

[254 stringer]

I took the gamble. I have a rev D. thats almost 2 years old and has been flawless. I use it with 2 of the pf15he's and have even hooked it up to my 8x10 never a cut out and plenty of power for my needs. Who knows it may crap out the next time I flip the switch.

 

[seamonkey]

LOUD should have done a formal "Recall" on those 50 bad amps. Apparently they're still not working.

LOUD should have a 5-year factory warranty.
Other brand amps in this category do.
If they don't fail, then there's no problem for LOUD having a longer warranty.

 

[lifeoffroadbass]

I own most of those heads and two SVTs, bro. They are quite good and sound quite Ampeggy. But I could pick out the real SVT 100 percent of the time.

Nobody said you could cheat man

 

[marko138]

I took the gamble. I have a rev D. thats almost 2 years old and has been flawless. I use it with 2 of the pf15he's and have even hooked it up to my 8x10 never a cut out and plenty of power for my needs. Who knows it may crap out the next time I flip the switch.

Out of curiosity I just cracked mine open. Rev D for mine as well.

 

[Slpbass81]

I was considering buying a cheaper used PF-500 on Craigslist but had reserves from everything negative written on Talkbass. I go to my gig today and the bass player in the other bands amp starts cutting out. Ends up it is a pf-500 and has already been in the shop 2 times and still having issues. That sealed the deal that I would not be picking one up.

 

[chris_b]

The most important part of any rig is reliability. . . . . end of.

An amp failure in the middle of a gig might not matter to some but just one failure is a critical issue for me.

Multiple failures is the end of the line for any gear as far as I'm concerned.

 

[seamonkey]

There must be a lot of techs that know how to repair these by now.
Maybe they're buying the broken ones, fixing them, then reselling on ebay?

 

[marko138]

2012 second two weeks of June. Does that make sense?

Beans...can you tell me which letter corresponds to the week and year in the PF500 serial?

I've got another I'm trying to figure out for a friend.