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PF-800

The main reason for my question is the because of the 7 pro. Now ampeg has a 350, 500, 800, and 1k. Seems like one of these wont sell as much. Time will tell but it's a little odd to me.

If they were all voiced identically I think there would be some issue. There is a difference between the 350 and 500, who knows about the 800? Also the SVT-7 is different again. Are they all in the Ampeg ball park? Sure, but they are not all the same.
 
The main reason for my question is the because of the 7 pro. Now ampeg has a 350, 500, 800, and 1k. Seems like one of these wont sell as much. Time will tell but it's a little odd to me.
You left out the 200 and 100 watters ;)

Obviously one will sell the best and one will sell the worst. But as long as the worst seller is still profitable for the company to keep, it'll remain in the lineup.
 
If they were all voiced identically I think there would be some issue. There is a difference between the 350 and 500, who knows about the 800? Also the SVT-7 is different again. Are they all in the Ampeg ball park? Sure, but they are not all the same.

That's a really good point.
If the PF800 is voiced more like the PF500 as opposed to the PF350, I would be tempted to go for the 800 because it's voiced differently than the 350 I have, and also has a larger step up in power than the step between the 350 and 500.
 
That's a really good point.
If the PF800 is voiced more like the PF500 as opposed to the PF350, I would be tempted to go for the 800 because it's voiced differently than the 350 I have, and also has a larger step up in power than the step between the 350 and 500.

My PF-500 clips a lot at the volumes I run. I think it could benefit from another 300 watts just to keep the distortion down. However that could be because of the preamp; but it certainly seems tied to the main volume knob and sounds more like power amp distortion than preamp. If the 800 had the same preamp voicing as the 500, the 800 is certainly warranted and it would fix a lot of the issues with the 500, IMO.

However it will most likely be overpowered for the Portaflex cabinets with the flip top part.
 
My PF-500 clips a lot at the volumes I run. I think it could benefit from another 300 watts just to keep the distortion down. However that could be because of the preamp; but it certainly seems tied to the main volume knob and sounds more like power amp distortion than preamp. If the 800 had the same preamp voicing as the 500, the 800 is certainly warranted and it would fix a lot of the issues with the 500, IMO.

However it will most likely be overpowered for the Portaflex cabinets with the flip top part.

+1

It would pair up well with more robust cabs though. Maybe that is the point? Keep the 350/500 for use with the flip tops, use the 800 with the 410's or other cabs?
 
My PF-500 clips a lot at the volumes I run. I think it could benefit from another 300 watts just to keep the distortion down. However that could be because of the preamp; but it certainly seems tied to the main volume knob and sounds more like power amp distortion than preamp. If the 800 had the same preamp voicing as the 500, the 800 is certainly warranted and it would fix a lot of the issues with the 500, IMO.

However it will most likely be overpowered for the Portaflex cabinets with the flip top part.
The speakers do 450w thermal in the fliptop cabs so you could in theory not blow them but they'll start farting out sooner. I could crank my PF350 very hard with one cab (200w) and not get it to fart out. Don't know what the upper fartout limit is but those cabs do take a pounding.

But in my experiences with micros, headroom is considerably more important than it is with trad solid state or tube, as all micros I've played seem to clamp down hard once you reach their top wattage capabilities. Either a hard limiter engages, a very nasty digital-sounding clipping happens, it momentarily cuts out, or any combination of these. Me, I can use a Micro VR and never run out of headroom, but if you're looking to be stupid loud with a micro, getting the highest power micro you can afford and running it at a lower setting is in your best interests.
 
The speakers do 450w thermal in the fliptop cabs so you could in theory not blow them but they'll start farting out sooner. I could crank my PF350 very hard with one cab (200w) and not get it to fart out. Don't know what the upper fartout limit is but those cabs do take a pounding.

But in my experiences with micros, headroom is considerably more important than it is with trad solid state or tube, as all micros I've played seem to clamp down hard once you reach their top wattage capabilities. Either a hard limiter engages, a very nasty digital-sounding clipping happens, it momentarily cuts out, or any combination of these. Me, I can use a Micro VR and never run out of headroom, but if you're looking to be stupid loud with a micro, getting the highest power micro you can afford and running it at a lower setting is in your best interests.

My 15/6/1 has significantly less distortion itself than a typical bass guitar speaker. I can clearly hear the clipping of the power amp. My guess is that while you are not farting out your speakers; the speaker harmonic distortion themselves is masking the power amp distortion. Trust me.. its there. It clips hard too.

I agree with everything else, especially about headroom.
 
However it will most likely be overpowered for the Portaflex cabinets with the flip top part.

+1

It would pair up well with more robust cabs though. Maybe that is the point? Keep the 350/500 for use with the flip tops, use the 800 with the 410's or other cabs?

My thoughts exactly.

The 800 would work great with my 2 non-fliptop PF-115LF cabs, but would be overkill for a single one. I'll be interested to see when it hits the street and for how much.
 
"3. PRIZES: One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive one (1) Custom Ampeg PF-800 Bass Head (ARV $719.99), one (1) Ampeg PF-410HLF Bass Enclosure (AVR $769.99) and one (1) Ampeg PF-115LF Bass Enclosure (ARV $419.99). ARV (Approximate Retail Value) of the Grand Prize is $1979.99."

This is taken strait from the Facebook page.

That would put it around $500 street price.