Why are the Ampeg Portaflex amps so cheap?

[DiabolusInMusic]

I've never heard of anyone giving a warranty to anyone but the original purchaser.

Fender, Hartke, Yorkville/Traynor, Peavey, Markbass to name a couple small-time companies.

I am sure there are more. I am just naming amp manufacturers specifically.

 

[Fat Steve]

In my first band experience, as bass player in a small church, the sound man (husband of the keyboard player) would keep telling me I was too loud. Finally, in one rehearsal, I kept turning down until I had turned my bass completely off, but I kept playing. His wife stopped the music and said I was STILL too loud. At that point I revealed my pet peeve to the band. To wit, the guitar player, who could only strum chords, was running two 4x12 cabs with a peavey 200 watt head with his bass turned up.

That fixed it.

Our guitar player is playing my old Marshall TSL602, which is a 2-12" combo, and his bass knob is at about noon with the bass button off.

Now, at one point he was using my Mesa Triple Rec with a 4-12" cab, and yeah he was a bass machine. Had to take that amp home so as to avoid the bad mix.

No, my PF-350 is just that badass to where I can get too loud for some rooms. Of course I turn it down so as not to be a jerk. I must have ended up with the super secret model that no one else can get, based on some pf the belly aching around here.

 

[Joebone]

Sometimes something is cheaper because it doesn't cost much to make. And sometimes that is because of technological improvements in manufacturing, design and materials.

I'm reminded of a pickup canopy manufacturer in Olympia WA that made those wood framed "squarish looking" aluminum skinned canopies, custom, built to your pickup's dimensions. Meanwhile, a nice fiberglass shell was very shiny and aerodynamic and painted to match your vehicle - and cheaper. They were also significantly lighter weight and much easier to remove and re-attach. But some "purists" said the wood/aluminum was the "quality" route for people that wanted the best - and the price reflected it.

I have not seen one of those canopies "new" in at least 15 years.

More expensive is not better, and sometimes there is a weirdly skewed perception of what is "good" within the ranks of those that are "purists" of a particular item.

Well, of course there is a point at which you hit diminishing returns. Sounds like you're comparing a mass market product with the Verellen Meatsmoke or Reeves of pickup tops! Comparing GK and Ampeg consumer-level products with each other, with some price differential (and an apparent quality differential) between them would be more like comparing the product of two makers of fiberglass tops.

To be clear, I'm not a GK fanboy - I admire the old RB 400, 800 and the little MB150, and have respect for the current RB and MB lines, but don't own GK product. I also love the great old-school Ampeg tube heads, the venerable B-15, and the B-100 is an incredible small box for old school sound, if you can take the weight. But it seems that ownership of Ampeg has been a bouncing ball for many years, and quality control and customer service issues have often arisen. Which is a shame…and I have to say I'm hugely impressed by GK bringing their manufacturing back to the US after encountering quality problems in China…although I suspect recent wage developments in China and foreign exchange factors at the time also played into that decision.

 

[JimmyM]

I've never heard of anyone giving a warranty to anyone but the original purchaser.

There are a handful of companies with transferable warranties. Most do not, though.

 

[Robroy]

Our guitar player is playing my old Marshall TSL602, which is a 2-12" combo, and his bass knob is at about noon with the bass button off.

Now, at one point he was using my Mesa Triple Rec with a 4-12" cab, and yeah he was a bass machine. Had to take that amp home so as to avoid the bad mix.

No, my PF-350 is just that badass to where I can get too loud for some rooms. Of course I turn it down so as not to be a jerk. I must have ended up with the super secret model that no one else can get, based on some pf the belly aching around here.

Art is subjective and I sometimes get appalled at the lack of understanding so many musicians have, regarding the tastes of others. Sadly, I've been guilty of it myself.

Well, except rap and hip-hop are not music.

 

[ursusaltered]

Because there ampeg. Cookie cutter cheap amps. Not saying you can't get a good tone out of them, but the gist is that they are not high end, why expect a high end price tag. It's not like we are talking tech amp, glockenklang, ebs, or bergantino. We are talking off the shelf gc ampeg. Geared towards beginner to intermediate level bassists. It's a solid reliable product, but not gonna give you the response that the high end custom rigs will. I hope that answers your question. Thump on man!!

 

[Robroy]

Because there ampeg. Cookie cutter cheap amps. Not saying you can't get a good tone out of them, but the gist is that they are not high end, why expect a high end price tag. It's not like we are talking tech amp, glockenklang, ebs, or bergantino. We are talking off the shelf gc ampeg. Geared towards beginner to intermediate level bassists. It's a solid reliable product, but not gonna give you the response that the high end custom rigs will. I hope that answers your question. Thump on man!!

What do you mean by "response"?

 

[ursusaltered]

Art is subjective and I sometimes get appalled at the lack of understanding so many musicians have, regarding the tastes of others. Sadly, I've been guilty of it myself.

Well, except rap and hip-hop are not music.

Rap and hip hop stem from funk, jazz, blues, and classical. Just another for of expression man. It's kinda funny how you just proved your point by you second statement. Music IMHO is like a mega sized box of crayons, it all comes from the same source (heart, soul, and inspiration). Each color represents a different emotion, genre, or perspective. You may not like always like each color in the box individually, but together, each of those colors make a whole, which to me is beautiful. All have there place.

 

[Robroy]

Rap and hip hop stem from funk, jazz, blues, and classical. Just another for of expression man. It's kinda funny how you just proved your point by you second statement. Music IMHO is like a mega sized box of crayons, it all comes from the same source (heart, soul, and inspiration). Each color represents a different emotion, genre, or perspective. You may not like always like each color in the box individually, but together, each of those colors make a whole, which to me is beautiful. All have there place.

I was being sarcastic with that last sentence. Hence the smiley.

 

[ursusaltered]

What do you mean by "response"?

Every amp has a slight degree of latency, so to speak. The better the components, the better the response. If you put several different class d amps together and test them, you will see what I mean. When you get into the realm of high end gear comparatively speaking, there is a striking difference. More tone comes through, you notice more of the little nuances and harmonies of the notes. The attack is sharper. That is what I mean by response. I hope that helps.

 

[Robroy]

Just go with carvin. My bx500 is louder than I should need for the foreseeable future. It sounds great, and its priced like an Indonesian made amp but it's made in the USA.

Those things sure seem cheap. However, my first "real" bass setup used a Carvin redline R1000 and the sucker failed after a year. One channel developed an intermittent problem. I just don't trust that company any more.

 

[Robroy]

Every amp has a slight degree of latency, so to speak. The better the components, the better the response. If you put several different class d amps together and test them, you will see what I mean. When you get into the realm of high end gear comparatively speaking, there is a striking difference. More tone comes through, you notice more of the little nuances and harmonies of the notes. The attack is sharper. That is what I mean by response. I hope that helps.

Reminds me of when I sold hi-fi gear. People don't realize that getting higher quality components really does matter, just like mister Thunderbass sez. 'Course, in Hi-fi you were looking at $500 vs $10,000 for basically the same thing but with higher quality. And I really could hear the difference. The fortunate thing for my wallet is that in a live situation, and only powering my bass against a bunch of other instruments, it really doesn't have to be all that good. For me, it's a "point of diminishing returns" sort of thing.

But I'm talking about nuances in sound quality. Features are a completely different thing. I'll pay money for features I need.

 

[ursusaltered]

I was being sarcastic with that last sentence. Hence the smiley.

None the less man, it's all good. There is music out there that doesn't speak to me either. As you said subjective!! It's all beautiful, just some speaks to each of us and some doesn't.

 

[ursusaltered]

Reminds me of when I sold hi-fi gear. People don't realize that getting higher quality components really does matter, just like mister Thunderbass sez. 'Course, in Hi-fi you were looking at $500 vs $10,000 for basically the same thing but with higher quality. And I really could hear the difference. The fortunate thing for my wallet is that in a live situation, and only powering my bass against a bunch of other instruments, it really doesn't have to be all that good. For me, it's a "point of diminishing returns" sort of thing.

But I'm talking about nuances in sound quality. Features are a completely different thing. I'll pay money for features I need.

At the end of the day, it's all about what works for the situation. I will be honest, bang for buck the ampeg portaflex is not a bad little amp.

 

[ursusaltered]

I don't know what your budget is, but check out some of the glockenklang stuff. Really solid amps

 

[Robroy]

At the end of the day, it's all about what works for the situation. I will be honest, bang for buck the ampeg portaflex is not a bad little amp.

I remember, a LONG time ago, and I think it was here when the site was "ugly", a thread about Hartke aluminum speakers. The most interesting post was from a guy that said he hated the sound "in his bedroom" but they really cut through the mix in a live band situation. It was my first lesson in what may actually sound good in the real world regarding the tools used to provide live sound.

 

[JakobT]

There are a handful of companies with transferable warranties. Most do not, though.

We have very good consumer protection here in Norway, but transferable warranties are practically unheard of.

 

[JimmyM]

Because there ampeg. Cookie cutter cheap amps. Not saying you can't get a good tone out of them, but the gist is that they are not high end, why expect a high end price tag. It's not like we are talking tech amp, glockenklang, ebs, or bergantino. We are talking off the shelf gc ampeg. Geared towards beginner to intermediate level bassists. It's a solid reliable product, but not gonna give you the response that the high end custom rigs will. I hope that answers your question. Thump on man!!

Well you're right that the PF series aren't an SVT, but they do sound quite good, and they have their fair share of pro users...like Juan Alderete, who took two PF500's and 4 PF cabs out with The Mars Volta when they opened for Soundgarden on their reunion tour. Or Jared Followill, who cut an entire Kings Of Leon album using a mic'ed Micro VR stack. Or Owen Biddle, who used a Micro VR double stack when he was in the Roots and playing on the Jimmy Fallon show. Or me, who's done arena and large theater shows with a Micro VR, PF350 and PF800 Nobody's pretending they're high end amps, and Ampeg hasn't discontinued the SVT so they must agree. They're just good little light amps that will get you into the Ampeg realm and monster power for not much money.

 

[JakobT]

Fender, Hartke, Yorkville/Traynor, Peavey, Markbass to name a couple small-time companies.

I am sure there are more. I am just naming amp manufacturers specifically.

That might be the case in the U.S. I doubt, however, that you would get that here in Norway.

 

[Robroy]

I don't know what your budget is, but check out some of the glockenklang stuff. Really solid amps

I looked up the product, some reviews, and even found a thread here on it. Was quite excited until I then checked out the price. Yeah, no. I Drive a Scion FR-S because I don't have the budget for a Bugatti. Same with this. I'm building a barn, a house, a solar power system and a garage. Everything else I'm being a bit more frugal with.