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Ampeg PF350 vs Micro VR vs GK MB200


dumelow
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I havent actually tried any of these amps and im not in the position to be able to, but Im going to order one at the end of the week and I cant decide which. Ive read most of the threads on talkbass and here about them but still not of them excels the others based on what ive read. Any advice? Comments?

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I'm also interested in these little rigs for the home. Well, the Ampeg ones.

At the moment I'm edging towards the micro vr stack. I love the classic SVT look and I'm yet to be convinced by the tone/feel of Class D amps. The Micro VR is solid state/mosfet and gets plenty of kudos on Talkbass.

Having said that, the PF series also looks great. I heard the PF350 has a preamp based on the Micro VR and the PF500 is based on the SVT 7 Pro.

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I have the Micro VR and it is a truely great amp with a huge sound.
Especially since I run it through 2x the 210AV.

BUT: As stated above, the PF350 is supposed to have specs based upon the Micro VR. Only it's smaller and put's out 350 watts @ 4ohm instead of 200 watts for the Micro VR.

I'd go for the PF350, but I have not tried the GK. And I guess I never will... :)

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I think im leaning more towards the PF350 and MB200, only thing is, the MB200 is gonna fit in the pocket of my bass bag and ill be able to bike around with it, but then the PF350 could always go in a backpack and has a lot more headroom than the MB200, but is also £100 odd more. really wish i could try the two.

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[quote name='dumelow' post='1153971' date='Mar 8 2011, 04:49 PM']I think im leaning more towards the PF350 and MB200, only thing is, the MB200 is gonna fit in the pocket of my bass bag and ill be able to bike around with it, but then the PF350 could always go in a backpack and has a lot more headroom than the MB200, but is also £100 odd more. really wish i could try the two.[/quote]

Well, hold your horses then, cause the PF350 won't be in stores before end of April.
But it'll probably be worth the wait. :)

Or take a trip to the USofA

Edited by Hnz
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are you sure?

[url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Ampeg-Portaflex-PF-350-Bass-Head~ID~14719.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~A...ad~ID~14719.asp[/url]

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ampeg-pf-350-bass-gutiar-amp-head/45206"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ampeg-pf-350-bass-...-amp-head/45206[/url]

[url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitar-amps/pid20198/cid561/ampeg-pf500-portaflex-bass-amp-head.asp?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=pricecomp&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitar-amp...=GoogleShopping[/url]

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Hi there Dumelow,

Check this and be sure to try those amps out before purchasing:


There seem to be quite some significant differences in specifics between the Micro VR vs PF350 and SVT7 pro vs PF500.

Micro VR: .............................PF350:
Preamp: Solid State ..............Preamp: Solid-state
Power Amp: MOSFET .............Power amp: Class D


SVT7pro: ..............................PF500:
Preamp: Tube ........................Preamp: MOSFET
Power amp: Class D ...............Power amp: Class D

On top of that the Ampeg site says about the Micro VR that the mid control is an "Ultra Mid". Don't know what they mean about that, but it isn't mentioned in the specs of the PF350.

So allthough the controls of the Micro VR and PF350 are similar and the same goes for the SVT7 and the PF500, there appears to be something else happening under their hoods...

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If I go for the ampeg it will be my first. And although ive never used one, i do love the sound i get from the behringer bdi21, and in the short time that i owned it and sold it preferring the bdi21, i liked the sansamp PBDDI. Im assuming the ampeg valve head you mentioned would give me the closest tone to the pedal emulators? The GK probably has a much flatter tone in comparison? I really need to get down to one of these shops and these heads otherwise am gonna end up pulling me hair out

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  • 7 years later...

I own the MB200, Ampeg PF-350, and the SVT210av. I also own 2 x Eden EX110's.

On the MB200, it sounds very loud with the SVT210. Initially it's louder or more efficient than the PF-350. And that's practice. It just seems that the MB200 has more oomph out of the gate. But down the road, if I buy a second SVT210 that might change because the PF-350 will be producing 350 watts instead of 200 from the MB200.

The three are great amps. I love the portability and tone of the MB200. But it does seem push hard on midrange. The Ampeg PF-350 has to have the pre at 12:00 and the master at about 11:00 to equal the MB200 at 8:00.

Many years ago I played Ampeg and for some reason they fell out of favor with me. I've grown back to liking the tone of Ampeg. But I'm not entirely sure it will cut through the mix like the GK MB series. Also, the PF-350 weighs as much as an MB200 and MB500 combined.

I don't have any experience with the SVT-CL yet but I would like to try it. I've been told by acquaintances at Talkbass that the SVT micro sounds good but falls short of power compared to the PF-350. However, it does capture that SVT sound at a lower volume, while the PF-350 has been compared more to the SVT-3 Pro.

Tough choices folks. All three are great amps.

Edited by alaskaleftybass
added more information
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  • 2 weeks later...

I owened the pf-350 for a short while and I found it to be a very warm , clean sounding head. Solidly built also . I thought it should have been louder though. I understand I was playing at 250w through an 8 ohm genz cab but I thought it still should have had more headroom than it had. My current valve head is just 100w and it would eat the pf350 for breakfast.

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