Ampeg pf 350 amp - advice please

[Kitsto]

Bought this as part of a fliptop cab (210 HE) second hand and it worked well for over a year (weekly practice and about 15 gigs). Recently the warning light stayed on and no sound came out. Long story short: been round the houses with various repairers and basically it needs a new board which I'm told is too expensive to bother with. So, questions:

1. Do I get another 350 or upgrade to a 500?

2. If I upgrade, is the 500 the same size to attach to the fliptop using the same screw holes?

3. Is the 500 too powerful for the 210 cab (I presume not)?

4. Are there settings I should avoid (for instance, I read somewhere here that it's best to have the gain high and the master vol low on the 350 - or something like that, I think)?

5. Anything else I need to know? (For instance, for active basses, keep the 'peak pad' button pressed in, if I've got that right?)

You'll gather I have no technical knowledge at all, which is probably how I must have blown the amp up in the first place. So any advice gratefully received. Cheers.

[basshead56]

I just flipped (see what I did there) my 350 in favour of the 800.

I am also running a single cab, though mine is the 15he. Have never tried the 210 but would love one as all my other Ampegs are 10's.

I loved the the simplicity of the 350 but found it was slightly lacking in headroom. So I really had to crank it but without clipping it out. So had to use PA support at gigs.

Were you cranking yours a fair bit?  All the lights on and no sound is protection mode I think, so it sounds as though it was over-driven quite a bit.

The cabs are rated at 400w I believe and the the 350 only put out around 250 with a single cab if memory serves.

The 500 would be around 350w with one cab I think, so you'd be fine. But if you can, get the 800. the extra headroom is worth it alone. 

 

[Kitsto]

That's great advice, basshead56. I hadn't thought of that. I have a TE stack and head (bought here off a BC member and very pleased I am with it) so the Ampeg was a backup but because of its portability I'd been using it more. The band generally put me through the PA but recently in smaller pubs hadn't bothered so I think you're right, it got overdriven. But I had thought just to get away with a direct replacement. But, for the additional cost, the 800 will give me a genuine gigging alternative and with luck will last far longer. So I will do that. Many thanks, basshead56.

[basshead56]

No problem mate. Spent most of yesterday giving the 800 a real workout. flipped between Precisions and Jazz then Stingray and Thunderbird. Took it to rehearsal with my Ampeg Baby bass and it sang. Waaaay more heft and clarity than the 350. The drummer loved it.

[Kitsto]

Brilliant! I play mainly Tbirds (70s classic rock covers band).

[chris_b]

That's the nature of D Class amps. They either work for ever or go wrong and cost more to fix than the price of a new one.

I'd look at the best amp I could find and not bother about the flip-top thing. If you do go for the Ampeg 500watt amp, test it in the cab before you buy it. I read that Ampeg had a pretty basic pink torpedo-up in the cab design department on some of the early models when the amp wouldn't fit into the cab.

[Kitsto]

Good advice, chris_b, will do.

[Gottastopbuyinggear]

I had my PF500 attached to the 15” version of that cab for a while and it fitted okay (both bought new in 2015), though I vaguely recall you had to flip it in the right direction as it would only go in one way.

The mounting holes are different, but you should be able to blank off the existing holes with nuts, bolts and washers, which is what I’ve done.  I think the holes are pre-drilled and covered by plastic plugs on the inside, and you just need to punch through the tolex.

[Kitsto]

Very helpful, gottastopbuyinggear (great moniker!).