Comparing the features, sound and performance between the Ampeg Portaflex and SVT amps. Get that classic Ampeg tone with the lighter, more portable Portaflex.
What i have learned from traveling and using ampeg 810s and using different amps with that 810 is that Much of the tone comes from that SVT 810 speaker cab.
I agree with this. I've used even a Glockenklang Heart-Rock with Ampeg fridges, and even that stack had quite Ampegy tone, despite the Glockenklang being what most would consider very clean and modern sounding amplifier.
The all Tube SVT definitely has MORE girth than the others. They do sound very similar/ But there is no mistaking that beautiful ampeg tone with eth SVT Classic.
We all want all tube all the time. But for clubs, small theatres and street-level outdoor gigs- seems this would do a credible job. None of the non-musician audience would notice a deficit and the more efficient transport and setup may pay physical and temporal dividends during a multi-state extended club tour.
@@irwinerodrigues I have a few different cabs that I like for different things.. My first GO TO right now is a Fender Bassman Neo 115.Its the LOUDEST of the bunch ..Then I will try my others Ashdown ABM210. Hartke 210 XL Ordering a Barefaced Two10 this week to see how it goes. My FAVE NON all tube ampeg amp of all time is the Ampeg SVT 3 Non-Pro. Its different than the current PRO version.. I bought mine in 1993-ish. And I have brought it back into rotation since its so darn good.. It sounds so very very close to the all tube monster.. Yet its only about 28 pounds. Its Only 200 watts @8Ω and 350W @4Ω. BUT those 350 watts are as loud yet punchier than any of the class D boutique 600 - 800 watt things like Bergantino, Tone Hammer, Genzler, TC electronic and others that use the Ice 700 module. EDIT: I sold off a ton of stuff. Kept my early 1990s SVT3 non-pro. I got two Barefaced TWO10 cabs. And tossing up the idea of SVT 3 pro or SVT 7 pro.. I kept the Bassman.. It looks cool and is sort of works well when I want something a little different
Ampeg guy here. Really Wish Ampeg would do a hybrid version. Vintage/Classic chassis, 2 tubes in the pre and 800 or so Solid State. Fenders doing this with the Bassman and at 17 Lbs it’s really awesome. Especially if you want to keep that vintage look but don’t want your back to hate you.
True. I've owned a PF 500 for a couple of years now, and although I really appreciate the sound I get from it for such an affordable price, I never really liked the modern looks of it, it looks quite out of place in both my bands.
The Ampeg Pro series heads are hybrid amps, you can find used ones basically everywhere. The svt pro 3 goes for about $300 on ebay and reverb. Only problem is that they're ugly, blocky rackmount heads with no tolex
@@howler9171 thank you. Yeah the pro series you mentioned is a really good option. I actually owned the svt pro 3 rack mount version 18 or so years ago. That was my go to amp for years. Sounded great with plenty of power. Just want that vintage exterior “look” with light weight hybrid internals.
The thing that really sucks about the Pro amps is that even though they have tube preamps, the only one with any overdrive is the 2. Which happens to be the hardest one to find and the most expensive one. The 3, 4, and 7 are all just clean. Which kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a tube preamp
FYI - Dino is a great guy. We have met him a few times including Summer NAMM. He made an appearance on our family Christmas / and of year card for 2019 and he doesn’t even know it ;) we were happy to have met him and it ended up in the yearly highlights on the cards lol
That smallest and cheapest PF-350 amp sounds the best of those PF amps. Has more cutting tone. My Markbass R500 finally gave up and I need a replacement. Might get this one.
i was NOT looking forward to dishing out $1000+ and having more tubes to deal with in order to get the sound i want. im gonna get a bass driver and probably a portaflex and ill have all the svt flavor i need. thanks so much for the video, dino!!
Well, I had the SVT Classic and ran her down at 2 ohms with an Ampeg 15E, Ampeg 410HLF and on the other side an 810 Crate (yea I could not find an Ampeg 810, but Ampeg owned Crate so my Crate 810 was excellent). In all my life I have never played or heard anything as LOUD or with as good TONE and the Growl was there! So yes these rigs can cost a lot, that was over 10 years ago and mine cost $4500 with 4 speaker cabs (i also had an Ampeg 210. I suffered a life changing injury and for several years could not even hold my Bass guitars for more than half a minute so I ended up selling all of it for a bowl of pits. Now I'm starting all over again. I'm on pain med's and I use a short scale hollow body bass that weighs 4-1/2 pounds and I am playing again. I'm still using only Ampeg. Thank you God for allowing me to play my basses once again! May I now ask for a band to play in? Those SVT's drive the 15E loud enough and at low enough frequencies to serve up a permanent dosage of hear loss, so use hearing protection. Man I just love the Tone of a bass guitar so much, makes life special!
Pretty cool that the Portaflexes retain a lot of that great Ampeg sound when compared to the SVT. The SVT may have more oomph, but they all have that Ampeg sound.
I think there is something missing the low end in the PF :/ It might be subtle for most people, but for me it was that Ampeg feeling. I tried the Ampeg Micro CL, the feeling and the sound was exactly what I was looking for! However it is just a 100 watt amp without a gain knob :(
Dino this is a great video . Well done and thanks for showing how solid state can shine. For all the tube purists who put down solid state, Ampeg solid state can run with the big dogs and then some!
Same. I just don't really try to overdrive, because it's just too loud for that purpose. But it's the best of both worlds...all tube pre, solid-state power. Just a bit heavy, but not back breaking. I carry mine in an 6RU rack case.
"We may need to make some adjustments to the EQ to make up for the difference between tubes and Class D" LMAO. I love you Ampeg but this gave me a chuckle. If it were only that......
pretty cool for those bass players who love the Ampeg tone but don't want to ruin their home budget and their spine as well:) just ordered my PF 500 with SVT 112 cab. I've tested this amp already and it's excatcly what I nedd - small, light, yet powerful and great sounding amp.
I do enjoy it. it's a great rig - just what I needed for my jazz band - portable, yet powerful. and the tone is abolutely great. I'll probably order second SVT 112 cab this year, cause with my blues band we tend to be playing a little louder:) don't get me wrong - single cab is pretty loud. but i don't want to run it on high volume for long. adding second cab should make it sound more powerful in low end and we all love it:)
That damn heritage just doesn't go away! There will never be a sound that has that everything thing in it like that heritage. With today's technology companies can get close but it's always missing that?????
I run a PF 500 through a 4/10 classic cab I don't use any effects bar a 10 band MXR EQ I run my bass on 8,mid on 3,mid freq on #2,treb on 6 1/2 and I'm in Bass heaven the tone is amazing I don't have to adjust the settings much if I wanna slap that Bitch til my thumb aches but for the price I have a tonality range literally at my finger tips for any genre of and I usually run the ultra lo in the on position as well it's the best rig I've owned it'll take 20 men to drag me away from my current rig and I still wont go! If you haven't played through one of the series I highly recommend it take the time to dial up your sweet spot and I bet my girlfriend you won't be disappointed...... Until I throw the mother in law in with the deal then you'll be glad to crank that baby up 😂
The svt is champ. No doubt about that. But the Portaflex comes very close. Especially the PF-800. Partly the PF 500. But I don´t like the PF-350 to be honest. You hear a lot of low end and headroom missing. Especially in that A/B Situation.
I love the svt series but the portaflex solid state sounds thin and its to tinny sounding. im fine with the weight of the tube amps the svt -2 or 6 after 6 it gets to solid state sounding which sounds like shit!!!
I like the portaflex heads and im really thinking about getting the 500 watt head . I also have the ampeg preamp pedal to help give me more tone option . I dont need anything over the top but I do need something to where I can jam with other people and play a show if I want .
i've been using the PF 350 for a couple years now and I have to say it does not Sound like this in the Video at all. A lot of this insane ampeg tone Comes from the 8x10 svt cabinet. You can get it to Sound almost like this when using the ampeg scr di or the sansamp vt di tho! Its worth this way cause you will have to carry a lot less around when gigging than if you would use an SVT CL.
Totally the SVT for me. Heavy and ballsy but has dynamic range. However I wonder if the other differences were simply due to variations in potentiometers and so on? Rather than have each amp's controls at noon, I'd have preferred the 350's treble to be wound back until it actually matched the SVT and so on. BTW I play a PF-50T but may have preferred my Eden World Tour 800.
My Hartke bass head started to fail last year and I bought a PF350 because it was affordable and I had several gigs in the schedule and no bass head to play... Now I'm in love with that "Meat and potatoes" bass tone. My Hartke bass head is sitting in a corner in the rehearsal room waiting to be repaired. Maybe I'll get a PF500 and the PF350 will be the backup
I love it. Weighs as much as my bass and fits in a backpack! OD is amazing. I have it jacked into a mesa boogie 2x10 and it's still more than loud enough to gig in a largish bar.
Kinda standard, boost on high/low mild cut to mids. I ended up selling mine to pay for a sweetheart deal on a Mesa Walkabout and Mesa 4x10 or I'd still have this.
The SVT does sound 'better' isolated. But the SS heads would be easier to mix in a full modern band. I mean, it depends on the band, but the tube head just had much more transient range which could be a pain in the ass to compress.
I got a US made SVT-CL & a PF350 after a year of using the PF350 for smaller shows, I understood that it's not powerfull enough and the quality of the sound gets worse if you crank it up over 6-7... I'll probably try the PF500.
knappymer The preamp should be fine, but you will want to watch the master volume as its not good to overdrive the power amp section which could potentially cause problems and also blow speakers.
knappymer, you can definitely crank it. The biggest mistake people make is to run speaker combinations that result in too low ohms. This will kill a solid state amp fast.
They sound better into a 15" cab for old school tones, or turn off the horn in the 4x10 and use less treble. They're solid-state amps so you got to reach for that warmth. You can try using the flip-top 15 on top of the 410, or on top of the ported 15. This is a terrible demo video, btw.
Ampeg blows mark bass away although the portaflex series is garbage solid state the svt-2 -svt 6 and the svt 300 watt all tube monster is the best of them all and knocks mark basses dick in the dirt there the most used bass amp and cabinets used in studios and live shows world wide mark bass is great yes but don't hold a candle to the svt series
A couple of years ago, I bought a brand new SVT-7 PRO and mated it with an 8X10 cabinet. Having never played through an original SVT, I can't honestly reference the difference. However, I can tell you that I'm not exactly impressed with the sound of this thing. And I'm running it with both my Rick and '76 Precision. It is entirely possible that some of the settings may not be right, but I've tried everything and don't seem to be getting that "monstrous" tone everyone talks about... I'm pretty sure that even the preamp that this thing has that's supposed to emulate the tube sound doesn't really match up to the actual tubes... how could it?
Does anyone know the input impedance of the PF500. Generally measured in mega ohms and not to be confused with speaker impedance which is generally in the 4 and 8 ohm category.
Hi Dino...does the clip light aplays to a SVT450H solid state? I mean.. mine is paired with a 610hlf classic,.. and I play a Yamaha BB 434 pasive, but the gain is on the 4 and I can see a litle red pulse once in a while, and my master is on 3 and this thing is loud as hell, do I need to depress the pad button? And boost the gain?... can I damage somethig? BTW I dont knnow why so much hate on those SS SVTs... they are great... I sticked inside a 350 portaflex as a back up just in case...
The Clip LED on the SVT-450H means that the input/gain is a bit hot. You can either lower the gain or hit the Pad switch and adjust from there. You should avoid excessive clipping as this can potentially cause problems, especially with your speakers.
So Ive just bought an SVT-AV (Aniversary) and from some reading online I guess the SVT-CL and the SVT-AV are basically the same amp besides the colour. So then what is the difference between the SVT-CL/SVT-AV and the SVT-CL Heritage???If any Ampeg heads care to chime in or Ampeg Themselvesthat would be sweet! Thanks!
Hopefully you guy's respond because you guys are pretty good at it, i ran across an Ampeg SVT 15E cab for a pretty deal and my question is can it handle a 500w head. I saw its 8ohms, 200w rms and 400w program or something like that. I am looking into this cab because i run a 2x10 +6x10 rig but my 2x10 is rated at 200w and it can't handle the my head.
It's 5 years after you asked but for anyone else here is my answer. I own the Ampeg SVT-15E cab and please respect the stated ratings of 8ohms at 200watts. So no, the answer is "NO". Because the 15E all alone run by a 500 watt head, the is to powerful if used at max power. Now if you add additional cabs the power amp's output is spread out over all of them. So an SVT 15E (200 watts) plus your 210 (200 watts) plus your 610 (unknown to me watts) can absolutely handle your 500 watt head when used together, even at full power! Alone the SVT15E is best used with a amp of around 200 watts or if the amp is more powerful remember to never use all the power of the amp. The 400watts program means that the SVT-15E can handle 400 peak watts for an instant without burning the voice coil of the speaker.
I've been playing the PF500 for over 2 years in 2 different fairly successful bands, and I get complements on my bass tone from fellow musicians ALL THE TIME, to the point where they come over to see what I use. Granted, the other factors are the EQD Palisades overdrive and a Hartke AK115 paper cone cab, but without a good amp it wouldn't sound half as good.
Overdriven pf sounds totally like a tube amp. The flatness of tone that transistor will always sound like. Not saying that it sounds bad. But there's no comparing tube to tube-wanna-be.
But why the hell do the PF class D versions f#@%& suddenly shut off when played very loud, and STAY OFF for SEVERAL MINUTES in the middle of the F#$&@g GIG?!??? I got my PF800 serviced for that matter and - guess what ? - they told me there's nothing wrong with the amp, just please not to set the gain too high ...COME ON SERIOUSLY??? YOU BUY AN AMPEG FOR "NOT SETTING THE GAIN TOO HIGH"??!?!!!?! OH WHAT A BUMMER!
I acquired a PF-500 in a trade recently. I have a question. On the back of the head, it says 375w @ 8 ohms and 500w @ 4 ohms. First, the cabinets it comes with are 8 ohms. If I have the 115 8 ohms cab and a 210 8 ohms cab with the 500w head, am I going to get all 500w or will it be just 375w? I have the 115 already but am currently using the head on a GK 1600w @ 4 ohm 810 cabinet. I am not well versed in ohms and impedence on single or multiple daisy chained cabinets. I will buy the 210 Ampeg cab if I am able to get all 500w from the two matching cabinets. Someone please help
Impedance isn't too difficult. 8 ohm cab + 8 ohm cab= 4 ohm 16 ohm cab + 16 Ohm cab = 8 ohm 4 ohm cab + 4 ohm cab = 2 ohm You basically take the same impedance cabs and divide by half. In some case, you can have (four) 16 ohm cabs running at a 4 ohm load. You can run a 8 ohm cab with a 4 ohm cab and get a 2.7 ohm load, but it isn't recommended. I hope this helps.
Would have been nice to hear the real sound of these amp/head combos without the HUGE coloration that is being imparted by that Shure Beta 52a, complete with proximity effect. An omni with no proximity effect, and a flat response would have been my preference for the purposes of demonstration. www.shure.eu/dms/shure/products/microphones/frequency-curves/beta/frequency_response-beta52/frequency_response-beta52.gif
Yes it is. If your Portaflex blew up, it was a totally unrelated issue. The red peak light on an Ampeg literally means nothing. It's only there to show you that your tone is starting to distort, it does not harm the amp in any way. The owners manual of Ampeg literally tells you that you're SUPPOSED to adjust your gain to the point where the light starts going off. The reason why so many people think solid state Ampeg amps sound like garbage is because they see the peak light and turn their gain down because they're afraid of it. Ampeg amps sound like dogshit if your red light isn't going off. If your gain knob is less than 75% of the way up, you're doing it wrong. I've used a Portaflex 800 at jam session volumes regularly for almost a decade, with the gain cranked to the point where the light is on all the time, and I've never had any issues
@@howler9171 well... it damaged the power amp anyway. I just loved the tone with overdriven preamp, but I'm not able to do it anymore. Anyway, I got a PF800 recently, and use an overdrive on the loop and mix with the preamp, if I need some grit. I got my PF500 fixed, an used a lot after it got in order again. Now it's a backup and studio preamp.
Agreed Steven, WTF do you play slap Bass? Thats because ou get fals Bottm end from slap Bass. WTF dont you try more techniques including a pick. I have owed all 3 of the potaflex series amps and they are pure garbage and cant be rusted in a live setting. All 3 of the POS took a crap on me within 3 shows. Dino would you listen to yourself. If you think the Portaflex is really an equal to the SVT amp Your High. I am a die hard Ampeg user and I purchased all three of them and they are equal alright. To the worst built Crate Amps. I will never ever own another one of these POS amps. I will go with a Sans Amp and a QSC power and or Mark Bass first
PF500 is GARBAGE! Get something else! I ordered one to backup my Mesa head. It had some weird farting noise when I added Low end and tried to dial in the SVT growl. I sent it bsck because it sounded broken. New one came in a did the exact same thing I sent it back, ordered a Hartke LH500 for my backup head. Hell it sounds as good as my Mesa.
What i have learned from traveling and using ampeg 810s and using different amps with that 810 is that Much of the tone comes from that SVT 810 speaker cab.
I agree with this. I've used even a Glockenklang Heart-Rock with Ampeg fridges, and even that stack had quite Ampegy tone, despite the Glockenklang being what most would consider very clean and modern sounding amplifier.
The 4x10" cabs sound the same, just half the air being pushed.
I got the pf800 because of this video. Very happy with the amp. Great sound and very portable
The all Tube SVT definitely has MORE girth than the others. They do sound very similar/ But there is no mistaking that beautiful ampeg tone with eth SVT Classic.
We all want all tube all the time.
But for clubs, small theatres and street-level outdoor gigs- seems this would do a credible job.
None of the non-musician audience would notice a deficit and the more efficient transport and setup may pay physical and temporal dividends during a multi-state extended club tour.
@@svtbass wow a lot of energy put into this reply
@@svtbass Which Cab do you use with the Bassman? I love the SVT but the Fender has some interesting features.
@@irwinerodrigues I have a few different cabs that I like for different things..
My first GO TO right now is a Fender Bassman Neo 115.Its the LOUDEST of the bunch ..Then I will try my others
Ashdown ABM210.
Hartke 210 XL
Ordering a Barefaced Two10 this week to see how it goes.
My FAVE NON all tube ampeg amp of all time is the Ampeg SVT 3 Non-Pro. Its different than the current PRO version.. I bought mine in 1993-ish. And I have brought it back into rotation since its so darn good.. It sounds so very very close to the all tube monster.. Yet its only about 28 pounds. Its Only 200 watts @8Ω and 350W @4Ω. BUT those 350 watts are as loud yet punchier than any of the class D boutique 600 - 800 watt things like Bergantino, Tone Hammer, Genzler, TC electronic and others that use the Ice 700 module.
EDIT: I sold off a ton of stuff. Kept my early 1990s SVT3 non-pro.
I got two Barefaced TWO10 cabs.
And tossing up the idea of SVT 3 pro or SVT 7 pro..
I kept the Bassman.. It looks cool and is sort of works well when I want something a little different
Ampeg guy here. Really Wish Ampeg would do a hybrid version. Vintage/Classic chassis, 2 tubes in the pre and 800 or so Solid State.
Fenders doing this with the Bassman and at 17 Lbs it’s really awesome. Especially if you want to keep that vintage look but don’t want your back to hate you.
True. I've owned a PF 500 for a couple of years now, and although I really appreciate the sound I get from it for such an affordable price, I never really liked the modern looks of it, it looks quite out of place in both my bands.
The Ampeg Pro series heads are hybrid amps, you can find used ones basically everywhere. The svt pro 3 goes for about $300 on ebay and reverb. Only problem is that they're ugly, blocky rackmount heads with no tolex
@@howler9171 thank you. Yeah the pro series you mentioned is a really good option. I actually owned the svt pro 3 rack mount version 18 or so years ago. That was my go to amp for years. Sounded great with plenty of power. Just want that vintage exterior “look” with light weight hybrid internals.
The thing that really sucks about the Pro amps is that even though they have tube preamps, the only one with any overdrive is the 2. Which happens to be the hardest one to find and the most expensive one. The 3, 4, and 7 are all just clean. Which kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a tube preamp
@@howler9171 the svt 2 pro is tube pre and power
SVT-CL 1:19
PF-350 2:05
PF-500 3:31
PF-800 4:59
No ever has described 300 all tube watts as tube like, until now. Lol.
I tried a PF350 ´cause can not afford de High end ones and I love it!! Thanks Ampeg!! I am going fro that PF350 this year!
Why, oh Why do these people resort to SLAP to demonstrate product? This tells me NOTHING!
Hi I’m here to test this delay pedal. Let me ramble for 8 minutes and then play crazy train as the demonstration.
because slap is lfe! ;)
Couldn't agree more. It's not what the bass is about.
It's because it shows the transients.
Guessing that you cant slap a bass...
FYI - Dino is a great guy. We have met him a few times including Summer NAMM. He made an appearance on our family Christmas / and of year card for 2019 and he doesn’t even know it ;) we were happy to have met him and it ended up in the yearly highlights on the cards lol
That smallest and cheapest PF-350 amp sounds the best of those PF amps. Has more cutting tone. My Markbass R500 finally gave up and I need a replacement. Might get this one.
PF surely has that "ampeg" signature but damn, that SVT....just balls.
i was NOT looking forward to dishing out $1000+ and having more tubes to deal with in order to get the sound i want. im gonna get a bass driver and probably a portaflex and ill have all the svt flavor i need. thanks so much for the video, dino!!
Yeah, almost 2500 bucks for an amp. I know the SvT is king, but damn.
Well, I had the SVT Classic and ran her down at 2 ohms with an Ampeg 15E, Ampeg 410HLF and on the other side an 810 Crate (yea I could not find an Ampeg 810, but Ampeg owned Crate so my Crate 810 was excellent).
In all my life I have never played or heard anything as LOUD or with as good TONE and the Growl was there! So yes these rigs can cost a lot, that was over 10 years ago and mine cost $4500 with 4 speaker cabs (i also had an Ampeg 210.
I suffered a life changing injury and for several years could not even hold my Bass guitars for more than half a minute so I ended up selling all of it for a bowl of pits.
Now I'm starting all over again. I'm on pain med's and I use a short scale hollow body bass that weighs 4-1/2 pounds and I am playing again. I'm still using only Ampeg. Thank you God for allowing me to play my basses once again! May I now ask for a band to play in?
Those SVT's drive the 15E loud enough and at low enough frequencies to serve up a permanent dosage of hear loss, so use hearing protection.
Man I just love the Tone of a bass guitar so much, makes life special!
Sorry but a Portaflex don't come close to an SVT sound live
Pretty cool that the Portaflexes retain a lot of that great Ampeg sound when compared to the SVT. The SVT may have more oomph, but they all have that Ampeg sound.
I think there is something missing the low end in the PF :/ It might be subtle for most people, but for me it was that Ampeg feeling. I tried the Ampeg Micro CL, the feeling and the sound was exactly what I was looking for! However it is just a 100 watt amp without a gain knob :(
Good question was asked - why slap for a demo? It's because it displays the transients you'll expect if you buy the amp. You don't want big spikes.
Dino this is a great video . Well done and thanks for showing how solid state can shine. For all the tube purists who put down solid state, Ampeg solid state can run with the big dogs and then some!
I still love my svt 4 pro. Its a monster and has been good to me always...
Same. I just don't really try to overdrive, because it's just too loud for that purpose. But it's the best of both worlds...all tube pre, solid-state power. Just a bit heavy, but not back breaking. I carry mine in an 6RU rack case.
dwizted I have a svt pro 3 I find that I can’t overdrive it
"We may need to make some adjustments to the EQ to make up for the difference between tubes and Class D" LMAO. I love you Ampeg but this gave me a chuckle. If it were only that......
pretty cool for those bass players who love the Ampeg tone but don't want to ruin their home budget and their spine as well:)
just ordered my PF 500 with SVT 112 cab. I've tested this amp already and it's excatcly what I nedd - small, light, yet powerful and great sounding amp.
Marek Styk How is it? Do you still enjoy it? And is volume an issue at all?
I do enjoy it. it's a great rig - just what I needed for my jazz band - portable, yet powerful. and the tone is abolutely great.
I'll probably order second SVT 112 cab this year, cause with my blues band we tend to be playing a little louder:)
don't get me wrong - single cab is pretty loud. but i don't want to run it on high volume for long. adding second cab should make it sound more powerful in low end and we all love it:)
That damn heritage just doesn't go away! There will never be a sound that has that everything thing in it like that heritage. With today's technology companies can get close but it's always missing that?????
AMAZING! And very, very cool. These little amps sound sweet! Hey Dino, can you do the same comparison with a V4B, please?
I run a PF 500 through a 4/10 classic cab I don't use any effects bar a 10 band MXR EQ I run my bass on 8,mid on 3,mid freq on #2,treb on 6 1/2 and I'm in Bass heaven the tone is amazing I don't have to adjust the settings much if I wanna slap that Bitch til my thumb aches but for the price I have a tonality range literally at my finger tips for any genre of and I usually run the ultra lo in the on position as well it's the best rig I've owned it'll take 20 men to drag me away from my current rig and I still wont go! If you haven't played through one of the series I highly recommend it take the time to dial up your sweet spot and I bet my girlfriend you won't be disappointed...... Until I throw the mother in law in with the deal then you'll be glad to crank that baby up 😂
NiCE
Nice playing bro. Svt sounds the best always
The svt is champ. No doubt about that.
But the Portaflex comes very close. Especially the PF-800. Partly the PF 500.
But I don´t like the PF-350 to be honest. You hear a lot of low end and headroom missing.
Especially in that A/B Situation.
I love the svt series but the portaflex solid state sounds thin and its to tinny sounding. im fine with the weight of the tube amps the svt -2 or 6 after 6 it gets to solid state sounding which sounds like shit!!!
The slaps, always with the god damn slaps.
Problem is, he's not even good at it...
I like the portaflex heads and im really thinking about getting the 500 watt head . I also have the ampeg preamp pedal to help give me more tone option . I dont need anything over the top but I do need something to where I can jam with other people and play a show if I want .
i've been using the PF 350 for a couple years now and I have to say it does not Sound like this in the Video at all. A lot of this insane ampeg tone Comes from the 8x10 svt cabinet. You can get it to Sound almost like this when using the ampeg scr di or the sansamp vt di tho! Its worth this way cause you will have to carry a lot less around when gigging than if you would use an SVT CL.
Totally the SVT for me. Heavy and ballsy but has dynamic range. However I wonder if the other differences were simply due to variations in potentiometers and so on? Rather than have each amp's controls at noon, I'd have preferred the 350's treble to be wound back until it actually matched the SVT and so on. BTW I play a PF-50T but may have preferred my Eden World Tour 800.
Great video, i own pf 500, you can really feel the difference between tube and class D But, its realy close if you think
+Mauro González Consider this small difference in context with a band. Maybe you as the player may still "hear" it but no one else will. :-D
Dino, I wish you also did this test using a pick. And your slapity tapity tells me nothing. What speakers were you using 10" or 15"?
Well he did say that ever amp was played through the 8-10.
The pf-800 has a static buzz in it
Sounds all very ampeg to me!
Man i think I need to get one of these heads!
My Hartke bass head started to fail last year and I bought a PF350 because it was affordable and I had several gigs in the schedule and no bass head to play... Now I'm in love with that "Meat and potatoes" bass tone. My Hartke bass head is sitting in a corner in the rehearsal room waiting to be repaired.
Maybe I'll get a PF500 and the PF350 will be the backup
Just got my PF-350 in. So happy this video exists to help this noob setup his sound!
+Jared Beekman do u like it i have one?
I love it. Weighs as much as my bass and fits in a backpack! OD is amazing. I have it jacked into a mesa boogie 2x10 and it's still more than loud enough to gig in a largish bar.
Though the -15db cut is very quiet on the DI but I leave that off for the most part even with active pick ups for the OD
+Jared Beekman Yeah i have a 1x15 thinking about getting a 2x10 whats the eq u use??
Kinda standard, boost on high/low mild cut to mids. I ended up selling mine to pay for a sweetheart deal on a Mesa Walkabout and Mesa 4x10 or I'd still have this.
Any chance the "Blue Line SS-150, and 140c guitar amps will be reissued???
Is it OK to overdrive input gain for PF-500 too (clip light)? I hate to see any red light blinking on my amps:)).
Yes
The SVT does sound 'better' isolated. But the SS heads would be easier to mix in a full modern band. I mean, it depends on the band, but the tube head just had much more transient range which could be a pain in the ass to compress.
Good clean simple demo… Regardless of fingering technique.
I got a US made SVT-CL & a PF350 after a year of using the PF350 for smaller shows,
I understood that it's not powerfull enough and the quality of the sound gets worse if you crank it up over 6-7... I'll probably try the PF500.
How about doing the Ampeg SVT-7Pro 1000-watt Tube Preamp Bass Head
Can you play the portaflex heads consistently with the gain cranked like that, or can you potentially damage the preamp?
knappymer The preamp should be fine, but you will want to watch the master volume as its not good to overdrive the power amp section which could potentially cause problems and also blow speakers.
+AmpegTV So basically keep the limiter light off?
That's not what he said bro. Just keep the master down. Don't "clang" the speaker.
AmpegTV so just keep the volume down and it should be alright to have it up. haha I was afraid peak = messing up your speakers
knappymer, you can definitely crank it. The biggest mistake people make is to run speaker combinations that result in too low ohms. This will kill a solid state amp fast.
Hi Ampeg. I'm wondering where I can buy a new faceplate for my SVT-CL (Anniversary series)? I've emailed Ampeg twice but have had no response!
They sound better into a 15" cab for old school tones, or turn off the horn in the 4x10 and use less treble. They're solid-state amps so you got to reach for that warmth. You can try using the flip-top 15 on top of the 410, or on top of the ported 15. This is a terrible demo video, btw.
Got that 115HE on top of the 410HLF, pf800. Loving it.
If this guy want to do a demonstration slapping the bass he should be demonstrating a Mark Bass not an Ampeg
Ampeg blows mark bass away although the portaflex series is garbage solid state the svt-2 -svt 6 and the svt 300 watt all tube monster is the best of them all and knocks mark basses dick in the dirt there the most used bass amp and cabinets used in studios and live shows world wide mark bass is great yes but don't hold a candle to the svt series
@@ericeastman2427 HA noice
A couple of years ago, I bought a brand new SVT-7 PRO and mated it with an 8X10 cabinet. Having never played through an original SVT, I can't honestly reference the difference. However, I can tell you that I'm not exactly impressed with the sound of this thing. And I'm running it with both my Rick and '76 Precision. It is entirely possible that some of the settings may not be right, but I've tried everything and don't seem to be getting that "monstrous" tone everyone talks about... I'm pretty sure that even the preamp that this thing has that's supposed to emulate the tube sound doesn't really match up to the actual tubes... how could it?
Have u tried loud - they really get that sound you’re looking for when turned up
Tube amp all the way!!
Does anyone know the input impedance of the PF500. Generally measured in mega ohms and not to be confused with speaker impedance which is generally in the 4 and 8 ohm category.
I have an amepg pf800 it's sweet. Never liked the svt or sansamp sound so I play it like normal if I want some crunch I'll use a light overdrive pedal
Hi Dino...does the clip light aplays to a SVT450H solid state? I mean.. mine is paired with a 610hlf classic,.. and I play a Yamaha BB 434 pasive, but the gain is on the 4 and I can see a litle red pulse once in a while, and my master is on 3 and this thing is loud as hell, do I need to depress the pad button? And boost the gain?... can I damage somethig? BTW I dont knnow why so much hate on those SS SVTs... they are great... I sticked inside a 350 portaflex as a back up just in case...
The Clip LED on the SVT-450H means that the input/gain is a bit hot. You can either lower the gain or hit the Pad switch and adjust from there. You should avoid excessive clipping as this can potentially cause problems, especially with your speakers.
AmpegTV ok... understood, I lowered my gain and crank the volume... and hit the limiter... no more clip light... thank you
Clear to see the PF350 can create a nice distortion. Is this also possible with the PF500/800?
So Ive just bought an SVT-AV (Aniversary) and from some reading online I guess the SVT-CL and the SVT-AV are basically the same amp besides the colour. So then what is the difference between the SVT-CL/SVT-AV and the SVT-CL Heritage???If any Ampeg heads care to chime in or Ampeg Themselvesthat would be sweet! Thanks!
Well....the new CL's are built in China while the Heritage series are built in Washington State.
Well I set my pf800 to the settings shown and..... it sounded nothing like that!! Maybe if you use that bass and pickups but not with a p.bass lyte
Hopefully you guy's respond because you guys are pretty good at it, i ran across an Ampeg SVT 15E cab for a pretty deal and my question is can it handle a 500w head. I saw its 8ohms, 200w rms and 400w program or something like that. I am looking into this cab because i run a 2x10 +6x10 rig but my 2x10 is rated at 200w and it can't handle the my head.
It's 5 years after you asked but for anyone else here is my answer. I own the Ampeg SVT-15E cab and please respect the stated ratings of 8ohms at 200watts. So no, the answer is "NO". Because the 15E all alone run by a 500 watt head, the is to powerful if used at max power. Now if you add additional cabs the power amp's output is spread out over all of them. So an SVT 15E (200 watts) plus your 210 (200 watts) plus your 610 (unknown to me watts) can absolutely handle your 500 watt head when used together, even at full power! Alone the SVT15E is best used with a amp of around 200 watts or if the amp is more powerful remember to never use all the power of the amp. The 400watts program means that the SVT-15E can handle 400 peak watts for an instant without burning the voice coil of the speaker.
The portaflex sounds like a plugin compared to the SVT
Justin Maldonado is it good or bad? Can u say the portaflex has more clean flat freq response?
Indra Gupta the portaflex is a good amp. I’ve toured all over the states with mine and have never heard I sound like a plug in.
If it don't have tubes it sounds like shit
I've been playing the PF500 for over 2 years in 2 different fairly successful bands, and I get complements on my bass tone from fellow musicians ALL THE TIME, to the point where they come over to see what I use. Granted, the other factors are the EQD Palisades overdrive and a Hartke AK115 paper cone cab, but without a good amp it wouldn't sound half as good.
Overdriven pf sounds totally like a tube amp. The flatness of tone that transistor will always sound like.
Not saying that it sounds bad.
But there's no comparing tube to tube-wanna-be.
But why the hell do the PF class D versions f#@%& suddenly shut off when played very loud, and STAY OFF for SEVERAL MINUTES in the middle of the F#$&@g GIG?!???
I got my PF800 serviced for that matter and - guess what ? - they told me there's nothing wrong with the amp, just please not to set the gain too high ...COME ON SERIOUSLY??? YOU BUY AN AMPEG FOR "NOT SETTING THE GAIN TOO HIGH"??!?!!!?!
OH WHAT A BUMMER!
thanks!
And the micro vr?
I have one-my complaint is that the amp fan is VERY noisy..
Michael Furia play louder!
I acquired a PF-500 in a trade recently. I have a question. On the back of the head, it says 375w @ 8 ohms and 500w @ 4 ohms. First, the cabinets it comes with are 8 ohms. If I have the 115 8 ohms cab and a 210 8 ohms cab with the 500w head, am I going to get all 500w or will it be just 375w? I have the 115 already but am currently using the head on a GK 1600w @ 4 ohm 810 cabinet. I am not well versed in ohms and impedence on single or multiple daisy chained cabinets. I will buy the 210 Ampeg cab if I am able to get all 500w from the two matching cabinets. Someone please help
Impedance isn't too difficult.
8 ohm cab + 8 ohm cab= 4 ohm
16 ohm cab + 16 Ohm cab = 8 ohm
4 ohm cab + 4 ohm cab = 2 ohm
You basically take the same impedance cabs and divide by half.
In some case, you can have (four) 16 ohm cabs running at a 4 ohm load.
You can run a 8 ohm cab with a 4 ohm cab and get a 2.7 ohm load, but it isn't recommended.
I hope this helps.
@@antnot0196 Thank you very much. You made it easy.
martin di bergi?
SUPER.!!!!
The SVT sounds so much better.
@1:28 SEINFELD!!!
The best pf is a 800
I just got PF800 and when I turn my gain past 7 and play I get a big fart noise... Is mine broken or what?
Would have been nice to hear the real sound of these amp/head combos without the HUGE coloration that is being imparted by that Shure Beta 52a, complete with proximity effect. An omni with no proximity effect, and a flat response would have been my preference for the purposes of demonstration. www.shure.eu/dms/shure/products/microphones/frequency-curves/beta/frequency_response-beta52/frequency_response-beta52.gif
genial
sounds neither fat like the original 810 stack or warm like the old flip-tops. this sounds more like an old GK to me.
The Electric Banana,...Don't look for it, it's not there anymore.
Smoke on the Water...! Almost...
6:45 no, it´s not OK to Overdrive the input gain. I did just like that, and ruined my PF 500.
Yes it is. If your Portaflex blew up, it was a totally unrelated issue. The red peak light on an Ampeg literally means nothing. It's only there to show you that your tone is starting to distort, it does not harm the amp in any way. The owners manual of Ampeg literally tells you that you're SUPPOSED to adjust your gain to the point where the light starts going off. The reason why so many people think solid state Ampeg amps sound like garbage is because they see the peak light and turn their gain down because they're afraid of it. Ampeg amps sound like dogshit if your red light isn't going off. If your gain knob is less than 75% of the way up, you're doing it wrong.
I've used a Portaflex 800 at jam session volumes regularly for almost a decade, with the gain cranked to the point where the light is on all the time, and I've never had any issues
@@howler9171 well... it damaged the power amp anyway. I just loved the tone with overdriven preamp, but I'm not able to do it anymore. Anyway, I got a PF800 recently, and use an overdrive on the loop and mix with the preamp, if I need some grit. I got my PF500 fixed, an used a lot after it got in order again. Now it's a backup and studio preamp.
Agreed Steven, WTF do you play slap Bass? Thats because ou get fals Bottm end from slap Bass. WTF dont you try more techniques including a pick. I have owed all 3 of the potaflex series amps and they are pure garbage and cant be rusted in a live setting. All 3 of the POS took a crap on me within 3 shows. Dino would you listen to yourself. If you think the Portaflex is really an equal to the SVT amp Your High. I am a die hard Ampeg user and I purchased all three of them and they are equal alright. To the worst built Crate Amps. I will never ever own another one of these POS amps. I will go with a Sans Amp and a QSC power and or Mark Bass first
nada le gana al clasico con la ganancia al maximo!
Nice try ampeg... nothing beats the tubes
Modern solid-state amps sound better ,SORRY THEY JUST DO
PF500 is GARBAGE! Get something else! I ordered one to backup my Mesa head. It had some weird farting noise when I added Low end and tried to dial in the SVT growl. I sent it bsck because it sounded broken. New one came in a did the exact same thing I sent it back, ordered a Hartke LH500 for my backup head. Hell it sounds as good as my Mesa.
the SVT CL isn't a real SVT, come on now Dino.
Dino is really the worst demontrator of ampeg product...
If he starts slapping I will skip the video...skip!
thanks ... no ampegs vibe