Jonesy64

I don't think anyone has said anything about trying to get a tube tone with a driven SS power amp stage? Getting dirt at low volumes whether on all valves or hybrids is not best achieved by cranking the gain and feeding in a bit of master while keeping it quiet enough for bedroom levels. In the case of the TB it can sound like mush and certainly on valve amps they can sound thin and buzzy until you really get to a point where the master is adding depth and 'volume' in a space context. Best way to get dirt at bedroom levels is keep it clean and add an O/D pedal. As ever though, people have their own opinions. EDIT: only my opinion again but to be hearing cooling fans we must be talking about really lllllooowwwww volumes. Aside from when the amps are powering up I don't notice fan noise at all. That's the same for my old TB, the SVT3Pro and PF350.

I've just traded my TB500 for a PF-350. The TB is a cracking head but I fancied another Ampeg as back up to my SVT3Pro. I have discovered the beauty of the PF-350 is that besides being a good head in its own right it also has aux-in and headphone out it and doesn't need to be hooked up to a cab (I am guessing most lightweight class D's have these features?) Just play your laptop/ipad/iPod or whatever into it and stick your headphones on. You've then got music and your bass mixed together. Or of course, just play your bass. It is small enough and light enough to pretty much practice anywhere with it providing you have a power source and your headphones on. Having said all of that I am getting a 112 for it as I don't want sweaty ears all the time! Back to the TB500.....yes, it'll sound alright at low volume but you won't get it breaking up if that's the tone you are after. I always had this problem with my all valve guitar amps...at home you could never turn up the gain enough to get the tubes cooking. If you are set on a TB500 (bargains in the used section by the way) and need the dirt put an overdrive pedal in front of it for home use. I would def look at the higher output Ampeg PF's and GK MB's, Genz etc with their additional features before settling on a TB.

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciated and special mention to yellowcar for trying to reign me in :-) It has worked out great in the end as, all being well, I should have Ant's Matamp 112 sometime soon!

Very interested in that offer Ant! I am an ex Matamp GT2 and 2x10 owner! Can you PM me some details please.

[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1405447917' post='2501998'] Not sure how much difference you would notice at bedroom levels - reign it in! [/quote] No, you're right...the Harley (and the Hartke) fit the bill perfectly. [quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1405451096' post='2502052'] those cabs are awesome! andy [/quote] Bugger.....

The Harley Benton fits the bill nicely...but, Lozz, I do like the idea of the SVT210AV. In fact, there's a GK115 Neo in the sale section which I keep looking at, not a match but cool looking!! I might need to revise my budget. Bloody GAS!!!!!

Hi guys, I have a PF-350 on its way and I am now looking for a decent, under £100 speaker cab to go with it. I am too bone idle to keep rigging up my SVT3Pro and 4x10 at home and now that I have the 350 I like the idea of a small rig in my room that I can plug straight into without having to mess about with cab covers and rack covers and plugs and leads and all that. I was originally going to get a practice combo but the PF350 will double as a lightweight gigging back-up to the 3Pro. The Portaflex 210 and 115HE cabs look good but way over my budget. Any suggestions are very welcome....no problem going down the second hand route. Cheers, Mark.

I use one and find it very comfortable, looks pretty good too I think.

Genuine forearm wear on my 77/78 Precision

Yeah, I was aware of that but actually I suppose that could have been it, I am pretty sure it had time to go through its sequence and I tried it a few times....that said, 20 secs is a long time when everyone else is waiting for you, so my impatience might have got the better of me :-)

Getting on great with mine....had its 5th gig last night. I have pretty much settled on the bass around 2-3 o'clock, mids and treble at noon, the mids selector on the second click, the tube gain around 9-10 o'clock. I keep the gain at 2 o'clock and use the master to get the overall volume...it usually ends up around the same setting as the gain. All the switches are disengaged. I don't use the EQ other than messing around with it at home. That's playing 77-80 punk covers with a 78 Precision and a very bright Schroeder 410BMF. I was a bit concerned after it's first gig....I switched it off and then immediately back on again as the shout came to do one more song after the usual encores...it lit up but no sound so that was the end of that...I immediately thought about Ampeg reliability issues and feared the worst. When I got it home it fired up straight away and I haven't had any glitches or issues since. I put it down to how quickly I switched it off and on, quite literally an all in one movement and I think I created a power surge or something for its protection circuit to kick in. I don't find it too heavy or cumbersome at all. I have it mounted in a lightweight Proel 3U case that has carry handles making it an easy enough walk with it in one hand and another piece of gear in the other. To sum up, I think its a great amp, it gives me a really well defined, clean growl that I was hoping for. It is also very flexible when you start monkeying around with the switches (and EQ) which I like to do at home but I found instant satisfaction with everything more or less at noon.

Great stuff guys, thanks for both of these ideas!

DIY is more sorcery than magic to me I'm afraid :-)

I thought it would be cool to tidy everything up nicely and fit one of those 19" power strips to the rear of my 3U rack so that I can plug the amp head and rack tuner into it leaving just one cable out to a power socket. Alternatively, as I only need two sockets maybe I could fit a smaller power strip inside somehow. Wondering what you guys are doing before I make a decision. Any recommendations on choice of power strip would be most welcome too. Cheers!