ampeg PF500, 6 weeks old and has started cutting out. Fault light comes on

[police squad]

any ideas,
I'm going to send it back anyway.
Nothing has changed from last usage. Playing away, it cuts out and the yellow fault light comes on.
no sound for about 5-10 seconds, light goes off, sound comes back.
after one set, (we changed everything, bass, lead, transmitter) we went direct into the powered monitor which has a speaker extension socket, which we plugged into the bass cab. It all worked very well.

any ideas, (so I can tell the shop what it might be)

thanks for your help

[gary mac]

that's a pain. sorry no idea but don't don't think you need to worry about telling them what is wrong with it, just the fact that there is a fault.

[discreet]

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1336029165' post='1639589']
I haven't had any issues with my PF-500. Originally I thought I had an issue with it cutting out, but then found out the 4Ohm cab wasn't 4Ohms due to it being rewired badly.
Playing into a 4x8" and 1x15" I've had no problems using a Fender P, Warwick Corvette nor a Stingray.
[/quote]

[icastle]

That'll usually be one of two culprits.

Either the amp is overheating (you need to have a decent sized gap behind the amp to allow the heat to dissipate) or you have an intermittantly faulty cable between the amp and the speaker cab.

[Moos3h]

A known issue, lots of other users, myself included, have had problems. Send it back and get something else!

[Mudpup]

Massive thread on Talkbass about this very issue.

[bartelby]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1336901661' post='1652414']
[/quote]



I was just coming to ask what cab was being used and to point out that the PF-500 seems to have very little tolerance cab impedance wise...

[police squad]

using a mark bass club 1x15.
it's been brilliant for about 6 weeks and 10-12 gigs so far.

[JTUK]

Can't help with the problem..might be able to lend you an amp tho..

[police squad]

Thanks JTUK. but we've still got our old hartke head.

I've been down the studio today, with the amp and 2 different cabs and 2 speaker leads.
I couldn't get it to play up at all and I gave it a good thrashing.

One thing though, there was some intereferance on the wireless last night. Just white noise. could there be a problem with the pub electrics?
The guy at bass direct, (whom I recently bought a steinberger from) was very vocal about my wanting another markbass cab.
'what amp you using?' he asked , so I said the ampeg PF500, which he said was fine, but needed to match it to less woolly cabs.
he was very insistant about it, so I'm thinking he would have said there was a problem with the ampeg etc.

Now, I work in manufacturing and realise that things go wrong and the ampeg has been out long enough for them to have ironed out the problems, surely.

It's such a good sounding amp I don't want to change to anything else

[JTUK]

Don't know M, but there might be a few people here who have more direct knowledge of this newish Ampeg amp.

Have you looked it up on Talkbass...? I'll see if I can find the thread there later today.

As regards the MB cabs..they aren't for me...but I guess he thought you should run it with more defined and focused 12's.. and had a few in mind...
Will check out how 'tolerant' people say the amp is... can't understand that to the point of cutting out, tho..

[police squad]

I don't understand how the tolerance thing works. the cab is 8 ohms and they can run to 4. how can there be a problem.
the mark cab is ok, does flap a little when the amp is really cooking, but we DI on all gigs that have the full PA, (that's all the police gigs and most of the scandal ones)
but I will try different cabs at some point. (need to pay off my new (actually old, 1984) Steinberger first.
Originally tried the ampeg through a mark 4x10. now that really worked!! but we need portability and light weight and the mark cabs we bought were only 250 each, so thought that a good starting point, seeing as my hartke was knackered, but its fixed now (and too heavy)
I'm away in Kossovo at the mo and don't get near a computer too often, if you find anything on talkbass John, that would be great
mart

[Moos3h]

I don't buy the 'cab tolerance' thing - in my opinion if it was designed properly it wouldn't be an issue.

I used mine for three gigs with the same cab, was fine until gig three at which point the cutting out began.

As far as I can tell, they either suffer from pretty poor quality control or are built wrong. Either way, I would never recommend one.

[bartelby]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1337071107' post='1654763']
I don't buy the 'cab tolerance' thing - in my opinion if it was designed properly it wouldn't be an issue.

I used mine for three gigs with the same cab, was fine until gig three at which point the cutting out began.

As far as I can tell, they either suffer from pretty poor quality control or are built wrong. Either way, I would never recommend one.
[/quote]

Yes, if it was designed with a bit more tolerance cab wise then they'd be great. I have noticed on some websites that they say the PFs were designed to work with the PF cabs, which makes sense. So I guess Ampeg designed them specifically for those cabs.

Anyhoo, my second PF-500 failed on me last week. Using the same 4x8" + 1x15" it's worked with flawlessly for 8 months, quiet little click, fault light came on and that was that.

I called Digital Village who arranged a courier to pick it up yesterday. Today I got a full refund.

No questions, no hassle. Perhaps they've had a few back.

[JTUK]

Well, Impedance on cabs is never specific... but then maybe it nevers needs to be as amps have enough about them to cope.

If this is a pattern and has occured on more than a few units, I'd be thinking QC.. which is not a good sign.
Of course, amps will work best with the cabs they are designed for...but this shouldn't be exclusive..it would a be a mammoth mistake if they were to try that one..!!
I would imagine the cabs would behave themselves very well with another amp that you know...
Btw I thought you were running 115 and 210..??

Pop down to the Windmill if you are about ..26th.

[Musicman20]

If you have a little extra to spend, and its new, then ask for a discount off the SVT 7 Pro, which is, it seems, Ampeg's first proper high powered lightweight (ish) amp that actually does what it says it should.

Even I'd like to try one out.

The PF amps have a big problem....something to do with limiting.

[Nibody]

Mine works flawlessly with the two PF cabs but has had issues with an Ashdown 6x10 and an Ampeg 8x10. Have had this argument with good old Dino on Youtube.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Nibody

[discreet]

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1337094345' post='1655325']
...my second PF-500 failed on me last week. Using the same 4x8" + 1x15" it's worked with flawlessly for 8 months, quiet little click, fault light came on and that was that. I called Digital Village who arranged a courier to pick it up yesterday. Today I got a full refund. No questions, no hassle. Perhaps they've had a few back.
[/quote]

It's such a shame, as there is a lot of PF love on here. But it's no good thinking your amp may possibly fail at any time.

[bartelby]

Nope, when I get the first replacement the first time I got to use it was at a gig. I've never been so nervous, I just stood next to the cabs listening any slight drop on volume (from my poor playing) made me sh*t myself.
I really did like the sound of the amp. Last week I was considering getting a PF115HE in the very near future.

I've now bought Walbassist's Ashdown JJ500. I can't wait for it to arrive!

[JTUK]

Here you are, Martin...that TB link

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ampeg-pf350-500-part-v-876524/"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ampeg-pf350-500-part-v-876524/[/url]

You might have to sort through it and its a long read.

It seems that the limiter mechanism does its job but the trick is finding out where its limit is.
I admit skirting thru the thread but it also seems that the 500w can be a struggle... and I can't understand that at all. altho suspect it is something to do with the class D type internal maps etc etc
which will take its time to manifest as things that people either can live with or shy away from completely.

It takes a very big ( loud ) gig to run out of level on my 400 and 550w amps and I don't hit the strings hard or max out the EQ ever...
Of course, the amps might be flat out to all intents and purposes at around 1 or 2 o'clock on the volume dial but the EQ is pretty much notched flat as it can be.

( that doesn't mean the amp is flat-flat..just that its bias is..as much as it can be, IMO )

[GRAHAM SG1]

My PF500 has never had a problem running through my Barefaced Super Twelve, I did play a gig last friday where I could have done with a bit more headroom though so am gassing for an SVT PRO7, I have to say it was extremely loud in a large packed pub though !

[Lozz196]

It`s a shame that some of these great sounding amps still seem to have this problem. I had a PF500, and never had any problems with it, either on 2 hour gigs, 4 hour rehearsals, or day long recording sessions. And it was used with a variety of different cabs. However I only ever used it operating at full power - either with two 8 ohm cabs, or one 4 ohm cab. and these were all high efficiency cabs as well. Either I got lucky with my one, or this is the solution, full load, into high efficiency cabs?

[police squad]

might give it another gig, but this time take a spare head with me/us.
some of these amps play up and some don't it would appear.
admittedly, the amp is loud through one cab but surely, this shouldn't be a problem.
It doesn't even feel like it's getting warm.
When I get home (on holiday in Kossovo would you believe) I'll phone digital village and see what they want to do.
I will push for a replacement first and if that one fails, then I'll have to think again.
Lightweight and THAT ampeg sound is all I want.
SVT pro7 is starting to get too big and too heavy (although hardly heavy at 7Kg)

Lozz, is your MB500 good. I did try one side by side with ampeg and it sounded good but I prefered the ampeg.

Edited May 16, 2012 by police squad

[Lozz196]

The MB500 is a good amp, but very different from the Ampeg. However the GK MB Fusion 500, which is what I`ve now got, is almost a cross between the two. It has the clinical sound of the GK, but with a lot more "oompph" and bulk to the sound, especially in the low-mids, like the Ampeg.

On Talkbass it was described as being the least GK-sounding amp GK make, and think that is fairly accurate. On its own, it sounds very GK, but in the mix those low mids, combined with the tubes in the pre-amp, really thicken out.

[police squad]

I'll definitely have to try one of those out i think. We don't really want a clinical sound. We both like a little edge to our sound. (both me and the Mrs play bass you see, she plays in my pub rock band and me in the police band)