Thanks to NZRS_Matt's always stellar service, a lovely wee gem of an amp arrived yesterday, the Ampeg PF-350.
The PF-350 is one of two amps that Ampeg has decided to apply the Portaflex name to. The old Portaflex used to be a low watt tube amp on top of a 15inch speaker, with the ability to store the amp inside the cabinet itself, being called a flip top because you flipped the top of the cabinet over in order to get the amp part out. This amp, called the B15, is one of those holy grail amps for bassists, particularly those in the studio because they sound incredbile. The lower watts meant it wasn't worthwhile gigging with in rock situations so the SVT came about.
So there are two versions of this update to the Portaflex line, the PF-350 and the PF-500. Both are solid state. The PF-500 has Ultra-Hi and Ultra Low switches, a mid selector, compressor, fx mix, 500watts and is relatively big. Compared to its big brother, the PF-500, the PF-350 is much more basic machine, as well as being 150w less at 4ohms, and doesn't have all those things I just listed. The PF500 is based off the SVT Pro 7, whilst the PF-350 is based off the Micro-VR. Both sound great, but do sound different from each other. The micro-vr has had rave reviews in terms of tone but the maximum of 200w tends to let it down.
Well there's a big load of crap that doesn't have much bearing on what I"m going to say
As I get along in my preferences and gear choices, it's become apparent that the more crap that gets in the way of the signal, the crapper it sounds.
Put an amp like a Trace Elliot in front of me and I'll spend hours fiddling, and with basses with active electronics I tend to just leave it alone.
I wanted to get something small, light, and basic that had great tone, to use for practice and gigs where I couldn't be arsed dragging my SVT along.
I wasn't happy with the Genz-Benz stuff; the lower end gear whilst compact sounded a bit anemic although the Streamliners certainly sound good.
The Orange Bass Terror also had my attention for a bit as it has the preamp section of their AD200B but it's not particularly versatile EQ; a One trick pony (but a great trick!). Also, it was about 2x as much as I wanted to spend.
Enter the Ampeg PF350
Good price, small form factor, simple and with excellent tone; if you're familar with the Ampeg sound, you'll recognise it immediately. In fact, there are a couple of threads about the interwebs where they compare the tube B15 with the PF-350; they sound incredibly close, but of course the tubes give a little something magically that can't be replicated by SS. Still, very good signs.
I was a bit worried about volume and although I would have been a bit more comfortable with the knowledge I had 500w up my sleeve, the 350w certainly makes the walls shake and crushes my head in! That was just through an Ashdown 2x10 as well, which is very positive.
I really like just having Gain, Volume, Bass Mid and Treble. So simple, and the controls do a lot. You can get that classic Ampeg tone extremely easily; I intuitively dialed those settings up and I can't see them changing much for me. You can scoop a lot of the mids and make it sound very modern too, which is definite plus for those out there who want a bit of flexibility.
It does have an XLR Line out if required but please note it's line out, not DI; the signal is at line level so needs to be patched through the appropriate channel on the desk, otherwise you'll have way too much gain for the desk to handle.
It comes down to tone, price and volume. It has AWESOME tone, and if anyone loves the Ampeg sound, you'll love this. The price was sharp even before Matt fixed me up, and the volume is enough for rock gigs, especially using all the watts through more speakers. My next purchase in my sights is to get the matching portaflex 2x10 cabinet, but right now the PF-350 and my ABM210 will be a great portable, light rig.
TL;DR?
Nails the Ampeg tone, is small, loud, and wallet friendly.
