Item Reviews for: Ampeg PF500 Portaflex Bass Guitar Amplifier Head  -  AMG PF500 LIST
Ampeg PF500 Portaflex Bass Guitar Amplifier Head
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Once again Ampeg come through… Another very good power source…

By: Jae Yeung      Submitted: 6/29/2023

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Product Rating Product Review Once again Ampeg come through… Another very good power source…
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So far, So good!!!

By: Robert Parent      Submitted: 3/28/2023

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Product Review I've only been using it at practice. So far I'm very happy with it. No problems whatsoever. I will keep you updated.
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All you need to get “that sound”

By: Sean C.      Submitted: 10/28/2022

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Product Review Impressed with the build quality, knob layout and ease of use. Very easy to dial in useful sounds for jazz, metal, fretless, and gets 95% to that SVT growl tone. Plenty loud to keep up with a drummer with the matching 2x10. And that purple light on the front looks so slick on stage.
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Ampeg tone!!

By: Aubry      Submitted: 3/26/2022

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review What can I say, Ampeg has delivered yet again. With on board compressor, every note I play is broadcast the same!
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Best thing I've purchased

By: Janelle      Submitted: 3/8/2022

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review It's unique, it's TONE , its versatility, it just enhances every single note I play. I recommend any brand of Ampeg, because without a doubt you know the Quality is superb!
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This is a Great lil power house

By: Danny Bridges      Submitted: 11/8/2021

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review I Also have a SVT 4 pro And a SVT 3 pro these Amps are all a Bass player could ever need! Rock on!
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By: Lee Knight      Submitted: 4/8/2021

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Product Review Bad: I’ve owned prior and it died. Good: 1, After a chance meeting with a Ampeg engineer after they got sucked into Yamaha, he promised the issue was sorted. 2. It sounds near as good as my 70’s SVT. I’m not a fan of hifi tone. I like some mild, thick hair. This delivers. The Fx loop allows a comp to simulate power amp saturation. With a tad from the on board comp for the front end... magic, old school r&b rock tone a plenty.
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It's an Ampeg.

By: K B Brown      Submitted: 6/26/2020

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1 person found this review helpful.

Product Review I absolutely love this head. The features are outstanding. My expectations were high, simply because of the name, and this head has exceeded all expectations. One word to explain it all is outstanding. What I love most is even a novice will find it easy to create the perfect tone with this head.
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Light weight, solid tone.

By: Charles A. Long Jr.      Submitted: 1/27/2020

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4 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review Light weight, solid tone. Exactly what I was looking for.
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Sound perfect

By: Rey Mones      Submitted: 12/10/2019

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Product Review Just got this amp and matched it with my 4x10GK cab ... used it with my Fender and Sterling SUB bass you won’t believe the lows and mid of this amp... I should have gottten this long time ago. Played with so many amp but this is definitely the best of all of them. Highly recommend
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Abb no axing tone!!!

By: Rod      Submitted: 11/7/2019

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review You can never go wrong with AMPEG, and this time PORTAFLEX delivers the same tone that an SVT amp.
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Sounds fantastic.

By: MThomas      Submitted: 10/6/2019

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Product Review I have had a few Ampeg amps in my 36 years playing Bass. This is nice and light. Gets the sound I need with plenty of power. I believe you need as many watts as you can get. American makes it so you can get what you need and want. I bought a Steinberger back in the 80s when they had a storefront. Love shopping with them still.
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This thing is GREAT!!!

By: Rich P      Submitted: 10/6/2019

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2 people found this review helpful.

Product Review Love this head! I play in a band where we only use pedals and direct connections to the pa. Not being one to use pedals, I like simple, I bought this unit and mounted it to a pedal board, along with my line 6 G50 wireless receiver and a korg pitch black tuner, ran from the tuner out on the head. Its a class D amp, so you dont need to have a load on the amp. I use the DI and it sounds fantastic! If I ever need to run a cab, I can. I can also use it for practice, headphone jack and aux input. I use it with a new model MM Stingray with 18 volt preamp, which has a very hot input, so I love the -15db pad and the gain control, has every thing a bassist needs!I thought about the pf350 but it doesnt have the compression, so thats why I went with the pf500. Has a lot more options for connection to the board, pad and ground lift on the back of the unit, effects loop, and an FX blend control. Just a note, volume knob only works when a cab is connected to the head.
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AMS Rocks!

By: DJ T-Bizzle aka Travis      Submitted: 8/17/2019

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2 people found this review helpful.

Product Review Excellent staff, and amazing service all the way around.
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As advertised

By: Robert Albertson      Submitted: 6/3/2019

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1 person found this review helpful.

Product Review Great product in my humble opinion
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Graham Central Station Style

By: Frederick McIntosh      Submitted: 5/25/2019

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4 people found this review helpful.

Product Review Heavy funk for the soul bass player 70z 80s 90s 2000 marches those era of funk bassist all day long . AMPEG THE FUNK BASS PLAYERS RIGG
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Well worth the money

By: Jerry. C      Submitted: 5/21/2019

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review Awesome !! This will handle whatever you need .. True Ampeg Tone as expected
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Just a Beast!

By: Terry Stone      Submitted: 3/8/2019

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review I had a problem with my old Bass Head, So I bought this one . I read the reviews and when It arrived ( 2 days) I cranked it up and WOW, the sound was great. Sounds like the old ampeg svt. Get one, you won't go wrong!
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Great amp. Love it.

By: Tony Schoenfeld      Submitted: 2/4/2019

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Product Review I expect quality from Ampeg and I got exactly what I expected.
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Great head for a great price !

By: Randall Blackwell      Submitted: 9/8/2018

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Product Review I decided to buy this Class D Ampeg after watching the promo videos on Youtube. This small lightweight unit does a great job of emulating the sound of the iconic SVT tube amp. The controls are classic Ampeg configuration, so if u are already familiar with the Ampeg brand you will feel right at home. The onboard compression is a nice addition. IMO where this head really shines is as a practice amp. It doesn't have to have a speaker load, so I use the 1/8 headphone jack with a pair of Sony MDR7506 cans and connect it to my laptop via the 1/8 input jack and jam to Youtube tutorials without disturbing my neighbors or sleeping members of my household ! My only complaint and the only thing keeping this from a 5 star review is the fact that the headphone jack does not defeat the main outputs so if its connected to a cab, u will output through both the headphones AND the cab simultaneously. I discovered this the first time I put on a pair of cans and decided to rock out at 4 am !!
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Killer head at a reasonable price

By: TJ      Submitted: 6/16/2018

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review I've had this head for three months and absolutely love it. It goes from pristine clean to gritty and growly. I play a 5 string active bass and I find the compressor to be helpful in keeping the low B string from clipping the preamp when I don't want it too and helps smooth out my overall tone from string to string. The EQ is super versital especially with the 5 way mid switch. With the preamp gain turned up about 3/4 you get some good grit and when you crank up the master past 2 o'clock you start to get that killer growl Ampeg is known for. The option of plugging in some headphones for silent practice is nice just be aware you need to unplug your cab because the headphone jack doesn't mute the output, which is actually nice when you're playing to a click track or backing tracks but want to hear your cab. I'm playing it through a pf412hlf cab and it's plenty loud enough to keep up with a loud band. If your playing live without PA support you may need to add a second cab depending on the size of the venue. Overall I would definitely recommend this head to anyone and would easily buy it again. For the money you can't find a better quality head that's this versital
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Perfect!

By: HKD      Submitted: 12/20/2017

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Product Review Love this bass amp head it sounds perfect, looks cool, has a strong build to it and the purple color indicator light is a nice touch.
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Does and sounds like what I want

By: Doggoneu      Submitted: 1/26/2017

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4 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review I am not a fan of solid state amps with that being said this blew me away and when I use with my 2 10 inch speaker cab and my 15 inch bottom I get the sound I want
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Great Price

By: Dave Kyle      Submitted: 7/14/2016

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review It has what you need to get a no frills SVT sound. It works great with my upright Kay too!
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love it!

By: EverBorunda      Submitted: 4/24/2015

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Product Review Came in a well protected package. The head is well designed and easy to dail in even for an novice as myself.Thank you AMS!
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finally got the concert sound i always wanted ,thank very much,and it is what i hope for

By: charles mcmullen      Submitted: 4/14/2015

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Product Review great,fine,great,fine.boom,boom,can you do the jerk,mashpotoes,twist,bo-ga-loo.it will make do it.
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So far.....fantastic!

By: Rex "Okie Bassplayer" Green!      Submitted: 9/24/2014

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Product Review Hey, it's an Ampeg....what else needs to be said?
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I Love it, best amp head ever!!

By: Clint Stern      Submitted: 9/17/2014

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Product Review Great Product
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Great Amp, great value!

By: munkeyfish from St.Augustine, Florida, USA      Submitted: 9/7/2014

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Product Review Very pleased with the amp. I find it very versatile and sounds great. I can find "my tone" very easy with this amp. Good value and I LOVE AMS ext. Warranty they offer for FREE!
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One Word **Awesomeness**

By: ChrisStrings      Submitted: 5/6/2014

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Review This amp head has great tune, volume, post EQ, ultra low and ultra high cuts makes it even more better for the price. .Great Quality and Presentation. Awesome design,built for perfection,nothing on this amp head feels cheap or fake. All the features this amp has is more than what I knew at first ..I love it Beautiful sound..Especially the bottom end. The different frequents you can set your eq is great Layout is dead on and noticeable. . Tone has no distortion what so ever ..very clean and full sound I got more than what I was expecting for the price.
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Lots of power in a lightweight box

By: Ray      Submitted: 6/17/2013

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Well made Ampeg quality, if you know Ampeg then you know what you're getting. Traditional Ampeg features plus a little extra with the AUX in for I-pod, MP3 or any other device with headphone jack. I was surprised at the sound quality it is very Ampeg-like, true to the Original warmth and depth and even a bit of fuzz or distortion to the sound depending on how you set it up. Great value for the money.
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Ampeg PF 500

By: Lamont Gridiron from Bakersfield      Submitted: 11/1/2012

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Yes The versatility in tone Very Warm tone... Your general opinion of this product. This product is great...I have owned this product before. It will impress you. The Ampeg feels Unique and fast. It is very easy to control. The Ampeg PF 500 is whatever you desire it to be: Bright, Snappy, Dark, Smooth. The controls on the Ampgeg allow you to adjust the sound to how ever you want it to be. Very nice The Action is great.
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Ampeg hit a home run here

By: Jeff jcrocks1054@yahoo.com from Corsicana, Texas      Submitted: 5/22/2012

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1 person found this review helpful.

so far so good..havnt gigged with it yet but has that Ampeg growl Compressor, PRICE, weight...minus-15 percent DB switch has the Ampeg tube growl w/out the hassle of tube replacement Your general opinion of this product. The only neg thing Ive found is no fuse circuit...using a high dollar power strip w/breaker..works for me ! light weight with 500 wayys at 4 ohms...nuff said ! GREAT ! awesome encloser, wish Ampeg would put it in a SVT lookin cab N/A
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Everything is perfect!

By: Craig from Lincoln, NE, USA      Submitted: 4/17/2012

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0 people found this review helpful.

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I was underwhelmed...

By: Aaron C Ramson from La Quinta, CA USA      Submitted: 3/21/2012

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2 people found this review helpful.

Iv'e only owned it for 3 days now but it seems durable enough.. The compression knob is nice, and the gain adds a lot of bite. UNDERWHELMING. After tweaking knobs for 5 minutes my first thought was to put it back in the box and return it. Where was that famous Ampeg tone?? It was as boring and flat as a Hartke or Gallien-Kreuger. I mean it just bummed me out. I threw myt trusty MXR pre-amp/DI/distortion unit in front of it and FINALLY my tone bagan to emerge. The interface is straight forward and very easy. You get what you pay for. Iv'e been using my friends Eden Traveller amp and that thing is amazing sounding with a balanced sound and great overdrive. It's also about $800 more than this Portaflex. I'll sum it up as the tone you would expect from a $399 amp, regardless of the brand that's slapped on it. Nice matte black finish N/A
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Small,light but powerful

By: Merejo      Submitted: 12/11/2011

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3 people found this review helpful.

Ampeg built to withstand the daily use. Adjustable tone settings for different types of playing styles. Great Versatile with a broad range of settings Strong well made Metal case
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Ampeg Portaflex PF500

By: Nadraw from Eugene, OR      Submitted: 9/3/2011

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This thing is SOLID! Ampeg could have easily made this thing even lighter by using a thinner gauge sheet metal for the housing, but I am glad they did not. The knobs are smooth and as another reviewer mentioned, they offer nice resistance. They don’t just flop around. I expected much less for the price. Very impressed. I think Ampeg read my mind! This little boogar has every feature I have ever wanted out of an amp. Mute switch, tuner out, preamp out/in, adjustable & switchable effects loop, plus all of the recording and speaker outs you could imagine! Even better, a straight forward compressor. And a good one at that! Sweet! Loud as hell. Crystal clear. Low noise even when the preamp is cranked. Fan volume is minimal. OK, so here is where I was a little disappointed… but I still give it 5 stars! The descriptions tote “Ampeg tone” and “Ampeg's highly-researched MOSFET preamp”, and it is marketed as being “Inspired by the iconic B-15.” With all that being said, I was kind of hoping for the ability to get a little crunch out of the thing. But, no dice. I can crank the preamp to the point of overloading the amp input, resulting in ugly distortion, but no honk… no growl. Clean as a whistle. I guess I should have known that solid state would not give me the same tone as the SVP-Pro I had back in the day… But with all of that being said, it sounds GREAT! The best word to describe it would be: articulate! I’ve got a Line 6 X3 Live I can run through the effects loop to get some tube crunch if I need it. You can always add tone to clean, but you can’t go the other way around.
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The PF500 will not dissapoint!

By: Taint Master J from Austin Texas      Submitted: 8/31/2011

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I have never been let down by Ampeg. I have heard of some people getting bad apples, but I am sure that happens with most any brand. As far as I am concerned, I will not lose a minute of sleep worrying about this heads quality and whether or not I can count on it day in and day out. Built in compression, 5 position midrange frequency knob, mute button, -15db pad, ultra high, ultra low, and FX mix knob are some features worth noting. Besides the mute and -15db button, the features mentioned can allow you to dial in whatever kind of gritty Ampeg tone you are looking for. And best of all, these features are useful and not just flashy. It sounds like an Ampeg should. I had a Markbass F1 head before this one and it was clean and transparent. This thing growls and made my bass sound a lot bigger in a room at much less volume. A big plus! It has that Ampeg tone. If you don't like their tone, this head will probably not be for you. It has the big gritty round sound that Ampeg is known for. Definitely not the best head for getting super clean tones. I would recommend a Markbass head for that. The possibilities on this head for different tones is amazing. Between the eq, midrange sweep, compressor, and the ultra hi/low buttons, you can get anything from clanky bass to smooth sultry tones. The paint on this rules. Flat black and appears to be as durable as you can get. I have yet to see a mark that won't come right off. This is a bass head and it provided action!
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Best bass amp I've ever used, BAR NONE

By: Jerry Thurston from Cypress, Texas      Submitted: 7/27/2011

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1 person found this review helpful.

Again, excellent. I've owned it for about a month and so far, I genuinely expect to be playing through this amp twenty years from now. I'm just learning slap-and-pop techniques, so the fully-adjustable compression function is one of my favorite features (it's a knob, so you can adjust the compression from 0 to 100%). I also like the usual Ampeg mute features, which allow me to play all-out in a smaller venue without sacrificing tone. Its sound is (or course) its selling point. What can I say? It sounds like an Ampeg. It handles everything I can throw at it, from deep muddy lines to the brightest my bass knobs will go, and sounds the same at any volume. So far I'm blown away by the tone. Light and compact, I could almost carry it in my stage bag. It'll handle either bright or dark, depending on what I throw at it. I'm running it through a Fender Rumble 410 cab and it sounds awesome whether I'm playing bright and forward (Play That Funky Music) or deeper and more supportive (Thrill Is Gone). For country applications requiring a fatter/thumpier sound, I use the "Ultra Low" button and the "Ultra High" for more precise rock lines. Silver face and black casing. Looks like an industrial-grade coating, which is far superior to the usual tolex or vinyl covering I've seen on other rigs (at least on older ones). As it's an amp head, instead of "action" let's say its functionality out of the box was excellent. It's basically plug-and-play.
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Ampeg does it again

By: Joe (RiverStone) Mcx from       Submitted: 6/23/2011

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This product seems very sturdy. Great finish on the metal casing. The knobs have a good feel and turn with just the right amount of resistance. No telling yet on the dependability, but it is an Ampeg after all. I dropped my Portaflex B15 down a flight of stairs once and it kept playing. What more can I say. I love how easy it is to dial in the various tones with this amp. I like the mute function for tuning. The variable compression allow me to get that smooth sound at louder volumes without sacrificing dynamics. The mid-ranged selector makes it easy to quickly dial in a different sound. Gain and volume seem well matched. Above all with this amp it is the tone and sound. Nothing beats the sound of an Ampeg Such a wide range. All the way from that smooth Beatles sound to a crisp slapping sound.
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awsome portable head

By: Jesse from Encinitas, ca, united states      Submitted: 6/20/2011

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1 person found this review helpful.

For something made in china, it is very nice. I have used it about 20 times outdoors pushing my 610 and have n't had any problems. I like the mute button and being able to tune your bass with out unpluging your bass, loud!!!!!! and classic ampeg tone nice satin look. this amp almost blew my eardrums out. I pluged it in to a ampeg 610 and turned it up and it handled like it wasn't anything.
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Best Amp head I've owned!

By: Matt D. from Mooresville, NC, USA      Submitted: 4/13/2011

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1 person found this review helpful.

Ampeg is always top of the line! They've done it again with this little powerhouse! Strong case, very heavy duty. Knobs are sturdy(not loose). Pots are nice and firm too. The Ultra hi and Ultra low buttons really add some great sound to an already great amp. This amp is very versatile! You can get that flat vintage Beatles tone out of it and big crisp Modern bass tone too! Best solid-state amp tone I've ever heard!
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Great little amp!

By: sjrash from Tarpon Springs FL USA      Submitted: 3/20/2011

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yes It has all the features I need for great sound. It has great tone, and lots of options. The onboard compressor is awesome. n/a n/a nice n/a