NeonMig

Ok so had the gig on Saturday, was a blast! The AMB 500 performed flawlessly through a beat up Ampeg 4x10, and I could really feel how effortlessly the Ashdown just filled the stage with sound through a pretty dense mix (crust/punk/thrash metal). Master volume was about halfway up, and I didn't need any monitor support. Great purchase, 10/10. I'll be using this for all my local shows going forward, it's a no-brainer. I found that if I balanced the input correctly, the compressor would work just fine without any real volume difference, but the input does need to keep being adjusted according to any EQ or drive changes. It takes a bit of a balancing act, but absolutely worth it because the tone is GLORIOUS. Clear, articulate, immediate power, with a lovely drive and top-end sparkle I've been sorely missing from my class D amps. I didn't use the sub harmonic at all, but can see it coming in handy for certain other types of shows. That video that Mark Gooday posted where he says 'Look, class D amps are great and all, we make and sell loads of them, but they'll never be the same as a proper A/B amp and... come on guys, this is a one-hand carry' really made an impression on me. It honestly wasn't much more hassle than any of my other local gigs.

So I ended up picking up the EVOIII last night. Playing it at a proper loud rehearsal volume was epic... absolutely great in every way! Compressor stayed off and will stay off, tube drive sounded epic, and I think I can see myself using the subharmonics with a footswitch for certain parts. First gig with it on Saturday, big outdoor thing, will report back! Yeah I probably would've grabbed one if there was any way of getting it shipped over here for a not-terrible price (I sent a few feelers out to UPS/DHL/what have you and the prices were horrifying) but as it is, I think the 500 will do me fine.

Ok so I went by the shop yesterday - they're not looking to place any Ashdown orders for the foreseeable future, they shift much more Orange gear, so getting in a head just for me isn't really worth it, unfortunately. They swapped out the tube on the EVO III it works fine. They want 490euros for it, and it will come with warranty cover (as it is new old stock). I'm quite tempted I must say. Found some decent deals on Reverb and the Bay, but again shipping costs to get them here are predictably insane. That's actually a great price! I wonder how much shipping out here would be though... I guess I could have it sent to a relative in London and then pay for an extra case for them to bring it when they visit, but that won't happen til December earliest... I'll have a think about it for another week or so and decide!

Thanks for the quick replies, folks! Yes I suspected as much, I'm not sure why they included such a useless feature as a compressor which doesn't do what it's meant to do, but I guess they can't all be winners. Bit of a head scratcher, is all. Subharmonics are something I'd kick on and off for specific moments for a special effect in the upper register, sort of how I use an octaver now. Again, if it doesn't do what I need it to, I've got a pedal that does it so I'm sorted in any case. I'm not getting this amp for the bells and whistles, after all! I'll see how much I can find an EVO IV for, if it's like double the price of what I'd get this EVO III then I'll just stick to the III. If it's only a couple of hundred more, I'll seriously consider the IV. I do have a very long-standing and good relationship with the store though so they may well offer me a good deal, let's see! Buying used here can be tricky, occasionally good things show up on Reverb but then shipping costs to send out here often neutralise any price benefit. They've swapped out the drive valve so it should be good as new. I'll make a decision soon!

So recently we had a rehearsal at our usual space, which is above a music store. I saw they had a NOS Ashdown ABM 500 EvoIII in stock, and on a whim I asked them what the price was. They gave me a pretty good offer, so I took it up to the rehearsal space to test out for a couple of songs and man... that thing was epic to play through. I've been playing through class D amps for a while now, mostly due to their convenience as I fly to most of my shows and tours (I really do like my Mesa D800) but I forgot what an experience playing through a proper lead sled amp was like. The tone was glorious, and the feel was great - the power and presence was very different from my Mesa, which I've used many times in that space. I won't be letting that go, for sure, but it's nice to have options. I don't know the physics behind it, but it was like there was more deep power coming out the cab (the usual Orange 4x10) and more... feel. I really liked the clean transparency when the EQ was flat, too. A lot of top-end sparkle I have to say I've missed. So, I'm tempted to pick it up for local shows, but have some questions... 1. The compressor knob was my biggest gripe - all it seemed to do was kill all dynamics and DRAMATICALLY lower the output volume. Not much use as a feature if it will be off 100% of the time. Some quick research shows me this is a recurring complaint with the EVO III - does the EVO IV have a better compressor? 2. The drive valve zonked out about 10 minutes into playing at normal rehearsal volumes - the store said they'd swap it out with a new tube, and said it happened because the amp had been sat there for about a decade - should this be a warning sign? 3. How 'loud' do y'all find it to be in a live setting? Say, hooked up to a good 4x10 or even 8x10? Is the power section of the IV that much better? I'm going to ask what kind of price they can do for me for the Evo IV and maybe even a couple of other heads (Evo V, Geezer Butler, etc) but I suspect they'll be significantly more than this Evo III and I'm just wondering if it would be worth the extra dosh. Thanks!

Had first rehersal with it today, playing technical death metal with 2 guitars and drums. Played through an Orange Terror 500 head and Orange 4x10. Kept eq flat, had to use the input pad to tame the 18v preamp. First time I've had a chance to properly play it loud. Sound was huge. The sweepable mid gives a mad array of tones, and lets you cut any troublesome frequencies. 2 hours flowed by, the bass is so light and comfortable to play. Sire are on to a real winner, no wonder they're selling like hot cakes. The other guys in the band all thought it looked and sounded awesome. Overall very happy with this thing, now taking it to a tech to fine-tune the action and have straplocks fitted!

Aesthetics are of course subjective, but I love the modern look, and especially that it's a fairly unique design, it doesn't really look like anything else (as far as I am aware!) and the construction is nothing short of outstanding. Finish is wonderful too, they had a really amazing trans blue one in as well but I went for the black as I already have a blue bass!

There's a drop-off between series and parallel (as one would expect) but not much of a difference between series and single coil.

I bought it with playing technical death metal in mind so it will get beaten up on a lot Upper fret access is ok in practice and besides I don't spend too much time up there when it comes to that type of music.

Posted about this in elsewhere but I think it warrants its own thread. Posted this over on TB too, figured I should start posting here more as well. Picked up a Sire Marcus Miller M7 2nd generation on a whim on Monday, and I'm extremely impressed. I compared it to my other bass at home, my 2016 Marleaux Consat Custom. Not exactly a fair fight, but life is unfair. The attention to detail on the M7 is extremely impressive - super smooth neck and rolled fretboard edges, ebony fingerboard with absolutely perfect fretwork (I daresay it's better than on the Marleaux), bone nut, wood electronic covers, and other features that you wouldn't see on a Cort/Samick or anything similar of this price. The out-the-box setup is all right, but not perfect. Standard tuning was perfectly adequate, action is not super-low but there is definitely an allowance for it. Besides I do like to really dig in when I play, so it works for me. If you're handy at that sort of thing you can adjust it easily enough, or if you want to be 100% sure take it to a tech. For a 35" scale it was a bit less tight than I would've wanted, but then again I should emphasise that I do play one step down, so a setup is in order. Still perfectly playable, though. Tone is really powerful, and very versatile. The preamp doesn't quite have the clear sparkling brilliance that the preamp in my Marleaux has, but that preamp alone probably costs more than half of this entire bass does, so I'm not complaining. This one is super versatile, can deliver pretty much whatever sound you need it to, just don't expect it to emulate a P-bass too closely. Close enough, I guess. J-tones can be had fairly easily by switching to passive mode and putting the pickups in single mode (separate tone control available - something my Marleaux DOESN'T have...). You can make some pretty radical adjustments with the preamp, each control has a very wide range. Most other sounds are doable too, the sweepable mids are really helpful. There's a very noticable drop off in volume between passive and active mode, but that's to be expected. The only chinks in the armour so far aside from the less-than-perfect setup are the kinda plasticky-feeling knobs, they just don't fit with the premium vibe of the rest of the instrument - I'll probably swap them out for some generic metallic domed ones soon. Also, with the stacked knobs, if you move one the other would move too - I managed a temporary fix for that by pulling off the top knob and then putting it back but not pushing it all the way down, it's merely the bottom of the knob dragging the lower one along with it. With a set of metallic knobs costing around 6-7 quid on eBay, it does make me wonder why they chose this particular corner to cut, I'd have gladly paid that much more for good ones already installed but I guess it's the whole economies of scale thing. The pots themselves however are smooth and solid. The coil tap/passive active switches too are a little cheap feeling as well (less so than the knobs though), but again that's a relatively easy thing to modify should the need arise. Overall though, the value, quality, sound and features are outstanding and come together to bring a very, very impressive bass. An extremely impressive and creditable instrument that a beginner or intermediate player would be overjoyed to own, and that a seasoned pro would be happy to play with a few very minor adjustments - it holds its own very well against some of the best out there. Full band practice with it next week, so I'll add some more thoughts then!

I used to have a G30. Not bad but a little on the frail side - for someone who gigs heavily I'd strongly recommend the G50 or G75, they're far more robust. The G30 receiver died on me during a gig, so I tossed it and got a StageClix V3 - couldn't be happier with it. Super reliable, fast charging, and have never had anything go off. The new StageClix V5 goes for about 150 quid or so, and follows the same "small jack for both receiver and transmitter" model that the XVive does, but I imagine far more reliably. You can order direct from them, they're in the Netherlands.

Was browsing and stumbled across this. Thread necromancer alert! Just picked up a Sire M7 2nd generation. I initially went to the shop to pick up some odds and ends I needed, tried out the bass on a whim, and bought it that day. I was generally in the market for a 5-string in the ~€1000-€1,500 bracket for some more extreme type of music but wasn't planning an immediate purchase. It blew me away in terms of overall quality and the store manager let me have it for €850 (which was cheaper than most online retailers). I couldn't say no to that! The store manager told me she knew that Sire had a different Korean brand and that they'd set up a US-based company to be more marketable in Europe and the Americas, so looks like it fits in with being Dame guitars as mentioned above. Getting Marcus Miller to stick his name on it as well was a pretty major coup, but I think he still uses his Fender custom model. Plenty of other artists are launching their 'own' lines of instruments these days too (Ola Englund and Tosin Abasi come to mind) so I guess MM knew a good business opportunity when he saw it. Win-win for everyone involved I guess. Dame - Sire... I'm sure that's not a coincidence In any case, it's a sexy beast and definitely a statement. They've managed to come up with a design that while looking kind of similar to some other basses, it doesn't look similar enough for it to be mistaken for something else. In today's market, that's not an easy feat.

Having owned - and greatly appreciated - both, I have to give the nod to GK overall. Better build quality, more iconic sound. I really like GB, but GK takes the prize. I do fear for the company now that Fender have taken over. Plus, all GK stuff is now US-made, GB is Taiwan made... not a massive issue as GB stuff is really reliable, but US-made gear tends to have better resale value in my experience.