That`s how I found - and stuck with - Ashdown, by a moment of serendipity. My preferred sound had been established by playing through an Ampeg SVT & 810, and no matter what gear I bought I couldn`t get that "slam" to the sound.
But at one gig the provided rig was an Ashdown set-up, an ABM head with 2x15 cab. I`d never used Ashdown before so plugged my gear in, got a sound I liked and we started to play. And I developed that inside grin, the one that happens where you just get that wallop in your back from the sound of the bass, a feeling much like that Ampeg stack delivered.
So by accident I`d found gear that would do what I wanted. Sure it was bigger & heavier than what I was using at the time (Aguilar Tonehammer & Barefaced Big Twin) but it was still doable.