la bam

Did a bit of experimenting - turning off the main ht first keeps the fans on, which may help with cooling until you turn the preheat off as well? Although will that mean its pre heating and cooling at the same time? Confused!

After a day of quiet testing, so far: It's the sound I've been after for years, but i could never reproduce what was in my head. Lovely and warm and has that growl. It's the third harmonics that I love. Makes it more musical, rather than just sounding like a bass. Eqs I think are good. Like some have said on the ctm100 issues the buttons make a big difference, and they do. The mellow and mid shift are awesome. It's definitely a keeper, but just one issue again - when it arrived the vu light for audio worked. On firing it up for only its second play it isnt working. It's really not worth having it couriered back and forward again, risking damage at the moment though. The main issue apart from aesthetics is theres now no visible indicator that it is on or off from the front panel. Also, are the vu meters different on these to ABMs? I had an ABM previously and if I remember correctly, you could set the input firstly so you registered in the vu hit spot before adding any output. There is no "input" dial to set the input level - is this done in a different way, or does it not matter as much?

I was really impressed with mine. I thought it had a good tone and it is like you say, smaller than you think. Takes up no room, and you can just throw it in with your bass case or bag. Good purchase!

Also, does anyone know the correct proceedure for switching off? I'm guessing for turning on its: Pre heat ON (leave to pre heat) Main ON. is OFF the above in reverse? Main OFF then pre heat OFF or pre heat OFF then Main OFF? Thanks.

Ok, so replacement arrived today (wasnt expected until Monday). It's a slightly different model (handles on top instead of on the side). The guy at pmt said hed been told this was in very good condition, the odd mark (theres a few dinks as it had been demo model, and the tech at manchester branch had told him it may need re biasing when I get it? - dont know why - shouldnt it be biased in preparation? Anywho, can anyone and maybe @Ashdown Engineering advice on where to bias? The manual says 12 o'clock, which would be approx 3.5 on the vu meter. The amp itself says bias to the start of red 0 which the manual says dont go close to? Majority are currently at 12 o'clock (valves 1,3,4,5) with 2 of the valves (2,6) being right on the start of the red. Any help appreciated, thanks again!

The online enquiry got no response when I enquired. But orders sailed through easy enough.

Thank you @Ashdown Engineering yes, I think it had had a drop in all probability, and wasnt packaged great. New unit is due out on Monday, so hopefully I wont need you to get involved at these awkward times. Thanks for the offer of having a look at it. If it helps, one of the main reasons I've gone back to ashdown is the customer service, and you proved it straight away. Oh, and although mine was slightly defective ..... what an amp!!

To be honest I really didnt even think about it. I wouldnt have said they're noisy. Or more correctly annoyingly noisy. More like when you stop playing and think everything is quiet and normal and then you turn it off, and real peace and quiet comes back. They're definitely needed though - they get pretty hot.

PMT have been really good and our sending me out another unit.

Yeh, if social distancing is still to be adhered to for the rest of the year, the last thing it needs is loads of alcohol in small confined spaces thrown in the mix. Itd be impossible. It would cause absolutely loads of trouble.

Yeh, worse things happen though. I'll sort a replacement tomorrow hopefully. It's definitely the amp for me. You'll love it when you fire yours up.

Disappointingly the post di is now crackling in and out - exact same note played over can be smoothly or crackle driven. Hmmm, maybe couriers dropped it.

It's an absolutely awesome sound. Really is. I've also tried the di. The fact it is through the tubes is awesome - you can really break up the tubes for di send too! Sounds fantastic. However, mine seems to be getting pulses or spikes when di into the desk every so often - ive changed xlrs too - so this amp may need a replacement. I'll see what ashdown say.

With the lockdown is virtually impossible to get hold of PMT. But I've emailed them. I can live with tolex issues, but if @Ashdown Engineering could help on how to look at the valve, and vu meter and light (it works fine on bias, just not audio) that would be appreciated - although I appreciate they may be on lockdown too.

Just received this from PMT. A quick review, as theres only so much you can do when all your neighbours are at home.... and i need to ask some advice. Firstly the item was clearance, but presumably new - as it didnt say anything else. The box was obviously an opened box, re taped, but well packed. On inspection theres a few Mark's on the tolex, the vu doesnt light up yellow, and a valve looks to be askew - can any advise if this is acceptable? They're only small things, but a bit of a disappointment when you spend a fortune. The sound though is absolutely fantastic! Gees - that's real warmth and response. Just what I wanted. The eq section seems to do a lot too (contrary to reports). Fairly easy to lift due to the strong side handles and not that heavy. I'll carry on testing!

Yeh! We'll get back out there soon ....

My standard ctm300 arrives tomorrow too! Cant wait for it!

Pretty sure that local registrars have been banned from working until around september this year. So that rules out most Weddings until then. There will surely be a staggered return to normality over time. They wont open everything back up at once. I'd imagine the party sector and pubs and clubs will be amongst the last to open.

Thanks. In the end, considering the heft and feel I wanted for this specific project (to fill the sound) I went for an Ashdown ctm300. Hopefully will arrive this week.

I use a line 6 g75. Works great. Decent price, good range.

Sounds great at any volume level. The gain is independent from master volume, so you can get very loud and clean or very quiet and overdriven. The louder you go, just dial the gain back.

Well, I'm moved a few things on, and reshuffled a good few things and managed to snare an ashdown ctm300 for a fantastic deal. Hopefully itll give me everything I need for this type of role.

Looks great, nice work!

Cheers. I love the stomp and quilter combo and its staying. However, I sold my back up amp when I left the other band, so .. . Illogically thinking I'm gonna need another amp anyway, so I can either waste £300 on a second hand spare that I've no real interest in or look for something completely different. If it helps, with the new band only having one guitarist and one vocalist, Id love that valve warmth that encompasses all the band and is just kind of there in addition to all the notes. The indescribable thing that makes the entire band sound warmer.