ern500evo

I think a fair amount of us change our amps just because we want something new to try, or GAS has got the better of us. If I was looking for an amp now and Ashdown was in the running, I’d be thinking what does the Evo 5 give me, that I couldn’t get from a used Evo 4 and have over £1k left in my pocket. Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks great, and if it sounds even better than the Evo 4, it will be fantastic, I just think it’s pitched at a price where there is a plethora of much cheaper, equally high quality amp heads available.

I think that will be the same thought process for most Evo 4 owners. Interested to hear how the 5 sounds, but it would need to be something stunning to make them want to upgrade

Ah that’s interesting, I didn’t realise the 1200 couldn’t be bridged.

I expect the price to drop too. I think it has to. If you’re an Evo 4 owner and you’re going to upgrade to this, at the current price, you’d need to add over £1k to the price you’re likely to get for an Evo 4. The Evo 5 is a great looking amp, but I’m not sure many people would upgrade at that cost. Unless it sounds significantly different, what would you be achieving? If you’re in need of more headroom, then you’d be more likely to go for a much cheaper, used ABM1200 wouldn’t you? Granted this is all based on that current RRP, and I’m sure it’ll come down, but that price seems a massive leap up from the Evo 4

I think it looks great, and I’m sure it sounds great too. That’s a hell of a jump in price from the Evo 4 though!

I’ve got some fairly decent quality basses at the moment, a Dingwall NG2, Warwick SS1, Yamaha Attitude Ltd, a Spector….so why oh why am I constantly looking at the ad for a Mexican P bass deluxe which is for sale locally?! I have a strict policy this year, any purchases have to be funded by gig earnings, or something has to be sold to fund it, it’s gotten so bad that I’ve even contemplated selling the Dingwall to buy a Mexican P bass which is under £500. Even more stupid is the fact that, if o roll off the front pickup on the Yamaha, I’ve basically got a DiMarzio loaded P bass. GAS is a strange mistress, I tell thee!

I’ve lent basses to friends plenty of times. My friends daughter has had my Spector bass for about 2 years, she was desperate to learn and they couldn’t really afford to get her a bass. I keep toying with the idea of giving her my Sire V7 as a gift. I’ve also lent my Yamaha Attitude ltd to my wife’s cousin for a uk tour. In the OP’s situation though, I’m not so sure I’d be so charitable

I had a USA P bass, probably about 10 years ago. It was a great sounding bass and lovely to play. Alas, the GAS consumed me and I traded it for a Warwick. Only other P bass I’ve really played was a Squier, and I think the USA def had something about it that made it feel better. I recently tried an American Ultra P bass, and have to say, I was blown away by just how good it was. The gas is back

I’d be interested to hear how close to the real thing that Harmonic Booster sounds

For gear reviews, I really like Amos Heller. Goes in depth without it getting too boring

That’s not a bad idea. Other option is but a used one, on the condition that one of the amps has to be sold within a month

I think what’s stopping me is that I made a rule for myself a while ago. Any new purchases, apart from consumables like cables/strings etc, have to be either paid for with money earned from gigs, or something has to go to fund it. The EBS amps are quite hard to come by now, and I’d be kicking myself if I sold it for a ABM and then regretted it. I’d be having to scour the used market for another EBS

Haha that’s true, although the amp was only half the reason for it. It was also down to racing 500cc Evo class motocross bikes back in my early days

I love my amp, I’ve got a EBS TD650, but I’m getting more and more tempted to try a ABM600 EDIT: I’ve also got a very early ABM500 Evo RC, and I think part of it is me wanting to see how much better the 600 is

I should stop visiting this thread, every time I come here I end up looking for ABM600’s for sale! 😂

Very nice! Is that a DiMarzio Relentless pickup?

Sorry to hear that. I’ve never dealt with them directly, but have seen a lot of people hear singing their praises.

They really are fantastic amps

Even when their gear was getting a slating, people calling it ‘crash down’ etc, their customer service always got rave reviews. They do seem to have an impeccable customer focus

Probably not helped either by horror stories of just how bad Polar UK are at handling any warranty claims. I know GK stuff is very reliable, but I think if I was forking best part of £1k for an amp with motorised knobs, I’d want to know that they’re was decent dealer support in place

And an amp you rarely see, which is surprising when you consider that everyone who’s ever played through one says that they loved it!

I’ve had TC RH450 & 750, GB Shuttle 9.2, Aguilar TH500, Darkglass M900,GK MB Fusion, and used a RM800 in a rehearsal room a few times. My two faves were the MB Fusion ,I kept it far longer than I kept any of the others, and the RM800. I would happily gig any of the others again if I had to, I didn’t really dislike any of them. The RH450 was probably my least favourite. To my (cloth) ears, the 750 sounds so much better. Used them all with the same Barefaced Big Twin 2 cab. I’m back with heavyweight heads now, been using a EBS TD650 for a while and it’s fabulous. If I want something a bit lighter, I think I’d go for a ABM600.