ern500evo

I lugged an Ashdown 8x10 around for about 2 years, humping it in and out of my hatchback car on my own. A Barefaced six10 would be a breeze in comparison! I think you’d find a little less sparkle than you have with the BB2, but the ABM has suck a great eq that it would be easy to find what you’re after. Even more so when you add the Photon in. I have a X Ultra, and I’m sure I could wind the crossover on the BT2 right back and still get enough sizzle easily enough. Bass wise, I’m using a Sire V7 active jazz, a Warwick Streamer Stage 1, and a Yamaha Attitude ltd 2. What I’m finding at the moment is that I love the sound of this amp with no pedals engaged. Doesn’t work for every song, but it’s still very satisfying to know that bass into amp sounds so nice 

As far as I’m aware, the Barefaced 10’s have a more vintage/warmer voicing, and the 12’s more of a modern hifi voicing. I also considered changing my BT2 for two 210’s at one point, just so I could use one for smaller gigs and rehearsals. Ultimately I decided that the BT2 is easy enough to move and the footprint would be no smaller, plus, I’ve never used the BT2 with any amp and it not sound fantastic. The six10 is a great cab. Personally I prefer the black metal grille and old logo, so the BT2 is perfect for me 

59 minutes ago, bassace97 said:

Tonights jam night rig - 2 Aguilar SL112s and a Mesa TT800 

That is one classy looking rig! 

1 hour ago, Ander87 said:

 

... Plus, there is a ton of times at home where I don't want to set up cables and power supplies etc back from rehearsal and just want to plug right into the amp and play straight from the bass  

I know what you mean. I aways used to have a drive pedal of some sort, engaged most of the time. With the Evo4, I also just love the sound of a bass straight into the amp. 

1 hour ago, Ander87 said:

Thank you @ern500evo!

 

im thinking of going down the path of ABM plus a Darkglass programmable pedal like the Adam - vintage tones and fuzz with compressor etc? Yes please!

 

Best,

 

Ander. 

The ABM600 is a cracking amp, I’m loving mine so far, but, if you’re using one of the programmable Darkglass pedals like the ADAM/Photon/Infinity, do you need an amp? If the pedal is going to be always on and taking care of all your tone shaping, you could just use a small power amp. 

44 minutes ago, Ander87 said:

Hmmm! Really interested in the ABM with a Microtubes…!

Sounds fantastic, even though I don’t really use it all the time. To be honest the X Ultra is way overkill for what I need, I only really crank the distortion on a couple of songs. For a low gain drive I tend to use the EBS pedal more. For me though, the XU is the best pedal they do. You can really fine tune the drive to suit your needs. 

This was the set up for tonight’s gig. I actually used the Sire V7 for a fair bit of the set, but have to say, the Warwick sounds so good through the ABM and Barefaced 

6 hours ago, 2elliot said:

Very interesting Ashdown video with James Lomenzo. Definitely worth a watch...

 

 

Amp...

 

 

...and a new Hyperdrive pedal being worked on?

If they produce a hyperdrive in a much smaller enclosure, I’d buy one in an instant. I love mine, but it’s just too bloody big! 

Picked up a dual gig bag from Simon today. Absolute pleasure to deal with. Was worth going to his house to collect, just to see some beautiful parts of the Cotswolds! Would highly recommend Dealing with Simon 

Pm sent 

57 minutes ago, 40hz said:

Yes - obviously not to hardcase levels, but better than a conventional softcase. It has strengthened sides, so maintains rigidity pretty well and prevents crushing. Plus, the cushioning is fairly thick (around 3cm?)

 

Hope this helps!

Sounds ideal. I’ve had to fork out a lot to replace an amp recently, but this is very tempting! 

40 minutes ago, Chaddy said:

Did the Evo know you bought the IV600 before hand? or did you just introduce it suddenly? - Just one of the Theories I am working on atm

The Evo4 was bought to replace my EBS TD650, but this happened before I’d bought it 

Been looking at going down this route, rather than my 2 hard cases. Do these offer a good level of protection? 

I showed the pic to Mark Goodhay, he said to email the pic to Dave Green and see what he says. I’ll see what Dave comes back with, and see if it’s economically worth repairing 

I have a Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra on my board, which I can use as a Di in emergencies. Had to do it recently and with the cab sim on, it was fine through the PA. If I wanted something solely as a back up, I’d be tempted to get a used GK MB500 to keep in a gig bag 

Think I may have found the cause of my ABM500 going pop! 

2 hours ago, jonnybass said:

I use different brands/gauges for my basses.  mostly nickel strings thought.

 

On my ACG 5 - Newtone ACG custom set 130-50.  P bass - Newtone 110-50.  Jazz bass Dunlop super brights 105-45, status fretless thomastik infeld flats 100-40, sire v7 5 - Newtone ACG custom set 130-50 (but planning to change these out for lighter gauge nickel strings soon.

 

 

I’ve always used steels, but I put a set of Dunlop super bright nickels on my Dingwall just before I sold it. They actually felt quite nice 

21 minutes ago, Nickthebass said:

What difference are you hearing? I have the rack mount ABM600 but it is my first Ashdown head since playing some old knackered stuff in a rehearsal room about 15 odd years ago. 

It just sounds more alive. My 500 is a very early model, so I’m not surprised the 600 sounds better. To me it sounds much clearer, with a great clean tone. The 9 band eq makes it easy to fine tune your tone. 

Used the ABM600 for its first proper gig last night. It sounded fantastic. I can’t believe how much different this thing sounds to my old ABM500. Definitely pleased with this one so far 

5 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

I've never had that.

 

I like the top end when they calm down a bit. They are a bit too bright for me out of the packet, but after a rehearsal or 2 the top end is tamed and then they seem to stay constant for a long time.

 

I've tried so many others and always come home that I'm thinking of putting stickers on the back of the headstocks with a "BEHAVE! You'll only waste money" on it!

Might have to give them another whirl. Like I said, I’m sure it was maybe just a duff batch. I do like the brightness of Pro Steels, they sound a little bit scooped but that can always be overcome with a little eq tweak. I’ll see how these EB hybrids go and maybe give the Pro’s another try 

4 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

 I could get 4 gigs out of a set of stainless ones on average. If it was a real sweaty one it would be 3 gigs i reckon. Try the Warwick Reds from Thomann or Gewar4 Music 

I’ll give them a try. Just put a set of EB hybrid slinky stainless steels on, but I’ll add the red labels to my list of strings to try

8 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

 

I use these as they are under a tenner a set and I'm a zingy type of guy. I kill strings in about 4/5 gigs tops and these last as well as anything else I've tried for 2 or 3 times the price.

 

Dr Hi Beams or Dunlop Super Brights feel a bit nicer but all I'm going to do is beat the poopie out of them on a Saturday night in a pub - the subtle nuances are lost on me, the crowd and my bandmates so price is key. 

Funny you should mention Dunlop Super Brights, I’ve just taken a set off my Sire bass as they were completely dead. Checked my emails to see when I bought them, beginning of September. I’ve used my Yamaha on a couple of gigs since then, so by my reckoning the Dunlops have done 3 gigs and 3 short rehearsals and they are completely shot already. 

20 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

Yes - I like the tone, the feel and that they are softer then the frets! 

One of the reasons I stopped using Rotosound steels, they seem to be very harsh on frets! 

1 hour ago, Geek99 said:

I just use cheapie Warwick red roundwounds and adagio flats. They do the job 

What are the red labels like for longevity? 

43 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I've posted elsewhere about this - some strings suit some basses better than others. Through trial and error I've ended up with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies on my main Yamaha 5-string, D'addario NYXL on my 5-string fretless and NYXL on my main 4-string Jazz too. The Yamaha doesn't suit NYXL for some reason.

Are all of those strings nickel? What is it you prefer about nickel over steels?