Merton

TBH even the full price is pretty good - Ashdown's (rather excellent for the money) RM110 is £189 so £110 more for this isn't out of the ordinary I reckon. Quite tempted when I have some spare dollar next Nevertember

Looks like the first ten have been snapped up already!

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1441292375' post='2857652'] Yeah, cheers, good call. I doubt ill have it this time next year but for now its doing fine (not yet gigged it though). [/quote] Do let me know when you want to shift it on...... Just don't tell the missus

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1441259440' post='2857266'] Go on then... Mansun - Attack of the Grey Lantern [/quote] Absolute cracker

Bass cab shoot out - I have a BF Super Compact and can bring the uber cheap and cheerful Ashdown RM110 too if required What' the aim of the shootout?

Just pulled the trigger on a 5 string fretless acoustic

Both those rigs ooze cool and class. Love them!

Definitely, we always pay our deps a minimum fee even if the rest of the band are each getting less than that themselves.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1440845648' post='2854269'] Doesn't sticking an array of open-back cone tweeters like that in front of another driver mean that you'll get colossal intermodulation distortion through the tweeters and on the reflected sound from the main driver? [/quote] Absolutely no idea! Hence why I would love to hear Bill's thoughts

[quote name='HengistPod' timestamp='1440773518' post='2853768'] ... which is grand, but I tend to only break one string at a time, requiring replacement at the end of a song. If I had a set of new strings and used, say, the A, to replace a broken one, then I have now got E, D and G left as spares. What am I gonna do - replace them all at the end of the gig? And if I only put on the "old" ones a week ago, what happens to them - throw them out? I have not the cash for such profligacy. So when I put a new set of string on, uness the old ones are totally shot they get saved in the packets the new ones came out of. Hence a whole bunch of spare single strings in the pocket of my gigging bag. (They also come in useful for holding bits of my car together on occasion.) [/quote] How often are you breaking strings? I haven't broken one in over ten years.

OMG look at the handles!!!! Ahem, sorry. Not a fan of the looks myself. More importantly interested to hear BFM's views on the Bass Array cab - it reminds me a bit of some of his designs

The power amp is less "saggy" and has more bite to it, if that makes sense? With that in mind it *feels* at least on a par. I can't see it running out of juice any sooner than the ABM at all, just be aware that you may need slightly more bass EQ'd in to compensate for the slight differences the power section brings

Fair play Thought a second invite was worth it because of the combo of cab and amp

bassix - good to hear, let us know how you get on! Dave - thanks! If you're around in a couple of weeks there's a couple of us getting together where there's going to be an RM800 getting fired up with a Retro Two10 so would be a useful little test for you One thing I haven't mentioned - because it doesn't bother me - is the fan is very... prominent shall we say? I've seen it mentioned on the VT500 thread as something which is a deal breaker for some but I've failed to mention it on my review because frankly I've had much worse fans than this one, but it is not the quietest ...

I would expect it to be around 400W into 8ohms but not sure if there's an actual measurement out there. I'm looking forward to Dood's thoughts and review on this little gem

PS definitely go for the 800

Yeah they're all the same but different power amps. They were originally brought in as the new MAG line/replacement but I wonder if the MAG moniker will be dropped in favour of the RM... Or they will keep the two lower powered units MAG Rootmasters. Who knows

The CTM will definitely be at the SE Bash With respect to the hiss, I have to confess this was my sound man's terminology - I didn't experience the noise myself. I think you're right though, if it was hiss rather than hum then it's just a gnarly DI as opposed to needing a ground lift. Either way it's a shame to not have the ore/post and ground lift options.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1440078606' post='2848090'] Shame i never even got to plug my GK MB800 Fusion in :-( [/quote] Why not, out of interest?

I gigged the CTM30 with one BF Super Compact last week and it was plenty. I had a small bit of bass in the PA but not loads; the SC is probably more "forward" to ally than the Retro Two10 though. I'll give you some feedback in three weeks comparing the two

http://ashdownmusic.com/products/1/Bass-Amplification/20/ROOTMASTER/130/RM800-/ I never used to be an Ashdown fan. Over 10 years ago I used an early MAG 4x10 cab which was a great first cab, but I moved on to other things and never really looked at them through my years of experimentation. The reasons for this were bad gig experiences where the “wooly Ashdown” misnomer was very much present, though looking back now I can attribute that to knackered cabinets at crappy venues rather than anything else. Additionally, by their own admission they have had some dalliances with Class D which haven’t been overly successful – for example the Superfly was a great amp when it worked, indeed perhaps marginally ahead of its time, but working was rare as (so the story goes) it was prone to becoming hot enough to fry eggs on. Then of course there were the Little Giant heads and the early MiBass amps, which just didn’t seem to catch on and certainly never caught my attention. At the beginning of 2014 however everything changed. I bought a CTM100 from Gareth (walbassist) and fell in love. Later in the year I decided to get an ABM500, which was an incredibly good amp when paired with my Barefaced Super Compact cabinets. Then in late 2014 I saw pictures of a new head being launched at NAMM 2015, the Rootmaster 800. The RM range wasn’t new, indeed I’d been quite tempted by the RM420 head until I picked up the ABM, but this RM800 model had a lovely shiny chrome front and frankly I’m a sucker for things looking good. So as soon as the official launch fanfare had happened I placed an order direct with Mark and the Ashdown team….. Gear used ACG Finn 5 with single coil J pickups, Status Retroactive J, Barefaced Super Compacts, Ashdown RM110 Styles Rock, pop, a little bit o’ soul Main amp features Gain Switchable 5 band EQ Pre-shape One-knob compressor Drive Sub-harmonics Line in with mix control Master volume Fx loop Foot-switchable drive and sub-harmonics (footswitch not included) Carry bag 730W RMS power output Finish/build quality – 9/10 The RM800 is housed in a very stylish mild steel chassis with the Ashdown and Rootmaster logos printed on the top. The front panel has a very highly polished chrome plating which looks very classy indeed, though I expect my fingerprints will need to be fastidiously wiped from it after each gig much to the amusement of my bandmates. All the control knobs feel very robust and have a good smooth but solid movement. One of the niggles I had with my old ABM head was the ease with which the knobs could be knocked, but on the RM Ashdown have got it spot on with much more precise and solid potentiometers. Top marks. It is a relatively compact amp but big for what we’ve become used to for a Class D offering – think the Eden WT550 and you’re in the right ballpark. The weight isn’t substantial but despite that the unit feels very solid and well made, instead of light and likely to fall off your cabs with an inopportune pull on your instrument lead like some of the very small Class D amps out there. It certainly gives me the impression of a well thought out and well-built amplifier. My only criticism is really incredibly minor but worth mentioning: the mains power switch is located under the IEC socket, which means once the IEC mains lead is in position it is a bit fiddly to get to the on/off switch from the front of the amp. It’s hardly an issue really but wonder if it could be positioned the other way round to make access a little easier? I love the fact the RM800 is delivered with a carry bag, this helps to ensure it’s kept pristine when not sitting on my cabs actually being used, and makes taking it to gigs and rehearsals incredibly easy. Tone – 9/10 This is Ashdown through and through, make no mistake. A lovely big warm sound from the off, even with everything set flat. The EQ is incredibly versatile and in my opinion is an excellent bridge between simple 3-band EQs and the more complex EQs with semi-parametric goings on etc. Here you have 5 really useable, sensible frequency bands with controls which all have a lot of cut and boost potential. Ashdown completely re-worked the old MAG preamp for the Rootmaster series and I think they’ve done a sterling job. This amp has the ability to dial in any tone quickly and easily through this 5 band EQ, and that’s before we’ve looked at the three additional rotary controls – compression, drive and sub-harmonics. The compression is a mild distraction – I’ve played with it at home but not yet used it on a gig, so I can’t comment on it too much at this stage The drive, however, is sublime. Ashdown call it a valve-emulated drive and I can very much hear that in the overtones which come into play as the control moves clockwise from 0 to 100%. I’ve said it elsewhere and I will repeat it here, the drive on this amp reminds me of the drive control on the SansAmp Bass Driver DI. With the control at 0% you will get a perfect clean tone; edge the control to around 9 o’clock and a subtle edge to the sound appears; take it past 1 o’clock and you are in saturated valve-amp territory. It is glorious and a very well thought out circuit in my opinion. That leaves the sub-harmonics circuit. Again Ashdown say this was redesigned for the RM heads and again what it brings to the party is very useable and sensibly voiced. Even with the control at its maximum setting the sub harmonic content is controlled, the lower octave doesn’t dominate the sound like some octave pedals allow. Instead what you get is a restrained but suitably “present” sub-octave tone which adds some lovely extra thickness to the tone without compromising on the main bass tone or creating a boominess. I’d like to give it top marks really as I can’t fault the preamp because for me it does everything I want, however I’m knocking one mark off because the DI is quite hissy, which leads to the tone going to the FOH desk being crap. I always DI pre-backline so it’s not actually an issue for me but it may be an issue for someone else without the ability to run a separate DI. It's also worth noting the DI is post EQ only, there's no pre/post option nor is there a ground lift. One or both of those switches may well have sorted the hissiness I have experienced... Power – 9/10 Although marketed as the “RM800”, the RMS power rating of this is actually 730W, not 800. I can’t say I really care. There is power in abundance, I have yet to explore the limits of the output capability but I suspect I’ll never get there. Being Class D with an SMPS there aren’t any huge transformers within the amp so you don’t get that valve amp “sag” (but I wouldn’t expect it) and I haven’t pushed it hard enough to get into that region of clipping we all know and don’t like with Class D units. For my needs I can see this having plenty to spare but wait for a louder gig later this year with baited breath! I’m only going for 9/10 because I don’t yet know how close to the limits I have strayed, so I will have to come back in a few months and edit this score. Practicality – 8/10 Versatile, powerful, lightweight, line in functionality, comes with a bag… You almost can’t ask for any more. The one thing I’d have loved is a headphone output for home practice but frankly that’s what a volume control is for – just play more quietly EDIT - just remembered something which perplexes me. The sub harmoniser has a rotary control on the front but no on/off switch - in other words to turn it "on" you have to rotate the control to your desired position, rather than have it preset and just flick a switch. The only way to make it switchable is to use a (non-supplied) foot switch. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me? SECOND EDIT - the fan. It's on all the time and whilst it's not the loudest in the world it's also a bit noticeable at low home practice levels. Be aware of that if it's something which would bother you - it doesn't bother me. I think the twin fans on my ABM were louder and certainly the fan on my WT400 was able to create more wind Value – 9/10 RRP is £499.00. For a 700W amp designed in the UK and with these features I think that’s pretty good though of course there are plenty of other amps out there. Comparable units would be the Gallien Krueger MB800, TC RH750 or the Carvin B1000, all of which are around the same price point. Of course if you’re sneaky like me you buy it direct from Ashdown to get the direct price rather than the street price…. Overall – 9/10 So over the last 18 months I’ve become a massive Ashdown fanboi as I’ve realised quite what I’ve been missing with all amps I’ve used before these. I currently own the RM800, a CTM30 (which is the Little Bastard in grown up clothes) and (for the time being at least) a BTA200 which is stupendous. I love this amp, it does exactly what I want and what I need; frankly if I ever sell then something is wrong with me. There, I’ve said it. I am GAS free. Until Ashdown bring out something even better.