mazdah

In ABM the main thing you have to remember is that the Shape filter switch has to be pushed IN to turn the filter OFF. Start from that. The amps do have HUGE amount of low end - and I found it hard to tame in their tube range (CTM,Little Bastard, 330 and 550 Spyder) The Subharmonic Generator is a fantastic "sound magnifier" rather than typical octave effect. I love it, but it won't make my OC-2 and EBS Octabass go away. On the other hand - neither Boss OC-2 or EBS Octabass are capable of producing range of tones available Ashdown ABM Subharmonic. EQ - i really like the way EQ is presented. As Mark said - use three knobs if you want to find basic tone, then fine-tune with sliders if needed. Taming low end by slightly backing off the knob helps a lot. I own wide range of amps and preamps SWR, Ampeg, Fender, Markbass... but the ABM with it's aesthetics and sound is my favorite toy for now

I've been an Ashdown fan for many years. I love their customer relations, I love the visual side of their amps, I love the philosophy of their creations - although their ideas are not always intuitive. I had one of first hundred of Little Bastard 30, although I've decided to mod it and later let it go to get my first real vintage bass I missed being part of the family. I briefly had ABM300, which I stupidly sold. Recently I got myself a little present ABM 400 NEO was briefly made around 2014, I guess in quite limited quantity by Ashdown UK Custom Shop. It is equipped with EVO III Preamp and class-D power amp combined in full size rack mountable case with around 8,5 kg of weight.

The purpose of FRFR cabs is different. They serve GREAT duty, they provide excellent comfort and greatest monitoring, but I cannot agree that they can provide a decent sound (compared to typical amplifiers, that usually are terrible at monitoring duties and not comfortable). I directly and thoroughly compared 1000W FRFR Fender ToneMaster cab paired Quad Cortex to quite cheap guitar tube amps like Marshall DSL and JetCity 50 with 412 and... well, the Cortex + ToneMaster performance was a joke.

Which part of FOH? The mixing desk? It's a tool I think they are awesome and I wouldn't expect anyone to take Neve to a bar gig As for the studios - yes, we did used a computer to record the sound coming out of our amps but I don't think I can say that this or any respectable studio I know converted to digital:

With the bass the situation IMO is easier - we mostly have volume pot full open, we like compression most of the time. With the electric guitar I tend to use one channel and get clean - rhythm - and solo tones mostly by using volume controls (and rarely booster). I found it very hard to get achieve this kind of reactions on Cortex even with some quite pro third-party amp captures compared to the same real amps standing next to FRFR cab connected to Cortex. With Tonex (well maybe IK Multimedia, because I haven't used their hardware, only plugins): Amplitube 4 is plain terrible, Amplitude 5 is much better, but still for bass Ampegs and Fender TBP-1 (which I own in my rack) are just plain awful compared to real ones. For guitar - same as Cortex, but worse. Maybe my problem is that I tend to compare them in a very straightforward way: I know this amp "in real life" and I know how it would react, and when the digital version of the same amp doesn't do that - I get upset It's strictly for playing - I haven't compared recorded tracks yet. The digital technology came a very long way and is fantastic and very convenient. But still this convenience degrades sound quality.

While I alway love Tech21 preamps, we (as a band) have tried Tones and Cortex platforms and there is simply no comparison. Maybe recorded or sent 100% through PA they sound is the same, but I can't stand the fact that they (compared to amps) are non-responsive to articulation, volume changes or anything you do with your instrument. Also we always liked to create a good stage mix instead of using our amps simply as a monitors - we don't really need to hear precisely what we play, but we have to hear how our playing contributes to the whole band/song. If I had 150 gigs a year I might want to switch to pedalboard with Sansamp only just for logistics, but I am no pro, I still have my day job and I still have to fill half of the 150 slots, so my amps are doing fine The FRFR cabs are not an option - they are just a farty piles of mud, nowhere near reproducing a characteristics of real guitar or bass cabinet. (sorry for no-bass pic, but you have the rig;)

Today Michael Leagues CASA head officially (and quietly) joined Markbass 58R line. https://www.markbass.it/product/little-mark-casa-58r Without much fuss (one post on socials, webpage) or any promotion it joined 58R line, which was introduced over a year ago. Many of us saw the amp on earlier promo shots of 58R Line, but it was never mentioned by Markbass or Michael League (who still uses old CASA live and currently recording and album with Snarky Puppy) Finally for those who wanted it -CASA in small package. I wonder will the new CASA be able to compete with Little Mark Vintage 58R and Andrew Gouche signature signature. All of them have quite similar target and old school vibe. Changes? Two basic EQ shelving bands are now changed from 50Hz to 100Hz for Bass and 5kHZ to 10kHz for Treble, which I find less appealing. This is how the EQ is set now: BASS: frequency 100Hz (shelving); level ±16 dB TREBLE: frequency 10 KHz (shelving); level ±16 dB ULTRALOW: center frequency 65 Hz; level ±16 dB LOW: center frequency 180 Hz; level ±16 dB MID: center frequency 500 Hz; level ±16 dB MID HIGH: center frequency 1.4 KHz; level ±16 dB HIGH: center frequency 3.8 KHz; level ±16 dB Weight: 4.4 lbs /2 Kg

You got a newer manual, for B or C revision - with a mistake. Recording Out (XLR cable) is a post-EQ only, as stated in correct manual. You can use "Tuner out" jack connected to any stage dibox to have Pre-EQ DI.

Also what's even more important for me - I get MUCH better results with tube guitar amp and guitar cabinet for bridge pickup than using a bass amp and cab with dirt pedal.

Using Ric-o-Sound with another clean bass amp is a worthless idea. However using it with dirty guitar amp (AND CAB) for bridge and bass amp for neck pickup gave me THE BEST dirt sound I've ever heard. And I have 17 dirt boxes on shelf

I have Gator one. With two basses it is heavy and not very comfortable. I wouldn't take a bus route with two basses. With G&L and P-bass I've managed to tear off the handle. With one or two basses with angled headstocks it's troublesome to fit them safely enough (for me)

Use the blend pot - very powerful tool.

I was recording so... it's a little over the top.

Pros: - none Cons: - the sound

I'm also a big fan of Michael, but knowing the amp developing history (the REAL one) I'm kinda disappointed and I'm considering this amp as typical "cash jump" for both Markbass and Michael. It is lightweight, very loud, good looking, nice (but not overwhelmingly good) sounding hoax.