Fell in love with this yesterday...

[EBS_freak]

Mr 8th root note?

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='1025641' date='Nov 16 2010, 11:11 AM']hmm, mr clayton perchance?[/quote]

10 points!

[phatbass787]

I saw this on saturday as well, was blown away as it looked even better in the flesh than the pics. Think I will have to get some money together as will be perfect for home/studio use and small gigs. Although may have to sell the LB30 I have to fund it as does seem extravagant to have both. One of the Ashdown guys did mention that there was going to be a bigger brother next year 100-200 watts... Now that I cant wait to see.

[umph]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1023740' date='Nov 14 2010, 06:51 PM']If it sounds anything like A B15, then it's gonna be a winner I suspect.

Unless it catches fire.[/quote]
unfortunatly it's a very different circuit

[molan]

Interesting that Ampeg have recently announced a 'Heritage' reissue of the B15 as well:



Haven't seen a price yet but I'm guessing it's a lot more than an Ashdown!

[Bigwan]

[quote name='molan' post='1025823' date='Nov 16 2010, 01:15 PM']Interesting that Ampeg have recently announced a 'Heritage' reissue of the B15 as well:



Haven't seen a price yet but I'm guessing it's a lot more than an Ashdown![/quote]

I've seen 2.5k mentioned somewhere, not sure if that's $ or £ - either way it's too much...

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Bigwan' post='1025827' date='Nov 16 2010, 01:17 PM']I've seen 2.5k mentioned somewhere, not sure if that's $ or £ - either way it's too much...[/quote]
Ampeg have said it's $5k and with a total production run of 50 units. Cue much wailing and gnashing of teeth on Talkbass.

[Grand Wazoo]

Got it! It's in the boot of my car. full review to follow when it's home time

[Raggy]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1027020' date='Nov 17 2010, 04:22 PM']Got it! It's in the boot of my car. full review to follow when it's home time[/quote]

Nice one, will look forward to the review.

[UrbanGeeza]

@Grand Wazoo

When I click on "Click here to see my basses I get
"This video contains content from Sony blah blah blah ,not available in your country ,WTF
.Are you aware of this ? Seems like now nearly everything thats posted on YT is not available .
Yesterday I tried to check at about 20 vids all with the same results . DL's even disappear from my Favs .
WTF is goin on!?

Edited November 17, 2010 by UrbanGeeza

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='UrbanGeeza' post='1027055' date='Nov 17 2010, 04:46 PM']@Grand Wazoo

When I click on "Click here to see my basses I get
"This video contains content from Sony blah blah blah ,not available in your country ,WTF
.Are you aware of this ? Seems like now nearly everything thats posted on YT is not available .
Yesterday I tried to check at about 20 vids all with the same results . DL's even disappear from my Favs .
WTF is goin on!?[/quote]

No I wasn't aware, sorry dude, youtube are clamping down on people using artists tracks for their private videos. (i'll replace the track with something else when I get home from work)

PS. I've just checked and I can hear the track no problem from here. In which country aer you cause here in uk both myself here at work and my son at home can hear the track ok.

Very strange.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1025624' date='Nov 16 2010, 10:59 AM']As they've phoned me this morning to confirm I can collect tomorrow, I've actually asked who's got the No.1 and I was told he is the same person who ordered mine, Number One had a red chassis and Number Two (mine) had the black chassis and both were made for him, but in the end he chose the red one, I know who he is but I am going to let you guess with a few hints below:


Hint no.1 - He plays for a very famous Irish band
Hint no.2 - The singer in this band thinks he's God
Hint no.3 - The guitarist in their band has a strange name
Hint no.4 - Their most famous hit song has a high Irish political content

Can you guess who it is yet?[/quote]

tada!!!

[phatbass787]

Soooo, how is it?

[Grand Wazoo]

First of all I must say a few praises for the Ashdown team, I went to collect the amp this morning directly from their factory in Heybridge, Essex the factory is well laid out and spotless, the people there were really really friendly and each one greeted me with cordiality. I must confirm one thing to you all about Ashdown, they really make them by hand from scratch, I have not seen a single router machine there, no robots cutting holes into wood, nothing! Every single bench has a man or a woman hand soldering parts, building chassis, assembling printed circuit boards and again what really impressed me was the cleanliness and tydiness of the place, and they don't just build Ashdown amps in this factory they also do Hayden handbuilt guitar amps, they've showed me how all of these are carefully assembled by the various teams with the utmost accuracy, these men were not hippies wearing torn jeans and dodgy Iron Maiden t-shirts by the way, oh no, these are shirt and tie wearing people each of them looked professional and I am positive that they really are all qualified technicians.

I was allowed to get the low down on how this Drophead amp came to exist, having been commissioned for Adam Clayton upon his request to have an amp to use for recording, and to be the closest thing to an Ampeg B15 and at all effect it is that, but it does a bit more than that if you read below.
Before I left I was given a schematic of the amp, I was explained how to change the tubes when needed and which ones to get that work better for this amp and last the longer. As a freebe, I have been given a very professional heavy duty speaker cable and yeah the castors came free too. I also have been promised that as soon as they go into production to the public at large (remember this is still only a prototype at the moment) they will sell with a vinyl cover and as soon as these are done they will send me one in the post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[size=7]OH WOW!!![/size]

REVIEW

This amp is amazing, I have tried it now for over an hour with every single bass I own, both passive and active, the sound is so warm and yet if you crank it to the point when it gets gritty and clips into distortion it becomes a little monster. The front panel controls are simple and intuitive, I am still trying to appreciate the difference that that each knobs and the relevant switch have on the sound, on paper it sounds simple enough, you have from left to right: MIDDLE, BASS and TREBLE controls, on top of each of these there is a switch that kicks in a boost namely the bass shift, middle shift, and treble shift, activating these, creates a boost that allows you to morph from vintage retro bass vibes which faithfully emulates motown and 60's sounds, into a more modern scooped frequency active sound. The neodimium speaker is coupled with a horn that has 3 settings on the back low / off / high, so it caters for all kinds of people, those who like or dislike the use of a horn can all be happy with this amp. I have tried all 3 settings and I must say my fav is when set to "low" as it actually enhances the 15" speaker perfectly, not too deep or muddy and not too bright, when set to "high" you can really get some modern Trace Elliot type of mid scoop and with it off, the sound is most suited with basses with flatwound strings and warm deep lows that are perfect for blues, motown, and jazz music.

The glow of the tubes shows well throgh the amp chassis grille and all the controls are smooth and the amp is [b]totally noise free[/b], no hiss, no [b][i]rattle and hum [/i][/b](get it? Rattle and Hum was a U2 album name in case you don't know)

On the back panel you have a on / off switch, a balanced xlr output, 2 speakers outputs 4ohms and 8ohms, they are the speakon type and are all marked with the name Neutrik the leader in amp components.

If you see picture slideshow below, it is interesting to note that this amp bears no serial number and no model name, it doesn't get rarer than this. Only 2 ever made like that before they go into full production! I will really treasure this for sure.

Volume wise the amp which is none other than their "Little Bastard" head is barely 30 Watts but if you have read the review in Guitar Magazine [url="http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/amplification/instrument-amps/bass-amp-heads/little-bastard-lb-30h-head-284590/review"]LINK HERE[/url] you will read that this is a very loud amp for the money. Also the factory designer guru (Mr Dave Green) told me that if you use the balanced output and feed it through a 500 Watts amp, put the lot through an 8 x 10" cab, you are ready for stage volume any day of the week.

It's early stages yet and I have only tried it indoors but I am sure that once hooked through a PA this will be a great amp to play live with.

And finally aside from the aural pleasure this amp is quite beautiful to look at, the front grille covering the speaker is of a gorgeous dark red with black pinstriped chequers, the vinyl cover it's not just some plain jane glued jobby, it has some very "groovy" swirls etched into it that give it that final retro touch mixed with a modern classic look that complements the whole package nicely.

Here is a sideshow I prepared to give you a better idea, my camera is not that good so in a way these pics don't really give it justice, this amp has to be seen up close to be appreciated, I am well pleased with it.

Have a look here: [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaptMoto/Ashdown?feat=email#slideshow"]SLIDESHOW[/url]

Edited November 18, 2010 by Grand Wazoo

[Darkstrike]

Niiiice! Sounds awesome! And looks it too!

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind?

1, will it dirty up at home practice volume, without making everyone else in the building scream at you?

2, do you think a regular Little Bastard, along with another 1x15 cab would be close enough to it?

[KiOgon]

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1027428' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:05 PM']Niiiice! Sounds awesome! And looks it too!

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind?

1, will it dirty up at home practice volume, without making everyone else in the building scream at you?

2, do you think a regular Little Bastard, along with another 1x15 cab would be close enough to it?[/quote]

1, Yep
2, Yep - or a 112

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1027428' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:05 PM']Niiiice! Sounds awesome! And looks it too!

Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind?

1, will it dirty up at home practice volume, without making everyone else in the building scream at you?

2, do you think a regular Little Bastard, along with another 1x15 cab would be close enough to it?[/quote]

Well someone already replied, maybe they have a "Little Bastard" however I live in a maisonette with 2 young neighbours on each side both of which happen to be part time DJ's so they don't give a hoot how loud I get, I often practice to the sound of the geezer to my left when he plays Drum & Bass chunes.

1. You need to put the volume past 12 o'clock for it to get dirty but by the time you get there its no longer a quiet practicing volume in my views and contrary to the other answer it's neighbour bothering loud.

2. I can't tell as I have not tried them options yet.

[swanbrook]

Very nice score fran !

[Darkstrike]

[quote name='KiOgon' post='1027440' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:18 PM']1, Yep
2, Yep - or a 112

[/quote]


[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1027447' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:29 PM']Well someone already replied, maybe they have a "Little Bastard" however I live in a maisonette with 2 young neighbours on each side both of which happen to be part time DJ's so they don't give a hoot how loud I get, I often practice to the sound of the geezer to my left when he plays Drum & Bass chunes.

1. You need to put the volume past 12 o'clock for it to get dirty but by the time you get there its no longer a quiet practicing volume in my views and contrary to the other answer it's neighbour bothering loud.

2. I can't tell as I have not tried them options yet.[/quote]

Sound's like I'd have to demo one in person, to get a feel for the volume, which sadly isn't possible.

[LukeFRC]

you have just scored something really special there. The fact it was the proto type for clayton means they will not have cut any corners at all! well done

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='swanbrook' post='1027459' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:44 PM']Very nice score fran ![/quote]

Thanks Dave, wanna borrow it, lol ???

[danny-79]

Nice one Fran !

[4 Strings]

One of my pet wants is an original B15. A reissue would be a second, and I thought this would be a poor third. Since your description I would love to put in a order. It is very nice and from your description of the sound it would be perfect for the Motown band I'm in. Flat wounds an'all.

Jealous.

Is it 30W?

Being No.2 means you have a good investment too.

Edited November 20, 2010 by 4 Strings

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1030030' date='Nov 20 2010, 12:22 AM']One of my pet wants is an original B15. A reissue would be a second, and I thought this would be a poor third. Since your description I would love to put in a order. It is very nice and from your description of the sound it would be perfect for the Motown band I'm in. Flat wounds an'all.

Jealous.

Is it 30W?

Being No.2 means you have a good investment too.[/quote]

It is 30W, but you believe me, it is

[size=7]LOUD[/size]

so loud in fact that compared to my Mark Bass 500W and my Ibanez Promethean 500W combo's played on medium volume, these sound quieter than the Ashodwn Drophead, I can't figure out why, but for the last few days I have been shaking my head in disbelief as to how loud this amp is! I will be playing it at a gig tomorrow for the first time in a Sweedish Seamen's and Women Club (my hope is on many more of the female than the male ones) near Surrey Docks, and having been to our usual practice garage-come-room, which is heavily soundproofed, I have felt so much punch from it than what I normally get from the other 2 combos so far. It's weird. more like 400W than 30W I tell ya!! I dread to think how loud will the 100W one that they will do when they go in full production. By the way Ashdown said these will retail at £1299. and... hush hush..., give the Bass Gallery in Camdem a ring for a much better quote, mom's the word.

[JPJ]

Looks lovely but £1200!!!!

A little bastard head is £399 so that's a lot of money for the 1x15 cabinet.

I really fancied one of these when I first heard about them but at that price for a 30 watter rules me out I'm afraid.