RandomBass Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 The problem with working in Eastbourne is a shop called Bonners. I should either be chained to my desk at lunchtime, or tagged. I've been eyeing up an Ashdown LB30 they have had in there for a while. After much mulling I had a go with it yesterday, and another little tinkle today. Needless to say I ended up walking out with it after they worked out quite a good deal for me. I'd toyed with the idea of part exchanging either my ABM or my OTB towards it but the figures weren't really good enough - I know I can get more privately. Anyway, after an early escape from work this afternoon (you just gotta love flexitime), I've been playing it through my BF Compact. I'm pleased. Very pleased. What a delicious tone. Tonight it gets gigged at a local pub - and I'm sure it will certainly deliver. Well, it had better do lol. I shall report back tomorrow. Or very late tonight if I'm too excited to sleep lol. Cheers Geoff (poorer but happy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Id be very interested how this holds up gigging, together with your band setup etc. Ill check later! Congratulations on the purchase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Cheers for that. I'm curious about how it performs tonight. We are a 5 piece (sensible drummer, guitarist, keyboard, singer and me) covers band - not crazy loud at all so hopefully in a smaller setting such as tonight I shouldn't be struggling with just 30W watts into a Compact. That sounds hilarious really, I'm so used to having the excess of 500W at my disposal (not that I've ever used it all)! I shall find out in about 3 hours or so lol. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 We had an enjoyable gig last night. That's now quite a few consecutive gigs where we have played so tightly together, just a couple of bum notes in the whole set. The venue was the Hampden Arms in South Heighton, just near Newhaven. It's a great village pub and very musically oriented, and has a reputation for being welcoming with good beer and food. The LB30 performed admirably. We found a great balance sound-wise, and I wasn't struggling at all to be heard - in fact I was too loud to start with. I spent most of the evening with the EQ at noon, apart from a cut in treble to tame my bright maple board and new strings. Those EQ shift butons are curious - so far it seems the Bass Shift has the most notable effect on sound: 'down' gives a lovely creamy deep sound, 'up' gives a much more clanky middy sound which cuts through fabulously. I found myself just switching that up and down depending on the song - thats all the changes I needed all night long. I did have the volume up high, and at times the needle was pushing hard into the red, giving break-up, but in that lovely valve manner. Nothing horrid there at all. The only downsides are those valves don't half create some heat - the vent panel along the top was too hot to touch. Also, I find the EQ quite limited, but that's the nature of the beast I guess, having a passive tone stack. Very much like the OTB actually. So I'm impressed so far. I have another gig tonight (different band, more blues stuff) which will be interesting. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thanks Geoff, sounds good. I'm going to have to go and try one of these out soon i think, much to the fear of my wallet! Have you got the silver or white face plate version? I like a limited eq on the amp - my OTB is great because of that, i hate having to try and dial in a tone. Much prefer to know its there and that I can only subtly mess it up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 To be honest I didn't know there was a white face plate version - I assumed they were all polished chrome like mine. I'd recommend giving it a go with your Compact, and make sure you try both the low and high inputs. The low is for passive basses and seems to go into grit-land fairly quickly after 1oclock on the volume knob, the high input stays clean all the way up (with a passive bass). I like that EQ too really, not hugely different to the OTB, but the bass shift switch had a massive effect on the sound. The middle shift didn't seem to do much at all. Early days yet though Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Well the LB30 had it's second outing last night. A country/blues type band - with some Eagles and Elvis thrown in for good measure. Three moderate guitarists/vocals, sensible drummer and me (rarely moderate or sensible lol). I used the high input to see how much clean the LB could give me with my passive V4. Lots, is the answer. The low input goes into grit land just about 1pm on the Volume, the high input stays clean all the way - although the bass doesnt quite have enough juice to push the needle into the red using that input. However, it's a moot point because I was easily heard in the mix, with room to spare if necessary. Thats often the case towards the end lol. So, once again, I'm very impressed with the LB. It's great for small/medium venues but larger clubs will need DI. However, more speaker cones would also answer that question to some extent - I'm beginning to wish I'd not sold one of my Compacts now! I reckon Ashdown should do a 100W version, in the same form factor. Keep it well under 20kg and £1k, and it would be a winner. However, I'm amazed how well just 30W performs - it sort of reminds me of my Electric Blue 180 combo, with a 12" extension cab. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbass787 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Glad you're loving your LB, love mine, fantastic buttery old school tones. Haven't gigged mine but have always thought it would be enough for sensible situations and good to hear you say it copes well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 (edited) [quote name='phatbass787' timestamp='1341263148' post='1716157'] Glad you're loving your LB, love mine, fantastic buttery old school tones. Haven't gigged mine but have always thought it would be enough for sensible situations and good to hear you say it copes well [/quote] How do you find the EQ Shift switches? I can't hear any difference when switching the Middle shift switch, and very little with the Bright switch. However the Bass shift gives a massive difference: deep and old school when down, brighter when in the up position. Is it just me? Geoff Edited July 3, 2012 by RandomBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbass787 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 The shifts are indeed quite subtle, as you say the bass one has the biggest effect really changing the whole character, really old school vs a more modern tighter sound. The mid and treble switches do have a less dramatic effect but do affect the tone depending on what bass you are using and also dont forget they are interactive so depending on how you have one switch set it affects what the others do so you really can find your 'own' sound as it were. As i said, love mine ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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