ABM Evo ii 500 - Couple a questions from a new owner

[Salt on your Bass?]

Hi all,

Hope you had a good christmas!

I managed to pick up a cheap ABM off ebay - EVo ii 500 and an abm 410. I have a couple of questions/need a bit of an assist/welcome thoughts on the following if you fancy:

1. The amp has what seems to be a 'crackly' input gain control - sound is intermittent at low gains, but when higher sounds ok. Im going to contact ashdown but wondered if anyone was in the know about how to clean/check the issue? I'm not very tech and have tried changing leads (except the speakon now i come to think of it)
2. With the speaker outs at the rear, can i use any combination of jack and speakons? I cant find a user manual online.
3. How sensible would it be to add a 210 to this set up for larger gigs? I think a 210 would be good for practice, but i went with the 410 because it was good value and will cover gigs. I like the idea of a 610 modular rig, and think the power match would be ok....?

Thanks for any assistance, sounds like a good amp from my initial play around, other than the crackle issue which i may push for some financial recompense.

Cheers

[hamfist]

Adding a 210 would sound like a good addition to make it a great modular rig. I'd personally go for the matching Ashdown 2x10, both for visual and tone-matching reasons.

THe outputs (both jack and speakon) should be simply all wired in parallel, so you can use any of them at the same time. Just make sure you don't go below a 4 ohm min load.

THe crackling sounds mostly like an old input gain potentiometer (pretty easy to change). Although could possibly be a dodgy input valve instead, or poor seating of that valve in it's base. First I'd try re-seating the input valve (the one nearest the input jack) in it's base. If that doesn't change anything, I'd try a known good 12AX7 in there instead of the current one. If that makes no difference it's almost certainly the input gain pot that needs changing..

[RandomBass]

I think Hamfist pretty much sums it up rather well.

1. The crackly input is more than likely due to a worn potentiometer - as you rotate the input gain knob the volume jumps about, crackles and isn't stable. The amp in our practice room is just like this, and it can be a real task to get something decent coming through sometimes. It's basically down to heavy usage of the pot, where the resistive track gets worn by the wiper part of the pot, or dust gets inside. It is sometimes possible to remedy the situation with a cleaning spray, if it's just dust causing the problem. Unless you are comfortable with doing this yourself, I'd get it to a tech. Also, the seller should have been open and honest about any faults, I would have thought.

2. On the rear, you can use either the jack or speakon alone, or both at the same time. They are simply wired in parallel and allow two cabs to be connected directly to the amp without having to daisy chain. Remember the minimum impedance load of the amp, which is 4 Ohm (meaning you can use one 4 Ohm cab on it's own, or two 8 Ohm cabs together).

3. A 210 would of course help, but see how you get on with the 410 to start with.

I have an ABM500 Evo 3, and find it great.

Cheers

Geoff

Edited December 26, 2012 by RandomBass

[robbiano]

I've had this problem on a Evo II and was rectified by simply changing the pot last summer. It had just worn and was cheap to sort with a local fella. He actually replaced one of the others whilst he had it apart as it was happening with that one too.

One of the other knobs (I think it's the valve drive) is starting to do the same although it's only very slight. Figured it's just wear and tear and will be quite easily sorted by a local amp tech again - I hope

More than worth a bit of routine maintenance on such a cool sounding amp...

[RandomBass]

[quote name='robbiano' timestamp='1356523176' post='1910690']

More than worth a bit of routine maintenance on such a cool sounding amp...
[/quote]

Oh so very true, young man

[Salt on your Bass?]

Thanks guys, gonna see if my local amp techs about!

[Salt on your Bass?]

Hmm, apparently amp techs are entitled to holidays as well!

I got a bit confused with the speaker jacks as there are three - 2 jack, one speakon. I'd definitely match it with an ABM for tone and vanity! very nice looking rigs.

Really impressed with tones available - played one in rehearsal a few times but not properly messed about with it - theres an abundance of tones from kinda honky mids rich (which sounds like itd sit nicely in a mix) to thick and creamy. Feel like [i]I got a steal on the bay once i get it sorted - i guess with the trend for light weight gear, this is starting to get overlooked[/i]. Looking forward to running it live.

Thanks again for the assist, I'll update once properly resolved.

[numpty]

Yep, great amp and if you contact ashdown they'll be very helpful. You'll often get a quick reply from Mark who owns the company. Can't speak more highly of thier after sales service. As stated above, don't go under 4 ohms. A 410 and 210 will operate at 4 ohms allowing the amp to run at full power. Tone, tone, tone and great power and clarity.

[stingrayPete1977]

I can't tell you how many times I have told people how to clean out an ABM! Strip it down, can of servisol from maplins, get it all in behind the eq sliders and pots then slide and turn push on and off everything as you go, spray in the jack sockets and put a lead in and out, remove the valve and spray the mounting pins on the socket, clean the dirty fan blades (always covered in crap), let it dry fully over night upside down over an old towel, rebuild and enjoy! If you have access to an air line blow all the dust and crap out before you start

Edited December 26, 2012 by stingrayPete1977

[stingrayPete1977]

The transformation after is amazing!

[Delberthot]

Ashdown 4x10" cabs can go stupidly loud - both ABM & MAG. I have two ABMs but have never needed to use the second one.

They can take a lot of power so I reckon I'd maybe need the second one if I was playing in a 500+ seater venue with no PA support but in a 500 seater venue there probably would be a PA. I'd gig with the one first before deciding on a second cab

The upside to Ashdown cabs is that you can pick them up dirt cheap cos not everyone wants to lift 37kg 4x10" cabs.

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1356657482' post='1912224']
Ashdown 4x10" cabs can go stupidly loud - both ABM & MAG. I have two ABMs but have never needed to use the second one.

They can take a lot of power so I reckon I'd maybe need the second one if I was playing in a 500+ seater venue with no PA support but in a 500 seater venue there probably would be a PA. I'd gig with the one first before deciding on a second cab

The upside to Ashdown cabs is that you can pick them up dirt cheap cos not everyone wants to lift 37kg 4x10" cabs.
[/quote]
Yup, plenty of [i]loud[/i], way too much [b]heavy[/b]!

[Salt on your Bass?]

Yeah, i read a few reviews about the evo being quiet and not man enough in a band context. I cant believe this with the 410 wont mtch a hard hitting drummer - assuming you havent smikey faced the eq or something.