Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Replacement speaker for an Ashdown ABM 500


hookys6stringbass
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've got an Ashdown ABM EVO III combo which I thinks sounds superb, however I was chatting to a fellow bassist in the studio about the speakers Ashdown use and was told that if I liked the sound i'm getting now i'll love the sound of my amp with a Celestion tru vox (think that is what he said) in it. Like I said I think the amp sounds great at the mo, but the chat I had has got me wondering.....

can anyone suggest a replacement speaker for my amp???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it was the same as mine, your cab will have a Fane driver which I didn't rate very highly before buying and I was right, I managed to blow it relatively quickly. I put an Eminence Kappa driver in it as I had one sitting in its box. Sounded really good too.

I swapped the original driver in a previous Trace cab i had. It ws the compact 1153. i can't remember the exact model but it was another celestion, albeit 300w instead of the original 200w and 4ohms instead of 8ohms. Sounded really good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've just replaced my Evo II C110 300 with a Eminence Gamma speaker. Its certainly alot louder than the Blue Line Sica speaker that its replaced and it does sounds better to me.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='307350' date='Oct 15 2008, 08:34 PM']I've got an Ashdown ABM EVO III combo which I thinks sounds superb, however I was chatting to a fellow bassist in the studio about the speakers Ashdown use and was told that if I liked the sound i'm getting now i'll love the sound of my amp with a Celestion tru vox (think that is what he said) in it. Like I said I think the amp sounds great at the mo, but the chat I had has got me wondering.....

can anyone suggest a replacement speaker for my amp???[/quote]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='307350' date='Oct 15 2008, 08:34 PM']I've got an Ashdown ABM EVO III combo which I thinks sounds superb, however I was chatting to a fellow bassist in the studio about the speakers Ashdown use and was told that if I liked the sound i'm getting now i'll love the sound of my amp with a Celestion tru vox (think that is what he said) in it. Like I said I think the amp sounds great at the mo, but the chat I had has got me wondering.....

can anyone suggest a replacement speaker for my amp???[/quote]
If you like it why change it? Don't let GAS get the better of you!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='butlerk02' post='307843' date='Oct 16 2008, 01:16 PM']I've just replaced my Evo II C110 300 with a Eminence Gamma speaker. Its certainly alot louder than the Blue Line Sica speaker that its replaced and it does sounds better to me.[/quote]

Emince Gamma +1.

I've put them in a mates Ashdown combo and Ashdown ext. cab. A big, big improvement in terms of tone and volume.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=18585&view=findpost&p=189346"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=189346[/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='alexclaber' post='307962' date='Oct 16 2008, 04:02 PM']Exactly! Changing speakers on a whim when you already think it sounds superb is not a wise idea.

Alex[/quote]


I know what you mean, but this guy I was talking to was quite passionate about what he was talking about and it really has got me thinking 'what if'. Im hoping to pick some drivers up off ebay.

So far i've been recommended ....
Celestion 15/30 tru vox
Eminence Gamma

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='308049' date='Oct 16 2008, 05:54 PM']I know what you mean, but this guy I was talking to was quite passionate about what he was talking about and it really has got me thinking 'what if'. Im hoping to pick some drivers up off ebay.

So far i've been recommended ....
Celestion 15/30 tru vox
Eminence Gamma[/quote]

Unfortunately he sounds like he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. Passion is all very well but you have to know how to apply it. If you want to change how your cab sounds you need to analyse what you want to change about the sound and then go through a logical process of ascertaining how to achieve that change. But if your cab really does sound superb then I can't think what you could want to change.

The best standalone 15" speaker for the money IMO (and I have done a LOT of searching) is the Eminence Kappalite 3015. But you do pay for that quality. And you may not like how clear and bright the top-end is and how strong the midrange is.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Delberthot' post='307580' date='Oct 16 2008, 08:31 AM']If it was the same as mine, your cab will have a Fane driver which I didn't rate very highly before buying and I was right, I managed to blow it relatively quickly. I put an Eminence Kappa driver in it as I had one sitting in its box. Sounded really good too.

I swapped the original driver in a previous Trace cab i had. It ws the compact 1153. i can't remember the exact model but it was another celestion, albeit 300w instead of the original 200w and 4ohms instead of 8ohms. Sounded really good.[/quote]

How exactly did you blow the speaker? Sounds like you did something wrong vs. there actually being anything wrong with the speaker...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='alexclaber' post='308057' date='Oct 16 2008, 06:27 PM']Unfortunately he sounds like he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. Passion is all very well but you have to know how to apply it. If you want to change how your cab sounds you need to analyse what you want to change about the sound and then go through a logical process of ascertaining how to achieve that change. But if your cab really does sound superb then I can't think what you could want to change.

The best standalone 15" speaker for the money IMO (and I have done a LOT of searching) is the Eminence Kappalite 3015. But you do pay for that quality. And you may not like how clear and bright the top-end is and how strong the midrange is.

Alex[/quote]

Ha!! He's certainly not clueless.... I understand what you're saying Alex and you make alot of sense, but for me I have to dispense with the Mr Spock logic sometimes and try things out as the 'what' if factor will drive me nuts. Yes the amp sounds 'superb' but'what if' I can get it to sound even better or discover a warmth or what ever I hadn't heard in the amp before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='308119' date='Oct 16 2008, 08:13 PM']Ha!! He's certainly not clueless.... I understand what you're saying Alex and you make alot of sense, but for me I have to dispense with the Mr Spock logic sometimes and try things out as the 'what' if factor will drive me nuts. Yes the amp sounds 'superb' but'what if' I can get it to sound even better or discover a warmth or what ever I hadn't heard in the amp before.[/quote]

Well in that case, download WinISD Pro, calculate your cab net volume and current port tuning frequency, and start modelling drivers. See if you can get the T/S parameters for the current speaker - if you contact the speaker maker (not Ashdown) with the serial number you may be able to get them.

He may not be clueless about many things bass related but anyone making a sweeping statement as he did is acting in a clueless manner at that point in time.

The Gamma 15 and Truvox 15/30 aren't great speakers. The Xmax on the former is poor and on the latter terrible. Probably no worse than the original speaker but unlikely to be a significant amount better. The Truvox is a great example of why power handling ratings aren't of much use for bass guitar - it's thermally rated at 400W but with Xmax=2mm it's excursion limited to well under 100W.

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='alexclaber' post='308139' date='Oct 16 2008, 08:43 PM']Well in that case, download WinISD Pro, calculate your cab net volume and current port tuning frequency, and start modelling drivers. See if you can get the T/S parameters for the current speaker - if you contact the speaker maker (not Ashdown) with the serial number you may be able to get them.

He may not be clueless about many things bass related but anyone making a sweeping statement as he did is acting in a clueless manner at that point in time.

The Gamma 15 and Truvox 15/30 aren't great speakers. The Xmax on the former is poor and on the latter terrible. Probably no worse than the original speaker but unlikely to be a significant amount better. The Truvox is a great example of why power handling ratings aren't of much use for bass guitar - it's thermally rated at 400W but with Xmax=2mm it's excursion limited to well under 100W.

Alex[/quote]

Wow thanks for the advice i'll down load that asap. Thsnks Alex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Protium' post='308085' date='Oct 16 2008, 07:17 PM']How exactly did you blow the speaker? Sounds like you did something wrong vs. there actually being anything wrong with the speaker...[/quote]


It was only a couple of years ago and I've now been playing for 21 years so I'm confident it wasn't me.

I was using it with an EVO II rackmount head at the time and one night it just started farting when I was playing.

I was actually a bit sceptical about the Fane drivers as I know that the Celestion's are bomb proof and even emailed Ashdown prior to buying it to find out more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...