Ashdown RM White line cabs.

[karlfer]

These cabs have been around for a year or so but very little in the way of reviews.
Many folk got them?

I know Andy (Travis) is well enamoured of them.

Comments from experience appreciated,
ta.

[largo]

Didn't Kevin Dean ditch his BF Super Compacts for a pair of the 112 cabs? Sure there's a review somewhere. Certainly got me interested

[Lozz196]

[quote name='largo' timestamp='1483977129' post='3211610']
Didn't Kevin Dean ditch his BF Super Compacts for a pair of the 112 cabs? Sure there's a review somewhere. Certainly got me interested
[/quote]

I think so, from recall he replaced the cones with Sica drivers from Ashdown to give greater power handling.

[mikeycrikey]

I've had a very mixed experience with these cabs. I tried the 2x10 combo and 1x15 in Dawson's and they sounded great. Would of happily bought them there and then but I needed a 2x10 cab and not a combo.unfortunatley Dawson's would not be getting one in stock for over a month.
Being impatient I went home and ordered the 2 cabs from GAk.
On arrival the size and weight of the cabs ticked all the boxes for me. The problem started once I plugged them in.
The 2x10 gave out the most horrendous farting/buzzing noise whenever I played an A note. The 1x 15 also buzzed but not as bad as the 2x10.
I tried different amp heads, but the problem remained. I tried my Mark bass 1x15 and genz Benz 2x10 and there was not a hint of buzzing when I used my old cabs.
This seemed to prove the fault lay with the Ashdown cabs, which were returned the next day to GAK and got a full refund as they had no replacements in stock.
A few weeks latter I saw the same cabs in Rimmers Music and tried them out with TC BH500 amp head. The 2x10 cab had a faulty speakon connector and the 1x15 was buzzing and vibrating in the shop. The sales guy confirmed he could hear it too and it was local to the cab rather than something else in the store vibrating.
Bottom line was I love the weight and size of these cabs but I have lost confidence in buying them now. Did try the Fender Rumble 1x15 combo with a 4x10 cab as a comparison and it sounded fantastic.

[Twincam]

[quote name='mikeycrikey' timestamp='1484070511' post='3212442']
I've had a very mixed experience with these cabs. I tried the 2x10 combo and 1x15 in Dawson's and they sounded great. Would of happily bought them there and then but I needed a 2x10 cab and not a combo.unfortunatley Dawson's would not be getting one in stock for over a month.
Being impatient I went home and ordered the 2 cabs from GAk.
On arrival the size and weight of the cabs ticked all the boxes for me. The problem started once I plugged them in.
The 2x10 gave out the most horrendous farting/buzzing noise whenever I played an A note. The 1x 15 also buzzed but not as bad as the 2x10.
I tried different amp heads, but the problem remained. I tried my Mark bass 1x15 and genz Benz 2x10 and there was not a hint of buzzing when I used my old cabs.
This seemed to prove the fault lay with the Ashdown cabs, which were returned the next day to GAK and got a full refund as they had no replacements in stock.
A few weeks latter I saw the same cabs in Rimmers Music and tried them out with TC BH500 amp head. The 2x10 cab had a faulty speakon connector and the 1x15 was buzzing and vibrating in the shop. The sales guy confirmed he could hear it too and it was local to the cab rather than something else in the store vibrating.
Bottom line was I love the weight and size of these cabs but I have lost confidence in buying them now. Did try the Fender Rumble 1x15 combo with a 4x10 cab as a comparison and it sounded fantastic.
[/quote]

Many times the buzzing on ashdown cabs is down to that large metal ashdown double winged emblem. And it can be very audible!
I've had a few ashdown cabs that had that issue. And heard it shops too. The older smaller single winged emblem never had the problem.

On certain notes the emblem wing tips vibrate against the metal grill. Solution is to put thin rubber strip or a thin bit of electrical tape behind them.
Some cabs already have this from factory but I've seen others that dont or its not located correctly.
Ashdown really should fix this issue. In fact they should attach the emblem better in the first place.
I've seen a couple of ashdown cabs new and old that didn't have the grill screwed down correctly too.
Other than that Ashdown cabs I've found to be ok put together.

[mikeycrikey]

I never considered the badge could of been at the root of the vibration issue before.
The Evo cabs have a fabric grill rather than the metal one on them but I suppose the badge could still vibrate on that as the fabric is quite taught across the front.
Hope that is the issue with these cabs as the price, weight and size ticked all the boxes for me.

[Kevin Dean]

I have 2 x 12" cabs with the Sica drivers fitted , that was recommended by them as I use a ABM1000 , my main priority is weight but for me they have more mid punch compared to the Barefaced Hi Fi type sound . I tend to use these cabs if playing in a club that requires a bit of a walk to the stage , I've had more compliments from this rig than any other . I also have a ABM neo 4 x 8 cab I prefer this sound slightly but it's twice the weight , still only 48lbs though .

[Kevin Dean]

[quote name='mikeycrikey' timestamp='1484381960' post='3215039']
I never considered the badge could of been at the root of the vibration issue before.
The Evo cabs have a fabric grill rather than the metal one on them but I suppose the badge could still vibrate on that as the fabric is quite taught across the front.
Hope that is the issue with these cabs as the price, weight and size ticked all the boxes for me.
[/quote]
The grills are made to take off easily .

[Chienmortbb]

Surely the point of a hifi cab is that you can get the sound you want with EQ. If you cab is "voiced*" In a particular way you can only fight it with EQ if you want something other than the standard "voicing".

Edited January 14, 2017 by Chienmortbb

[mikeycrikey]

I may pop into my my local music shops if they have these in stock and see if there is any vibration coming from the Ashdown badge. If there's no vibration present or I can stop it coming from the badge then they may be coming home with me. Thanks for the advice.

[Kevin Dean]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1484419683' post='3215397']
Surely the point of a hifi cab is that you can get the sound you want with EQ. If you cab is "voiced*" In a particular way you can only fight it with EQ if you want something other than the standard "voicing".
[/quote] I just like the sound I get with hardly any EQ change

[AndyTravis]

Karl you're welcome to try mine.

Andy

[uk_lefty]

I'll have the 1x15 in a few days...Will let you know how it gets on. I'm attracted to the 10kg weight and want to pair it with my toneman 300 combo which will give me 500w output in theory. Interesting note on the buzz/ rattle, I'll be looking out for that.

[uk_lefty]

It's arrived, don't know if it's the white line version but it's definitely the rootmaster lightweight one that retails at 279. Not managed to plug in yet, sleeping baby, but it's a good one handed carry. Looks nice and compact. Can't wait to hook my combo in to it and see what it gives me.

[Merton]

If it has a white cone it's the White line cab

[Kevin Dean]

When I took mine out to fit the the Sica speaker , I noticed that they have blue line written on the back .

[Merton]

Probably! The name Whiteline is purely down to the cone colour much like Blueline name was created originally for the blue speakers way back

[uk_lefty]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1484682648' post='3217503']
If it has a white cone it's the White line cab
[/quote]

It's silver....

[Merton]

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1484731207' post='3217787']


It's silver....


[/quote]

Haha

Silver / white. Same difference apparently

[Kevin Dean]

They could be a very very very very very very very light black .

[Merton]

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1484744724' post='3217982']
They could be a very very very very very very very light black .
[/quote]

[uk_lefty]

Eventually used it last night. I paired the 1x15 rootmaster cab with my toneman 300 combo which is also a 1x15 speaker. The tone-man combo is the same as a mag combo. I was playing an MIJ 1970 P-bass re issue with Steve Harris Sig strings and Sig pickups. Took it all to rehearsal with my rock and soul covers band.
So... The cab definitely gave me a volume boost. Having said that, the combo isn't the loudest so the idea was to keep these together for gigs where we have to provide our own PA and backline, with a PA that can't handle bass going through it. A week on Saturday will reveal whether that's been a good idea or not.
The cab is a good weight for one handed carrying, about a third the weight of the combo. Soundwise it was what I wanted, I really pleasing fat, round bottom end sound. Drummer loved it, as did the rhythm guitarist, gave them that extra foundation through the guitars and vocals. I tried it using the amp eq and also bypassing the amp eq and using my hartke vxl for eq which I've done constantly for almost a year. The hartke gives me more presence and that suited the rig perfectly. I tried wah, flange and the amps built in overdrive and sub harmonics too, all handled very comfortably. I set the tweeter to high, but unfortunately wasn't carrying a more articulate bass so couldn't really test this out. I found some notes above the 12th really rang out clear (e.g. c on A string, above 12th) but adjacent notes wouldn't ring out as much which was annoying. That could be anything from tired strings or tired playing rather than the cab until I investigate further. I didn't bother going round the back to turn it to low or off due to how busy the room was with so much gear in.
I'm unlikely to use this again until a gig on 4th Feb where it will be taking the P bass and either a jazz or a headless brromstick bass so will give it some higher notes and snappy string noises to see how it goes.
For the price I paid I'm happy, but I can't justify really expensive gear for my low paid or no paid gigs. It seems like great value though compared to other lightweight 1x15 cabs. Ideally I'd want to pair it with the rootmaster 2x10 and maybe an old hartke or trace head unit, but that's a long way off.
And there was no buzzing.

Edited January 25, 2017 by uk_lefty

[uk_lefty]

So this came out for a gig last night, in a big hall with around a hundred and twenty people and no pa support for the bass. I paired the cab with the tone-man 300 combo and switched off the tweeter. I played my p bass, hohner B2a and jazz bass in drop D.
The cab gave added depth to the sound and with the tweeter disabled the high notes were nice and even. I slapped the jazz and the hohner a tiny bit and played some imitation reggae, as well as straight ahead rock. The sound was excellent on stage and clear off it, no need for pa support. I use a hartke bass attack for my eq and had a scooped mid sound throughout. I have to say that now I have one of these lightweight cabs I want a 2x10 and a head to replace the combo. The ease of transportation is so much better than a heavy combo which really does make a difference. The sound from the cab is probably better quality than the combo but I suppose that is to be expected from the difference in product range.
All in all I am glad I bought this new rather than spend less on a second hand heavy weight cab. I can't fault the quality and the tone holding up with the amp being pushed at 75% volume for a thirty five song gig. If I can sneak them in the house I would love to buy the 2x10 and a rootmaster head unit.

[Kevin Dean]

I spent quite a while comparing the two 12" cabs with Sica drivers ( they sound the same as the white line except they can take more wattage ) against my Barefaced super compacts & Ashdown 4 x 8 neo ABM .. The Bf cabs exaggerate the 180 frequency quite a bit that I cut to get the sound I like , With The Root Master 12" I don't touch the EQ at all . The 4 x 8 Ashdown has a nice low end punch & reminds me of my old Ampeg 8 x 10 , On sound alone I prefer this cab but it weighs 48lbs that's twice as much as the Root master & I only really notice the difference when standing close to the cab . So for me. if it's a bit of a hike from my van to the stage it's the Root Masters every time .I also like the build quality & the handles .

[uk_lefty]

My only criticism of the cab would be power handling seems low. I expected more than 250w