Ashdown: ABM 500 vs MAG 600

[isteen]

Thinking of replacing my bass head with an Ashdown. I have two offers to choose from, the ABM and the MAG. Price is almost the same.

I will be playing through a Trace Elliot 1x15 and a 2x10.

Can you help me pick the best head of the two (or maybe point my interest towards a GK instead)?

I play blues, rock and hard rock

Thanks

[Merton]

ABM every day of the week. Great amps.

[Lozz196]

5 hours ago, Merton said:

ABM every day of the week. Great amps.

Yep ABM all the way - in pub sized venues you might not notice too much of a difference but on a bigger stage at higher volumes the ABM shines through. Plus all ABM amps from what I understand are built so that they can be fixed/serviced by Ashdown, who are here in the UK, and who offer excellent customer service. I should add after that that I`m not affiliated with Ashdown in any way other than using their excellent products.

[Sparky Mark]

I have owned both ABM and MAG Ashdowns. The MAG differ in the pre amp stage being solid state only 5 band EQ with bright and deep switches. Both have compressor and sub harmonics. The MAG didn't have the much mis-used pre shape button which I think is responsible for some players thinking Ashdowns are wooly without definition. I actually preferred the clearer punchier MAG600 over the ABM until the latest ABM600 evo iv came along. The MAG heads can be found secondhand for next to nothing and the 600 is very powerful. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Sparky Mark
Spelling mistake

[casapete]

Just to play devil’s advocate for a second - I went from an (admittedly older ) Ashdown ABM 500 to GK stuff, and was shocked at how much better it was, for me anyway. Used their 700RB for years and loved it, later only swapping it for a 1001RB which I still use. Also got an MB800, great little amp as well. Just sayin....😀

[Merton]

I really want to play through a proper Class A/B GK amp - only ever used their Class D stuff and liked it a lot. I can imagine the the old school stuff is incredible

[Merton]

Edit - double post

Edited August 12, 2018 by Merton

[casapete]

5 hours ago, Merton said:

I really want to play through a proper Class A/B GK amp - only ever used their Class D stuff and liked it a lot. I can imagine the the old school stuff is incredible

Bit of a GK fanboy - my favourite is my 800RB which was my first GK head. Still got it, and definitely a keeper.

The 700 and 1001 are quite similar, with some people preferring the 700 for dirtier rocky stuff, although I prefer the headroom of the 1001. They are both belting amps though, neither lacking in volume and grunt. To be honest, I don't think there's a world of difference between the older GK amps and their class D stuff (runs for cover....)

[Jack]

5 hours ago, Merton said:

I really want to play through a proper Class A/B GK amp - only ever used their Class D stuff and liked it a lot. I can imagine the the old school stuff is incredible

You have no idea. I'm ampless but Ive had a few lol. They're ALL great, but the RBs are in another league.

[isteen]

12 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

I have owned both ABM and MAG Ashdowns. The MAG differ in the pre amp stage being solid state only 5 band EQ with bright and deep switches. Both have compressor and sub harmonics. The MAG didn't have the much mis-used pre shape button which I think is responsible for some players thinking Ashdowns are wooly without definition. I actually preferred the clearer punchier MAG600 over the ABM until the latest ABM600 evo iv came along. The MAG heads can be found secondhand for next to nothing and the 600 is very powerful. 

Really? You prefer the MAG? I can get the MAG 600 for a third of what the AMB 500 cost. I have horrible stories og the MAGs blowing fuses constantly, anything you have experienced?

Thanks for your input

[grenadillabama]

I also have a MAG 600 and the bass eq is centered around 100hz, like a lot of hi fi amps. This will fatten up the lows but not tweek the real lows (50hz) . The ABM600 can do that . The "low" switch and "high" switch will bring on the rumble and treble bite on the MAG 600. Still, I got the ABM600 and it is nice. Both of these amps are rare in Alabama. You are lucky to have Ashdown . We have Peavey... (sigh)

 

[Sparky Mark]

Never had a fuse blow on any amp.

[thodrik]

ABM every time for me. The MAG stuff is fine but the ABM amps are generally a cut off, the valve drive feature is a cool feature. For me the best sound is achieved by not using the EQ pre-sets as the five band EQ is more than enough for tone shaping.

 

[la bam]

ABM all the way. Sits great in the mix, very powerful.

[thisisswanbon]

If GK is on the cards personally I'd forget the ashdown! I've never used an ashdown head that hasn't sucked the bite and attack from my tone. 

 

I ALMOST passed on buying a stingray on a sweet deal because it was demoed through an ashdown, took it home to try, and there was the tone! (Amp at home was a TC RH750, which I also didn't get on with but found preferable to the ashdown by far). GK all the way.

[Lozz196]

Ashdown gear is strange, in isolation it just sounds ok, but it`s in the mix where it comes alive, just seems to sit in the right place. Pretty much the same with Ampeg imo. Plus I think it also depends on type of bass being used as well, to me Ashdown seems to suit passive basses like Precisons/Jazzes better, I can certainly see how GK fits with your Stingray nicely @thisisswanbon

[Twincam]

Dare I say I also preferred the Mag, I think it was the eq points. The abm models I could never get it to sound as I would of liked. Mind you nor did the Mag models. Also from my experience the mags were more reliable. 

Imo the valve drive wasn't much cop on the abm models. I guess mileage would greatly vary though. Slightly better build quality in areas and bad design in other areas I won't go into it but I had two abm models at separate times and the heatsinks both buzzed loudly when playing certain notes, which I believe then caused stress on the board, leading to failure. One extra screw would of prevented that totally. 

To echo some others thoughts mag or abm theres better amps out there. I want to like ashdown and I've really tried. I think there is a place for them, just there versatility isn't great. And I hated the saying about them sounding woolly, unfortunately to my and many other ears that was the case.

I will add my opinions are mostly based on the slightly older models. 

[Jack]

54 minutes ago, Twincam said:

I will add my opinions are mostly based on the slightly older models. 

Up until the Evo IV models I completely agreed with you but the new models are so much tighter and less woolly.

 

I always thought the MAGs were great amps for the price. I had one and loved it, and I get them as backline all the time. I never quite thought the ABMs were in that top-flight category with GK, Mesa, Aguilar etc but this new Evo IV generation really are among the best IME.

[la bam]

The evo iv is utterly outstanding if you are prepared to perservere and experiment with the settings. It pretty much does anything you want. It really does.

If any abm is wooly etc, make sure the shape button isnt active, the eq button is active, and enhance the lo and hi mids, it really then starts to shine through.

[markorbit]

On 15/08/2018 at 12:03, Jack said:

Up until the Evo IV models I completely agreed with you but the new models are so much tighter and less woolly.

Yes Ashdown DID make a change to the latest ABM based on this general criticism. Bear in mind it didn't seem to be an issue to lots of pro players but the ABM600 is voiced slightly differently to it's predecessors.

I also agree with avoiding the preshape button and using the EQ. In practice this means pushing IN the button to defeat the preset EQ curve, the opposite of a Trace Elliot for example.

Edited August 16, 2018 by markorbit

[LukeFRC]

On 12/08/2018 at 16:52, casapete said:

Bit of a GK fanboy - my favourite is my 800RB which was my first GK head. Still got it, and definitely a keeper.

The 700 and 1001 are quite similar, with some people preferring the 700 for dirtier rocky stuff, although I prefer the headroom of the 1001. They are both belting amps though, neither lacking in volume and grunt. To be honest, I don't think there's a world of difference between the older GK amps and their class D stuff (runs for cover....)

it was realising they worked best with the gain as the volume and the volume set up high that made them come alive for me. 
I had a 1001 for a short time, in a combo. It didn't fit in the car.

but it was good

[Delberthot]

On 12/08/2018 at 16:52, casapete said:

Bit of a GK fanboy - my favourite is my 800RB which was my first GK head. Still got it, and definitely a keeper.

The 700 and 1001 are quite similar, with some people preferring the 700 for dirtier rocky stuff, although I prefer the headroom of the 1001. They are both belting amps though, neither lacking in volume and grunt. To be honest, I don't think there's a world of difference between the older GK amps and their class D stuff (runs for cover....)

My first Gk head was also the 800RB and a great amp it was too. I completely agree about the differences between the 700 & 1001. I preferred  the 700 as you could get the GK growl without having to crank it really high. Conversely if you wanted clean then you would go for the 1001 but the growl was where it was at for me.

I've had an MB200 and have been using an MB500 for the past couple of years. I don't think the MB500 is exactly the same as the 700 but it's close enough that I don't feel the need to carry the extra weight of the 700.

I've had both ABM and MAG heads and I preferred the MAG. It just sounded clearer to me. I actually prefer the MAG cabs over the ABM as well. I had a pair of MAG 4x10"s when I had my GK 1001RB and you could get a ridiculous amount of volume out of them

[Merton]

Agreed, especially regarding the early MAG cabs. Much preferred them over the ABMs.