Ashdown - or up?

[lownote]

Having been told by all and sundry that my recently dropped Markbass LM2 can't be fixed I have stumbled into buying an Ashdown MAG300 as a cheap alternative. It arrives tomorrow. I wasn't expecting very much TBH, but I am encountering surprising amounts of unexpected Ashdown love on here. So have I done a good thing buying one, then?  

[naxos10]

There is love for Ashdown on these shores.

I have the  Retroglide 800 and Rootmaster 420 heads.

[Lozz196]

Def, Ashdown make great quality, great sounding amps, and are very good on customer service. I`d avoided them for years based on the "woolly" comments that I`d seen banded about but got to use them as provided rigs and realised that they are top quality amps, so ditched the gear I was using in favour of Ashdown and never looked back. It`s unusual for me to keep any amp more than 6 months but I`ve now had my ABM 600 almost 3 years. I`ve also had the RM500 for a fair while too - sold my v1 to get the v2 purely due to the brushed steel front panel (much more middle aged eyesight friendly) - and it`s a cracking amp. 

[Reggaebass]

I used Ashdown setups years ago but , me being me , I always thought there was something better that I had to have ,but after trying many amps I’ve gone back to an Ashdown mag 300 evo ii head , and I’m loving it , even the built in compressor is ok 🙂

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 4, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Reggaebass]

Just now, Jus Lukin said:

Ashdown - or up?

Ashup?

Ashuppa Ya Face!

Brilliant 😂

[TheGreek]

As you say, lots of Ashdown love....

There is good reason - Read the feedback from existing customers - the equipment generally exceeds expectations - personally, I was surprised how good the quality is on a "cheap" amp  but what you also get is probably the best customer service of any manufacturer in the field...and they have a presence here on BC.

 

[nottswarwick]

I have returned to Ashdown, head at least, after years of Markbass.

Very happy, I used to love my ABM500, now have the 600 and it’s lovely.

I think the woolly comments used to come from people who didn’t disengage the scooped “shape” feature, which sounds poor in my opinion.

yeah so, thumbs up from me.

[Painy]

I got my ABM head a couple of years ago in a trade on a whim (it's the chrome fronted rack mount version - I guess I'm a bit of a magpie). I'd had an Ashdown head about 15 years ago that developed a fault which the store I bought it from failed to get sorted so I just gave up on it. If I'd have know at the time about the level of customer service that I'd have got by taking it directly to Ashdown if have saved myself a lot of money going through other amps over the years. 

Anyway, my current ABM head was a revelation - powerful, punchy and I don't know about anyone else's but mine is 100% wool free. I recently got myself some Ashdown cabs to go with the head and a little Five Fifteen AAA head as a backup and honestly can't see myself using any other make of amp in future.

 

[nottswarwick]

2 minutes ago, Painy said:

I got my ABM head a couple of years ago in a trade on a whim (it's the chrome fronted rack mount version - I guess I'm a bit of a magpie). I'd had an Ashdown head about 15 years ago that developed a fault which the store I bought it from failed to get sorted so I just gave up on it. If I'd have know at the time about the level of customer service that I'd have got by taking it directly to Ashdown if have saved myself a lot of money going through other amps over the years. 

Anyway, my current ABM head was a revelation - powerful, punchy and I don't know about anyone else's but mine is 100% wool free. I recently got myself some Ashdown cabs to go with the head and a little Five Fifteen AAA head as a backup and honestly can't see myself using any other make of amp in future.

 

Is that a 6by10? And are the others full size?

[Painy]

2 minutes ago, nottswarwick said:

Is that a 6by10? And are the others full size?

ABM 6x10, ABM Mini 4x8 and ABM Mini 15.

[nottswarwick]

Just now, Painy said:

ABM 6x10, ABM Mini 4x8 and ABM Mini 15.

Ah yes I thought those were the mini cabs. I had some of those years ago and thought there were ace. 

[nottswarwick]

3 minutes ago, Painy said:

ABM 6x10, ABM Mini 4x8 and ABM Mini 15.

Do you actually move the 610 around?

[Painy]

Just now, nottswarwick said:

Do you actually move the 610 around?

Yeah, it's manageable enough with the tilt back casters and I can just about lift it into the boot of my car okay without giving myself a hernia (it's a big boot). 

The Mini Cabs are for less accessible venues. We're playing a hotel after Christmas where we have to load in up four flights of external fire escape stairs so they're getting a run out for that one. 

If we play really big venues then I can run the whole lot together. 

 

[la bam]

The ashdown mag300 was the first serious amp head I got. Got it at the same time I bought an ashdown mag410 deep cab.

In all honesty I hadn't a clue what I was doing eq wise in those days, but as a band we always sounded good, so its core sound must be good, even if I could have tweaked it to sound better.

The old mags are a little harsher or spikier than the cushiony warm abms, but whenever I've heard bands use them they sound great.

[la bam]

In fact thinking about it, I've had:

Ashdown mag 307 head.

Ashdown mag 410 deep cab.

Ashdown Superfly.

Ashdown mini 4x8.

Ashdown mini 15.

Ashdown Little Giant.

Ashdown RM212 cab.

Ashdown ABM 600 evo iv.

In the end, in the mix, most sounded great just set fairly flat. Although the abm600s eq though is something else! Amazing powerful detail in that amp.

So, they must be doing something right!

I'd happily gig (and have done) with all of those apart from the superfly. 

 

[Soledad]

FWIW, I picked up a MAG250 210 combo locally cheap (£120) for the permanent rehearsal space we have - and it is really quite amazing. It's flat sound is exactly what I look for - slightly growly bottom end, tight punchy mids and a crunch on top that I can dial in and out on the bass. EQ is all v close to flat, sub-bass thing is off (didn't like that). That's with either a P or Jazz both with EB Cobalts.
I suspect I'd be very happy with a big EVO for live work. 
They seem to be a bargain used - maybe it's a combination of size/weight; styling is rather retro and they might be out of fashion when a lot of players seem to be chasing the next new thing like Quilter, Darkglass or whatever it is today.
 

[Quilly]

Worst decision I ever made was to sell my little bastard. I just didn’t keep it long enough to figure it out 😩

[stewblack]

On 01/12/2019 at 18:29, lownote12 said:

Having been told by all and sundry that my recently dropped Markbass LM2 can't be fixed I have stumbled into buying an Ashdown MAG300 as a cheap alternative. It arrives tomorrow. I wasn't expecting very much TBH, but I am encountering surprising amounts of unexpected Ashdown love on here. So have I done a good thing buying one, then?  

My Markbass amp is in the attic. Nowt wrong with the sound, weight, power etc when it worked, but the cost and hassle of repairing it has put me off bothering. 

I have two Ashdown heads, ABM and CTM, I can't speak for the MAG, but mine are very well made and sound great. 

My amp tech serviced the CTM recently and said the build quality and components used were excellent and Ashdown were very helpful to deal with. 

Enjoy your new amp! 

 

[Quilly]

Just received a now discontinued Ashdown Spyder 550 and I can’t get over the build quality and sound of the thing. I regularly gig with an old trace head,(  which I also love) the sound profile from the Ashdown seems more natural than the trace . Warmer or something?

[FinnDave]

I had a Spyder 550 combo a few years ago and it sounded great. A bit heavy for me these days, unfortunately.

[Quilly]

17 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I had a Spyder 550 combo a few years ago and it sounded great. A bit heavy for me these days, unfortunately.

I seem to be going the opposite way 🤔. I only have valve or old school mosfet AB amps now. Got rid of all my class D light weight amps . I just prefer the sound of them . Personal thing I suppose 

[PatrickJ]

25 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I had a Spyder 550 combo a few years ago and it sounded great. A bit heavy for me these days, unfortunately.

I'm going to keep a look out for one of these, they look interesting, as does the JJB 500.

I love my little Stubby, I'm considering moving on my Markbass LMT500 rig in favour of another Ashdown setup.  I'm a definite convert and their customer service (and the fact I regularly see them post here) is fantastic. 

I've seen a couple of posts from there here recently where they've teased some new products for Jan.. Curious to see what they release.

[stewblack]

3 hours ago, Quilly said:

I seem to be going the opposite way 🤔. I only have valve or old school mosfet AB amps now. Got rid of all my class D light weight amps . I just prefer the sound of them . Personal thing I suppose 

I'm similar but not the same. I keep my little TCE 250 in my bits box as emergency back up. I have hung on to my Bugera Veyron for gigs like tonight where the load in is awkward and the place can get rough so I can make a quick exit. 

Otherwise old Trace Elliot, Ampeg and Ashdown valve and MOSFET all the way. 

Edited December 14, 2019 by stewblack

[Quilly]

4 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I'm similar but not the same. I keep my little TCE 250 in my bits box as emergency back up. I have hung on to my Bugera Veyron for gigs like tonight where the load in is awkward and the place can get rough so I can make a quick exit. 

Otherwise old Trace Elliot, Ampeg and Ashdown valve and MOSFET all the way. 

Yeah that’s what I have 2 Ashdowns and a UK Trace . Power houses