Ashdown Rootmaster RM owners club

[BillyBass]

Fired my new RM800 EVO II up in rehearsal yesterday, with a Super Compact.  My initial impressions playing the pair together at home has been reinforced.  The Ashdown head works well with the tweeterless, 4Khz max, Barefaced cab, and this is a much more suitable pairing than the Super Compact and my MarkBass Little Marcus 500, at least for the stuff we play (mainly rock).

 

I've never had a head with a notched volume knob before and I like it.  It enables me to turn the volume up and then back down to exactly where it was before.

 

I am really pleased with this rig.

[Reggaebass]

2 hours ago, BillyBass said:

I've never had a head with a notched volume knob before and I like it.

My RM500 has that too and I really like it, I don’t think any of my other amps had it 

[Merton]

1 minute ago, Reggaebass said:

My RM500 has that too and I really like it, I don’t think any of my other amps had it 

Mind you at yesterday’s gig the notched options were “not loud enough” to “deafeningly OTT” in a single click 😅 Had to tweak the gain level to tame it, oh the hardship 🤓

[Muppet]

8 hours ago, Merton said:

Mind you at yesterday’s gig the notched options were “not loud enough” to “deafeningly OTT” in a single click 😅 Had to tweak the gain level to tame it, oh the hardship 🤓

This is why I don’t like it! I always need the setting between the two 😂

[Merton]

1 hour ago, Muppet said:

This is why I don’t like it! I always need the setting between the two 😂

TBH I did get annoyed with it at first 😄

 

Dare I say it, but since the arrival of the Glock earlier this week (see my other thread) there’s a huge chance my RM800 may not survive much longer 😲

Edited September 11, 2021 by Merton

[Lozz196]

Heresy 

[BillyBass]

3 hours ago, Merton said:

Dare I say it, but since the arrival of the Glock earlier this week (see my other thread) there’s a huge chance my RM800 may not survive much longer 😲

Not a good time to be offloading Ashdown heads, with the prices Musik Produktiv are selling theirs for.

[Merton]

7 hours ago, BillyBass said:

Not a good time to be offloading Ashdown heads, with the prices Musik Produktiv are selling theirs for.

No I know. Makes it quite difficult to price. Pain in the donkey. But then it’s hardly massive and taking up loads of room…

[MattW]

1 hour ago, Merton said:

No I know. Makes it quite difficult to price. Pain in the donkey. But then it’s hardly massive and taking up loads of room…

 

Yep, I looked at second hand before I ordered mine - but most advertised weren't much less than the MP prices but without warranty, box, postage etc so it didn't make sense.

 

Worth keeping as the perfect back-up amp surely?  I never gig without having a spare with me. 

[Merton]

12 minutes ago, MattW said:

 

Yep, I looked at second hand before I ordered mine - but most advertised weren't much less than the MP prices but without warranty, box, postage etc so it didn't make sense.

 

Worth keeping as the perfect back-up amp surely?  I never gig without having a spare with me. 

Yeah that’s probably the best plan tbh. I was considering getting a tiny head as a backup again (had an Elf previously) as it would fit in the front pocket of the Glock gigbag but in the short term at least I don’t have any pressing need to spend more money. Except maybe on that Two10 at Bass Direct 🤪

Keep it simple, and keep it for now.

[M@23]

My combo turned up this morning, didn’t really know what to expect. It is a Gen 1 Evolution. I think I’m right in saying that there isn’t a 1x12 Evo II. It has the mirror faceplate and It doesn’t have a control for the tweeter. 
 

Unfortunately, I’m going to send it right back - if that is actually feesable with MP. 
The tone is fantastic, the build quality is impressive and it’s a very neat box. 
But, I think the volume pot may have an issue.
At first I couldn’t believe how loud it was at about 8 o’clock on the dial. But then found ‘Click’ 1 on the volume dial is too quiet for home use and click 2 is almost too loud. There’s no middle ground. From click 2 onwards the volume barely, and I mean barely, changes. So, it is too quiet OR too loud for home use but too quiet to gig. 

The comp and input gain don’t seem to change this effect too much at all, so I’m not convinced that all is well. 

I’ve initially asked MP if I can swap it for the 2x10 combo as the tone and build are great, but I’d a little more at max volume than this may offer. Which, was always likely but something I wanted to test. 
 

The low B sounds great, it’s much cleaner and punchier than I was expecting. The plastic window to the VU meter is poorly cut and fitted on this one but otherwise it’s a really cool combo. 
 

Dunno how much it’s going to cost to get it back to Germany, but hopefully we can sort something as despite the above, there’s definitely something cool in there. 
Shouldn’t have waited this long to try Ashdown! The core tone is spot on, I didn’t even need to switch the EQ in. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by M@23

[grenadillabama]

On 11/09/2021 at 18:39, BillyBass said:

Not a good time to be offloading Ashdown heads, with the prices Musik Produktiv are selling theirs for.

Ashdown have not gone down any at Sweetwater in the States . They are up from last year.

[BillyBass]

30 minutes ago, grenadillabama said:

Ashdown have not gone down any at Sweetwater in the States . They are up from last year.

They haven't come down in price anywhere else either, it's this one German retailer who must be trying to clear up warehouse space.  Quite a few people on here have ordered heads from them and they are still showing as being in stock.

[Reggaebass]

1 hour ago, grenadillabama said:

Ashdown have not gone down any at Sweetwater in the States . They are up from last year.

They are one of the best retailers around imo, especially if you have a problem with something, they’ve always been good to me 🙂

[Merton]

7 hours ago, M@23 said:

My combo turned up this morning, didn’t really know what to expect. It is a Gen 1 Evolution. I think I’m right in saying that there isn’t a 1x12 Evo II. It has the mirror faceplate and It doesn’t have a control for the tweeter. 
 

Unfortunately, I’m going to send it right back - if that is actually feesable with MP. 
The tone is fantastic, the build quality is impressive and it’s a very neat box. 
But, I think the volume pot may have an issue.
At first I couldn’t believe how loud it was at about 8 o’clock on the dial. But then found ‘Click’ 1 on the volume dial is too quiet for home use and click 2 is almost too loud. There’s no middle ground. From click 2 onwards the volume barely, and I mean barely, changes. So, it is too quiet OR too loud for home use but too quiet to gig. 

The comp and input gain don’t seem to change this effect too much at all, so I’m not convinced that all is well. 

I’ve initially asked MP if I can swap it for the 2x10 combo as the tone and build are great, but I’d a little more at max volume than this may offer. Which, was always likely but something I wanted to test. 
 

The low B sounds great, it’s much cleaner and punchier than I was expecting. The plastic window to the VU meter is poorly cut and fitted on this one but otherwise it’s a really cool combo. 
 

Dunno how much it’s going to cost to get it back to Germany, but hopefully we can sort something as despite the above, there’s definitely something cool in there. 
Shouldn’t have waited this long to try Ashdown! The core tone is spot on, I didn’t even need to switch the EQ in. 

I’m not sure it’s a problem, it’s just the design. The volume control on my RM800 is very similar - too quiet then all the noise ever. If I compare the setting I have used on that head (1.5) with that on my new Glockenklang for the same volume output (5.5), I’d be convinced the Glock is underpowered for its rating. But they use different types of taper and the Ashdown feels to me much like the old Trace heads where all the volume came in by the time you got to 4, and after that you got nothing more. The Glock in comparison keeps getting louder all the way to 10.

[M@23]

4 minutes ago, Merton said:

I’m not sure it’s a problem, it’s just the design. The volume control on my RM800 is very similar - too quiet then all the noise ever. If I compare the setting I have used on that head (1.5) with that on my new Glockenklang for the same volume output (5.5), I’d be convinced the Glock is underpowered for its rating. But they use different types of taper and the Ashdown feels to me much like the old Trace heads where all the volume came in by the time you got to 4, and after that you got nothing more. The Glock in comparison keeps getting louder all the way to 10.

That’s interesting. But surely not a great design that there’s no useable settings in the middle. 
I’d say 9 o’clock to max is pretty much the same. Anything below that is too quiet to be of any use. 
And, yeah. I actually really liked that with the Glock. It’s unusual today, but you legitimately knew how much power you had left in the bank. 

[la bam]

Cant you just turn the volume pot down a bit on your bass if the notch on the amp makes it too loud?

[MattW]

8 hours ago, M@23 said:

My combo turned up this morning, didn’t really know what to expect. It is a Gen 1 Evolution. I think I’m right in saying that there isn’t a 1x12 Evo II. It has the mirror faceplate and It doesn’t have a control for the tweeter. 
 

Unfortunately, I’m going to send it right back - if that is actually feesable with MP. 
The tone is fantastic, the build quality is impressive and it’s a very neat box. 
But, I think the volume pot may have an issue.
At first I couldn’t believe how loud it was at about 8 o’clock on the dial. But then found ‘Click’ 1 on the volume dial is too quiet for home use and click 2 is almost too loud. There’s no middle ground. From click 2 onwards the volume barely, and I mean barely, changes. So, it is too quiet OR too loud for home use but too quiet to gig. 

The comp and input gain don’t seem to change this effect too much at all, so I’m not convinced that all is well. 

I’ve initially asked MP if I can swap it for the 2x10 combo as the tone and build are great, but I’d a little more at max volume than this may offer. Which, was always likely but something I wanted to test. 
 

The low B sounds great, it’s much cleaner and punchier than I was expecting. The plastic window to the VU meter is poorly cut and fitted on this one but otherwise it’s a really cool combo. 
 

Dunno how much it’s going to cost to get it back to Germany, but hopefully we can sort something as despite the above, there’s definitely something cool in there. 
Shouldn’t have waited this long to try Ashdown! The core tone is spot on, I didn’t even need to switch the EQ in. 

 

Have you considered going direct to Ashdown to get it checked out before returning it?    They are really good with that sort of thing!

[MattW]

Officially a member of the club now!

 

 

[BassAdder60]

Regarding the volume with the amp  I too just turn down my bass volume if it’s too loud. You can turn the input gain down too.

 

Ive run my RM800 up to volume 4/5 approx but would be interested to know if that’s all you get volume wise. 
 

Many amps do appear to be like this so maybe it’s more about what your speakers can put out too ? 

[Lozz196]

If I find one click too quiet/second click too loud I choose the second one and drop the input gain to suit.

[M@23]

I’ve just done a test video for MP with an SPL meter to show roughly what’s happening too. 

Mine goes click 1: zero output, click 2: very quiet (less than speaking volume), click 3; very, very close to full volume. Then from click 4 onwards it’s all max volume. 
 

This is the same at any gain setting, with EQ out and comp on or off. 
I get that the volume notches may not graduate exactly as expected, but this is basically off > very low > max. 
 

[gjones]

23 minutes ago, M@23 said:

I’ve just done a test video for MP with an SPL meter to show roughly what’s happening too. 

Mine goes click 1: zero output, click 2: very quiet (less than speaking volume), click 3; very, very close to full volume. Then from click 4 onwards it’s all max volume. 
 

This is the same at any gain setting, with EQ out and comp on or off. 
I get that the volume notches may not graduate exactly as expected, but this is basically off > very low > max. 
 

The RM800, in my local rehearsal room, is at max volume by 12 (mid point) on the dial and there is no observable change in loudness after that. This is with the gain at max.

 

Of course, through constant use, all the wording has worn off the silver front of the amp, so I have no idea what any of the other buttons or switches do.

[M@23]

5 minutes ago, gjones said:

The RM800, in my local rehearsal room, is at max volume by 12 (mid point) on the dial and there is no observable change in loudness after that. This is with the gain at max.

 

Of course, through constant use, all the wording has worn off the silver front of the amp, so I have no idea what any of the other buttons or switches do.

That’s what I generally expect from an amp. It’s usually the case. But, you usually get tens of variations between that max setting and nil output. Here, I’m at max at 8/9 o’clock. The only other setting available below that is quiet enough to talk over. 
Surely that’s not how they all are?

I hope not, because everything else about it is great. But, that’s not really useable for me. 
 

Edit, keeping volume at max and using the gain like a volume pot is a workaround. But, if logistics allow, I’m still going to return it and try another. Will see what the retailer makes of the volume dilemma.

Edited September 14, 2021 by M@23

[Merton]

Sounds to me like it is a bit dodgy then! Good luck