New Rig Required - Lots Of Help Needed!

[Phil Starr]

On 11/07/2021 at 15:53, spongebob said:

Thanks Phil, super stuff.

Guess I'm a bit tied between another Rumble 500, know they're fab, and the Ashdown 115.

Just a bit worried that it may be a bit underpowered, and would need a cab from the off, something I'd like to ideally avoid.

Andertons are selling some Ashdown stuff at good prices. There's the OriginAL 300 kickback combo, but that would definitely need a cab!

You say the South East, Andertons have their shop in Guildford if that is near you then you could scratch that itch by going and trying both.

[spongebob]

Good call....I'm right down on the South Coast, quite a trek from them, sadly. I do monitor their website, though!

I like the idea of an Ashdown combo, and do like the look and weight of the 1x15......but I'm just concerned from what I've read, that it would need an extension cab from the off. Just rehearsing with an originals band, I'd like to just keep things to a minumim.

Plan is to recruit another guitarist - giving us 2, plus drums, and me.

I also can't seem to find the output of the 1x15 Ashdown without a cab. 500w with, great, but without? Other issue is the specs-war. I've read on here many times that the watts don't always tell the full story.....and that's something I've never understood. Always gone more if needed!

The Rumble 2x10 combo is good on it's own, but I do prefer a 1x15......

[andy67]

Did you check the Hartke combo on sale in the classifieds? That is a lot of combo for no money. 
 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by andy67

[spongebob]

I did....the weight put me off, sadly. Sure it's a corker, but it would be like my old Trace monster!

[Phil Starr]

2 hours ago, spongebob said:

 

I also can't seem to find the output of the 1x15 Ashdown without a cab. 500w with, great, but without? Other issue is the specs-war. I've read on here many times that the watts don't always tell the full story.....and that's something I've never understood. Always gone more if needed!

The Rumble 2x10 combo is good on it's own, but I do prefer a 1x15......

As I say there are a lot of amps around at the moment that are 500w into 4ohms 300 into 8ohms and Ashdown amps do this too. The power stage is fairly standard across a lot of amps just as a lot of car manufacturers share engines across different makes. It doesn't make sense for everyone to repeat the same design over and again and they all use the same chips anyway.

This also makes a lot of sense as the speakers generally will only handle around the 300W mark.

To be honest 300W into a fairly ordinary modern 15 is likely to give you a sound output of maybe 120-125db which should be easily enough to match the drums and more than enough to permanently damage your hearing. The other thing is that this is a new band and a chance to agree in advance that you won't be fighting a volume war. If you aren't filling the room with a 1x15/300W then it would be much better to turn up the PA than try to do it from behind the singer and the vocal mics.

[spongebob]

Fully agree, thanks Phil. My last band I was with, I had to really moan about volume before they listened. The drummer was deaf in one ear, and insisted on playing with everything st ridiculous volume....at rehearsal!

The 1x15 looks the job. Even at gug levels, I wouldn't want more than 300w behind me. Any more, I'd be wanting to DI out. No-one wants to damage their hearing doing this.

Out of interest, if I did grab the Ashdown....if a cab was needed down the line (which I hope it wouldn't be), what would be a good match?

When I ran a Rumble 500 combo a while back, I paired it with a 1x15 cab. Never had the whole thing above 1/4 on volume. I should have just used the combo and cranked it up a bit more!

[Lozz196]

If it’s the Rootmaster 115 combo you’re looking at if you find you like its’ sound then look to get one of the RM115 cabs and double up

[Phil Starr]

18 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

If it’s the Rootmaster 115 combo you’re looking at if you find you like its’ sound then look to get one of the RM115 cabs and double up

Good advice, if you like the sound and just want more then using the same speaker is the way to go. Anything else and you are back to having to audition it. Of course you may not need a second speaker.

[andy67]

The Hartke HD500 or 508 might be worth a look too. Weighs 15.6kg

[status1]

I allways turn my bass down if everything is to loud then when the guitarist say they can’t hear the bass I just say that’s because you are to loud if they don’t turn down then I turn the bass down even more,I know wot I’m playing and I use ear plugs,I always use separates as they work out lighter and easier to put in the boot of the car,plenty of good sugestions there

[FinnDave]

I've been using an Ashdown Rootmaster 800 head into a Barefaced Super Compact for a while now, until I bought an Orange Little Bass Thing as it is simpler than the RM800 and sounds great through the SC.

I used to use an ABM 600 and Super Twin but it was more than I needed and took more storage space, etc., so they've been sold. Sounded great, though.