Ashdown dilemma

[smithjcx]

Advice and opinions requested here, if you good folks have any relevant experience.

 

I've got an ABM500 EvoIII which I've had for many years from new and with which I am happy but I'm getting a touch of GAS for an upgrade of either an ABM750 EvoV or an RM800 EvoIII. 

 

I use the valve drive to give my tone a bit of growl but I'm thinking I'd like a little bit more bite to it (my current band is more metal than my previous heavy rock) which I believe the either of the candidates would give me but I'm wondering how nice the RootMaster's drive is as I've read differing opinions; varying from pretty much as good as the ABM to rather fizzy sounding but can't find anything relevant on YouTube and no local stores have either of them in stock yet.

 

I'm drawn to the RootMaster as I like the idea of the cab emulation on the DI output which should send FOH fairly close to what I have set on stage and also the savings in both weight and cost are quite appealing. OTOH, I'm familiar with using and setting an ABM.

 

Anyone have any thoughts  on whether it's worth upgrading or which to choose?

[Lozz196]

I’ve had the ABM600, currently got the RM500. For me the gain on the ABM was more like a “thickener” to the sound, making it warmer, chunkier and with more harmonic content, but never overdrive or distortion like.
 

Whereas the gain on the RM is more (to me) like a distortion pedal, as such I keep it about 9 o’clock to add something in but any more than that I find to be too much, all I’m after is a bit of break-up, any more and it’s getting Lemmy. Might well be the sound you’re after though, from your description above.

[BassAdder60]

For the money I would head for the RM800 EVO II if Ashdown have any left or RM500 as they are great amps 

 

The ABM750 is nice but I didn’t find it any better than the ABM 600 

 

 

[dagrev]

Just my thinking. I have an older RM-300 evo ii head that's no longer made and it's really loud. It's overdrive is nice and doesn't sound fake unless you really crank it, which I don't. My ABM is 500 evo iii is plenty loud with an efficient cab. The original owner replaced the tube with and Eden 7025 which made it warmer and less harsh and fizzy. Sounds good to me--and significantly better than the RM-300.

 

As for more more the more watts aspect. I have yet to ever need huge watts in decades of playing. But I have almost always played with reasonable people who weren't in a volume urinating contest. In fact, I know a guy (not know of), who plays stadiums and sold out shows around the world in an headliner act every one would know. He plays those stadiums with a 45w head and one cab with two drivers and he can hear his amp just fine. And, they use wedges and no IEMs. He does get some in the monitor but he can hear his amp and cab. It can be done. (No intent whatsoever to diss anyone with huge wattage amps.) 

 

All that to say, if you love your head, just add something like an overdrive pedal for a little extra grit. Personally I would not replace an amp I love that does what it's intended with more watts I may not actually need when a simple pedal would do the trick. (But I like new heads as much as anyone.) I'm not a "distortion" person, but do like a bit of OD. I have had a Genzler Four On The Floor for a while and love it. It mimics four classic amps (B-15 through ACC 360), and can go from clean to distortion if wanted. But it's perfect for a healthy touch of overdrive and compression. It's very natural sounding and doesn't sound like someone is playing a buzzsaw. 

Edited July 16 by dagrev

[Phil Starr]

Curb your GAS maybe? Just at a technicla level moving from 500W to 750 will only give you less than 2db more sound. 1db is the minimum change you'd notice in an A/B comparison and 3db would only just give you a noticeably rise in level that anyone would notice. You'd need to double your amp power to do that. Assuming that the two ABM's have basically the same sound paying out good money to get a change nobody will notice doesn't seem worthwhile.

 

They (all manufacturers, not just Ashdown) only sell these amps because people want the biggest amp in the series and will pay for a number. If everyone else is selling an 800W amp then so do Ashdown or they lose sales. Even the headroom argument doesn't really hold, you'll only get less than 2db of that. If you prefer the sound of an RM over an ABM that's a different matter but you'll need to try them next to each other to decide that.

[Machines]

I currently have an ABM500, RM800 EVO III and RM500 EVO II (for sale due to getting the EVO III). They are all pretty basically the same sound, but I find the RM drive is definitely a bit grittier than ABM. You could increase the drive on the ABM by changing to a different 12AX7 in the preamp (not a difficult task to carry out).

 

That said the ABM seems to have more heft/volume 'earlier on' in the output knob than the RMs. But overall - they will give me the same when pushed.

 

My summary would be go for the RM if you want a lighter solution that you may have to set the output higher on to get the same sounds as the ABM, also remember the ABM is generally noisier due to the larger fans running (RM is practically silent).

 

In terms of RM500 vs 800 - very little difference, I just went for the 800 as the price difference wasn't too significant. Unless you have some really high powered cabs, the 800w may be wasted.

 

*Disclaimer - I am an Ashdown affiliated artist.

[DaleASmith]

If you like your amp I’d look at keeping it and getting your “grit” from an external source. ✌️

 I’ve had 3 ABM Amps and I love them. ✌️