ashdown MAG600 any good??

[pal1972]

read a few mixed reviews about this one! I had a MAG 300 for years and it never gave me any grief, so thinking of getting one of the 600's anyone any experience of them?

[phatbass787]

As far as I know the MAG 600 is basically the MAG pre-amp with the 575 watt poweramp from the ABM 500 head so should sound great, superb value for money in my opinion. Basically if you like the tone from your 300H but want more power and headroom you cant go wrong.

[Bay Splayer]

if you like an [i]indistinct woolly sound [/i]then ashdown should deliver

[WarPig]

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='593731' date='Sep 9 2009, 11:46 AM']if you like an [i]indistinct woolly sound [/i]then ashdown should deliver

[/quote]

haha post number 3. You people are getting slower

Good amps and you can get them for a reasonable price.

[phatbass787]

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='593731' date='Sep 9 2009, 11:46 AM']if you like an [i]indistinct woolly sound [/i]then ashdown should deliver

[/quote]

Lol, I for one love it!

[bassmansky]

the mag 600 is a good price online at the moment.its only wooly if you dont know how to set it up properly

[Moos3h]

I had one, it blew up. They can't be all bad though, but mine blew up.

Your call of course, but mine blew up.

Cheers,
James

[fatgoogle]

Both mine have been great and worked perfectly. I never use the Eq though, but still great amps.

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='593731' date='Sep 9 2009, 11:46 AM']if you like an [i]indistinct woolly sound [/i]then ashdown should deliver

[/quote]

Great contribution. You must be very proud

[flatwound]

G'day Pal1972,

some people "say what they like", and they might even "like what they say"....but it doesn't necessarily follow that [i]they[/i] know what [i]they[/i] are talking about,... but that doesn't really matter when you talk through your arse !!
A lot of people on this forum bash Ashdown,..but in my opinion, a good percentage of those that do, are simply repeating what they hear others say, and have NO experience of the product.
If you look through the For Sale Amps / Cabs section on this forum, you will see that only a small percentage is Ashdown gear, ([i]yours included[/i]) and it always seems to resell.
I would also use your own experience, with your Mag 300, as a bit of a guide as well...it gave ya no dramas. !!
I have been having a play lately at the local music shop with the chrome faced Ashdown amp 500 watt, I think its the ABM ?? and it sounds fantastic, and can give a huge array of tones...its been going through a Mag 4x10 and 1x15.
Also,.. the Technician at the same shop offered these comments when I picked his brains about Ashdown gear, he said that "he see's very little of the Ashdown product come through for repair, compared to the high end expensive stuff, and when it does its generally something simple"...that's good enough for me.
The shop is run by musicians,.. for musicians, and they don't stock crap according to the manager,...and the place is full of Ashdown gear.
([i]When I have saved enough dollars, I will get myself the Aguilar GS412, simply because I want a cab with all the same size speakers, and 12's seem to be the sweet spot[/i]). (for me)
And I will probably get an Ashdown amp, as the recommended amp for the Aguilar cab is ridiculously priced. !!
Bassmansky has it right with his comments.
As does Andy Martin,...a few words can say so much. !!
Warpig is also onto it.
This has been a bit "long winded", and I probably haven't helped you very much either, if at all, but,.... I would be inclined to listen to informed individuals and not "tossers"s (as you Brits call w***ers) ??

[phatbass787]

[quote name='flatwound' post='594473' date='Sep 10 2009, 04:55 AM']G'day Pal1972,

some people "say what they like", and they might even "like what they say"....but it doesn't necessarily follow that [i]they[/i] know what [i]they[/i] are talking about,... but that doesn't really matter when you talk through your arse !!
A lot of people on this forum bash Ashdown,..but in my opinion, a good percentage of those that do, are simply repeating what they hear others say, and have NO experience of the product.
If you look through the For Sale Amps / Cabs section on this forum, you will see that only a small percentage is Ashdown gear, ([i]yours included[/i]) and it always seems to resell.
I would also use your own experience, with your Mag 300, as a bit of a guide as well...it gave ya no dramas. !!
I have been having a play lately at the local music shop with the chrome faced Ashdown amp 500 watt, I think its the ABM ?? and it sounds fantastic, and can give a huge array of tones...its been going through a Mag 4x10 and 1x15.
Also,.. the Technician at the same shop offered these comments when I picked his brains about Ashdown gear, he said that "he see's very little of the Ashdown product come through for repair, compared to the high end expensive stuff, and when it does its generally something simple"...that's good enough for me.
The shop is run by musicians,.. for musicians, and they don't stock crap according to the manager,...and the place is full of Ashdown gear.
([i]When I have saved enough dollars, I will get myself the Aguilar GS412, simply because I want a cab with all the same size speakers, and 12's seem to be the sweet spot[/i]). (for me)
And I will probably get an Ashdown amp, as the recommended amp for the Aguilar cab is ridiculously priced. !!
Bassmansky has it right with his comments.
As does Andy Martin,...a few words can say so much. !!
Warpig is also onto it.
This has been a bit "long winded", and I probably haven't helped you very much either, if at all, but,.... I would be inclined to listen to informed individuals and not "tossers"s (as you Brits call w***ers) ??[/quote]

+1 Nicely said.

[Moos3h]

I'm no Ashdown hater, although my experience with three of their products has been negative. However, the shop near me claim and I am only passing on what they say that they terminated their Ashdown dealership due to unusually high returns.

This may be rubbish, they may be bitter and I could very well be unlucky, but it supports my experience that their heads are not reliable. That said, our previous bassplayer abused a MAG 300 1x15 and it never gave up on him. Another chap I know had his repaired three times in three years.

Cheers,
James

[Mr.T]

I don't understand all this 'wooly' Ashdown nonsense.

I own an Ashdown ABM500 and a MarkBass LM2.

The Ashdown amp is marginally cleaner when set flat than the LM2.
It can be made to sound woolly (obviously), but then so can the LM2!

Try an Ashdown through one of Alex's Barefaced BigOne cabs to hear what the amp 'really' sounds like.

I can only assume that the woolly Ashdown brigade have played them through a 1x15 cab (which is NOT a standalone cab for some styles of music!), and made their mind up from there.

I don't want to argue about this, but I feel there is far to much Ashdown knocking going on in this forum.
From my dealings with them, they seem like a really nice helpful bunch of guys.
And...
Why would the people who were part of the Trace brand put out am amp that is crap?

If anyone doubts how clean an ABM can sound, you are welcome to come and try mine.... through decent cabs!

[Moos3h]

There are a few things emerging here:

1). Not every amp Ashdown or ANY company makes, breaks. And, conversely not every amp they make stays working forever.

2). It's fairly obvious when people are just 'haters' and don't or can't back up tales of woe with their own experiences

3). Amps have an EQ on them, it's probably wise to use it if you don't like the flat tone.

4). ANY amp is only as good as the cab it is being run through. My Kustom practise amp sounds extraordinary through my Eden, but chuck an Ampeg through the 8" speaker on my Kustom and the only thing you'll get is smoke. Good cabs are crucial - just as much so as any amp that drives them.

5). People like arguing on the Internet.

Cheers,
James

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='594623' date='Sep 10 2009, 11:26 AM']5). People like arguing on the Internet.[/quote]

No we don't!

Alex

[bassmansky]

Are people jealous of ashdowns success?we love to knock our own prouducts in this country!(Not like the french or germans)Not everyone will like ashdown,far from it, but all we hear is how unreliable they are or how wooly they sound.its so repetitive it gets boring!All i know is every make of amp goes wrong at some point but we dont seem to hear much about those,perhaps its because the amount ashdown sell they are likely to get one or two duffers.Thats my two penneth worth anyway,im now off to buy a behringer as i want something reliable
PS,well said flatwound

[lateralus462]

Ashdown rock!! Seriously good amps and I haven't had single spot of bother with my ABM and it sounds fantastic, plus they have the best customer support I have ever come across. (some c**t nicked one of the knobs and the ends of the eq sliders off the front of mine while it was at my old bands pratice rooms - contacted ashdown to see how much replacements would be and they sent me the lot free of charge the next day!!)

Edited September 10, 2009 by lateralus462

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='bassmansky' post='594930' date='Sep 10 2009, 05:26 PM']we love to knock our own prouducts in this country!(Not like the french or germans)[/quote]

So true. Certain (now defunct) companies have left behind a poisonous legacy. I don't want to go too far off topic but you are correct about the French and Germans. They buy their own products (particularly cars) and as a result are now officially out of recession.

[Moos3h]

So what do we actually MAKE over here, and where do those profits go once your cash is in the till of the retailer?

Take Ashdown as an example, yes they are a British company, but aren't MAGs made in China? Therefore does buying a MAG over something from a company like Behringer really do much good for 'keeping it British'?

Cheers,
James

[Faithless]

I have one, and, although I'm using it rarely now (due to rig's size and being put in studio in another city.. blah blah), I can't say, that their quality is high, i mean, such thing, as knobs, like falling out, and stuff..

I haven't compared it to other heads, but, on the whole, it's not bad, in the end, there's EQ, so you can dial lotta tones, and stuff..

Mounted-in compressor is rubbish, only useful for dialing a bit more power-'oooomph' into the sound..

It won't help much,
but anyway..
Faith.

[bassmansky]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='595405' date='Sep 11 2009, 09:25 AM']So what do we actually MAKE over here, and where do those profits go once your cash is in the till of the retailer?

Take Ashdown as an example, yes they are a British company, but aren't MAGs made in China? Therefore does buying a MAG over something from a company like Behringer really do much good for 'keeping it British'?

Cheers,
James[/quote]
The mag and abm range are made in china but ashdown is a british company so all profits come back to our country.Dont want to get involved in politics but it does not take much to work out that the more successful british owned companys there is the better this country would be!sadly everything gets bought up by foreign investers and that is what will happen to ashdown in future years.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='595405' date='Sep 11 2009, 09:25 AM']So what do we actually MAKE over here, and where do those profits go once your cash is in the till of the retailer?[/quote]

I make my cabs here - in fact it says so on the badge*. If I wasn't selling direct it would be very hard to pay for British labour and remain price competitive though. I'm hoping that as overseas wages and shipping costs rise we'll see a return to more local production but that's a very long-term thing.

Alex

* Which stymied a bright idea from a forumite for licensing US production as I'd need to order a whole load more badges that didn't say 'Made In England' on them...

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='595405' date='Sep 11 2009, 09:25 AM']So what do we actually MAKE over here, and where do those profits go once your cash is in the till of the retailer?

Take Ashdown as an example, yes they are a British company, but aren't MAGs made in China? Therefore does buying a MAG over something from a company like Behringer really do much good for 'keeping it British'?

Cheers,
James[/quote]

Orange Amps/Cabs are made in England. The only ones that aren't are the Terror Range, the smaller less expensive guitar cabs, and the Crush Combos.

[bassmansky]

is all trace gear still made here?Although not a british company anymore.

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='595405' date='Sep 11 2009, 09:25 AM']So what do we actually MAKE over here, and where do those profits go once your cash is in the till of the retailer?

Take Ashdown as an example, yes they are a British company, but aren't MAGs made in China? Therefore does buying a MAG over something from a company like Behringer really do much good for 'keeping it British'?

Cheers,
James[/quote]

Obviously British owned/Chinese manufactured provides less economic benefit to the UK than British owned and manufactured or even foreign owned/British manufactured but when the bottom line is price, manufacturing chases cheap labour. I would still buy a Chinese Ashdown over a Behringer for instance but as rule I try to avoid buying anything made in China

As well as what's already been mentioned Hiwatt I think, The Ashdown Klystron range, Status and a whole load of small luthiers like Overwater and Shuker.

Sadly this is the pattern of British manufacturing. We excel at producing high quality or bespoke products for niche markets. We seem to produce huge quantities of great designers, engineers and inventors who start up small companies but once they get to a certain size and level of success ( as bassmansky stated ) they get bought up by foreign companies.