Jono Bolton

I can't remember when I started playing bass. It was late in primary school, I'll say I was 10 as a safe bet, which was 10 years ago I didn't start my first band til I was about 15/16, and we were appualing. That lasted about a year or so, just playing covers. I didn't start my first "real" band until last December. I took over from another of my friends on bass because he was already in two other bands It's been pretty good so far, just gigging around Glasgow and Edinburgh, although we did get to go to Germany earlier this year. Hopefully we're going back next May, and then Spain later in the summer

[quote name='alexclaber' post='103522' date='Dec 12 2007, 07:47 PM']If I were you I'd either mark your EQ on the amp (stickers, tippex, marker pen, masking tape) or write it down, and expect everyone to screw around with the EQ and to have to reset it when it's your turn... The classic situation I regularly encounter is someone applying the EQ they normally use with their rig to my rig and then expecting it to sound the same - duh!

It'll be interesting watching other bassist's expressions when they encounter my rig at future gigs, since my rack now looks like this:





Alex[/quote]

I set the EQ pretty flat, and have a a rough idea of how it sits so it's not usually much of a problem, as long as I get a couple of minutes to try and re-adjust it.

[quote name='BeLow' post='103544' date='Dec 12 2007, 08:35 PM']In between the provocative posts there is a debate on Ashdown going on here. I think it was suggested by some one that those wanted to have an argument could b****r off and do it somewhere else. Seems like reasonable suggestion to me.

Celestion speaker manufacture is now off shore as far as I am aware - China I think. In a weird twist the last UK manufactured stock got sold off as job lots at prices that that no off shore manufacturer could match.

I have an 'Ashdown speaker' manufactured in Essex, it was part of the pre-production run which was not used so the manufacturer sold off a few that he had left. I am pretty impressed with how it is put together. Once a company earns a bad reputation it is very hard to throw it off even if their products are much improved.

I would be interested to hear the experience of the 'lightweight' amp range (digital amps?) and if there have been 'issues' with these.[/quote]

At the gig where I first tried an Ashdown (I used a MAG head) I had the option of using one of the lightweight heads, but opted out for ease of gear swap over. I did sound pretty good but I think setting up the EQ's a bit of a fanny about and didn't sound as good. But it's made for ease of transport, the guy carried it one hand with his cab in the other.

Anyone fancy it? Peavey TNT 115 150W combo, with a single 15" speaker (Blue Marvel).

Peavey's page:
[url="http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item/102065/TNT®%20115.cfm"]http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/...NT®%20115.cfm[/url]

VERY loud, excellent condition, great for a thick, full rock sound, 7 band graphic EQ plus bass and treble knobs, various switches for boost, active/passive selection, Speaker Protection enable/disable, and speaker out sockets. Maybe a DI socket too, I can't remember. XLR out.

I've been using this for practices and small-medium size gigs, a great, solidly built gigging amp with [u]NO WEAR[/u]. For the last two years this has pretty much been an expensive CD rack, they've been sitting on the top of it pretty much since I got it.

Photos will follow. Cost £400 new, I'm selling it for £150 plus postage. Probably going on eBay at some point too, but I thought I'd let forum folk have first dibs. Great for someone's first gigging amp, or learner.

Cheers
Jono

[quote name='alexclaber' post='103455' date='Dec 12 2007, 05:56 PM']I've been letting people use my rig for years and it hasn't blown up yet. I do tend to point out that the amp is very powerful whilst the cabs are only small and that much less bass boost (if any) is required compared to typical rigs. Despite that it's had a lot of abuse from some LOUD bands and has yet to to throw in the towel.

I always volunteer my amp as the backline because despite forums giving the impression that GAS is rife and the world is full of fancy bass rigs the amp I most often encounter is the ubiquitous Peavey TNT 115, which does what it does very well for the money but rather pins you into a certain tonal corner, to say the least...

Alex[/quote]

I've been using a TNT I've shared it a few times, sounds alright, but I hate having people mess with the EQ. At the same time, I know that my tone doesn't suit every bassist, I tend to have a fairly flat EQ, with a slight "frown" shape if that makes sense, but a lot of promoters I've worked with are pretty lazy and'll just chuck together 4 bands to fill a bill regardless of their style. We're prog/indie/heavy rock but we've played with emo, metal, cock rock, and an RATM/Muse rip off so not everyone's gonna fancy my sound.

I've had to borrow amps before, but I've also had to let other people use mine, so I always make sure I take really good care of it. I don't want my stuff wrecked so I'm not gonna trash other people's hard-earned gear.

From my folks I'm getting a Badass II bridge and Duncan SPB-3, and my brother's getting me a black 3 ply WD scratchplate, all for my Precision. And any cash is going to my Ashdown fund. Speaking of which, anyone want a Peavey TNT 115?

I checked ashdown's site, the ABMs are all made in England, its just the MAG range and downwards that are made in China

[quote name='spinynorman' post='102760' date='Dec 11 2007, 03:58 PM']I thought the quality issues with Ashdown were with the MAGs, not the ABMs?[/quote]

The MAGs are certainly a fair bit cheaper, and you get what you pay for as they say. The MAG head I tried sounded nice, but the ABM was much better. And the MAG has a horrible carpet covering.

[quote name='PaulMartin' post='102797' date='Dec 11 2007, 05:18 PM']+1 It's a great sound. I've owned an ABM500 for many years. It can sound a bit woolly under some circumstances, but the setup you're talking about should sound really good. 2x10 + 4x10 will certainly make the audience want to visit the lavatory.[/quote]

I think it depends on what kind of music you play using it, and what bass you have. I look for a kind of Brand New/Reuben sort of thick, meaty sound, and then OD on top, using a Fender Jazz with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. It might not be the sort of amp for heavier stuff, Ashdown are a bit old school

[quote name='ped' post='102686' date='Dec 11 2007, 01:38 PM']It sounds like you are decided on Ashdown already which is cool - where did you try one out? What kind of music do you play?

I say if you like the sound of it, go for it and ignore everyone else! Just make sure the gear has a warranty![/quote]

I first tried one out when my band was gigging, another band we were playing with had a MAG head and it was pretty much the first time I've been really impressed with a sound, before that I'd been using some pretty sh*tty Peavey heads that some venues had already, and a Hartke head of some variety. Anyhoo, the next gig I played was the Barfly in Glasgow, and the bass player for another band loaned me his ABM 300 head, and I pretty much fell in love. It's just a solid, meaty sound, and when I used my OD pedal I was pretty much decided that I needed one. Exactly the sound I'm looking for, not something flashy for slapping, just a full on, heavy, dependable sound.

I've been told by a guy on another forum (the Guitarist one) that I'm to have a chat with people on here about Ashdown bass amps. Probably because in the new year I'm planning on buying an ABM EVO II 500 2x10 combo, and eventually a 4x10 extension cab. So because I've been told that I should speak to people on here about them, I can only assume it's bad stuff I'm going to hear. Any advice?