alexa3020

I recently had my amp die on me at a gig, Luckily there was another amp, that I plugged into my cab (with a different cable), and all was fine. The amp that died was an Ashdown ABM 600. I sent it to Ashdown, and Dave Green at Ashdown said the power amp had blown & that it was something external that caused tit to blow - I.E the Cable or the Cab. I did a resistance test with a multimeter for the cable and as far as I can see everything is ok. I'm not sure how I test the cab, but given that the other amp I plugged in that night was fine, I'm inclined to think the cab is ok. My ABM was plugged in with a speakon when it died, and the other amp was with a 1/4 inch - might be important. Anyway, the ABM is fixed, but I'm worried about plugging in to my cab in case it blows again. Is there any way to test the cab to know its electrically sound?

I'd personally go second hand. Id consider all the main players really Ashdown, ampeg, markbass. I like the trace elf at the same price point new, but I dont know if that would have enough power for you

No, the BQ had a dial for a compressor. I think it was called Thrust? My feeling was that the compressed sound was something to do with stuff happening in the background. It actually put me off class d heads. But actually its the amp that was the problem.

I had the BQ500 for a short while. I really didnt like it. At higher volumes the notes sounded really compressed and unnatural. The RH450 was quite a highly regarded amp. I never used one but Id go for that over the bq.

Snap - well almost So, I've just tested the cables, and nothing measurable across the wired terminals. I'm not sure how to test the speaker, I plugged the speakon cable in to the back of the cab, then measured across the terminals of the speakon cable and got a reading. I tested some 1/4 jack cables and different cabs & I always get a reading across the terminals when a cable is plugged in - so i guess thats normal. Pretty worried about gigging it now. Will give the head a run at volume with a different cab I think.

Cambridge

I'm pleased to report I have been the beneficiary of Ashdown's excellent customer service and the amp is on its way to me fixed - big thanks to Dave Green. The problem doesn't appear to be with the amp. so that leaves the cab or speaker cables as the most likely culprit. So I am a bit concerned now that I could easily blow it again if plugging in to the same setup. Dave said it could be a short in the speakon cable. I think I can test this with a multi meter, but probably need to watch a tutorial/seek help on this to know what I'm doing. Alternatively it could be the cab. I've no idea what I'd need to test to verify its ok. Will probably make a post in the repairs forum for some advice. Mind you, the cab was used after the head blew with a mag head and a different speaker cable. So I guess the Speakon is the more likely.

Bad news, the fuse blows every time its powered up. I have contacted Dave Green at Ashdown. The amp itself is pretty much mint and has done maybe 25 gigs, is not used for practice and stored in a bag at home. Lets see what happens

Playing through my ABM 600 last night, eq set great and a nice bit of grit and harmonics through the valve drive. it really was sounding lovely. Then all of a sudden nothing, no light on the vu, no sound and no power. Tried swapping power cables but no joy. I can only assume its the fuse next to the kettle lead input that has blown. Has this happened to anyone else? Is it just a bog standard fuse I need to get? Should I be worried if it is that fuse has gone? Im normally really prepared at gigs, but its never occurred to me to bring spare fuses. Luckily the sound guy had a mag 300 head available. I used to have mag 300 210 combo - I found it pretty gutless, but I paired it with my Genz Benz 212 and it sounded superb with power on tap. just goes to show how important a decent cab is.

Russ bought an ABM cab from me. Really good person to deal with. immediate payment and excellent comms throughout.

incidentally i just bought a fosi audio bt20a bluetooth amp to power some old tannoy hifi speakers - it was cheap on prime day. it uses the 3116 chip. i have to say its pretty good as a 'hifi' amp. To my ears that setup easily beats the Q acoustics m20 active speakers that i was tempted to buy.

Hartke HA5500 - as good as any amp I've owned Ashdown ABM 600 - on par with the Hartke Trace Elliott Elf - I love this amp, plug in with EQ set at noon and you're good to go. Plenty of volume too when paired with the right cab The best sounding amp I've heard live is an svt. I have had limited playing time with one, but I was a bit underwhelmed when using one. Probably a bit of a learning curve when you're not used to tube power sections

How about the presence knob on the Sansamp bass driver? Or the behringer bddi if you're on a budget. Sounds like it might do a similar thing.

Interesting, so the valve drive control is essentially a blend knob? I'm interested to run the valve drive at max and back off the input gain to see if it gives a clean tubey sound. I was kind of worried I'd degrade the tube quickly if I did that, but from the sounds of it, it would probably last longer as the amount of drive would be less, because my input gain is less

I had 2x210s and moved them on. One of the reason for this is because I thought they lacked clarity - seemed a bit dark sounding, so they weren't for me. I thought they would really benefit having a tweeter. On the plus side, I thought the other claims were true. Extremely well made and plenty loud enough.

Presumably you still get the valve drive, octave and compressor regardless of if pre or post is selected. What about the shape🤔

140bm - ouch indeed! Sounds like I'm on the right lines with what I'm doing at the moment. Set my metronome to increase every few bars and play a line/scale in 16ths over the top of it. Hopefully if i focus on doing a little bit of that everyday the pick playing will naturally improve. Thanks for the advice

Resurrecting this thread and just changing subject slightly. I know that some of the tracks I play would be better with a pick. I've always played finger style and my technique is decent, but I really feel I've hit my limit with speed - I can play through c major scale in 16ths comfortably till about 95bpm - above that is doable but not as clean as I would like. I know with a pick I could go faster. But I just don't sound as good playing bass lines with a pick. Also with finger style I'm usually muting with my right hand, but you can't do that with a pick (unless your palm muting). How long does it take to master playing with a pick and does anyone have any decent exercises they can recommend?

Bought a trace Elf from Sam. Excellent dealing with you from start to finish. Thanks Alex

Oh dear, well I was on the fence about getting one of these - but that's me put off. I think maybe an elf or gnome might be better as a backup. Played an elf last night and was super impressed.

@NancyJohnson have you had the chance to play it in a band environment?

Proves my point really. Amazing playing and skills on show over a simple drum beat. Reasonably entertaining but very gimmicky. If that's on my playlist I'm skipping. Get him in a band with some musicians of a similar calibre and you might get something special! maybe.

No doubt he is an incredible player and I find some of his videos quite entertaining, I cant help but think he is wasting his talents on these videos. I'd like to hear him play in a really great band with a great drummer. Perhaps he's already done this but it hasn't shown up on my radar yet. Maybe Youtube is the best way for talented musicians to make decent money now - which is a bit sad really.