JGSpector

Overview. This gear review covers the Ashdown 12-Band 600. This is actually the first Ashdown amp I’ve ever owned, I bought it in February 2025 and it was pre owned. It was as a result of how impressed I was with it that has resulted in me playing through Ashdown amps exclusively. Disclaimer: I’m just a dude who gigs in a few projects and bands, I am by no means a professional reviewer. All views are my own and I have not received any payment or other incentives to write this piece. I only review gear that I actually own or have access to through musician friends. Build Quality. The 12-Band 600 is made in the UK, although, I think Ashdown might have stopped making them now. Just like every other Ashdown amp I’ve ever encountered, it’s built like a tank. It’s also rack mountable and fits in a 2u rack case. It’s reassuringly heavy but not ridiculous and is an easy one handed carry in the Gator rack case I’ve got it in. Dimensions & Power. Width, 19” (483mm). Depth, 13” (331mm). Height, 4” (101mm). Weight: 12.2kg (just the amp, not in the rack case). Power: 300 watts into 8 ohms, 600 watts into 4 ohms. Knobs & Switches. One of the things I love about this amp is that, apart from the VU metre, it’s incredibly tactile. As a blind player this is fantastic as it makes my life so much easier. All of the buttons are of the push button type that stay in when engaged, making it incredibly easy to feel what’s what. The power switch is a large push button and again, nice and tactile with a positive clunk when switching on and off. The knobs are all nice and large with a clearly defined indent to indicate what position they are set to. The EQ sliders are also nice and solid feeling with a centre detent. The Harmonic Emphasis knob does not have a centre detent, although I wouldn’t expect it to. The Input Gain and Master Volume controls are notched just like on my ABM. As a totally blind player what it enables me to do is set the input gain for any of my basses incredibly easily simply by counting the notches. I just spent a bit of time making a note on my phone of which setting is correct for each of my basses. Amp Controls. Front Panel. Input knob (top). Instrument 1/4” input jack (bottom). XLR input socket (to the right of 1/4” input jack). VU metre. Harmonic Emphasis knob (bottom). Harmonic emphasis push button (bottom). 12 Band Graphic EQ (cut or boost 15db): 30Hz. 40Hz. 60Hz. 100Hz. 180Hz. 340Hz. 660Hz. 1.3KHz. 2.6KHz. 5KHz. 10KHz. 15KHz. Equalisation engage push button (bottom). DI Pre/Post push button (bottom). DI XLR socket (bottom): This is not effected by the master output control. Master Output knob (bottom). Mute push button (bottom): Mutes all outputs except Tuner out. LED underneath Mute button illuminates blue when mute is engaged. Power push button (top). Tuner Out 1/4” jack (underneath power button, left). Line Out 1/4” jack (underneath power button, right). Rear Panel. IEC power cable socket. Effects Return 1/4” jack (top). Effects Send 1/4” jack (top). Speak-on speaker out socket (bottom). Speaker out 1/4” jack (bottom). Sound Quality. This amp is clean, not pristine hi fi clean but powerful solid state clean. It’s got a lot of head room, the graphic EQ is fantastic and incredibly easy to use, not to mention it has that lovely solid state heft behind it. The Harmonic Emphasis feature can bring out some really nice brightness if you want it to. I tend to set this control to around the 12-1 o’clock position as it gives me the extra harmonic content but isn’t too excessive or harsh. It’s very responsive, there is a feeling of immediacy when playing and thanks to the extensive EQ it’s possible to dial in pretty much any tone you want. This amp is also a fantastic platform for effects pedals. I run an over drive pedal into the front of the amp to add a little grit and texture to my tone when I need it and run a chorus and synth through the effects loop. The amp takes it like a champ and they all sound great through it. Conclusion. I’m a big fan of solid state amps and this does not disappoint at all. It’s clean, powerful and does not quit when pushed, I like it a lot. Interestingly, I had planned on selling this amp this year and had even listed it. Not because I didn’t like it, but simply because I’ve hardly used it since getting my ABM. I auditioned for a function band recently however and took the 12-Band 600. The truth is, I had forgotten just how good this amp is. It sounded fantastic, so much so that even the band I was auditioning for commented on how good my sound was. I did get the gig and I will be using this amp with that band for sure. If you are a blind player then it would be worth checking out any of the Ashdown amps, as in terms of tactile controls that are nicely spaced out and chunky enough to actually find, they are all pretty much the same as far as I can tell, although their layout does vary depending on the model. To find out more about Ashdown gear, visit their website at: https://ashdownmusic.com/collections/ashdown-bass-amps?srsltid=AfmBOorb1ET40pjv0EcLTXfWJdmkj6w25ln2x1Q4-kqqn0F-RrSJ498E #BlindMusician #BlindBassPlayer #Blindness #PlayingMusicBlind #Ashdown #Ashdown12Band600Review #Ashdown12Band600 #MusiciansWithDisabilities #ExperiencesOfTheBlind #BestBassAmpForTheBlind

I have one that I was going to sell but have just withdrawn the listing because I took it to a band audition the other day and it blew me away. I'd genuinely forgotten how clean, punchy and loud it is. It's a completely different animal to my ABM but I like that. I got the gig from the audition and it's a function band so I think I'm going to use the 12-Band 600 for that band. A couple of pedals for a bit of OD when needed, some chorus and maybe a synth, I have to say I'm pretty excited and looking forward to using the amp in a band again

BRILLIANT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP

I'm trying to post photos on some listings I have up but every time I do so I get a pop up telling me that the photos exceed the allowed size and have been skipped. I've had this hapen before sometime last year and at some point I had something come up that gave me the opportunity to clear my photo cache on the site. I have no idea how I did it, it was sheer fluke I think. Can anybody tell me how to do this or give me a link to get to the relevant area? Many thanks

Nothing but great experiences with Ashdown here. Have had a couple of very pleasurable telephone conversations with Dave Green. Sent my 12 band 600 for a service because Sound was fading in and out, it came back six days later with new input Jack new input gain knob, new fans, and sent back to me with absolutely no charge, they didn't even charge me for the shipping

Incredibly easy person to deal with, great comms, fast payment, nice easy transaction. You can trust this BassChatter

I just sold an MXR micro flanger to Chris and he was fantastic to deal with. Great comms, paid promptly and generally a thoroughly nice chap to sell to. No problems at all.