chyc

I have nothing to share other than anecdotes, but I find that when expensive stuff breaks, it costs the same (or sometimes more) than when the cheap stuff breaks. The difference is that the cost of repair relative to the cost when bought new is significantly lower. As I say, this is anecdotal so perhaps I've been unlucky. Should say now that the standout exception to this for me in the bass world is Acoustic Image. I've had multiple failures out of warranty and they've done good by me at no charge other than the cost of postage to them. Suspect that if and when my head breaks again they'll fix it for a nominal fee, but if it does become unrepairable I would buy an identical replacement (while sobbing into my pillow at night.)

For me one obvious tell, at least in the PA market, is where I can see active PAs with some colossal claim as to what its power rating is, and yet when the same company sells passive units the number is a tiny fraction of it (because they're worried you might *actually* attach it to a powerful amp). While it's possible, it's seriously stretching my disbelief that there isn't some marketing BS going on. By no means are they the only ones, but QSC sell the 2000W K12.2 active top, but their E112 is rated for 400W continuous power. Yes yes they're not the same thing, but to me to be different by a factor of 5 is massaging measurements to the point of dishonesty

It's been in PMT Oxford for over a year (I used to glace at it longingly every time I went it), but I think that a recent nick in the tolex meant that they couldn't sell it as new

PMT said the EVO-IV that I just bought had been there for a while (over a year perhaps?) It may just be that I'm deaf, but I'm certainly pleasantly surprised after hearing all the complaints online about the fan noise.

Aww c'mon, at least pretend I got a good deal! In all seriousness the price of EVOs has gone through the roof recently (£749 at PMT for the ABM 600), so the fact I got it at the same price as last year I regard as a victory. Sounds amazing BTW, definitely no buyer's remorse. Cannot believe how alive it can make such a piddly cabinet.

I saw this page this morning .....which led to this..... ....which led to this.... I hope people on here like overhang. The people in PMT seemed absolutely amazed at how much it was selling for. Initial thoughts tailored to this audience of basschatters: The fans are silent. I mean they're not quiet, they are literally silent. I cannot hear them. It sounds great through this 6.5" speaker, which is my only cabinet. The car picture above is for teh lulz. I actually walked there and back and was able to carry it 0.6 miles without too much difficulty.

Well, there's the EVO IV 1200W which is cheaper than the EVO-V, and can go down (or is that up?) to 2x4Ω cabinets. Considerably heavier mind you. If you bear in mind that the valve in the ABM is preamp rather than power amp, you can achieve a similar effect by putting the valve in your pedalboard, then running the output into a return of any old head. Sticking with the Ashdown brand the Original Valve Pre-DI into an RM-800 would be similar price and effect (although let's not go down the class D vs A/B route here). Speaking personally (and this is not an issue I have solely with music gear) I feel there is too much emphasis on performance, features and price, whereas reliability and repairability aren't given their due importance. I mean, how could they? People want to see the reviews of new products, not ones that took 10 years to write because they were testing the reliability. I don't know what the solution is, but for me the reputation of Ashdown is enough for me to compare its product very favourably with its competitors'. That's not to knock the EVO V in any way in terms of what it is. I haven't played through one but it probably will sound amazing.

There's some similarity with headphone amplifiers and hiss. Hiss is such a distraction, particularly when listening to classical music, at least for me. However there are other people who only notice it when I point it out, and really don't understand why anyone would find it such a big deal. I'm in an unusual position that I don't own an amp with a fan. Maybe I wouldn't care about a little whirr in the background but I certainly appreciate the fact they've at least addressed it. Certainly doesn't seem like there's a major downside, particularly if servicing in the UK is so easy (I read that silent fans tend to have a shorter lifespan).

On the one hand that's fantastic for those that want a cheaper ABM, but it does leave fewer reasons to splash the cash on the EVO V UK made New DI 150W Black fascia Extra VU meter Of those probably only the UK build would interest me.

For those counting the pennies, the price of this amp has been reduced from £1545 to £1399 on Ashdown's own website.

It was the "natural sound" point that made me think of the Fishman. For that it's superb

Probably why Fishman discontinued it. Their replacement is quite the looker, and over your budget, probably even when bought second hand.

I own a Fishman Pro EQ Platinum Bass (the older one), Great DI out -> ☑ superb live and recorded Great natural sound-> ☑ I use it mainly for upright but it's really good for electric too Good tone controls-> ☑ Yes, really good Compressor-> ☑ Yes, really good Drive/distortion-> ☒ Nope, not at all. Fishman don't make it any more but they pop up second hand every so often here and they're usually well within your budget. One benefit that @rmorris alludes to is that the Fishman takes phantom power, so is one less plug/battery to deal with. One downside for you is that there is no send/return for your distortion. They're built like tanks as well. I fear for the ground's safety whenever I drop mine.

Yes, different shape so even more reason to go with what you've played and liked. I've never played a new one so cannot say which one I prefer, but the old one I own is fantastic.

One thing that springs to mind as to why it's so expensive is the lead time on buying a new Sandberg direct from them: you'll be waiting months. The cost might reflect that as soon as you buy it the bass is in your hands ready to play (so to speak). Saying that, there's one in stock at Thomann, at a price a whisker cheaper than when bought direct: https://www.thomann.de/gb/sandberg_california_ii_tt4_rw_orm_hca.htm . If it were me I'd choose the one from Bass Gallery as it's cheaper in absolute terms and you know you like it. When I bought my California I narrowed the choice down to two instruments, and they were both "identical" according to specs. They sounded different enough that I could pick them out with my eyes shut, wife too. Perhaps things are more uniform now everything's CNC?

So as not to scare people off, I own an older model, and I don't even notice its weight when gigging, probably because it balances so well.

To me that looks like the old shape California. I don't know when they changed production but other basschatters may have a better idea. I tried to recreate the thing in Sandberg's configurator, and the best I could come back had an MSRP of 2323 euros. (code CANT4-TT:D-N-4S-34-HCA-VW-ALD-NOT-PFF-F-NOI-NOM-ANIH-CLT-2EQ-PP-X-RH). The ageing looks halfway between soft and hardcore. Guess it's up to you if you think it's worth it. I paid £1500 for a new Sandberg last year at PMT.

Perhaps, or maybe the sound would be drowned out by the jet engine noise coming from the fans at the rear. At least you'd think that given the complaints I've seen about them. Heck even the Andertons video mentions the fan noise.

And here's the demo. Sounds good to me, but I suspected it would

While I'm on this thread "not getting" things, here's another one for my list. The reason amps don't usually go down to 2Ω is because the current draw would be too great when the amp is going hell for leather and you risk overheating the amp. What the GK Fusion does is have a switch so that when you're running 2Ω it limits the voltage swing so that this cannot happen. I imagine you could achieve similar results with judicious use of a volume knob. So, getting back to my question, is that for something seemingly so simple and obvious, why doesn't every amp have this feature? I cannot imagine it would add significantly to the cost and would make a number of people happy with the increased versatility.

This has two outputs on the front, a line level (which I understand) and a 'full range', which I don't. I can understand the days when you'd have LP and HP outputs for tops and subs, with an accompanying full range output of those two summed, but this one is on its own. What's going on here? The output isn't even listed on the specs. Update: there is a Tuner output in the specs which could be a mislabelling of this Full Range.

Someone at Ashdown is clearly reading your mind:

Hmm, looking at the Tuff Bag, they don't appear to have rucksack straps. Is that correct?

Thanks @Bloopdad1. I'm struggling to find places that sell the tuff-bag to the UK. There is the String emporium which lists it as $435 + $135. Add the VAT on top and you get fairly close to the SW price. Marking as a gift would obviously be lovely and I'm surprised that anyone would do that as you open your business up to prosecution. You say the TB is lighter which I don't dispute, but it's very hard to get a weight of the thing online for a direct comparison. I need to go home to see how much my current one weighs but my intuition tells me that the SW would be similar weight if not lighter at 5.7kg (as said on Thomann's website).