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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).

Yeah, I've seen those. I've heard unsubstantiated rumours that even with the pneumatic tyres they can be a bit dicey as you're putting loads and sending shocks through your endpin. The bass buggy looks safer as it disperses the weight around the case. On that subject, SW actually offer their own version of the bass buggy, the Soundwear Trolley. There is almost no information on t'internet about these, except they attach via velcro to the case. Would make for a simpler system than the Bass Buggy, but has anyone got experience with the SW Trolley? I'm guessing they're good quality but nobody seems to have written anything about them.

Hi @Bloopdad1, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response. You seem to have covered most of the bases (badum-tish). I'm based in the UK, which to me means that the two cases of Soundwear [SW] and Tuff-bag [TB] would be similar prices once customs and taxes are taken care of. The fewer handles doesn't concern me as my current case has many handles I don't use (the ones I do are on the SW). Given the SW is heavier, would it be safe to assume it offers superior protection? Thank you for relaying the story of your friend and her case. I was thinking about retro-fitting rucksack straps onto my current case but can now see it is a very bad idea indeed!

I have a double bass case[1] that I don't like very much to put it mildly: Rips fairly easily Zips get stuck One zip has fallen out and the accessories pouch is flapping in the breeze because of it Shoulder strap very awkward to carry for long distances. It's fine for walking 100 yards from your car to the stage, but that's it. My previous case was much much nicer, but unfortunately it didn't fit my current bass and I didn't know any better what to look out for. One killer feature was that it had rucksack straps so I could walk with it for much greater distances. So, hive mind, what case should I buy, money no object? In particular: Wheels at the bottom of the bass case (e.g. this discontinued Jaeger bag) : gimmick or not? Bass is 7/8. Assume this requires a 4/4 case but anyone experienced different? Anyone walking large distances with their db and really like their case? For me rucksack straps are a must, but if anyone can convince me they're not needed I'll certainly entertain the idea. Any advice appreciated. The bass case I currently own wasn't exactly cheap so I'm guessing I'll have to spend big bucks to get something noticeably better. [1] I don't know what it is, but I think it's this one, or at least a predecessor of it.

The photo on the website says "Made in England". You're probably right that it may go to China in the near future.

Now he's done the work of building the cabs I'd love to see what happens to the sound as the mic goes futher away, and off-axis. In particular I'd like to see the cabs with the multiple speakers at different distances from each other and how that affects the sound when the microphone isn't shoved up to the cone.

Don't do it! You'll have to change your username!

Are items available in the west using this stolen IP? I cannot find any information about this online.

I don't own that exact Peavey, but I own one of similar vintage, the TNT115 combo. It sounds great but it weighs a ton so moving it is a real chore. Can't speak for the Ashdown.

I own an Audient. It's wonderful. Like @lowdown says you need to set the buffer size to as small a number as you can get away with. Too low however and you will get skipping as your computer's CPU runs out of puff. It'll run out sooner the more plugins you use and cab simulators can be quite high cpu usage. To get you some idea of numbers, at a sample rate of 48k I have a block size of 128. I don't even notice the lag (which according to my DAW should be ~5ms) and I can run all my plugins except an octaver on my 2019 laptop. Specific to the Audient, you can set this either in your DAW (probably), or the iD program that manages the various levels of the different inputs

If Ashdown has a distinctive sound that people like, surely you can see a desire for someone to have it through a pair of headphones when practising at home?

Thank you @javi_bassist for your review. It looks very tempting but the sentence above is a dealbreaker for me. I've read in another thread that Ashdown have confessed the headphone out is poor in the RM amps. This seems to be replicated in their other products, which is such a shame.

I love the idea of an Ashdown and in particular the ABM tone, but at the same time I look at the stuff ABMs are not so strong on (no headphone out, fan noise, size, weight) and I wonder if I would be better served with an Ashdown pre into a small Class D or headphones. I can see on PMT the Origin Pre DI on sale for £276. I can also see the Origin-AL Pre on sale at Ashdown for a comparatively astronomical £625. Other than name they look identical to me but if anyone knows the difference I'd be very interested to know. The main question I have is has anyone experience of using these and could they get ABM tone using it and say a PA speaker? I'm mostly interested in headphone practice but with the option to take that sound and send it somewhere loud if I need to! I tried the Ashdown Tone Pocket and was not impressed by the level of unwanted noise it generated through the headphones while at the same time, it didn't offer me any benefit as a bump between the bass and my amp.

I really really don't like posting negative reviews. However, I was for a brief period an owner of an Ashdown Tone Pocket Bluetooth (TP) before I returned it, and I wish someone had posted the following before I wasted PMT's time thinking it was a faulty unit. Firstly the positives of the TP: the bass itself when listening via studio headphones sounds great. The EQ is versatile and you can dial in pretty much any clean tone you want. I own an Amplug2, which I do not like, at all. It feels cheap, the sound is naff and there is a really annoying hiss to it. The Tone Pocket by contrast is well built, amplifies the bass beautifully, and doesn't have the hiss. However....... there was a really annoying tick when playing, and I'm fairly sure it's the bluetooth causing it. It's constant, around 5 per second. When you pair a device the ticking gets much better (one every two seconds or so) but it doesn't go away. There's also terrible interference sporadically, but is easily demonstrated when pairing commences. I took the device back to PMT thinking it was a faulty unit. They ordered in a second unit which exhibited the same behaviour. So I returned it. Now, this may not affect you. When I was in PMT I was lucky enough to be given some ultra high impedance headphones to try with the TP. The ticking was almost inaudible and I probably wouldn't have noticed, let alone cared. Unfortunately I don't have studio headphones, I have in-ear buds and the ticking was relentless and irritating once I got the unit home. It's such a shame. I tried the non-bluetooth unit and it was perfect: no ticking, great sound. However I really really wanted bluetooth. Heck I even started a thread asking for this functionality. I may think about ped's suggestion of a BT receiver and use it with the non-bluetooth TP. Aside from this issue, there are some things that irritated me, but I'd definitely would have lived with if the TP had delivered: The packaging, box and instructions were for the old v1 model. I had to download the instructions for v2 bluetooth separately. The v2 bluetooth instructions are poor. There's no guide as to what the lights signify (is it charged? charging? faulty?), has no mention of how to pair your device via Bluetooth, although I figured that out in the end, and absolutely no mention of important specs like expected battery life. Recording via USB had an audible hiss but passable. Recording via lineout and battery was superb. Recording via lineout when plugged in to charge via USB was unusable due to the digital background noise. I have sample recordings if people are interested. The unit has since been returned so I cannot diagnose any further. However I tried everything from charging the battery fully to moving to different rooms. I've heard the ticking before: on my ~£20 bluetooth alarm clock. That had the two main advantages over the TP, 1. it being reasonably cheap and 2. it not doing it when BT it turned off, such as when it's on DAB. The TP is neither cheap nor can its BT module be disabled. I contacted Ashdown. They suggested swapping the unit which I did. I guess it's something which most people live with and probably don't notice with over-ear cans. Moral of the story is to try before you buy. In particularly try it with the headphones you would use at home. That was my mistake.

Oh hello ABM-400, I didn't notice you slink into the Ashdown website! I wonder how much the internals differ from the ABM-600. Website is light on the details unfortunately. https://ashdownmusic.com/products/abm-400-ltd-edition

I'd be fascinated to know what his reasoning is for this: is cost really all there is? Googling "lined vs unlined bass cabinets" gives me arguments about fretless basses

You can decide for yourself if I'm misstating it. This is from his old website: https://barefacedbass.com/product-range/one10.htm

I've been caught out by that but it's been clarified on a thread on BC: 250W RMS does not apply to the cabinet, but to the amp! So what it's saying is that an amp which says 500W on the side is fine, so long as the signal is clean. If you look closely there is no mention of the thermal limit of the cabinet anywhere on their website. I'll be honest, I think that's a bit cheeky as, surprise surprise, the number BF posted is higher than the equivalent number posted by most other manufacturers, but I know about it now and can apply my mental compensators accordingly.