chyc

This may be true in an abstract sense, but my TV shares a room with my bass amp and my hifi, neither of which exhibit this phenomenon. Now it may be that it just so happens that the TV is situated in a spot such that it causes real-world volume to cap after a certain point on the dial, and this bad luck has followed the TV across house moves, but I ain't buying that. I'm calling marketing shenanigans, particularly when this brand has such a poor reputation already on such matters.

To me it's one of those things where, when asked "what is natural?", the answer would be "I know what it isn't." I own a TV, of a brand that funnily enough has come up in this thread already. I cannot tell the difference in volume once the volume slider passes around 1/3 of the way up. There's nothing natural about that. Whether musical instrument manufacturers do anything quite as egregious as that I cannot say because I've never owned one that does.

Even then it's not simple. Different amps have different scales on their volume. Some are linear in volume (I think EA is a manufacturer that springs to mind), some are more logarithmic. Why does this matter? Well, if you have otherwise identical amps at 50% on their volume dial, then the logarithmic one will sound louder because it's actually at something like 80% of its maximum power. I'd call that a marketing trick for just such a scenario as you describe, but apparently some people like the non-linearity of their volume dials. To each their own I guess.

Don't know if it's been suggested to you before off-list, but bassbags.co.uk do case hire. Don't know anything beyond that I'm afraid. https://www.bassbags.co.uk/double-bass-hard-case-hire-rental/

They're still doing it, with pretty much the same technique. This is from 2022: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/22/06/15/0615211/samsung-caught-cheating-in-tv-benchmarks

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