Grand Wazoo

[quote name='swanbrook' post='1027459' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:44 PM']Very nice score fran ![/quote] Thanks Dave, wanna borrow it, lol ???

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1027428' date='Nov 17 2010, 11:05 PM']Niiiice! Sounds awesome! And looks it too! Couple of quick questions, if you don't mind? 1, will it dirty up at home practice volume, without making everyone else in the building scream at you? 2, do you think a regular Little Bastard, along with another 1x15 cab would be close enough to it?[/quote] Well someone already replied, maybe they have a "Little Bastard" however I live in a maisonette with 2 young neighbours on each side both of which happen to be part time DJ's so they don't give a hoot how loud I get, I often practice to the sound of the geezer to my left when he plays Drum & Bass chunes. 1. You need to put the volume past 12 o'clock for it to get dirty but by the time you get there its no longer a quiet practicing volume in my views and contrary to the other answer it's neighbour bothering loud. 2. I can't tell as I have not tried them options yet.

First of all I must say a few praises for the Ashdown team, I went to collect the amp this morning directly from their factory in Heybridge, Essex the factory is well laid out and spotless, the people there were really really friendly and each one greeted me with cordiality. I must confirm one thing to you all about Ashdown, they really make them by hand from scratch, I have not seen a single router machine there, no robots cutting holes into wood, nothing! Every single bench has a man or a woman hand soldering parts, building chassis, assembling printed circuit boards and again what really impressed me was the cleanliness and tydiness of the place, and they don't just build Ashdown amps in this factory they also do Hayden handbuilt guitar amps, they've showed me how all of these are carefully assembled by the various teams with the utmost accuracy, these men were not hippies wearing torn jeans and dodgy Iron Maiden t-shirts by the way, oh no, these are shirt and tie wearing people each of them looked professional and I am positive that they really are all qualified technicians. I was allowed to get the low down on how this Drophead amp came to exist, having been commissioned for Adam Clayton upon his request to have an amp to use for recording, and to be the closest thing to an Ampeg B15 and at all effect it is that, but it does a bit more than that if you read below. Before I left I was given a schematic of the amp, I was explained how to change the tubes when needed and which ones to get that work better for this amp and last the longer. As a freebe, I have been given a very professional heavy duty speaker cable and yeah the castors came free too. I also have been promised that as soon as they go into production to the public at large (remember this is still only a prototype at the moment) they will sell with a vinyl cover and as soon as these are done they will send me one in the post. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [size=7]OH WOW!!![/size] REVIEW This amp is amazing, I have tried it now for over an hour with every single bass I own, both passive and active, the sound is so warm and yet if you crank it to the point when it gets gritty and clips into distortion it becomes a little monster. The front panel controls are simple and intuitive, I am still trying to appreciate the difference that that each knobs and the relevant switch have on the sound, on paper it sounds simple enough, you have from left to right: MIDDLE, BASS and TREBLE controls, on top of each of these there is a switch that kicks in a boost namely the bass shift, middle shift, and treble shift, activating these, creates a boost that allows you to morph from vintage retro bass vibes which faithfully emulates motown and 60's sounds, into a more modern scooped frequency active sound. The neodimium speaker is coupled with a horn that has 3 settings on the back low / off / high, so it caters for all kinds of people, those who like or dislike the use of a horn can all be happy with this amp. I have tried all 3 settings and I must say my fav is when set to "low" as it actually enhances the 15" speaker perfectly, not too deep or muddy and not too bright, when set to "high" you can really get some modern Trace Elliot type of mid scoop and with it off, the sound is most suited with basses with flatwound strings and warm deep lows that are perfect for blues, motown, and jazz music. The glow of the tubes shows well throgh the amp chassis grille and all the controls are smooth and the amp is [b]totally noise free[/b], no hiss, no [b][i]rattle and hum [/i][/b](get it? Rattle and Hum was a U2 album name in case you don't know) On the back panel you have a on / off switch, a balanced xlr output, 2 speakers outputs 4ohms and 8ohms, they are the speakon type and are all marked with the name Neutrik the leader in amp components. If you see picture slideshow below, it is interesting to note that this amp bears no serial number and no model name, it doesn't get rarer than this. Only 2 ever made like that before they go into full production! I will really treasure this for sure. Volume wise the amp which is none other than their "Little Bastard" head is barely 30 Watts but if you have read the review in Guitar Magazine [url="http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/amplification/instrument-amps/bass-amp-heads/little-bastard-lb-30h-head-284590/review"]LINK HERE[/url] you will read that this is a very loud amp for the money. Also the factory designer guru (Mr Dave Green) told me that if you use the balanced output and feed it through a 500 Watts amp, put the lot through an 8 x 10" cab, you are ready for stage volume any day of the week. It's early stages yet and I have only tried it indoors but I am sure that once hooked through a PA this will be a great amp to play live with. And finally aside from the aural pleasure this amp is quite beautiful to look at, the front grille covering the speaker is of a gorgeous dark red with black pinstriped chequers, the vinyl cover it's not just some plain jane glued jobby, it has some very "groovy" swirls etched into it that give it that final retro touch mixed with a modern classic look that complements the whole package nicely. Here is a sideshow I prepared to give you a better idea, my camera is not that good so in a way these pics don't really give it justice, this amp has to be seen up close to be appreciated, I am well pleased with it. Have a look here: [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaptMoto/Ashdown?feat=email#slideshow"]SLIDESHOW[/url]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1025624' date='Nov 16 2010, 10:59 AM']As they've phoned me this morning to confirm I can collect tomorrow, I've actually asked who's got the No.1 and I was told he is the same person who ordered mine, Number One had a red chassis and Number Two (mine) had the black chassis and both were made for him, but in the end he chose the red one, I know who he is but I am going to let you guess with a few hints below: Hint no.1 - He plays for a very famous Irish band Hint no.2 - The singer in this band thinks he's God Hint no.3 - The guitarist in their band has a strange name Hint no.4 - Their most famous hit song has a high Irish political content Can you guess who it is yet?[/quote] tada!!!

[quote name='UrbanGeeza' post='1027055' date='Nov 17 2010, 04:46 PM']@Grand Wazoo When I click on "Click here to see my basses I get "This video contains content from Sony blah blah blah ,not available in your country ,WTF .Are you aware of this ? Seems like now nearly everything thats posted on YT is not available . Yesterday I tried to check at about 20 vids all with the same results . DL's even disappear from my Favs . WTF is goin on!?[/quote] No I wasn't aware, sorry dude, youtube are clamping down on people using artists tracks for their private videos. (i'll replace the track with something else when I get home from work) PS. I've just checked and I can hear the track no problem from here. In which country aer you cause here in uk both myself here at work and my son at home can hear the track ok. Very strange.

Got it! It's in the boot of my car. full review to follow when it's home time

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='1025641' date='Nov 16 2010, 11:11 AM']hmm, mr clayton perchance?[/quote] 10 points!

[quote name='P-punk' post='1025595' date='Nov 16 2010, 10:25 AM']May I ask you what you had to pay? When I first saw it on their facebook page a couple of weeks ago, I just knew that I had to have one. However, living in Norway I'll probably have to order it from the UK. Can't see any of my local music stores ever taking them in.[/quote] You may... but I'll just tell you the retail price in UK is £1299 as you can see on this link [url="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Ashdown-Engineering/29324345560"]http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pa...ing/29324345560[/url]

[quote name='sk8' post='1024510' date='Nov 15 2010, 12:22 PM']where's number one???!!!! [/quote] As they've phoned me this morning to confirm I can collect tomorrow, I've actually asked who's got the No.1 and I was told he is the same person who ordered mine, Number One had a red chassis and Number Two (mine) had the black chassis and both were made for him, but in the end he chose the red one, I know who he is but I am going to let you guess with a few hints below: Hint no.1 - He plays for a very famous Irish band Hint no.2 - The singer in this band thinks he's God Hint no.3 - The guitarist in their band has a strange name Hint no.4 - Their most famous hit song has a high Irish political content Can you guess who it is yet?

I will do, don't worry, I am really looking forward to it, I've tried it at the show before making my mind up, but it only took a couple of riffs to get me hooked because a cousin of mine owned the Ampeg one which he used to lend me, and that was the first amp I ever played through as a youngster, playing this one really brought back memories of those old vibes.

Wheeey Heeeyy! I've just bought it, I'll collect it straight from the factory on Wed / Thurs depending on my time ashore it will come with heavy duty castors fitted as an optional, here is what the Ashdown man told me, [i]"Thanks again the amp is awesome and you have number two ever made its the only one in the country! Thanks again, Dan Gooday"[/i]

*blip* me! Has anyone here ever heard of the term "each to his own"? or.... one man meat is another man's poison, why are you lot so *blip*ing harsh on bloke's choice of bass? Don't like it? Fine, just STFU about it. It's rude! end of.

These are the two side by side, I am going to order mine with heavy duty castors.

Sorry to the mod team for having posted this in the wrong section. I was too excited

I went to the Guitar Nation 2010 show yesterday in Olympia, it was all about guitars, effects, guitar amps and the rest of it, I did spot Guy Pratt having a sneaky fag outside (I was too ) and then going into Tesco across the road for a sandwich. Anyway what caught my attention was this new amp by Ashdown which is a replica of the Ampeg B15 see pics: and... I was so impressed by the sound that on Monday I am going to order one. Retail is about £1250, but I know a store where I can get it for at least 15% off that price. Can't wait!! What do you think?

[quote name='molan' post='1023063' date='Nov 14 2010, 01:17 AM']I did Well - not this actual bass but one very similar - should be here in a week or two. . .[/quote] You lucky ****!

I like it a lot actually but then again, if you see my cow bass you'll understand why BUY IT!!

[quote name='CIM' post='1020873' date='Nov 12 2010, 12:26 AM']They look interesting although I briefly tried an Ibanez ergodyne a few years back (a second hand one) and I didn't like the smell! The luthite body gave off quite strong smell of plastic fumes which kind of spoiled it for me. Hopefully the Curbow is better - but I would have to try before buying something so unusual...[/quote] The one I tried didn't have any nasty wiffs, none that I could notice anyway. I might go back and buy it and tell the missus it fell on my lap... lol, and it had a Bartolini pickup which was very responding.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1020015' date='Nov 11 2010, 01:21 PM']A Mighty Mite fretless neck should fit a Squier, you'll get a decent amount for the original neck too as Jazz necks are popular I have an unlined ebonol one on a bass and it's really nice. Alternatively have a Precision defretted, shouldn't cost too much. You could get a Squier. MIM or possible a Japanese one for your budget Oh and Jaco did have a P neck on his fretted, he used it for practice - probably so he was faster when he went back to his fretless![/quote] I've tried a surprisingly good fretlees the other day that my missus pulled me away from buying, it was a Cort Curbow or sommat... it had ebanol fretboard and the body was some kinda graphite compound too but boy oh boy it sounded and played like the canine danglies. Try one it was in the £300 mark. here is a pic / link [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cort-Curbow-4FL-fretless-bass-guitar-and-Gigbag-/150515768018?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item230b705ad2"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cort-Curbow-4FL-fret...=item230b705ad2[/url]

My two 1986 PRS's

So you've got your flash bass and rig, you've got your band, and you play regularly, often stuck in a rut playing the same old same old... What do you do to improve your skills and aim to become a better player so you can move up to the next big thing? Scales, difficult licks from renown musicians, or what is your practice schedule if any? I am trying to go through a lot of music books and use a drum machine avidly trying to master difficult techniques, like 16th notes tempo's and anything by Jaco often realising that in a band when it comes to bass, less is usually more. I am puzzled as to what other people here do. Bear and share. Ta!

[quote name='sussexbassman' post='1014838' date='Nov 6 2010, 10:55 PM']I'm going to The Bass Gallery to try out a Dingwall ....... I feel I have to before I make my decision![/quote] Phone them first, last time I was there they only had the one I bought (ABZ 5) and a lyme green combustion (jap issue ewww) the Combustion is not as good as the Canadian made Dings so be aware.

Here are some interesting Dingwall facts [url="http://edroman.com/guitars/dingwall/prima.htm"]http://edroman.com/guitars/dingwall/prima.htm[/url]

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1012881' date='Nov 5 2010, 07:20 AM']I hope it was just the camera used to record that video that made it sound awful, because that is not a good advert! Big farty, wooly sounding bass that doesn't sound very even at all! I know it's a P/J type affair but it really doesn't sound great to me! The bottom end was wooly and flappy sounding, the mids were non existant (probably by choice) and the highs were muted and flat as a fart.[/quote] Nah it was probably recorded with a mobile phone.