essexbasscat

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1341148547' post='1714280'] As a noob, I want my basses to be [b]different[/b] first and foremost, from very low to very high action. I don't want to train on just one technique, but from day one wanted to train my fingers on the differences. I wanna be able to pick up any bass and play it reasonably well. IME this is better than getting very good at one action only. May I divert this thread for a second to ask what that wrong ruler thingie is called that one uses to measure the action? I ordered one locally, but it never arrived. Now I want to use the interwebs to order one. [/quote] I'm guessing here, but the 'wrong ruler' thingy you mention could be a vernier guage ? a vernier gauge looks like a precision - made adjustable spanner with a ruler down the grip. You can also use a small wedge to measure string height. Pluck the string, gently place wedge under string to the point string vibration is muted. Mark the point of contact with a pencil. Measure the gap with above mentioned vernier gauge. Job done.

I (and everyone else it seems) assume you mean the fingertips, as you mention pain and finger injuries, but don't specify where. If other joints are involved, there's more to be discussed. Building calluses on one's fingertips isn't all that's going on. Finger / hand / arm / shoulder / scapulae / trunk muscles are all being conditions to do the task you're asking them to do. The nervous system is also being trained in what you're asking it to do. As others have said, give it time and let things happen naturally by building up your playing stamina. Your body will not be rushed (it can be pushed, but it may push you back later on) and it will thank you in the long run.

I looked up Clive Button's site. Read a bit like the highlights from his CV, also listing amps he designed, but not mcu detail beyond that. I've sent an e-mail to Ashdown at Chelmsford asking if they keep info about the history details etc of the ABM series and associated models. I'll report back with updates

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1341036805' post='1713024'] Look up Clive Button: he designed them. He's got his own web site which gives an interesting run down of the time. [/quote] Thanks will do

That's interesting Pete, didn't know about the Trace connection. Perhaps someone will shed some light on that ?

Hi all Curious about the history of the British made Ashdown ABM series amps. Does anyone know the years of manufacture and changes between EVO, EVO II, EVO III? Were the circuit boards, power stages, EQ stages etc substantially changed between models ? Of course there's the ABM 300, 500, any more ? There was also the period of course that Ashdown made the white- faced Euphonic Audio amps. I understand that the power stage of these amps is basically the same as the early ABM EVO amps. Does anyone know more about this ? Thanks in advance for any replies Cheers T

Sorry to hear about this. I'll keep an eye open on my travels. Hope it's resolved soon

Tried the Markbass thing, bought one and sold it, tried them at bashes. Eventually came to the conclusion I just can't get on with them, not my sound at all. Now an Eden WT400..

Get the classic vibe Tele. Job done.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1340712578' post='1708388'] Bit of confusion here. The higher the resistance (impedance) of the cab in ohms the less you'll get out of your amp. I have a 500w ABM and if I hook it up to a 4 ohm cab (which is the minimum resistance it is designed for) I will get the full 500 watts of power from the amp. If I hook it up with an 8 ohm cab I will get less power - about 350 watts (and less volume). Seach for posts by Alex Claber who makes barefaced cabs and he will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about impedance of cabs and it's relationship with loudness. [/quote] It is a bit ambiguous, isn't it ? the whole thing does have implications for a few decisions. i.e. if I have a 300w 8ohm cab (say, a GS112), would that be enough to handle a 500w RMS amp @ 8ohms ? acknowledging that there will be peaks and boosting the lower frequencies may put a GS112 under strain. However, in general, would that be a reasonable idea ?

Thanks Liam. So if an amp of 500w RMS actually gives around 300w @ 4ohms, would it give 150W @ 8ohms ? or am I barking up the wrong tree again ?

Been pondering the question of RMS, ohms, watts and power recently. I've noticed that some amps specify watts in terms of RMS, others specify in watts in terms of the ohmage of cabs connected to the amp. i.e. 1. 500w @ 8ohms, 1000w @ 2ohms 2. 500w RMS, 1000w peak. Minimum load = 4ohms. Example 1 seems pretty straightforward, you get an around x watts at y ohms and the minimum load = 2ohms. Example 2 is where my question lies. Would it be correct to assume the figures of 500w RMS and 1000w peak would be with a 4 ohm cab connected ? Assuming the answer to that question is yes, If you use an 8 ohm cab, how many watts would you expect ? Thanks all T

Funny you should be thinking about this right now ........

OK, firstly, a huge THANK YOU to everyone here that's been kind enough to join me on the good ship Desperate Weighing the whole thing up, I guess I was pushing the head quite hard last night and it barely kept up. Today's discussions have made me realise I'm not really comfortable with doing that TBH, the amp must be quite well engineered to have put up with what it did already. The way forward at the moment seems to be a service of the pots, sliders and valve and see where that goes for now. It also wouldn't do any harm to beef up the pickups on my passive basses. It also wouldn't hurt to have a peek at the cab market and see what's around at 4ohms that isn't the size of a large dog kennel and is light enough to leave my shoulders joints intact. I I'll report back once there's progress. Again, thank you to everyone that's been here today, it's really appreciated. Hopefully I'll get the chance to thank a few of you personally at a bass bash

RB- thanks for the answer about the meter and voltage/ frequency related issues. I'll stick with the Db meter and ears for balancing strings ! BTBL - appreciate the sentiments, it's there to be used. I'm just a bit cautious I guess, as I've ran amps hard in the past to keep up with drummers etc, only to find that they break down sooner rather than later. These days I much prefer to have extra power on tap above the demands of the situation, more flexibilty and greater reliability etc. Pete - thanks for taking the time to dig up those links, I'll report back. gjones- thanks for the EQ tip.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1340544526' post='1705855'] Oh and BTW you might not even need a valve, trust me I have done this on my old evo many times even though I looked after it, It always improved things [/quote] Is there a valve you'd recommend ?

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1340538217' post='1705713'] No problem here, keeping my head down & my nose clean I hope Oh! & trying not to get involved in matters that don't concern me It's good to know someone out there cares Cheerz, John [/quote] +1

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1340541174' post='1705769'] Just concentrating on the original 'quiet' issue, with the needle moving up near, or into, the red zone - are you getting a lot more volume output through your cab? If you are, then it sounds like we are on the right track here. In my experience, Ashdown build a lot of headroom into their preamp stages (except the MiBass which needs some redesign in my view), meaning it takes a lot to get into the red. You will find that boosting EQ will help with the input a lot, notably the Bass knob and the first 2 sliders. If you don't want to do this, and stay flat, then by all means use as much of the gain as you need. Yes, it does feel a little odd that having to use 95% of the input to get a strong output - but that's their design. And yes, the E and A strings will push the needle much more than the D and G. There's more energy there and its just physics, or something mystical like that. So, are you now getting a decent output with the needle moving much more? Geoff [/quote] Thanks for all your thoughts here Geoff, hope to return the favour one day. This needle activity topic does make me wonder if it can be used to balance string output across the bass. I'll report back about the output volume when I get a chance. Cheers T

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1340540299' post='1705752'] I had one for years and like the others say you need that needle jumping! I changed the input valve a few times over the years on mine when this problem happened, also just a good dust out and clean with servisol appears to give loads more volume? no idea why but trust me pop a new valve in and clean all the muck out by spraying it right into the pots while turning them and it will give much more sound and be like a church mouse even with the gain up when your not playing [/quote] Thanks Pete, good to hear from you. I havn't tried this one yet, maybe this is what it needs ? Havn't done my own amp servicing up to now, so this could be a another new experience

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1340540312' post='1705754'] And is this a giggable volume? [/quote] Good question, which I don't know the answer to at this point, as I checked the needle activity with the output gain down. Can't do any more at this point, due to neighbourly considerations.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1340538631' post='1705721'] Thanks for this. One thing - it says 300w into 8 ohms and 600w into 4 ohms on the back? Does it possibly say 300W RMS, 600W Peak? I'm not doubting you, but based on my experience of owning several Ashdown amps this is what they normally have printed near the speaker outputs. If it is 300W RMS and 600W peak, then into an 8 Ohm cab you are probably getting just less than 200W max. These things don't actually halve their output into 8 Ohms, but that's a design thing. I consider it to be a flaw: if it's designed properly, it should double the output power as the load impedance halves, but limits on current supply and the associated PSU design affect this. Sorry, that's off topic and no help whatsoever. My ABM500 says 500W RMS, 1000W Peak on the back. Even though Ashdown state it has a 575W output stage - they've always been a bit random with their specs in my view. My MAG600 said 600W RMS, 1200W peak, even though it had the same 575W output stage. Have I confused things? Probably. Sorry. Just curious about the power ratings you mentioned. Cheers Geoff [/quote] Good points and well taken RB. Just checked the back of the amp to be certain and it is in fact 300W RMS and 600W peak, not 300W at 8ohms as I stated earlier - banana skin there. Near the two outputs it does say Min. load = 4ohms. Testing done. With the roadworn precision, the input gain has to be approx. 95% up to get the meter needle bouncing into the red with the low E + A. The D + G won't send it into the red. The roadworn Jazz takes around 90% to get the low E + a pushing the needle into red. Surely it's not healthy for the amp to drive the input stage so hard ? An active Warwick Rockbass Corvette sends the needle into the red zone at around 50% of input gain through the high input. Switching to low input socket and a bit more on the gain makes the needle react a bit slower without excessive peaking. Surely Ashdown (or any other manufacturer come to that) wouldn't make an amp that would only work well with high output pickups ?

Thanks for all the constructive and thoughtful replies all. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating that BC is such a valuable resource. Without it, I would struggle to get the experience offered here. To work; - it's reassuring to hear support for the opinion that these amps are loud. It's good to know I was on the right track when I bought this amp in the first place, as I'd heard previous good things about it 'round 'ere. - I did consider the high / low input issue on first discovery of the poor volume delivery. I did try both and the low input definately produced a quieter output than the high input. On this basis, I've used the high input ever since, which is the one to the furthest left of the amp face. - I run the amp with the EQ flat. Loading up the lower end tended to make it too boomy for the kind of music my band plays. As it is, there's a nice solid platform for the band's overall sound to sit on, which suits the vocals and overall mix nicely. I know the nature of this thread has been a bit on the negative side about this amp, but the quality of sound it delivers is a pleasant change to the Peavey MK IV. - I've checked the back of the amp to confirm the details. This amp spec is 300w at 8 ohms and 600w at 4ohms. My GS112 is an 8ohms cab, so it's 300 watts max. Anyone know of a 4ohms single 12" cab that goes significantly above 300 watts ? - I've no reason to suspect the integrity of the output from the bass, or the lead. They've performed faithfully in a consistent manner for several years. Given the comments about the meter, I'm going to connect up the rig at home (with the output turned down) to witness the behaviour of the meter needle under a range of conditions. I'll also test with an active bass or two. Once this is done, I'll report back. Thanks again all