dagrev

New ABM in the house. Original box and manual. Mint condition with no signs of use. Has that new smell. Not my settings, I just turned it on to make sure lights came on, everything worked and it made bass sounds. More of a slight pop when turned on and click and common speaker 'puff' when turned off. The 500 is silent on and off. Doesn't seem to be a problem, just unexpected. The detent on the output have me in between, one being nothing and the next one being too much for tube grind at home. Got it managed, but only fooled with it enough to make sure it worked. I definitely have more room to adjust the input and overall volume. The single fan is silent compared to the two fans on the 500 which was noticeable. This one is barely on and nice and quite. I imagine it's variable and speeds us as needed. I'll bring the 500 home tomorrow to compare. The 300 may be a tad brighter.

Thanks guys! @AlexMUKInteresting. What was your goal in this change and how did it affect the tone, or did it?

Somebody that didn't need another head just bought one of these B-stock plus some extra discount..... Fool and his money thing.... It was a killer deal. The said fool above will be selling the 500w killer that's way more than the fool needs. Maybe the RM 300 will go. But might get "the wife look." Anyone know what valve brand these have in them? When I got my older 500 it had an odd brand. I emailed Ashdown and Dave Green said JJ. "This item was returned in mint condition. It is free of any performance issues, and has no scratches, blemishes, or other cosmetic flaws."

Used the ABM today with great results. Maxed the input and valve (which wasn't too much overdrive with the bass used and that cab). I did notice the needle moving more so all seems well. Very pleased with that head. Tried it with the comp and without. with those settings not real volume changes at all. Just wish I had bought one years ago. Have to admit I'm thinking of a Little Stubby as another option. But need to stop thinking about it! One thing leads to another.

Thanks. All the advise is appreciated. After a little more time fooling with the the ABM I did notice the compressor does choke the volume/signal. Having the input cranked all the way and blending in the valve helps that a good bit. I can see where if someone had the input at 10:00 how it would really suck the sound out of it. I've got a old compressor I used to have in place, but I'm nor wanted something else in the signal path and may just not use the one in the ABM. I liked my tone with some of it, but it's not a must have. I seem to notice that the compressor clamped down before the signal got to the the point of moving the needle. More movement with no comp. I'll have to spend more time with it, but it may involve the comp being left off. But I am finding I can get the needle to do more moving now, and more than I was noticing when I didn't have time to be looking at the head at rehearsal or live.

Thanks again for the replies. I put a new JJ valve in when I got it used late last year. Had an Eden in it and the very mild overdrive sounded fizzy and high pitched. I emailed Ashdown and Dave Green replied in about 10 minutes and answered a question and recommended JJ for it. Helped a Yank like me (twice) with nothing to gain but good will and made me even more of an Ashdown fan. Love that company! After some brief experimenting at home I found the following: I can get it to hit into the red if I play hard (with another Pbass), which I don't typically do, so that's clearly some of it. I notice more overdrive compression disengaged, but I like a little so I'm figuring that out a bit. I'll have to try the old Pbass and see how that goes, but I think I may not be having as much of a problem as I thought. At rehersal I don't have time to be fooling with the amp, so I'm limited on what I can notice and adjust.

Thanks very for the replies. I brought the head home to try a few things, but last night at rehearsal used a '55 Pbass and input at 3:00, tube 3:00 to full on, not much in terms of EQ--a little bass and a touch of mids. I don't think of this bass as having weak output either. When I glanced over I never recall the needle moving much at all. I never even get to half way unless I'm trying and really dig in with any bass. I have also noticed that sometimes I get more overdrive than other times with the settings the same. Obviously the output of each bass varies, so that is a factor. Last night I never noticed any overdrive with the above settings, and I'm not shooting for distortion.

Question for the experts: I don't think I have ever got the input needle into the red, not much anyway, even with G&L which is known for powerful pickups. My volume on basses is all the way up 90% of the time, and my input is around 3:00 or a little more at times. Head sounds great, but I keep hearing about avoiding too much into the red when I can barely get into the red. I do not play really hard. Head is ungodly loud so it's not like it's struggling or anything. Any thoughts?

Both pick and fingers for me. I never use the ultra low. Yes, great heads. Not only do they sound glorious when pushed--they look as good as they sound.

I have one of those as well--to go with my 212. Fantastic head when pushed and the tubes start compressing. Sweet! Problem for me is I never need t be that loud. My V-4HB sounds different. Bigger and smoother, whereas the V-4b AV is brighter and has more mids (both being flat). The old BH has the same pre as as SVT, the new (old old) v-4bs are a little different.

Ampeg Heritage 410. It was more money but well worth it. I like Ampeg amps, but cabs are a mixed bag for me. Some like the classic 410HFL suck in my opinion. This one if fantastic. My Ampeg 212 is a great cab as well and would be my next favorite.

Still use my all tube 100w Ampeg head, which sounds like a big, but smooth SVT. And the ABM. Can't live without tubes. The ABM is the best implementation of a one valve head I have ever used. Love it for some of my basses, but the Ampeg just has something special I can't get the ABM to achieve. If I ever do, I'm fine with using the ABM. But for now, the Ampeg gets 60 or so percent of the work depending on the bass and my mood at the time.

Have an older ABM 500. Which is way more watts than I need as I have PA support and mostly use my rig as a monitor, mostly. My other heads are 100w valve heads and they are plenty. The problem with the 500 is the output is barely on and so sensitive by the time I add enough pre and tube. I would love a 100w ABM with the current features.

Congrats! They are amazing and versatile heads--and generally much underappreciated. I'm an Ampeg tube head guy, but love my ABM (same as yours). One pre tube doesn't replace a head full of tubes, but Ashdown has the best implementation of one tube pre I've ever played. I wish I had bought one years ago.

I'm catching up.... I agree. I know sound people have to make it all work and most do great jobs with what they have to work with (including hardheaded musicians thinking they are in stadium), but at times it seems they have the same plan for everyone for the sake of ease. I once turned my amp and cab off (my main monitor), and walked back with a wireless and could not believe the thin poopy sound coming from my bass. After it was over the sound guy and were chatting and nicely talking about live sound and I was able to slip in, "You know, I've never had a sound person ask what I or the band wanted it to sound like FOH." Blank look of not knowing what to say. This is one reason years ago we would try to have friends from other bands do sound because they knew what we intended to sound like. Variables of the room factored in. I now send a slightly flavored signal via separate DI to the board and then let them fool with it. Oddly enough I was in a music store in TN (not Nash), just checking things out and a sound guy was teaching a class on sound, obviously, and I heard him say just use a plain DI with bass, micing a cab isn't important like with a guitar. I know there are some differences, but I stopped and just looked at the dude hoping he would notice my puzzled expression. I know it's a big debate, one I'm not seeking to start. But the disrespect the bass gets is truly amazing at times. But as long as the kick is louder than everything but vocals, all it well! (Sarcasm.)

I got my used ABM 500 EVO III recently to deal with two basses that were somewhat hallow sounding (pickup approaching the neck to much for me). After using the head at practice and live for a few weeks I can attest to this fixing my problem, and fixing it very well. The two basses sound better--one phenomenally better and even a few that didn't need "fixing" sound as good or better than with my Ampeg all tube head. The bass I used at rehearsal sounded so good Wed, I used it this weekend. It was not a really a problem bass and was decent sounding, but via the ABM it was amazing. I only wish I had looked into Ashdown years ago when I took an old MAG in as part of a trade. I knew I liked it but never looked into them much further and traded it. I was in an Ampeg frame of mind back then. Still love my Ampeg heads, but the ABM is working some magic they can't pull off.

There tends to be some similarities that Ampeg amps have, yet each model (and often year) can still sound different. I have three Ampeg all tube 100w heads (two varieties, one similar to an SVT and the other a reissue of the 70s V-4B). I have has two other Ampeg hybrid heads (3Pros). I currently have two pretty different Ampeg cabs (Heritage 410 and Reissue 212. All of that sounds pretty different from each other. Some similarities? Yes, some. Yet often when people thing Ampeg Sound they are thinking SVT or old Fliptops. Those don't sound alike. There is no way I would consider an SVT unless someone else was moving it for me. The weight it too much and that kind of volume is hardly ever needed, especially with any PA support. I know a guy who plays sold out stadiums as the headliner with a 45w head and one cab. They use wedges and no IEMs and he can hear himself just fine. Huge amps are more of a want than necessity these days. There are a few exceptions, obviously. With my years of being an Ampeg guy, I have found myself really loving my Ashdown ABM 500. Same family of warm vintage sound. But very versatile. It can do vintage to modern. Worth a consideration.

Used to have an old Peavey 215. Great cabs. Like a fool I got rid of it.

It sounds like some of us were doing what Ashdown suggested, as I understood it. 1. Set your input as high as needed/desired. 2. Adjust everything else. But what PigBass said really sounds like the better way to go about it.

Thanks, I kind of understood that (how the tube and blend works, but the way you explained it really clicked and made more sense. Given what you said, I'm going about it wrong. I'm setting the input first then blending the tube in, and adjusting volume and input again if needed. What you said helps my thinking. Thanks.

Thank you. I don't notice getting into the red with passive basses even with the input maxed, thus far anyway. I don't play very hard, so that no doubt is a factor. Haven't tried an active G&L yet. I was also not sure if not getting into the red when maxed was indicative of anything or typical. Even maxed, my needle doesn't get too excited (but that would have nothing to do with the tube). Thanks again!

Oh, no. Quite helpful, actually. Seems my settings don't appear crazy or out of the norm, so that's good to know. I thought I was needing to set things a good bit beyond anything normal.

Thanks much for the reply. The response isn't differences in volume, but amount of tube grit in the volume as it goes up in the 410. It is bigger and warmer, I suppose it could be the different voicing of each cab to some extent causing the variation in grit showing up and what it takes to get there. Are the input and drive settings above typical to achieve grit and breakup? Meaning I'm not turning those up more than others to get to breakup am I? Thanks again!

Question for ABM users. (If I should ask this as a new thread, please let me know.) I'm not sure if this is normal or not and need insight. When I run mine (500 evo iii) at home with an Ampeg 212 or a Fender 115 I can get some tube grind and break up more easily than when using my Ampeg Heritage 410 live. At home I still have to run the input at 3:00 or more and the tube drive at ~2:00 or mroe to get some grit, depending on the bass. When using the other cab live or at rehearsal I basically need to max the input and go to 3:00 or more on the tube drive. Just seems the grit is much less noticable and easily achieved when not at home and at higher volumes (but nothing crazy). Is that typical or is it possible the tube (Eden 7025) is getting weak? It's well over 10ys old. Could very well be as it should be, I just need the voices of experience.

Another Ashdown. ABM this time. I have been having trouble with a couple basses not sounding full with with my Ampeg tube heads. I always liked the warmth of Ashdown (had a MAG years ago I took on trade then sold). Used a RM-300 evo ii I bought used and that really helped. Was offered a great deal on an ABM EVO III and jumped on it. I've only had it a few weeks, but I love it. Big, warm and punchy. High praise from me since I strongly dislike virtually all SS heads, which seem to sound two dimensional. Ashdown has the only hybrid amp I've even used that isn't just a gimmick. I used the ABM with the '55 Pbass (w/SIT Power Wounds) last evening via Ampeg Heritage 410. It was to the fantastic level. The '55 never sounded so good. I'm still learning what to adjust on the head, but after a couple songs, I had it about where I left it the rest of the night. I can't emphasize how much an improvement it was for that bass. I was super impressed and wasn't expecting anything like that kind of amazing tone. So far I have only used the ABM with the two basses that were troublesome, so I'm really curious how something like my '64 Thunderbird will sound with it. I'm not sure how it can be improved upon since it didn't need any "fixing," but who knows. Maybe even it can sound even "more betterer!"