BruceBass3901

5 hours ago, Skybone said:

Didn't Mark King have a signature Ashdown head a while back?

He did indeed, the MK500. 2 versions available; the standard ones had red faceplates, and then a series of limited edition, signed, gold plated ones.

Missed this originally, but the NEO 210 has been my gigging cab since 2015 and it is a totally stellar cab. Plenty of volume, nice and clean sounding, nice punch and can handle whatever I throw at it from my ABM 600.

I was also interested in the NEO 408, and knowing there is one just up the road possibly for sale is interesting.

I use these on all my basses and find they are unobtrusive and don't make the strap rub against the body:

Guitar Works Strap Locks

May be worth a look?

22 minutes ago, Merton said:

There is a EQ bypass button, use that.

This is the best option on the ABM.

Also worth checking that the Shape button is pressed in (disengaged).

Thanks for the reply, I'll have to have a look.

I'm also wondering if there is a way to keep my headphones connected to the Scarlett, but not necessarily have to use the Direct Monitoring mode. Does anybody have any ideas?

Hi everyone,

I've had a hunt around and couldn't find a solution, which already makes me wonder if what I am trying to achieve is not possible/sensible, but I thought there was no harm in asking.

I have a 3rd Gen Scarlett Solo hooked up to my pc (Windows 10 desktop) which I currently use to practice/play along with music as well as a general interface for my microphone (Shure MV7) and headphones.

When I am practicing, I have just been using the Direct Monitoring button on the Scarlett Solo so that my bass is patched straight through to the headphones, and the rest of the audio is still present, however this sometimes means messing around with the audio levels for the music source or the master volume of the Scarlett a lot, depending on what else I have been doing recently. It also means that the only sound possible is the dry sound from my bass.

I'm wondering if anybody can provide some guidance on a way I could use a DAW of some kind to be able to have a digital fader for the source audio and the bass input, so that this was a little more consistent when practicing? Bonus points if I can also record easily using this method.

My only recording experience so far was using Audacity with my previous Ashdown TonePocket interface.

Any guidance is appreciated.

22 minutes ago, ern500evo said:

That video is really useful. The first tone he gets, the one he describes as ‘just a bit of a crack on top the string sound’ is so good! There was a discussion on a other thread about these pedals recently, and everyone was pretty much of the same opinion, that if Ashdown re-launched this pedal in a smaller form factor, it would sell really well. 

Absolutely agree. We can but hope! Or rip one apart and clone it...

Apologies! I shall edit those to suit.

EDIT: I see now they are already gone. Sincere apologies, totally thoughtless action on my part there.

7 hours ago, ern500evo said:

Auditioned a guitarist last night, using my very old ABM500EVO RC, which I’ve recently dragged out of hibernation and been playing about with. Gigged it last weekend with my Sire V7 active jazz and Barefaced Big Twin 2, which was great, ditched some of my pedals and just took my Lomenzo Hyperdrive pedal. Same amp, cab and pedal last night, but got to try it with my Yamaha Attitude Ltd 2, which I’ve just had the new DiMarzio Relentless pickup installed in. Sounded really fat. I didn’t have much time to tweak and play around with it, as we were auditioning someone. I pretty much always have the drive pedal engaged, but a couple of times last night I switched it off and just had the valve drive up around 1 o clock. Nice thick, warm sound. I love my EBS amp, but it’s a very clean, hifi tone, and as I’m doing predominantly rock covers stuff at the moment, the thickness of the ABM sound just seems to work. 

Lovely to see another Hyperdrive user. Such a great pedal once you know how to dial it in. I remember the frustration I had with it when I got it, which led to selling it. About a week later, Ashdown released the video of James Lomenzo detailing how he used it and dialed it in, and I HAD to get another one.

Really should start bringing my little pedalboard back, but not needed much in a ska band!

2 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

What is the new beasty?

Now that would be telling... All I'll say is I'll still be a part of the ABM Owners Club, and not just because of my 900 EVO III 😉

7 minutes ago, funkydoug said:

Pretty sure the Dual VU is the same (great) amp in a different housing. I can be racked or can stand alone with the metal case. 

For those troubled by such things, the absence of the wooden sleeve makes the ABM narrower, and thus less of a problem to stand it atop a narrower cab, like a BF.

The Dual VU is indeed the same amp, but designed for rack use and with input AND output levels being shown. Other than these, the guts are the same, so the same killer sound in a different package, plus built in Essex rather than overseas.

Really digging the style of it, but reading the blurb on the website it seems to be an ABM EVO-IV with a couple of controls shifted to pre-determined levels via the footswitch and some very specific requirements of the Taurus pedals.

Obviously, this was designed with a very specific user-case in mind, and rightfully so for Guy, but this isn't jumping out to me as something to add to my rig over my ABM EVO-IV.

The Beat - Live at the Roundhouse

Absolutely love it! Pretty close to my ideal P.

Only thing that irks me is how close the KickAss/BadAss bridge always looks to the back of the bass.

You take that back Merton...

31 minutes ago, rmorris said:

What sizes are the medium gauge strings ?

Medium for Stadium Elites are 40 60 80 100. Standard is 45 65 85 105.

With regards to the question at hand, tuning down, even a half step, will reduce the tension in the strings, and therefore the tension on the neck. This will shift things slightly, but it is hard to explain exactly where.

Might be worth taking it back up to standard tuning, measuring the relief and string height, then tuning down and measuring again, just so you can compare. Seems odd that a half step would be making a massive difference, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say.

I used to play the Stadium Elites and loved them, then gave a set of the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flatwounds a go, just to give some flat profile strings a go. Really like the overall sound and character, but find the tension is a bit much.

Has anybody compared the Elites Groundwounds to the EB Cobalt Flats?

You won't be disappointed with the upgrade.

I ran an ABM 900 EVO III for a long time, but got an ABM 600 EVO IV and it blows the EVO III out of the water. Louder, punchier, fuller, more flexible... Everything I loved about the EVO III but more.

Really hope you enjoy it!

Mine had had the neck stripped and oiled when I bought it, leaving only the headstock in the black. My old bass teacher had one of these (hence my desire to have one at some point) and his was bought from new and I definitely recall patches of missing paint on the back of the neck through years of playing. Always felt great though.

On 25/09/2020 at 18:11, la bam said:

Has anyone recorded with theirs yet?

Just trying to suss it out...

I have and it works great. Really straightforward.

I clicked into this thread to put precisely what @Muppet has already put.

Great little unit which I have found excellent as a practice tool and a recording interface.

I was part way through planning a black and white paisley Precision build and this just makes me even more excited!

I saw this one of eBay and really had to ask whether this was a better option than the teal one I got at the start of lockdown. These are fantastic basses!

5 hours ago, walshy said:

So my delivery arrived from @Ashdown Engineering today, the eagerly anticipated Nate Mendel CTM300 and the matching 610 I had commissioned to match. What a beautiful pair! They sound bloody lovely and arrived just in time for a live stream gig we have tomorrow. Can’t wait to crank it up! Oh, the little box is an ABM600, not tried that yet!

Huge thanks to Mark, Lee and @AndyTravis for hooking me up and getting me front of the queue. A few pics for you to look at 😁

That is just stunning. And the rest of the collection looks pretty tasty as well!

I got a new (to me) bass at the start of lockdown, which I am still loving, but that is not stopping my desires for a fan-fret or a headless! Or a Nate Mendel signature P...