deanovw Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Today I took delivery of an Ashdown Little Bastard 550. Number 4 of 50. I think I got it for a good price. The normal retail is £799 which was more than I would happily spend. So far I am really happy with it. It has some great sounds available and the warmth and tone really suit both my basses. A Jazz bass and a Precision bass. I cant wait to gig it. I will try to remember to update this after I have done a few gigs. I found that I am starting to prefer the Midget T with the tweeter turned right down. Maybe I should of gone for a non tweeter Midget... Ashdown say: Ashdown have taken their iconic all tube 30 watt little bastard named after James Dean's 550 Porsche Spyder and put a huge 550 watt digital power section in it allowing that stunning tone to be amplified to another level. [b] Specifications[/b] [b]Power Output [/b](RMS) FTC rating 500 watts [b]Power Requirement[/b] 625 Watts [b]Frequency Response [/b] 30Hz to 16Khz [b]Speaker Outputs[/b] 2 X Speakon [b]High Instrument Input[/b] 450 MV [b]Low Instrument Input[/b] 150 MV [b]DI Output[/b] Line level -1K [b]Output Impedance[/b] Minimum Load 4 Ohms [b]EQ[/b] Simple Passive Bass Middle Treble EQ Rotary controls. [b]Effects Send[/b] Valve Driven Inst Level [b]Effects Return[/b] Valve Recovered [b]Pre-Amp Tubes[/b] 1 X 12AX7 1 X 12AU [b]H x W x D [/b](mm) 218 x 407 x 260 [b]Weight [/b](kg) 9.4 Edited June 12, 2013 by deanovw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratking Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Cool, Congratulations, and thanks for posting Got the LB550, too - rather good deal, though no anywhere near as good as yours - and, most important, great amp! Played the ABM500 for quite a while, but the LB550 definitely has a different sound (that suits my style even more). The same amount of massive bottom end, but somehow much more ... hm ... "creamy", can you say this? Sorry, my English is long past it's best days And the LB550 also has a much more pronounced, clear high-end. It CAN sound very "vintage", but in my opinion it's also really easy to dial in rather modern (rock) sounds, though it never gets too over the top ... Still sounds pleasant with extreme EQ settings. Amazing amp, I play it in a 90s-style-thrash-metal-band, but it delivers a huge range of (tube) tones ... Actually, I'm quite impressed - played it for rehearsal, have yet to gig it. And it can get DAMN loud, have to compete with our guitarists' two tube-stacks - we aren't one of these quiet, disciplined bands at rehearsal I've got it running with the gain at about 60% and the master at about 40% - it's still got plenty of headroom, but is already more than loud enough Without any dropouts or similar problems that I experienced with several other digital power stages. Just ordered the VS212 cab, too, as with my last 12/8/tweeter cabs I found I liked the tone most with the 8s and tweeters off. So the V212 should be a good match, and at 8ohm can still be upgraded to 2 cabs ... And, admittedly, it just perfectly suits the LB's look Edited October 1, 2012 by ratking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 (edited) Hi Ratking, thanks for posting. I tried my LB550 out for the first time at last night rehearsal. I took just the Midget T my RW jazz bass and one cable. Things didnt go exactly as I had hoped. The amp has a really annoying rattle when I play a low G, grr. It is probably easily rectified though. More importantly I struggled to get a nice warm sound. Everythig was very middley. I am using the Midget with the tweeter turned off now so it was jst the 12" speaker. I tried eq'ing the hell out the amp to get some warmth into the sound. I found that the bass swith and the mid switch in the up position gave me the best results. The mid swith seemed to give more bottom end than the bass switch. I usually use a Sadoswky stomp box but have just sold it to recoup some funds. I think that a combination of new amp, Midget cab, and lack of Sadowsky box all contributed to a very strange rehearsal!! The room had a mssive ceiling height too so that didnt help!!! The amp with Midget and compact together at home sound great so fingers crossed for my next gig. Two weeks from now I think it is. Edited October 2, 2012 by deanovw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 A fellow BC'er asked me how well the LB550 sat on the Barefaced Midget. So here it is: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Monster* Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 How are you finding the amp now you have had it for a while? Really interested in this, I am stuck between this (If i can get it at a good price like you did) or the Orange bass terror. This seems like it has more range in the EQ. Can this amp get a bit gritty if you crank up the gain? if so how does it sound. Can't find any videos of this amp anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) I have just got back from rehearsing this evening and really enjoying using the amp. I took just the Midget T a bitsa P bass and a few leads. Yes, it will get gritty when cranked up. You have to have all the switches up and the gain right up to get it to do this. It is a really nice compressed warm over driven gain. Not too much. I used it like this for most of the evening then tried it with the gain half way and the master turned up to about nine o'clock. Here it was really nice and clean and punchy. I like it lots at the moment but I haven't gigged it yet. Saturday night I am playing in a pub rock/pop cover band and am really looking forward to the gig. P bass, plectrum, lots of gain and the compact/midget stack. Edited October 15, 2012 by deanovw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 As a matter of interest, isn't this the 550 Spyder in a different form factor/casing? The specs look very similar, as does the EQ, and the description of the switches being very interactive with each other does, too. Just wondering, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along to confirm (or not) shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Similar. The 550 spyder has the 427 Small Block’s all-tube preamp and the 500-Watt ABM power stage. The LB550 has the Little Bastard pre amp and the MiBass power amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Update: I took the new amp out for the first time last night. It was with a pub rock/pop covers band. Four piece, Female vocal, guitar, bass + drums. Lots of covers of well known songs originally played with a Precision. I took my bitsa P bass with SD quarter pounder pickup and wiring from kiOgon. One cable from bass to amp and a Digitech bass synth, big muff through the fx loop. Most of the set is played with a pick with the occasional fingerstyle one here and there. The gain on the amp was set half way, all the switches were in the up position, tones half way and master half way. I used the tone on the bass to tailor the eq from number to number. Wow, what a great night I had!!!! Everything was spot on. I was a little concerned that I was too loud as I could hear everything [b]so[/b] well, but after a chat with the guitarist in the break he said 'no, def not' and was really happy that he could hear me for once. He even commented that the tone was perfect, really authentic and just a little bit growly. I deliberately ran the pre-amp quite hard to get a bit of growl. He thought the previous amp was too clean. The tube pre-amp seemed to work really well with a nice valve type compression noticeable when I really dug in. Several people even came over to me to chat about the band and mine and the drummers playing in particular. Which was nice. I am so chuffed with the new amp and Bare Faced cabs at last. I was starting to get despondent. Previously I was using a Harley benton head and I could not settle on a sound i was happy with. Next week I have a gig with a latin/funk band and will be using my RW Jazz bass. I will be update this thread same time next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbass787 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 [quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1350824348' post='1843823'] Update: I took the new amp out for the first time last night. It was with a pub rock/pop covers band. Four piece, Female vocal, guitar, bass + drums. Lots of covers of well known songs originally played with a Precision. I took my bitsa P bass with SD quarter pounder pickup and wiring from kiOgon. One cable from bass to amp and a Digitech bass synth, big muff through the fx loop. Most of the set is played with a pick with the occasional fingerstyle one here and there. The gain on the amp was set half way, all the switches were in the up position, tones half way and master half way. I used the tone on the bass to tailor the eq from number to number. Wow, what a great night I had!!!! Everything was spot on. I was a little concerned that I was too loud as I could hear everything [b]so[/b] well, but after a chat with the guitarist in the break he said 'no, def not' and was really happy that he could hear me for once. He even commented that the tone was perfect, really authentic and just a little bit growly. I deliberately ran the pre-amp quite hard to get a bit of growl. He thought the previous amp was too clean. The tube pre-amp seemed to work really well with a nice valve type compression noticeable when I really dug in. Several people even came over to me to chat about the band and mine and the drummers playing in particular. Which was nice. I am so chuffed with the new amp and Bare Faced cabs at last. I was starting to get despondent. Previously I was using a Harley benton head and I could not settle on a sound i was happy with. Next week I have a gig with a latin/funk band and will be using my RW Jazz bass. I will be update this thread same time next week! [/quote] Nice, always good when you have a gig where it all comes together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Last nights gig was excellent. BF cabs were awesome and the Ashdown LB 550 was spot on. I have to admit that I seem to be pretty close to being happy with my gigging rig. Which means no more GAS!! There are a few pedals I quiet fancy trying out though....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I do love the idea of the LB550. Has anyone compared it to the LB30? Just curious really..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Me too. I would like to do a side by side comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1351537552' post='1852370'] Me too. I would like to do a side by side comparison. [/quote] If we were closer we could do that comparison and post a joint review here lol.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Brighton is a little bit too far. Shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) Gigged this rig again last night with my newly built Frankenstein P bass. Squier 80's Jazz neck on a Squier VM body, Kiogon wiring and SD quarter pounder. It sounded great. I am really loving the dirty gain, P bass with pick. Proper old school. Loud? oh yes.. I had to keep an eye on myself!! Edited November 4, 2012 by deanovw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratking Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 [quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1352055365' post='1858243']Loud? oh yes.. I had to keep an eye on myself!! [/quote] Yes, the LB550 certainly DOES get loud, if you want it to Mine is now running through a single VS212, and my guitar players keep telling me to turn it down 'cause they want to hear the drums OK, I only turn it up that far once in a while to annoy them, actually I usually try to blend it into the band sound as good as possible - which works very well with the LB550, I can get a nice, gritty rock-sound that sits in the mix perfectly without much tweaking. Great little amp. love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I now have one courtesy of deanovw - cheers mate! Not had the chance to try it in anger yet, but tonally it's very pleasing - very close to my LB30 which I adore. I also love the form factor of these things. More to come when it's been gigged. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 After having the opportunity to give my recently acquired LB550 a good workout at last night's practice session (through the cab section of an ABM500 4x10 combo), I thought it only fair to share my thoughts. I've always had a bit of a thing for Ashdown amps, but had a not-so-impressive experience with the MiBass 550: design, weight, form-factor, EQ, facilities etc were great, the output wasn't. After much fiddling and trial & error I came to the conclusion that the pre-amp stage just wasn't driving the Class D power amp hard enough to allow the latter to really give some welly. Increasing the input gain simply sent the preamp into early overdrive (the nasty transistor kind). My old MAG600, and my current ABM500 have huge headroom at the input stage before things go funny. So I just had to try the LB550 to see if the poweramp (supposedly the same as the one in the MiBass) benefits from having that lovely dual tube preamp section in front of it. The short answer is that it clearly does. With the gain up to about 1 or 2 O'clock, it's still clean and capable of tremendous output volume - something the MiBass lacked. There seems to be unlimited low-end if you want that sort of thing. The overall tone is very reminiscent of my LB30, but obviously lacking that tone of overdriven output tubes that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with the LB. It's the same EQ as the all-valve LB30, and works in just the same way - so no surprises there. However, the LB550 is pretty damned close - and with the gain full up gives a lovely grit to the tone. Not overdone or anything, just enough to make you stand out when you want. Downsides? Well, the DI has no pre/post option. Also, the lack of headphone output or MP3 input might put some off. Can't think of anything else at the moment really. I'm pleased. First gig with it this coming weekend and looking forward to hearing it perform with my BF Compact. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 I am glad you like it Geoff. My favourite sound was with the gain up high and a P bass with a SD Quarter Pounder fitted. I gigged it for a few weeks with just a BF compact and I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Cheers Dean. Yeah I'm impressed with it, great tone and more than enough oomph. Between this and my LB30 I've got everything covered I reckon. Thanks Geoff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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