untune Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Hi all Around Feb/March last year I won an Ashdown 330 Touring 210H in a DV247 competiton - it's a lovely amp and a bit of a beast, I don't gig so it has never left the room but does get used for recording and such. Lately I've been thinking I don't need it sat there taking up all the space, and i tend to prefer a DI sound than a miked speaker, since I go for a sortof motown/Jamerson tone. I like it to sit right on the very edge of valve saturation so that it is just starting to break up, with the option of going further and having the gain push it over the edge and really pile the grit on - where you can hear the distortion creeping in soloed but in a mix it still sounds clean. The 330 just doesn't seem to get there though, even on max gain the tone is still really clean. This last week or so I've been thinking about moving it on and getting a Little Bastard instead - a nice compact head would probably do me better, it has the same simple passive EQ that I like and no bloated stuff like EQ and compression, and from what I've seen it's easier to overdrive the gain? I could always get/make a 1x15 if I felt I needed one at some point. Plus the all-valve aspect is really appealing (albeit technically more costly to maintain) and I can have more fun experimenting with valves and finding something I like. What do people think? What would I get for the amp I've got and how much should I be looking at for the LB30 (used)? Wouldn't mind a UK made one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 As for prices I can't help you, but I agree that you would almost certainly find the LB more to your tastes. THe Ashdown dual tube preamp, as in your 330 touring, is uber clean even at max gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) The LB is a non-master volume type amp, so its difficult to get the preamp to [i]really[/i] grind without boosting the input. However, the tone of my p type bass direclty into it has enough grit to make me grin. If you play with a pedal board, you could easily put a clean boost as the last box in your chain and experiment with the effects loop. Whatever you end up doing, enjoy your experimenting Edited January 5, 2013 by Mikey R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapscallion Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I love my Little Bastard, the Warwick really drives it even on low volume, has a really nice breakup, though I had to change the valves as the stock ones were to prone to breakup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 look for a caitlinbread SFT pedal instead (or make a clone) - look up the vids on youtube and you see what I mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 What you need is the lovely UK LB30 and matching LB212 that I'm selling on here http://basschat.co.uk/topic/195946-uk-built-little-bastard-30-plus-uk-lb212-with-covers-spare-valves/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untune Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 May well have done except I don't need a cab! My mate lives in Truro too, he just went back today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buff Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 How about using a sansamp, i picked up a 550 combo last week that sounds great with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 [quote name='untune' timestamp='1357594415' post='1925177'] May well have done except I don't need a cab! My mate lives in Truro too, he just went back today! [/quote] Hi Not sure if you meant you already have a cab or not, but if you go for an LB30 you will need a cab, or some sort of load for the output transformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untune Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 So you can't make a dummy load and use the DI out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Yep of course you can, hence my comment. Didn't want you trying it without a load on the transformer, that's all. The DI is tapped from the output transformer, so you get the full glory of the output section coming through. I've used it before and it works really nicely - now that's true post-eq DI lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untune Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Sorry I seem to have completely missed the last bit of your post This idea is still swimming in my head - it would all depend on being able to shift my current amp though. Plus I quite like the sound of my synth through it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Funnily enough I've just ordered some 10 Watt wire wound resistors to build a dummy load for my LB30, to do exactly what you are thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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