tommania Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Hi, I am at the point now where I am not sure if I am using the right sort of amp. I haven't really had any issues with my Ashdown head, I just don't really know if there is something better out there for me as Ashdown is all I have known. I'm currently using two Ashdown cabs, a mag410t deep and a mag115. Really looking to get a 6x10, or at least swap the 115 for another 410. What do you think would be best for me? Here is a link to my band. https://soundcloud.com/moral-panics/february We recorded that track in Paris over last summer. I got to use a beautiful classic Ampeg SVT-VR through an Ampeg 8x10. This sounded incredible, although I could never afford that set up. We do a blend of indie, mixed with some heavier influences. I know I should really pick what I think is better suited for me, but I admit I am a bit ignorant and I do not know what is best for me. If anyone has the time to listen to that track and could let me know what they think would be best I would appreciate that. Thank you. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Try some other cabs with your head, you may be surprised (in a good way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 [quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1390089122' post='2341449'] Try some other cabs with your head, you may be surprised (in a good way) [/quote] totally agree, and if you like ampeg the cabs do have a noticable effect on the sound so maybe try a 610hlf? andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommania Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1390089534' post='2341453'] totally agree, and if you like ampeg the cabs do have a noticable effect on the sound so maybe try a 610hlf? andy [/quote] I actually tried the 610hlf last week with various settings on my amp and to be honest it sounded muddy and not worth the price they are! Has anyone had any experience with Orange heads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I would suggest that ashdown heads aren't awful - make sure the pre shape button is out (i.e. off) to get rid of the muddiness. I don't like ashdown cabs at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='tommania' timestamp='1390090785' post='2341469'] I actually tried the 610hlf last week with various settings on my amp and to be honest it sounded muddy and not worth the price they are! Has anyone had any experience with Orange heads? [/quote] they arent sealed like the 810 so you have to be really careful the way you eq, however they not for everyone. ive got lots of time for orange heads! currently use the monster terror bass 1000 which is honestly a fantastic head for what i do! so much head room to push out the lows i need distorts like a proper valve head into brutal overdrive and with the 1000 you will never ever not be loud enough. but ive also had an ad140b and that was amazing but at the time i had a clean bass sound and being all valve and back then using only a 115obc so didnt push enough are really but again really nice over drive. now the ad200 is a monster! same/similar pre amp to the terror bass but with the valve power section its got much more weight behind each note! the eq isnt as useable as others but it defiantly is more useful than some will give it credit for. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) An Ashdown through a Ampeg Classic SVT 410he is a great sound. I know because I played through that setup recently. The Ashdown cabs are not my cup of tea. The Ampeg PF-500 is a nice amp and sounds good through a Classic SVT 410he as well (I tried that combination too). It's bears up well against a tube SVT head I tried recently. In fact if I was to recommend anything I would recommend that Classic SVT 410he cab. Everything I used sounded great through it. Edited January 19, 2014 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommania Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 My local music shop doesn't have that much variety of stuff other than Ashdown so it's a shame I can't try different cabs out myself. I really liked the Ampeg set up I used though, so I'll keep an eye out for any ampeg cabs. Do you think my head is worth keeping or is there better I could be using? T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='tommania' timestamp='1390093746' post='2341492'] My local music shop doesn't have that much variety of stuff other than Ashdown so it's a shame I can't try different cabs out myself. I really liked the Ampeg set up I used though, so I'll keep an eye out for any ampeg cabs. Do you think my head is worth keeping or is there better I could be using? T [/quote] i would maybe try with different cabs first your amp is probably fine, what music do you play? what did you like about the ampeg setup that you think you current setup is missing? andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommania Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1390095661' post='2341501'] i would maybe try with different cabs first your amp is probably fine, what music do you play? what did you like about the ampeg setup that you think you current setup is missing? andy [/quote] I'll definitely do that. Thanks for the advice on the Orange gear. I'm not really sure to be honest. If you check that link I posted in my first post you'll see what my band plays. We recorded in Paris over the summer and got signed to a label over there so I'm expecting big things. It just sounded HUGE and DEEP and GNARLY. If you get me? The guitarists in my band do a lot of quirky riffs and I like to fill out the low end with a big deep sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) [quote name='tommania' timestamp='1390095856' post='2341503'] I'll definitely do that. Thanks for the advice on the Orange gear. I'm not really sure to be honest. If you check that link I posted in my first post you'll see what my band plays. We recorded in Paris over the summer and got signed to a label over there so I'm expecting big things. It just sounded HUGE and DEEP and GNARLY. If you get me? The guitarists in my band do a lot of quirky riffs and I like to fill out the low end with a big deep sound. [/quote] nice dude congrats, pretty different end of the spectrum from me but nice stuff, to save you getting a whole new rig you could try putting a, svt kinda sounding dirt infront of your amp, as the weight similar to the orange maybe coming from the tubes? so something like a vt bass or bb pre amp might get you closer for cheaper, or there are absolute bargain heads at the minute in the for sale section like the svt pro 6 which has the ampeg growl. [url="https://myspace.com/syruss/music/songs"]https://myspace.com/syruss/music/songs[/url] link to my old band if you listen to the songs twist of fate and waiting for my life thats the svt pro 6 with a di and a mic infront of my 610 obviously a bit heavier than you guys but you can hear the sound. andy Edited January 19, 2014 by 0175westwood29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) [quote name='tommania' timestamp='1390093746' post='2341492'] My local music shop doesn't have that much variety of stuff other than Ashdown so it's a shame I can't try different cabs out myself. I really liked the Ampeg set up I used though, so I'll keep an eye out for any ampeg cabs. Do you think my head is worth keeping or is there better I could be using? T [/quote] If you liked the Ampeg sound, the PF-500 and PF-800 get good write ups on here by people who know what an Ampeg should sound like. I liked the PF-500 when I used it with the Ampeg 410. Ampegs have got a great rock sound if that's what you want. In my experience it's the cabinet you play through that ensures a decent sound, as however good your amp is, it will sound crap if your speakers aren't up to scratch. The Ashdown amp you have is pretty good but those Ashdown Mag speakers you have are bottom of the range. A venue I play at regularly used a Mag 300 Ashdown head and a Mag 410. When they changed the cab to a Ampeg SVT 410he the improvement in the sound was HUGE!. If you want a better sound I would recommend you start with a change of speaker cabs. Here's the review of the Ampeg PF-500 [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/136339-ampeg-pf-500/"]http://basschat.co.u...9-ampeg-pf-500/[/url] Edited January 19, 2014 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Yes there`s another thread on here at present about whether the amp or cab makes most difference, and the OP quotes using an Ampeg cab with many different amps as his point of reference - ie, that it sounds great. Link below, but for me Ampeg cabs have a specific voicing (which I love) so that would be a good place to start. Afterwards, well the PF500 is a great sounding amp but there have been issues with some, I`ve had two, one was fine, the other didn`t last a rehearsal. Not heard much that`s bad about the PF800, and the SVT7-PRO is an amp I`ve also heard good Ampeggy things about. Another amp that can do the Ampeg sound is TC Electronics - the Tubetone feature on their amps can get incredibly close to Ampeg-type grind. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/227363-is-the-amp-or-the-cab-most-important-when-you-want-a-good-sound/"]http://basschat.co.u...t-a-good-sound/[/url] Edit - also found a review of the Ampeg SVT 410HE, by me! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/117499-ampeg-svt410he/page__pid__2341513#entry2341513 Edited January 19, 2014 by Lozz196 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommania Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1390121271' post='2341552'] Yes there`s another thread on here at present about whether the amp or cab makes most difference, and the OP quotes using an Ampeg cab with many different amps as his point of reference - ie, that it sounds great. Link below, but for me Ampeg cabs have a specific voicing (which I love) so that would be a good place to start. Afterwards, well the PF500 is a great sounding amp but there have been issues with some, I`ve had two, one was fine, the other didn`t last a rehearsal. Not heard much that`s bad about the PF800, and the SVT7-PRO is an amp I`ve also heard good Ampeggy things about. Another amp that can do the Ampeg sound is TC Electronics - the Tubetone feature on their amps can get incredibly close to Ampeg-type grind. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/227363-is-the-amp-or-the-cab-most-important-when-you-want-a-good-sound/"]http://basschat.co.u...t-a-good-sound/[/url] Edit - also found a review of the Ampeg SVT 410HE, by me! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/117499-ampeg-svt410he/page__pid__2341513#entry2341513"]http://basschat.co.u...13#entry2341513[/url] [/quote] Thanks for your reply mate. I read your review, I will definitely be on the look out for the cab. Has anyone had any experience with the SVT-VR head? A few bands that I like look like they are using this head from pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handwired Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='tommania' timestamp='1390088789' post='2341443'] Hi, I am at the point now where I am not sure if I am using the right sort of amp. I haven't really had any issues with my Ashdown head, I just don't really know if there is something better out there for me as Ashdown is all I have known. I'm currently using two Ashdown cabs, a mag410t deep and a mag115. Really looking to get a 6x10, or at least swap the 115 for another 410. What do you think would be best for me? Here is a link to my band. [url="https://soundcloud.com/moral-panics/february"]https://soundcloud.c...panics/february[/url] We recorded that track in Paris over last summer. I got to use a beautiful classic Ampeg SVT-VR through an Ampeg 8x10. This sounded incredible, although I could never afford that set up. We do a blend of indie, mixed with some heavier influences. I know I should really pick what I think is better suited for me, but I admit I am a bit ignorant and I do not know what is best for me. If anyone has the time to listen to that track and could let me know what they think would be best I would appreciate that. Thank you. T [/quote] Your cabs are of a lower quality to your head, so I'd go for a better quality 6x10. The Ampeg rig you liked owes a good part of that 'classic' mid heavy tone to the sealed 8x10 cab, the Ampeg 6x10 has a totaly different sound which some call woolly in comparison to the 8x10's infinate baffle design so you could try a sealed cab first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommania Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Can anyone recommend a good 610 other than the ampeg 610hlf? Just didn't really think it sounded very good, too muddy. I would LOVE to get an 8x10, but I would never be able to take it anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 My experience - going from an Ashdown ABM to an Orange Terror Bass. I only ever played the Ashdown with the valve all the way on, eq off, preshape on, gain up til it gets dirty when I dig in. Orange did this sound no bother and much, MUCH louder and punchier than my ABMs. It's a one trick pony, but what a trick! Never played any ABM cabs except the 1*10 in my ABM combo. All this is based on using the amps with an aggie gs112 and Tech Soundsystems 4*12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadilla Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I have a sealed ABM 610 and love it. It is like an SVT, with 6 speakers. I have a MAG 600 pushing it. With your ABM 900 and the two output sections you could use two sealed ABM 610s or two sealed ABM 810s for larger pub gigs. Those Ampeg 610s, Fender 610s,SWR 610s are all ported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBass Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 610 is what you're after? Check out the Barefaced 69er, by all accounts it looks like a VERY special cab, it's on my list of what to buy when I win the lottery or earn enough cash, a few members on here have them, can't remember names right now though. As for a head, it depends what you want. I've listened to the stuff and it sounds very much to me that you like a warm but not too driven sound? So valves are a plus for that, what else do you want/not want? I've just bought the CTM300 Ashdown head, it's phenomenal, nice clean and bright with the gain below about 1-2pm and I get that warmth and "bounce" push the gain and it breaks up exactly how I want it to, I haven't driven the back end yet, but from what I'm told it's an utter monster! But still has note definition and clarity, I'd certainly be checking it out if you can afford it. Hope the search goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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