NAD: Ashdown CTM-100

[VTypeV4]

I think the pre-amp might be (carbon copy or indeed re-worked) Trace Elliot V-Type. Or should I say 'borrowed' from Fender..

I'm aware of the links between the the 'old' Trace range and some of the Ashdown gear as such, the V-Type range always sounded great so surely it would be a waste of time for them to re-invent the wheel?

This is mere speculation and I could be bang wrong but I'd love to try a CTM to find out.. Or maybe someone more knowledgable could chime in?

Edited November 18, 2014 by VTypeV4

[Ashdown Engineering]

We still have a lot of time here for the old Trace Valve stuff for obvious reasons, however the CTM 100/300 are very different to anything we have done in any guise before. They were designed by Dave Green(ex Matamp) with our input of course but they are totally new designs.

We wanted to make valve amps that had all those lovely old school warm tones plus more modern ones but most importantly are reliable night after night plus lots of cool modern features that old valve amps never had such as the transformer derived DI, Dual use of the VU meter for output and output valve bias(meaning you can change valves and bias yourself with no need for a tech or multimeter), Low/High gain button on the input stage allows player to keep things very clean, fat and warm or bring in extra gain for that more driven tone and in conjuction with the eq shift buttons the user can find 'their' tone other than valve amps of the past which had one or two great tones but really no versatility. Anyways - glad you guys are liking the CTM's, we love em.

[Ashdown Engineering]

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1416302262' post='2608740']
I do like these.. It's an itch that hasn't gone away!

As a rule I don't particularly get on with the Ashdown but if these are what I think they are under the skin then I'm probably going to love them. Not sure if there's any local tho, Academy of Sound are my dealer and thats nearly all ABM and MAG models..

The 100w model would probably do me nicely..
[/quote]

If you fancy a blast down the A50 then Rattle and Drum in Derby have a CTM 100 in stock currently... Or if you go a little further then PMT in Birmingham have CTM 100 and 300 plus a BTA 400...

[VTypeV4]

Many thanks for the above..

My friend Matt is gooing to look a Mesa/ Boogie in Brum next week so I may well jump in with him..

[Ashdown Engineering]

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1416328352' post='2609101']
Many thanks for the above..

My friend Matt is gooing to look a Mesa/ Boogie in Brum next week so I may well jump in with him..
[/quote]

Sounds like a plan!

[Merton]

[quote name='BluRay' timestamp='1416299323' post='2608718']


Then the 100 should be ideal. Its a filthy fuzz machine when cranked a bit.
[/quote]

Yes, it's lush!

[dannybuoy]

Whilst you're on the thread Mr Ashdown representative!

How similar tonally is the CTM-15 to the CTM-100? I know they are pretty different internally. One thing I didn't like about the CTM-15 was that the gain knob added a lot of treble - I always ran it at minimum or just above zero as a result. Does the CTM-100 act like this too?

[Ashdown Engineering]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1416332933' post='2609152']
Whilst you're on the thread Mr Ashdown representative!

How similar tonally is the CTM-15 to the CTM-100? I know they are pretty different internally. One thing I didn't like about the CTM-15 was that the gain knob added a lot of treble - I always ran it at minimum or just above zero as a result. Does the CTM-100 act like this too?
[/quote] totally different pre amps and power sections so the CTM 15 is tonally very different to the CTM 100/300. the big CTMs are much bassier in general

[JamesBass]

[quote name='Ashdown Engineering' timestamp='1416349187' post='2609368']
totally different pre amps and power sections so the CTM 15 is tonally very different to the CTM 100/300. the big CTMs are much bassier in general
[/quote]
This is something I can seriously vouch for! It's why I love my CTM300! It's just stupendously warm and full in tone!

[Pow_22]

Arent the CTM15's hybrid amps too as opposed to the full valve that they are claimed to be? I read someone had a proper look at one and decided that it was a solid state front end pushing a valve power section?

[BruceBass3901]

Love my CTM-300 to pieces! Such a wonderfully round and warm sound which can really get filthy when pushed right.

Really must try it through my ABM810 and ABM610 at the same time, but lacking a Jack-to-Speakon cable at the moment!

Would love to try the CTM-100 to see how the power tubes break up at a lower volume. If only I could pull some of the tubes in the CTM-300 to drop it down like some Marshall users used to do...

[0175westwood29]

i dnt see the point of the valves in the front end if they arent doing anything tho?

andy

[0175westwood29]

well just found this so worries over if its ok for a gigging band like dorje then should be fine for my needs



andy

[TheRockinRoadie]

Wow I completely missed this thread picking up again!

I've never been so happy with an amp in my life. It always sounds fantastic and although it's only 100w, as Merton said you get the back end working lovely which adds to the fun. I find it plenty loud enough especially with PA support, through just a 2x10. I've also been impressed with it paired to a single 15, so I imagine it'll be absolutely fine with an 8x10.

I haven't tried it with pedals at all yet, BUT, I think I'm going to treat myself to a PT Mini for Christmas. Not many effects you can use in a 60s pop band!

[0175westwood29]

[quote name='TheRockinRoadie' timestamp='1416436493' post='2610326']
Wow I completely missed this thread picking up again!

I've never been so happy with an amp in my life. It always sounds fantastic and although it's only 100w, as Merton said you get the back end working lovely which adds to the fun. I find it plenty loud enough especially with PA support, through just a 2x10. I've also been impressed with it paired to a single 15, so I imagine it'll be absolutely fine with an 8x10.

I haven't tried it with pedals at all yet, BUT, I think I'm going to treat myself to a PT Mini for Christmas. Not many effects you can use in a 60s pop band!
[/quote]

yeh thats my bad, glad to see your happy with it.

andy

[bowsertoad]

I have Just bought a CTM-100 from a member of this forum, I have been running on a Ashdown Mi2.0 for the past two years, which is a superb little compact amp, it has served me well and will continue to be my back up head. The guitarist in my band have both changed to all valve amps, so I felt that I should do the same, for prosperity and for the age old reason of "Why the Funk not".

I did allot of research into watts, size, cost. I have always been attracted to the "little Bastard", but never pulled the trigger due to not being sure if it would be fit for purpose - after further research I settled on the CTM series, first buying a CTM-15 for recording and for a practice amp, I was blown away by that little thing, and I have used it at a couple of small acoustic gigs. The CTM-15 did not have enough beans for a full band, so I went to PMT to look at the CTM-30, at the cost of £399 it was within my price range, while I was in PMT they had a CTM-300 set up so I plugged in and ooooo boy I fell in love. Power, tone, growl and style. The CTM-300 was completely out of my price range, so i hunted the internet and found a CTM-100 for sale on Bass chat. I immediately snapped the sellers hand off.

Once I got the amp (at 10:30pm on a Saturday night after a Sisters of Mercy gig) I rushed to my practice space to plug in and turn up, I was not disappointed in my purchase. I am running the amp through an Ashdown EVO410 cab, slowly eased the volume to 11 o'clock and the Gain to 9 o'clock, strummed the low B (5 string player) and I had to take a step back, because of the air this thing pushes. After three hours of playing and adjusting, I know in my heart of hearts i have found the amp that will be with me till arthritis sets in.

Hell of an amp, I can not recommend it enough.

[Merton]

Still gutted to have owned two and sold them both when money was needed. I will own another one day I hope

[lowhand_mike]

CTM is definately on my wish list

[Kevin Dean]

What are they like for moving around , I can see the weight, but handle positions etc obviously make a difference .

[Merton]

Easy, in my experience. Sensible handle placement and not a ridiculously heavy lump makes for a valve amp which is easy to manoeuvre

[Fisheth]

[quote name='bowsertoad' timestamp='1480524148' post='3185101']
I have Just bought a CTM-100 from a member of this forum, I have been running on a Ashdown Mi2.0 for the past two years, which is a superb little compact amp, it has served me well and will continue to be my back up head. The guitarist in my band have both changed to all valve amps, so I felt that I should do the same, for prosperity and for the age old reason of "Why the Funk not".

I did allot of research into watts, size, cost. I have always been attracted to the "little Bastard", but never pulled the trigger due to not being sure if it would be fit for purpose - after further research I settled on the CTM series, first buying a CTM-15 for recording and for a practice amp, I was blown away by that little thing, and I have used it at a couple of small acoustic gigs. The CTM-15 did not have enough beans for a full band, so I went to PMT to look at the CTM-30, at the cost of £399 it was within my price range, while I was in PMT they had a CTM-300 set up so I plugged in and ooooo boy I fell in love. Power, tone, growl and style. The CTM-300 was completely out of my price range, so i hunted the internet and found a CTM-100 for sale on Bass chat. I immediately snapped the sellers hand off.

Once I got the amp (at 10:30pm on a Saturday night after a Sisters of Mercy gig) I rushed to my practice space to plug in and turn up, I was not disappointed in my purchase. I am running the amp through an Ashdown EVO410 cab, slowly eased the volume to 11 o'clock and the Gain to 9 o'clock, strummed the low B (5 string player) and I had to take a step back, because of the air this thing pushes. After three hours of playing and adjusting, I know in my heart of hearts i have found the amp that will be with me till arthritis sets in.

Hell of an amp, I can not recommend it enough.
[/quote]

They're lovely aren't they?

[bowsertoad]

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1481812982' post='3195372']
They're lovely aren't they?
[/quote]

I have gone through a few amps in my time, Warwick CCL150 (heavy) - Orange Terror 500 (tiny) Ashdown Mag300 (flabby).

The Mi2.0 has been a workhorse, but the CTM100 is something else, just the clarity to start off with is something different.

[BluRay]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1481805625' post='3195283']
Easy, in my experience. Sensible handle placement and not a ridiculously heavy lump makes for a valve amp which is easy to manoeuvre
[/quote]

+1 very easy to carry. The handles are nice too. It's hefty but it's not a problem.

[Kevin Dean]

I've seen that few certain named bass players have a version of a CTM in their Studio but use ABM heads live is that because the ABM stuff is a bit more robust ?

[BluRay]

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1482155250' post='3198049']
I've seen that few certain named bass players have a version of a CTM in their Studio but use ABM heads live is that because the ABM stuff is a bit more robust ?
[/quote]

I'm definitely not a named bass player (!) but I usually do this. The main reason is that tube heads require a little more cool-down time than might be available during band swap-overs. Also I'm not as comfortable sharing my CTM on occasions where it's only practical to have one bass rig set up (the ABM isn't as fragile internally so I'm less precious about it!). Last reason is that the ABM is louder and has a more powerful EQ, so it's sometimes a more practical choice for certain venues. The CTM sounds nicer in a controlled environment tho.

Edited December 19, 2016 by BluRay