which combo to get

[ashgeezer]

I've just picked up a really nice ashdown after eight practice amp for the house, sounds awesome for such a small amp and i#m seriously considering getting its big brother,the five fifteen, has anyone had any experience with this amp and if so what do you reckon of it.
I mainly jam with a few mates who play acoustic but every now and again one of the lads will bring is fender strat and we'll play some rock stuff.
Is the five fifteen up to it or should i step up slightly and get the EB 12.
cheers
mick.

[phatbass787]

The Five 15 is a great amp but to be fair its still a practice amp, if you are going to be jamming etc then
I would stretch to an Electric Blue, lots more power and features for not a lot more money

[Balcro]

[quote name='ashgeezer' post='243192' date='Jul 19 2008, 07:16 AM']I've just picked up a really nice ashdown after eight practice amp for the house, sounds awesome for such a small amp and i#m seriously considering getting its big brother,the five fifteen, has anyone had any experience with this amp and if so what do you reckon of it.
I mainly jam with a few mates who play acoustic but every now and again one of the lads will bring is fender strat and we'll play some rock stuff.
Is the five fifteen up to it or should i step up slightly and get the EB 12.
cheers
mick.[/quote]


Hi there Ashgeezer,

If potential volume is the overriding issue, I agree with phat_bass. The 5-15 is my only amplification (I'm working up to jams) and it delivers a really solid floorboard shaking boomph! I'm sure it goes plenty loud, although I've never stressed it into full blown competion. It will certainly be a lot louder than the "After 8", with 6x the output wattage, but the efficiency is probably lower. There are no published noise levels available, but I think you could assume 4-5 decibels extra loudness.

According to the spec on the web-site there's only 0.2 Kg weigh difference between the 5-15 and the EB180 - both around 27Kg! The .pdf file is still out of date & wrong. Ashdown just don't seem to be bothered about correcting it. There is a CD/line-in socket on mine even if it's not shown on the ha-ha handbook.

The EB 12 is definitely more serious with an effects loop, DI out, line-out and bult in compressor. However the headphone and CD-in sockets has been removed, so you'll have to keep the "After 8" for home practice. With an extra 80 watts and a smaller 12" speaker I would make a guesstimate that the EB12 is good for an extra 2 decibels over the 5-15. Not a huge difference, but maybe just noticeable to the ear. What do the poor acoustic guys do when Stratman turns up?

Balcro.