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NAD and NCD! Ashdown Content


BruceBass3901
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Since joining a 9 piece Ska covers band, I found that my Ashdown ABM 900 and ABM 610 cab were a little bit overkill, particularly in terms of footprint, as some of the gigs we play don't have loads of room for backline as a 4 piece brass section takes up a fair amount of stage space.

After chatting with the guys at Ashdown (as always, a pleasure to deal with) I decided that one of their new ABM NEO 210 cabs would be light enough, small enough and still loud enough for practice (where I don't go through the PA), small gigs where I don't have PA support and larger gigs where I do have PA support.

So that was the footprint issue sorted, other than the purely aesthetic issue that the ABM 900 is wider than the cab when the cab is on it's end. As I am a fussy creature (and always looking for an excuse to add to my Ashdown collection), this would just not do, so I decided to also upgrade the amp to the new ABM 600 EVO IV and have this be a treat to myself for recently completing my degree in Product Design and Innovation. As I already have custom CTM 300 with a chrome faceplate, I asked the guys at Ashdown if it was possible to get the rackmount version of the ABM EVO IV mounted in a sleeve to match, and they said that it was entirely possible, so now I have 2 very special amps to mark a couple of big milestones in my life.

So I have actually had the cab for about a month now and have gigged it three times and taken it to a couple of practices but the amp has only just landed and got its first couple of gigs this week.

This is an amazing sounding rig! The cab is very clear with plenty of headroom and a huge output for a cab of its size. I reckon that it is at least as loud (if not louder) than my ABM 610 cab and sounds like a much larger cab. The NEO speakers make sure that it isn't a back breaker but don't compromise on the sound quality at all. This is the new version of this cab, so is sealed rather than front ported. I haven't had a chance to try this cab with my CTM yet but will hopefully be able to over the next couple of weeks. It sounded great with both my ABM 900 and the new ABM EVO IV.

The amp is also well worth shouting about as it is just everything that was great about the ABM EVO III with more flexibility thanks to the extra 2 EQ bands and a bit more oomph from the redesigned input stage. It sounds much louder to me than the previous versions through both 8 ohm and 4 ohm cabs. It seems to have more highs and more lows on tap, but still the classic ABM sound that I just love, so very familiar territory with just a bit of an added tweak to really fine tune everything.

All in all, I am completely thrilled with this new setup and would recommend either of these pieces to anybody considering a lightweight rig.

I shall post up some pics once I can get my decent camera out as I know this thread is useless without them ;)

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[quote name='skychaserhigh' timestamp='1442775858' post='2869405']
I have the neo 210 cab too and agree It's a great cab. I didn't realise they do a sealed version though ?
[/quote]

The new version of the NEO 210 is sealed. I tried a ported version in a shop after I received mine and I definitely prefer the sealed version

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Well here is the cab in all the sealed and Instagram filter edited glory ;)

[URL=http://s848.photobucket.com/user/BruceBass3901/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150821_161447.jpg.html][IMG]http://i848.photobucket.com/albums/ab46/BruceBass3901/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150821_161447.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Edited by BruceBass3901
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And here is the amp, also Instagram filtered as Merton can't wait ;)

[URL=http://s848.photobucket.com//BruceBass3901/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150921_175902.jpg.html][IMG]http://i848.photobucket.com/albums/ab46/BruceBass3901/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150921_175902.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Edited by BruceBass3901
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Thank you very much for the follow Merton and the several Likes!! I have returned the favour ;)

And the cab only has the one handle on the top, but I haven't found it to be a problem at all as it is very light and shallow enough to be comfortable when walking with it in one hand.

I know how the members of this forum feel about handles though :P

Edited by BruceBass3901
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Thank you very much :) The ABM 600 can be either rack mounted or sleeved without any modifications other than removing the rack ears as the chassis is the same for both the standard and RC versions, so there is nothing stopping there being more chrome loveliness about ;) The chrome CTM however was a little more effort!

Edited by BruceBass3901
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  • 4 weeks later...

[quote name='grenadilla' timestamp='1444861976' post='2886896']
The sleeve really looks fine. I like sealed cabinets better too. In the States it is hard to know what version of Ashdown you're getting when you buy off the 'net. Does your new 210 sound better than the 4 8" version ?
[/quote]

I can't really comment on the NEO 408 as I haven't tried one but Ashdown said that it has a faster attack and perhaps moves a bit more air. I would love to try one though! With the NEO 210 and on its own just to see how they differ or conpliment each other

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