Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Recently, I moved into a rehearsal room where my gear is now housed permanently. I have an [url="http://ashdownmusic.com/products/0/secti/18/Legacy/33/MAG-C115300-EVO-III-/"]Ashdown [color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]MAG C115-300 EVO III[/size][/font][/color][/url] that until now has been sat next to my armchair since I bought it new, so it's in mint condition. I have been renting amps in rehearsal rooms so my Ashdown has purely been used for home practice. The first session in the new room was with my Ashdown. It was certainly able to cut through (wall of sound reverb guitar + hard hitting drums) so hearing it wasn't a problem. I was a bit concerned that the amp may now be expected to work mega hard and become run down. This may have been because I was watching the VU meter and seeing it spike into the red too often. Something I have not been used to. Would it be sensible to get something with much more head room? I am at the stage where everything I now have is gig worthy, other than my amp. Is it time to move up and get a head + cab set-up? Or am I being too delicate with the Ashdown and really it's more than up to being thrashed around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'd say ignore the meter, your ears will tell you if it's approaching its limit by sounding distorted. I would say it's fine to give the amp section a thrashing, the meter in the red doesn't mean it's about to blow up or anything. Whether or not the speaker can handle the amp being cranked is another issue, but I would assume it was designed with adequate specs to cope, being a combo. If you can plug an extension cab into it, that would be the way to get more volume out of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Buy a new amp! In fact buy two! The wheels of capitalism won't oil themselves you know... ... Alternatively try this [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1456041026' post='2984647'] If you can plug an extension cab into it, that would be the way to get more volume out of it! [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) Isn't the Ashdown VU for input gain not output? What you're seeing isn't the amp struggling, it's the fact that playing live you put more energy into the strings than practising at home. Therefore in rehearsal your bass is giving the amp more level than at home. Just turn the inpUt gain down a tad to reduce the peaking and increase the master vol a tad to compensate... And yes, if you do need more volume try adding an extension speaker first. Edited February 21, 2016 by TrevorR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Turn the gain down and the master up. If you're already running the master flat out it must be a pretty loud band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 You're gear will never remain pristine if you're playing in a band. The only way to keep it that good is never use it, and that's not the point of it. You could still be playing in a band using that combo in 20 years time. Your gear is very robust and designed to be used so use it. Anyway, always get a second cab if you want more volume and more tone. More speaker area means more air moved which is how you create more volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Yep, check out the manual and if another cab can be added in, get another cab - preferably another 115. Although not doubling in volume, you`ll be doubling in "bigness" of sound for want of a better word. Really makes a difference, doubling up on cabs. With regards to is it gig-worthy, sure, Ashdown are pretty much known for making products that will stand up to the rigours of constant gigging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Thanks for all the replies. Given me lots to think about. I will definitely have a fiddle with lowering the input more and increasing the output. Maybe I'm just not used to using it in a live setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have an old Ashdown brochure, and it says 'All MAG combos feature extension speaker outputs'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 [url="http://ashdownmusic.com/products/1/Bass-Amplification/18/Legacy/36/MAG-115-Deep-Cab/"]This[/url] is the extension cab it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Your combo and that cab seem to be discontinued, so you might have to go for the ABM 115H EVO IV. Ashdown seem to have a (design fail) problem designing their cabs so that the extension cab and the combo are the same width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1456054226' post='2984814'] Your combo and that cab seem to be discontinued, so you might have to go for the ABM 115H EVO IV. [/quote] Ah okay, with my lack of knowledge I couldn't really work out if that was solely for the ABM heads or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 If you like the sound of it, why not get an additional power amp and speaker? As others say, your amp may struggle with an extra speaker at high volume. Power amps are cheap - I just picked up a Crown 202 (400w in bridged mode) for £40 on the 'Bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 This may sound odd.. but I'm not even all that sure if I do like the sound of it. I've only ever used Ashdowns, other than a TC 250w combo that I know I didn't like. To me it's just my default sound at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 The MAG115 (slim) cabs are still around. They come up second hand. However, as Ashdown are now on to the Rootmaster series, stores with the older MAG series will/are selling the MAGs new for about the same as you can get them used. PMT have one in stock. [url="http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/ashdown-v-mag-115-slim-bass-cabinet"]http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/ashdown-v-mag-115-slim-bass-cabinet[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samfordia Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1456060445' post='2984946'] The MAG115 (slim) cabs are still around. They come up second hand. However, as Ashdown are now on to the Rootmaster series, stores with the older MAG series will/are selling the MAGs new for about the same as you can get them used. PMT have one in stock. [url="http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/ashdown-v-mag-115-slim-bass-cabinet"]http://www.pmtonline...im-bass-cabinet[/url] [/quote] Nice, very useful. Thanks for that. ------------------------------------- Is it not possible to know what the overall wattage is when adding a cab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have used a MAG 300 head since 2005 not the Evo version and, touch wood, it hasnt run out of headroom yet. I play in a loud rock band and run it with 2 x MI 12 cabs. Add a 2x10 or another 15 to your set up and you will get the full power at 4 ohms. I`m sure I read a quote from the Ashdown guy on here who said that the meter running into the red wasn`t a bit problem but don`t quote me in that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 [quote name='Samfordia' timestamp='1456061499' post='2984962'] Is it not possible to know what the overall wattage is when adding a cab? [/quote] It's in the specs. . . . but many amps have their maximum watts in the name. Yours is 300 watts. So your combo on its own is running at 8 ohms. That will be about 150 watts into the 8 ohm internal speaker. If you add the extension cab, which must also be 8 ohms, the amp will be running at 4 ohms and be putting out the full 300 watts. In cab language 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 ohms. Going from 150 watts to 300 watts does not double the volume. It will be a little louder but not much. You get the extra volume by adding more speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) And Thomman do their own versions of Ashdown gear for £125 delivered. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_1x15_bass_cabinets.html"]http://www.thomann.d...s_cabinets.html[/url] Edited February 21, 2016 by jezzaboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassix Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) [quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1456063707' post='2984995'] I have used a MAG 300 head since 2005 not the Evo version and, touch wood, it hasnt run out of headroom yet. I play in a loud rock band and run it with 2 x MI 12 cabs. Add a 2x10 or another 15 to your set up and you will get the full power at 4 ohms. I`m sure I read a quote from the Ashdown guy on here who said that the meter running into the red wasn`t a bit problem but don`t quote me in that [/quote] I seem to remember the same thing as I think the Ashdown guy was talking to me! My amp is always in the red playing at gig volumes, no discernible clipping or warping of sound here. TBH it sounds like you fancy a change, save up some cash and get down a shop to find out what you like! Edited February 21, 2016 by bassix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Thats cool as I run it in the red sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Before you decide that you need extra amps/cabs etc, it's worth taking a look at your EQ settings - the EQ on the MAG amps offers a lot of cut/boost, and my experience with the MAG-115 is that if you cut the bass, you won't be working the amp and speaker so hard, which gives a decent headroom boost and cleans the mush out of the mix. The MAG 115 combo will fart out really obviously if you are overworking the low end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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