Please tell me why I should avoid Ashdown amps? (aka why Ashdown are just great!)

[Russ]

On 18/12/2025 at 16:00, jezzaboy said:

To be honest I love ABM and MAG heads but their cabs leave a lot to be desired. I have had several different types, ABM, RM, MAG over the years and for me a Rumble 500 blows them out the water.

The best Ashdown cab I ever had was the BP1510, with 2 10"s and a 15" in a tall-ish enclosure. They haven't made it in quite some time now though. 

I've been running mine into a Barefaced BT2 and I have no complaints. I did get to try Ashdown's Rootmaster 2x12" cab from a few years back, and it sounded good, but couldn't handle all that much power on its own. I'd quite like to try a pair of them and see what that sounds like. 

 

I've just got hold of a RM800 Evo III, and, sadly, it's the first piece of Ashdown gear I've had a problem with - something's up with the input gain (not sure if it's the knob or something else), so that's going to have to go back. I've had the original and Evo II versions (the Evo II is my workhorse) and never had any issues, so it's a bit disappointing. Their stuff is usually absolutely bulletproof in my experience. Should have held out for the new UK-produced version, really.  

[BassAdder60]

5 minutes ago, Russ said:

The best Ashdown cab I ever had was the BP1510, with 2 10"s and a 15" in a tall-ish enclosure. They haven't made it in quite some time now though. 

I've been running mine into a Barefaced BT2 and I have no complaints. I did get to try Ashdown's Rootmaster 2x12" cab from a few years back, and it sounded good, but couldn't handle all that much power on its own. I'd quite like to try a pair of them and see what that sounds like. 

 

I've just got hold of a RM800 Evo III, and, sadly, it's the first piece of Ashdown gear I've had a problem with - something's up with the input gain (not sure if it's the knob or something else), so that's going to have to go back. I've had the original and Evo II versions (the Evo II is my workhorse) and never had any issues, so it's a bit disappointing. Their stuff is usually absolutely bulletproof in my experience. Should have held out for the new UK-produced version, really.  

The look of “ surprise “ 😳😂

[mazdah]

I've been an Ashdown fan for many years. I love their customer relations, I love the visual side of their amps, I love the philosophy of their creations - although their ideas are not always intuitive. 

I had one of first hundred of Little Bastard 30, although I've decided to mod it and later let it go to get my first real vintage bass I missed being part of the family. I briefly had ABM300, which I stupidly sold.

Recently I got myself a little present  ABM 400 NEO was briefly made around 2014, I guess in quite limited quantity by Ashdown UK Custom Shop. It is equipped with EVO III Preamp and class-D power amp combined in full size rack mountable case with around 8,5 kg of weight. 

[scrumpymike]

26 minutes ago, mazdah said:

I've been an Ashdown fan for many years. I love their customer relations, I love the visual side of their amps, I love the philosophy of their creations - although their ideas are not always intuitive. 

That's exactly how I feel about Ashdown. I'd always played Trace Elliot then went to Ashdown as soon as the company started. I've bought a few pre-owned heads over the years but that complexity you refer to has always driven me away. Now I'm tempted to buy a new UK ABM600 and find the time and patience to make it work for me.

[mazdah]

18 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

That's exactly how I feel about Ashdown. I'd always played Trace Elliot then went to Ashdown as soon as the company started. I've bought a few pre-owned heads over the years but that complexity you refer to has always driven me away. Now I'm tempted to buy a new UK ABM600 and find the time and patience to make it work for me.

In ABM the main thing you have to remember is that the Shape filter switch has to be pushed IN to turn the filter OFF. Start from that. 

 

The amps do have HUGE amount of low end - and I found it hard to tame in their tube range (CTM,Little Bastard, 330 and 550 Spyder)

The Subharmonic Generator is a fantastic "sound magnifier" rather than typical octave effect. I love it, but it won't make my OC-2 and EBS Octabass go away. On the other hand - neither Boss OC-2 or EBS Octabass are capable of producing range of tones available Ashdown ABM Subharmonic. 

EQ - i really like the way EQ is presented. As Mark said - use three knobs if you want to find basic tone, then fine-tune with sliders if needed. Taming low end by slightly backing off the knob helps a lot. 

 

I own wide range of amps and preamps SWR, Ampeg, Fender, Markbass... but the ABM with it's aesthetics and sound is my favorite toy for now  

 

[Lozz196]

In general I use the Shape function, then back off on the lowest frequencies to suit the venue. I know a lot of people aren’t keen on the Shape but it suits me nicely.

[scrumpymike]

Thanks mazdah and Lozz196.  I tried two ABM600s and a RM800 at different times and each time I quit because I couldn't quickly and easily find the tone I was looking for. I just took the easy way and switched back to my Eden, Ampeg and Mesa amps that seemed to have tone-shaping centred around the tones in my head.

 

This time I'm determined to find the right sounds that I'm sure are in the ABM600 somewhere. I'm doing this because a) I believe Ashdown have earned my money and b) with them I won't have the complicated and expensive experience I had recently getting a faulty American-branded head repaired.

[2elliot]

On 27/01/2026 at 19:32, Russ said:

The best Ashdown cab I ever had was the BP1510, with 2 10"s and a 15" in a tall-ish enclosure. They haven't made it in quite some time now though. 

I've been running mine into a Barefaced BT2 and I have no complaints. I did get to try Ashdown's Rootmaster 2x12" cab from a few years back, and it sounded good, but couldn't handle all that much power on its own. I'd quite like to try a pair of them and see what that sounds like. 

 

I've just got hold of a RM800 Evo III, and, sadly, it's the first piece of Ashdown gear I've had a problem with - something's up with the input gain (not sure if it's the knob or something else), so that's going to have to go back. I've had the original and Evo II versions (the Evo II is my workhorse) and never had any issues, so it's a bit disappointing. Their stuff is usually absolutely bulletproof in my experience. Should have held out for the new UK-produced version, really.  

The Papa Lazarou... you're my bass now Dave. 

[BassAdder60]

6 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

In general I use the Shape function, then back off on the lowest frequencies to suit the venue. I know a lot of people aren’t keen on the Shape but it suits me nicely.

I agree the shape is a perfect match for pick playing. Fingerstyle less so as it pulls the mids out. Im convinced many new users play with the scoop shape ON not realising it’s actually on and claim it’s woolly and too deep. Perfect though for a pick player 

Edited 58 minutes ago by BassAdder60