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Accidental Ashdown Experience


stewblack

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18 hours ago, Merton said:

I also find they work even better with Barefaced cabs but our local rehearsal studio has the EVO IV ABM600 and 410 cab and it is a match made in heaven, a thing of beauty. Based on that experience alone I would say the EVO IV cabs seem to be a step up.

Welcome to the gang!

That’s my set-up, with an ABM210 EVO IV to add in for big gigs and posey video shoots. I agree, the EVO IV range in general is a step up.

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20 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I posted this the other day in another thread because I’d forgotten how good it sounded, it’s my old Ashdown mag 300 and a TE 15 cab that’s in my summerhouse, where I can up the volume without annoying the neighbours, and the deep bass button really puts out some lows , I love it 🙂

 

Didn't notice when I derailed the thread talking about HH Amps, but to keep it topical, the photo of the HH MA100 also has my Ashdown MAG 250 & ABM115 Mini (bottom right) in it (as well as TE 2103H cab), so I'm all good! :)

_20190605_095250.JPG

Edited by Teebs
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I've always wanted to like Ashdown but really struggled with them over several years - either finding the amps or more usually the cabs a bit 'meh'. 

However at band rehearsal the other night (at a venue we'd not used before - recommend avoiding the place though unless you're taking your own gear - ended up costing us £80 for a four hour rehearsal!!!)...I finally found an Ashdown rig that I thought "hey, this is actually pretty good!"

Guess what? It was a Mag...

Ashdown Mag.jpg

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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I've always wanted to like Ashdown but really struggled with them over several years - either finding the amps or more usually the cabs a bit 'meh'. 

However at band rehearsal the other night (at a venue we'd not used before - recommend avoiding the place though unless you're taking your own gear - ended up costing us £80 for a four hour rehearsal!!!)...I finally found an Ashdown rig that I thought "hey, this is actually pretty good!"

Guess what? It was a Mag...

Ashdown Mag.jpg

I used an Ampeg in a rehearsal room once and thought it was pants! The Ashdown I've fallen for seemed anything but special to me on its first outing. It was only after pairing it with a BF and discovering that magic 'grind' nob that I was smitten. 

Of course one man's nut roast is another man's beetroot salad as they say. Also I seem able to love Behringer, Trace, Ashdown, TCE, Ampeg, solid state, hybrid, all valve, class D, so I think I'm just really lucky. 

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7 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Of course one man's nut roast is another man's beetroot salad as they say. Also I seem able to love Behringer, Trace, Ashdown, TCE, Ampeg, solid state, hybrid, all valve, class D, so I think I'm just really lucky. 

You're a gear hussey! :D

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11 minutes ago, stewblack said:

... I seem able to love Behringer, Trace, Ashdown, TCE, Ampeg, solid state, hybrid, all valve, class D, so I think I'm just really lucky. 

You're clearly a dream companion: much easier than me to buy presents for! 😁

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I am a tart. I can't deny it. I think it stems from a restless soul. I'm always looking for novelty, never satisfied for long with whatever was new just moments before. 

I remember a fellow alchy saying when asked what his favourite drink was he invariably replied 'the next one'. I'm a bit like that with amps, cabs, effects, instruments, cases, straps, cables etc etc etc etc etc etc 

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I went from a gorgeous Trace Rig that was just too heavy to a Mag300, well the "Toneman" plus a Rootmaster 1*15. I ended up acquiring another RM 1x15 and the RM500 head. It's perfect for gigging. Lightweight, decent sound. I changed one of the fifteens to a 2x10 and it's ok, not great. I think if they do a RM 2x12 they'd be on to a winner. 

I actually think the octaver thingy is ok but you need a two button footswitch so you can just drop it on for a few bars then turn it off. I'd never leave it on permanently. I also like that you can switch off the EQ on Ashdown amps so of you're using a preamp pedal you then get the sound of that pedal without confusion from the amp. 

For the kit I now have and my gigging needs I honestly can't see myself using anything else. It's my "rig for life" I think. I've chopped and changed amps a lot in the past but I've found something that does 90% of what I want and that seems to be the highest score possible! 

Wouldn't mind one of their CTMs in future though.

The big draw for me is knowing that if you email them you'll get an answer. You can go over to their offices and they'll repair/ modify stuff (from what I've heard, don't go turning up on their doorstep based on what I say!!). So they seem like all round decent folk.

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On 04/06/2019 at 23:20, stewblack said:

I'll tell you what... I reckon you can tell the quality of gear by the quality of the people who choose it. 

You Asdowners are all great. 

I own two Ashdown heads - a Little Bastard and a CTM-100 - and both are wonderful.

Sorry to be the exception to your rule: I'm a frightful ar$e.

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4 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

Sorry to be the exception to your rule: I'm a frightful ar$e.

Yeah definitely you are. I certainly got that impression when you came over to buy the CTM100... 🤣

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I'm not fond of MAGs, but I've got an EVO rack and we're using an ABM head and 410 on tour at the moment. I really like the cab but I'm unfortunately under-utilising the head a bit due to the presence of a Sansamp in front of everything. I really just use it for monitoring and room EQ but I'd be happy to gig it straight with the valve kicked in.

 

Met some of the team last summer at an industry do and they were really helpful. Chatted through some options for fly dates and similar and got a business card and an open invitation to call from the MD, which was nice of him considering he'd never heard of me before I rocked up to his stall.

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5 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

I own two Ashdown heads - a Little Bastard and a CTM-100 - and both are wonderful.

Sorry to be the exception to your rule: I'm a frightful ar$e.

A bit of a Little Bastard in fact? 😄 

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I've had a Superfly and a Superduperfly - loved the preamp but didn't make proper use of it, the power amp modules weren't quite as good and were a bit weird as you get two power amp modules but with no bridging option. I did suggest to Ashdown that they release the preamp (digitally-controlled graphic with presets that you could select through MIDI) as a stand-alone preamp. Sadly, they didn't.

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4 hours ago, tauzero said:

I've had a Superfly and a Superduperfly - loved the preamp but didn't make proper use of it, the power amp modules weren't quite as good and were a bit weird as you get two power amp modules but with no bridging option. I did suggest to Ashdown that they release the preamp (digitally-controlled graphic with presets that you could select through MIDI) as a stand-alone preamp. Sadly, they didn't.

One thing you can't fault Ashdown for is having a go, the Superfly was ahead of its time. Ok they don't always get it right but they support people with any of their kit, not just the newest flagship models. I just wish they could do a proper Trace clone and hope thegreek doesn't buy out the whole stock ;)

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On 04/06/2019 at 19:47, stewblack said:

I was playing a bit of soul and wanted a relatively straightforward, authentic sound, but wouldn't have minded a nice valve grumble like my Ampeg gives me. So I wound up this little nob with 'Input Mix' written above it. It goes from 'clean' to 'grind' and by golly it sounded splendid. Of all the tube like facsimiles I've tried this honestly came closest to giving me that gorgeous thickening, that sumptuous fattening, that satisfying all enveloping hug of a valve amp.

You mean the knob that determines how much of the signal goes through the ECC83 valve? Yes, it does give a good tube like facsimile for some reason!

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