andy67 Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 any one got experience of these all valve 300 watt amps? seen them on amazon for £500...all valve? maybe entry level but thats a lot of bang for the proverbial buck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 I played one in Around About sound in cheltenham. Lovely warm tone, i couldn't get to the grit as i couldnt push it hard enough in a shop, i'd have blown the basses off the wall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted September 4, 2007 Author Share Posted September 4, 2007 that sound as though it could be real loud then?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 amps on amazon? 300watt valve amp? buck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr gig Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 [quote name='andy67' post='55274' date='Sep 4 2007, 02:08 PM']any one got experience of these all valve 300 watt amps? seen them on amazon for £500...all valve? maybe entry level but thats a lot of bang for the proverbial buck!![/quote] For that price, it will be circuit board built. That's ok for home or studio use, but take it on the road and it will be prone to failure. I get quite a few guys with modern Marshall valve amps in my studios and they suffer from unreliablity with them. The older handwired amps seem to go on forever unless you drop em down a flight of stairs. Quality don't come cheap, as they say. Maybe that's why Marshall still make handwired amps, if you can afford them. As well as the sound, they will hang together longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I saw Ashton gear at the London Guitar Show.. once I managed to take my eyes of the bikini'd lady handing out flyers. Quite a solid looking amp actually. Didn't hear it though. @ Mr Gig.. I'd have to question your point about 'circuit board' designs being prone to failure. I don't think it is that the 'circuit board' designs themselves are at fault.. more over that some companies use cheaper thinner boards with lower quality tracks and mountings. I feel it is this that is more likely to cause problems. There are so many companies that do not 'point-to-point' and have few failures. Take the Trace V-type amps for example. I'd describe those as practically bomb proof. £500 on amazon for a valve amp is certainly a bargain, I'd like to have a play on one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subthumper Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Do they do a lower power valve head?Say 150-200watts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 [quote name='Subthumper' post='55853' date='Sep 5 2007, 12:21 PM']Do they do a lower power valve head?Say 150-200watts?[/quote] A google reveals! [url="http://www.ashtonmusic.com.au/productlist.asp?CatID=1060"]http://www.ashtonmusic.com.au/productlist.asp?CatID=1060[/url] No valves tho'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='55653' date='Sep 4 2007, 11:48 PM']amps on amazon? 300watt valve amp? buck?[/quote] yep! Amazon also do Ampeg at very reasonable prices! Amazon Uk appear to be falling into line with Amazon.com! bang for your buck - apologies for the Americanism!!! Mrgig, you are correct, though some of the newer stuff is looking very sturdy indeed....I have the little brother of your V6 the V4 - these a particulalry bomb proof...however, early models/prototypes were very prown to failure do to over heating... btw, want your v6 swap my american pbass for it?? andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-bitch Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Never mind circuit boards and point to point. What about the fact that it weighs only 20kg? What does that tell you about the transformers used? Sorry but I think that the old adage applies here of "it it's sounds too good to be true, then it proabably isn't" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr gig Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 [quote name='dood' post='55754' date='Sep 5 2007, 10:03 AM']I saw Ashton gear at the London Guitar Show.. once I managed to take my eyes of the bikini'd lady handing out flyers. Quite a solid looking amp actually. Didn't hear it though. @ Mr Gig.. I'd have to question your point about 'circuit board' designs being prone to failure. I don't think it is that the 'circuit board' designs themselves are at fault.. more over that some companies use cheaper thinner boards with lower quality tracks and mountings. I feel it is this that is more likely to cause problems. There are so many companies that do not 'point-to-point' and have few failures. Take the Trace V-type amps for example. I'd describe those as practically bomb proof. £500 on amazon for a valve amp is certainly a bargain, I'd like to have a play on one![/quote] You're dead right there - thin PCBs are the usual failure cause. A nice thick fibreglass PCB will take all the vibration you can give it! I've got three handwired 60s valve amps, including a Laney Supergroup. You replace the valves and the occasional pot and a valve base once in a while and they just keep going. Over 40 years so far and counting. Those nice thick wires inside the amp just go on and on. Mr Gig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr gig Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 [quote name='andy67' post='55862' date='Sep 5 2007, 12:33 PM']yep! Amazon also do Ampeg at very reasonable prices! Amazon Uk appear to be falling into line with Amazon.com! bang for your buck - apologies for the Americanism!!! Mrgig, you are correct, though some of the newer stuff is looking very sturdy indeed....I have the little brother of your V6 the V4 - these a particulalry bomb proof...however, early models/prototypes were very prown to failure do to over heating... btw, want your v6 swap my american pbass for it?? andy[/quote] If the designers actually design the amp for road use/abuse, then all's well. If they design for cheapest build cost - beware! I don't know if your V4 has a fan in it. That's probably Trace's cure for the overheating. My V6 has one fan and my V8 had two. I miss that V8... Thanks for the offer of a swap. but I need cash to build Studio 3 here (add to my mighty empire - hah!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 (edited) [quote name='G-bitch' post='55870' date='Sep 5 2007, 12:37 PM']Never mind circuit boards and point to point. What about the fact that it weighs only 20kg? What does that tell you about the transformers used? Sorry but I think that the old adage applies here of "it it's sounds too good to be true, then it proabably isn't"[/quote] Took the very words out of my mouth, there, GB. Well done for actually finding out how much it weighs, too. I couldn't find any mention of weight or dimensions on the Ashton website, or even in the user manual. I wonder if they're doing the class 'D' / switch-mode power supply trick to save cost and weight? If so, that would put me right off. In this price bracket, the Traynor YBA200 would be my preferred option. Edited September 5, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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