Ashdown, what can one say about these bass amps or brand?

[Duke21]

I was wandering about the Ashdown amps. In Norway we have quite limited amount of amps, and the prices are nothing to brag about. I'm not familiar with Ashdown amps and combo's, but I've noticed that the amps are very cheap. But I've no idea what to expect out of Ashdown. I've in mind the MAG C210T 300 and the C410T 300. What kind of sound do they have? British style? US style? tubey sound or SS HiFi sound? how do Ashdown stand against similar amps and combos from Ampeg and GK?

[Mr. Foxen]

They do a broad range of amps. The really cheap ones have the cheap amp problems, and the expensive ones are very good amplifiers. Their product support is excellent (at least in the UK). They can pretty much do any of those sounds that you suggest, as they have valve, hybrid and solid state amplifiers.

[Erim]

OT post to the OP..

I notice you're from Norway and your name has Duke in it.. Any chance you listen to Jorn Lande?

[Tituscrow]

I've used an ABM900 with 410 cabs for a few years. It would happily take the roof of a small hall. Not the best amps around but they do the job nicely. And the interfaces have a nice feel and look about them too. The MAG range isn't great, but again there's worse you could spend the same on.

[rovito]

The Mag 600 with just about any cab is a great head. Punchy but not overly deep sounding. The 300 heads are lacking a bit at 8ohms. I have had two mag 300s in the rack form and the 210 combo and now use the 600R into a mag 210 for small to medium size shows and two 410 cabs for big shows. Really good stuff.

[Jared21]

I love my abm c210 it creates an awesome sound, but the only problem is that the speakers break very easily.

[moles]

A MAG 600 through a decent cab is actually pretty alright. Even with the cheaper MAG cabs I'm using, I get lots of compliments from bands I sub in who are usually surprised at how good it all sounds. But then again I haven't tried the ABM or Klystron amps out...
They are sort of a "Warm Modern" sound (or is that Modern Warmth?) I've played the crap out of mine for going on 5 years now, and it's still going strong.

[rodl2005]

My EVOII 900 (1050w) is a BEAST! Can easily run 2x4ohm cabs & Swamps ANY MArshall stack I've hadda play with! ha HA!!!!

[prd004]

I am a seventeen year Ampeg player and I used an Ashdown rig just a few days ago at an open mic and my bass never sounded better. I believe it was an ABM EVO 500 III with an Ashdown 4x10 and I was impressed, very impressed

[esa372]

I played an Ashdown ABM EVO 500 III with an Ashdown 8x10 cab at a show last January. We made a "promo" video with the audio from that show.

It was the club's rig, and I didn't have much time to set it up to my taste, but it was pretty cool sounding.

If you'd like to hear a Fender AV'75 Jazz Bass through that rig, here's the link to the video.

[rodl2005]

IME- take a little time to dial in the pretty extensive EQ (7 band IIRC- with 3 rotary controls & 4 sliders) with a sound that you dig & Uncle Roberts right there(Bob's yr uncle) The 'VALVE grind' control seems to work nicely too. One of THE BEST valve OD's I've heard outta a 'NON-valve' power amp!

[4-string]

I have owned some Ashdown gear over the past few years, and still have an MK-500 as my main amp. Never had a single issue with anything, always sounds good (though some EQ is usually needed).

Cool to see a bassplayer from Narvik. I used to work there, lived in Ballangen.

[fingerbun]

I've seen Ashdown onstage with U2, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney among others.

[knumbskull]

it's good, in my experience - reliable, tends towards a warm, less trebly sound. their budget stuff is fine for the price.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by Erim

OT post to the OP..

I notice you're from Norway and your name has Duke in it.. Any chance you listen to Jorn Lande?

Ho, actually I've never heard about him! I should probably look into it! :-)

Otherwise, thanks guys for the replies.
OK, so the MAG series is kind of an entry level. How is the ABM series?
I see that in Norway the Ashdown ABM C-500EVOIII costs over 100 euro's more then the Gallien-Krueger MB210 500W 2x10" combo which I guess is one of the best combos for the money. Which of these 2 combos do you think are the best choice? I'm usually prefer dirty tone over clean tone. I do have several overdrive/ distortion pedals (written in the profile), so coloring the tone is no problem. But I'll prefer an amp with some bite. I know the GK has it, I'm not sure about the Ashdown.
I think though the main issue I',m looking into is reliability and solid performance.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by 4-string

I have owned some Ashdown gear over the past few years, and still have an MK-500 as my main amp. Never had a single issue with anything, always sounds good (though some EQ is usually needed).

Cool to see a bassplayer from Narvik. I used to work there, lived in Ballangen.

Takk! Hvor bor du nå?

Cool as well to know you lived in Ballangen, even though we Narvik snobs consider Ballangen as a "dodgy village" , one could almost think Narvik was a 500,000 size of town to support our ego, as Narvik is only 10000-15000 "big".


An other thing which is REALLY cool is Lee Sklar!

[4-string]

Hehe, yes I am well aware that Ballangen isn't "byen". Back in Østfold now, moved in '97 so it has been a while. Still have contact with a few friends up there.

[Casperrobo]

I have the ABM EVO III 500 and it's sounds great live. It's a great amp and can clearly be heard, the valve grind does sounds really good and the amp can do most things you want it too including HiFi stuff. It's real sweet spot is rock blues funk type music.

[bassssificator]

I bought an ashdown mag 115 about a year ago, and I can't hear my bass anymore. I just hear loud "crackling" noises. And when I lift it up I hear a little roaling in the amp.
I would say ashdown suck, but maybe I just got bad luck.