NGD Ashdown Porn: Rare and Unigue....for now!

[LuvMusic]

I've been looking for an all tube head for awhile now. I'm not gigging and most of my playing is done either in my basement or in the basement of some friends I play with. So, I didn't want a monster tube head (something no more than 100w). This will also be my first tube amp, so I wanted something simple and with a warranty.

Well, the powers of money and product finally merged and this is what I bought. UPS will be delivering it tomorrow (Monday) but I couldn't wait to share anymore.

This is a picture that was sent to me by The Bass Place, the establishment I bought the head from. So, here it is!!




Your eyes are not deceiving you.....YES this is an Ashdown Little Bastard and Ashdown has confirmed this is one of two prototypes that were built. In fact, this one is from this year's Winter NAMM!!

Be assured more details, initial impressions and pics will follow tomorrow after the brown truck makes it's stop at my house.

[jowens004]

Have you got it yet? You must be still playing it. I know I would be. I saw that advertised, I was wondering if someone from TB would snatch that up. Good score man!

[LuvMusic]

UPS tracking is telling me "Out for delivery" Should be here soon! The GAS is killin' me!!!

[4-string]

I'm not into tube amps at all, but that looks really cool. Congrats and happy playing!

[LuvMusic]

Originally Posted by 4-string

I'm not into tube amps at all, but that looks really cool. Congrats and happy playing!

Thanks! This is going to be my first tube amp experience and I'm excited.

If the brown truck doesn't get here soon, the kids will be home from school and it will be homework time.

I will be posting lots of pictures, details and first impressions.

[LuvMusic]

Well, The Little Bastard is here and has arrived safely.

There was a scare....as you can see there was a hole in the box when it arrived. Fortunately, nothing seems to be damaged. Took a pic for UPS in case there is something wrong when I fire it up. Another interesting item was that all the "PRC" references on the box had been marked out and there is a hang tag that says "Handmade in England." Here is as pic of the box, you can see where the PRC references have been crossed out.



Pic of the front panel.



Pic of the back panel. There is also a stamp here that says "Handmade by Ashdown." This is a prototype, so who knows. I'll have to check with my contact at Ashdown. Also notice there are two taps/plugs on the back, one for 8 ohms and one for 4 ohms!



Last pic for now...then it's time to help the kids with homework. The LB sitting on top of my MB combo to provide some scale as to the size of the head.



Plug-in / Lift-off after dinner...UPS got here too late for me to fire the LB up now. More later!

[JimmyM]

pretty cool, dude...as a b-15 lover, looking forward to hearing your report.

[LuvMusic]

I've had a little time to explore and play through the LB and my initial reaction is this is a very cool amp! The amp is rated at 30w @ 4 or 8 ohms and (I've read on another forum) 20w @ 8 ohms. (This didn't seem right, Ashdown confirmed 30w at 4 and 8 ohms). For how I am going to use this amp, the output is perfect.

As far as tone is concerned, I'll do my best but my experience with tube amps is very limited and it's been a long time since I've played through B15 (or any other tube amp). Also, my observations are based on using the Carvin V115 cab (8 ohms).

The LB definitely meets my expectations of what a tube amp should sound like. There is warmth and depth in the tone that my MB combo lacks. I spent the morning playing the head of my combo through the V115, without the 2x10's so I could get a decent sound impression in my head and the LB still sounds warmer at similar volume levels. This is with the volume knob set at about 9:00. On the MB combo equal volume would have the volume knob at about 7:00.

Once you start cranking the volume to 10:00 and above the LB starts to growl.
At 10:00 you start getting a little more hair and roughness on the top and bottom ends. The amount of "edge" remained constant up through about 11:00 which is when the wife and kids started complaining. So, additional louder level testing is required!

The controls for the amp include three toggle switches; mid shift, bass shift and bright. The amp did not include documentation (it is on the way from Ashdown) so I'm not completely sure what these toggles are doing but they have a significant impact on the sound and character of the head.

My initial thoughts were the toggles would effect the mid points of the tone controls but my ears tell me there is more going on. With all the toggles down, I get what I perceive as a classic, mellow tube amp that has a soft attack. With all the toggles in the up position the LB has a more modern sound. Crisper highs, tighter lows and an overall more defined sound....almost how I would imagine a tube driven LMII sounding. It gets even more interesting when you start mixing the toggle settings. Want a warm, soft bottom and some sizzle on the top...flip the bright toggle up and BAM, you got it. When I get the document ion and after I've played around a little more, I'll update the thread.

Does it sound like a B15 (Jimmy!!), I can't say. When I was talking to Dennis at The Bass Place before buying the amp, Dennis described the LB as sounding more like a Fender tube head versus a B15. All I know at this point is that it definitely sounds like a tube head and I'm liking what I'm hearing. Of course the amp is new, I'm excited and prone to being biased (no pun intended) in a big way.

One little design gripe....it's more than taking off a back plate to look inside the amp. It appears that there are four screws that need to be removed and the head slid out to get s good guts shot. Given that the amp is new and under warranty, I don't think I'll be doing that. Also, it appears that the way to change tubes is by removing a small ventilation plate on the top of the amp. The plate is also secured by four screws, so, no easy access to the tubes.

Switches feel very solid and smooth. The knob controls are the same. Nothing feels cheap about the amp at all.

That's what I have for now. I'm getting off the computer and going to play my bass. I still have to experiment with the high gain input and my SB14.

Any questions, feel free to post. I'll do my best to respond. Over an out for now!

[JimmyM]

fender's bass amps were always solid...just not their cabs. and of course they have that fender tone stack that's stil a little bizarre to me. does the lb have that tone stack?

sounds like a winner...trace's old tube heads were pretty stellar, so i would expect the ashdown stuff to have a similar vibe, eh? ever play a trace?

[Tim C.]

Ashdown must have done something to anger UPS, because last week I got a PM1000 Power Amplifier that was crunched by them, and now I'm fighting UPS for my insurance money.

Sounds like a great little amp - enjoy!

Sound files?

[LuvMusic]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

fender's bass amps were always solid...just not their cabs. and of course they have that fender tone stack that's stil a little bizarre to me. does the lb have that tone stack?

Honestly, I don't know. What I have experienced is that the tone stack doesn't seem to be as linear as the tone stack in my MB.

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Sounds like a winner...trace's old tube heads were pretty stellar, so i would expect the ashdown stuff to have a similar vibe, eh? ever play a trace?

Never have had the pleasure to play a tube Trace. I did play through a Fender tube head a loooong time ago and this head reminds me of that experience.

Originally Posted by Tim C.

Ashdown must have done something to anger UPS, because last week I got a PM1000 Power Amplifier that was crunched by them, and now I'm fighting UPS for my insurance money.

Yeah...I saw your thread and was thinking about what I read when I saw the condition of the box. That was one of the reasons I took a picture before opening the box. Fortunately the head was in one piece and undamaged!

Originally Posted by Tim C.

Sounds like a great little amp - enjoy!

Sound files?

Thanks! Clips....well I don't have a microphone or equipment for recording the performance of a bass amp at home. However, I do have a friend who has a studio in his home and he even has a B15. I think I can talk him into helping me out on this. May take a couple of weeks, stayed tuned!

[Colledge123]

i saw one of these for sale the other day at my local. i'm lusting after a tube amp... but i need atleast enough volume for small gigs. i have an ashdown mag600 at the moment and have gotten pretty sick of it. even contemplating a little bastard di'd to a power amp if it sounds good.

[Basshappi]

Cool amp, read the specs on those awhile back and they do look interesting.
Congrats, looking forward to your impression once you can do a side-by-side with the B-15.

Cheers!

[carlos840]

How loud does it get?
Is it more a studio amp or can you get it loud enough for gigs?
Im thinking about getting one to have a second amp option and im wondering if it would be as loud as my walkabout with a 4 ohms 12"?

[Dubista]

That looks amazing.

How much did it cost you, If you don't mind sharing.

I can't wait for that LB to hit Aussie shores.

[LuvMusic]

Originally Posted by Colledge123

I saw one of these for sale the other day at my local.

Don't know where you are located but I can tell you these amps are not readily available yet.

There were two prototypes built and I have one of them, so there might be another prototype available in North America.

Also, Ashdown is building 100 hand-wired Limited Edition LB's that should be available about now. I asked where they would be sold in the U.S. and they couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me. I asked Bass Central if they knew anything about these and they did not.

So, if you want it, you should grab it! The PRC production models won't be available until sometime between late April - June.

Originally Posted by carlos840

How loud does it get?
Is it more a studio amp or can you get it loud enough for gigs?
Im thinking about getting one to have a second amp option and im wondering if it would be as loud as my walkabout with a 4 ohms 12"?

If my research is correct, the Walkabout is 300w @ 4 ohms. The LB is 30w @ 4 or 8 ohms. There is no way a 30w amp will be as loud as a 300w amp. I also have a MB combo running 300w @ 8 ohms and I can tell you there is no way the LB will keep up with my MB in a volume battle.

Loud enough for gigs....tough question to answer....subjective (to a degree) and prone to other variables (number of people, sound support, playing habits of other musicians, etc).

I'd say you could gig with it in a smaller room with musicians that aren't trying to blast out windows, doors and walls! The larger the room and the louder the musicians the more likely you will need to use a DI for sound support or mike the cab.

This head would be great in the studio, as a jamming amp, in smaller more intimate playing situations or as a practice amp.

Hope this helps!

[KiOgon]

Hey all,
I've been messaging LuvMusic = 1st Little Bastard in the USA
I'm on a promise next Tuesday = 1st Little Bastard in UK

To be delivered with a Ashdown Custom built LB 1x12 cab

So I'll be showing my Ashdown soon

Cheers,
John

[Phyrexian]

Sweet amp! I'd like one!

[LuvMusic]

Originally Posted by KiOgon

To be delivered with a Ashdown Custom built LB 1x12 cab

Cheers,
John

I'll be interested in your report on how the amp sounds with the Ashdown 1x12. Right now I'm using a Carvin 1x15 cab and it sounds really good.

A different cab may be the next "search."

Cheers back at you!

[tombowlus]

Congrats! I played that little amp at Winter NAMM, and its a cool beast, for sure!