Tell me your Ashdown horror stories

[Downunderwonder]

What does Ampeg failure rate have to do with Ashdown horror stories?

[2milehighspike]

Like I said earlier, my Ashdown head was bullitproof , I hope my GK gear will be as reliable, and my gear gets a lot of use.

[2milehighspike]

Originally Posted by creis2

.
.
..
.For some reason there's a misconception out there that Ampeg is the ONLY and BEST bass amp company out there. .
..

Um Thats why, did I mention ampeg guys are real sensitive too'

[creis2]

Originally Posted by 2milehighspike

Um Thats why, did I mention ampeg guys are real sensitive too'

This is going to turn into one of THOSE threads.

Ashdown is awesome, PM me if you have any specific questions.

I'm out of this.

[eyeballkid]

I've played the hell out of my abm for years and not a hiccup.

[Petermariner]

Ashdown ABM II 300 used every weekend for last 4 years. After 2 months, it produced a horrible dying sound. Free repair from Ashdown (apparently a bad transformer coil) and postage and have had superb sound since! Brilliant after-sales service! I look after my gear, but it's had some playing hours! I would definitely have another one! Mine was British built.
Pete

[JAUQO III-X]

In a couple of months it will be 15 years of me using and endorsing Ashdown amps and cabs.


I have yet to have a problem with any Ashdown amp or cab that I own and I'm still waiting on some one to prove to me that the made in P.R.C. amps are garbage.

Ashdown amps are just like any other amp brand on the market, anything can go wrong. There's not a brand on the market that will not have a few bad amps here and there.

As far as reliability, nothing to worry about at all.



Usually when someone is ragging on the quality of an amp, it's from user error and/or they bought the amp used and they really have no clue why it was even sold. Sometimes amps are damaged in shipping on it's way to the dealers and that's not know until it goes home with a customer.

A few months ago a friend of mine purchased a used made in P.R.C. ABM EVO II Rack mount head, I informed him that the minimum load is 4 ohms. The next day he runs a 2 ohm load and fries the amp.

Use error for sure.

[Bassmec]

I have one of the first Asdown ABM EVO 500 115 combos made.
Serial No 1775040L
It gets sent out on hire, un chaperoned with young aggressive looking bass players and abused monstrously in the rehearsal room.
Will it break down no! Not a chance, the bulb in the VU meter went a long time ago but other than that it completely refuses to die.
The Horror bit is, it looks quite a lot like an extra from the movie the undead now.

[JamesGoodall]

Originally Posted by creis2

It's a great head, cuts through the mix well. Just be careful not to push the bass knob too much, it sounds good when playing solo, but sounds gross in the mix. I recommend starting with the EQ at 12:00 and making small adjustments.

That's where I'm at for now until I can really sit down and tweak with the EQ. I've also got a sansamp RBI that I'm still running through my signal chain and am much better at eq-ing. I'll get that Ashdown to a perfect sound eventually though! Thanks for the tip

[Downunderwonder]

Originally Posted by Bassmec

I have one of the first Asdown ABM EVO 500 115 combos made.
Serial No 1775040L
It gets sent out on hire, un chaperoned with young aggressive looking bass players and abused monstrously in the rehearsal room.
Will it break down no! Not a chance, the bulb in the VU meter went a long time ago but other than that it completely refuses to die.
The Horror bit is, it looks quite a lot like an extra from the movie the undead now.

I've played on one from early 90's. Magnificent amp. Hard to believe it came from the same company as that Mag300 I wrote about.

[JimmyM]

Hey, I appreciate being baited by some of you guys. Makes me feel real important.

[Bassbubble11]

I have an Ashdown combo and to be honest it's a tank.
I have been using it for rehearsals and gigs for some time
and have never had a problem. It is super reliable.

[B-string]

Oh Jimmy my friend.......

[eyeballkid]

creis2 has one good point about Ashdown though. I love em, but their responsiveness has really kinda crapped out in the last year or so. it used to be that when you hit "contact" on the website that you could get a response in under an hour. now its like the SETI project, you send multiple messages out into deep space and all you hear is the electrical hum of your idle computer.
why is that?
actually its gotten to the point that if I have an Ashdown question, I ask Jauqo!! he should get paid as a customer service rep if you ask me!

[lowphatbass]

I have an old UK made EB-180 head that's been through hell and back..I used to run it with a Bag End 15 at silly volume at blues jams because I didn't want to bring anything valuable. It still works....I picked-up a used LG-1000 as a lightweight backup for my main rigs. Of course I had to test it out a few times. Since then I've been using it as my main "cover band workhorse" for quite some time now, mostly with a Schroeder 1212L....

.....No "horror stories" here.

[AdamR]

I had an Mag 300 I ran through a SWR 410 for years. Never had an issue, It was plenty loud enough for what I was doing. It replaced an SWR SM500 that I just couldnt dial in a tone I liked.

[Laurent]

Oh no, not another throw a brand under the bus kind of thread...

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by Laurent

Oh no, not another throw a brand under the bus kind of thread...

Yep

[irvinz]

i worked selling ashdowns for awhile. the only one that i seen fail, fell off from a 8 by 10 off the riser, of the stage, and onto the ground. huge dent in the chassis, everything else was just fuses, and the vu meters ofcourse

they are a pretty decent piece of gear

[svtcobraboy81]

Thank you guys for the feedback and the horror stories. I do realize that no brand is without their lemons. At least I've found a few TB'ers that know how to contact Ashdown CS I'm planning to jump on the Ashdown ABM wagon very soon.