Ashdown Pedals..

[Linkert]

Hello.
Im looking for some sound samples for thees three pedals or just some one to aprove that they are not crap.:
Ashdown Sub Octave Plus.
Ashdown Drive Plus.
Ashdown Dual Band Compression.

If you have one of them you can tell me what you think of them.

[40Hz_of_Love]

Unmodded DBC is crap. It's too easy to clip the input.

[Pearl_jammin]

I've tried the Drive....

It was a very sterile, unresponsive and untweakable fuzz. Really generic, the Hi/Low distortion was a good idea, but it didn't come out well.

Oh and the overall gain was pretty low.

It's a damn shame about these Ashdowns, I would have loved them to be impressive.

[Embryodead]

ah that's a shame, i think the Ashdown pedals look amazing too.

[Linkert]

Originally Posted by Embryodead

ah that's a shame, i think the Ashdown pedals look amazing too.

That was my thought too.. I was gonna buy those three and make a good looking pedalbord with only those three.

[MikeyB]

I really wanted to like the Ashdown pedals, but it was not to be.

Sub-Octave:
I ran both my Fender Geddy Lee Jazz and Ric 4003 (both passive, but you know the Ric has hot output) and couldn't get enough level to consistenly drive the sub. Eventually, I bought a Digitech Bass Synth Wah just for the octaver. It's better, and cheaper.

Drive PLus:
I REALLY wanted to like this one - I wanted to add some subtle overdrive-esque distortion to just the top end in search of some Geddy sounds. The separate low/high drives on this unit sounded perfect... in theory. The lows would not stay pristine despite how I set up the unit. And the distortion I did get out of it didn't impress me. I'm sticking to my Fulltone and Sansamp - maybe I'll rig up a crossover some day.

Again, these are nice looking pedals and I WANTED to have a matched set, but they just don't cut it.

-Mike

[Embryodead]

yeah, after i heard some of the complaints about the Sub-Octave i got a EHX Multiplexer which works really nice with my Blow Torch ;-p

[cmhgreg]

I have to agree on what has already been said about the Drive Plus. I just sold mine. I'm no expert on overdrives, but it sounded thin to me even when I only added drive to the high frequencies. Moving the EQ knob to the left only added boom while taking away definition.

I do like the Dual Band Compression though and still use it. I must have lucked out because mine is a later production, "unmodded" one and it works with any of the five or so different basses I've run through it. With active basses, I have to turn down the input gain (but that's what it's there for) or else it will clip. As a compressor, it's more of a musical or EQ-type, but it really improves my tone. It's one of those things where I notice it more when it's not there.

[Crabby]

How about the Ashdown filter? I am very interested in this pedal but would like to hear some feedback from someone who owns one or has tried one out.

[Higgie]

I tried one of the first batch of filters on a passive jazz, and it sounded lovely. Haven't tried the newer active friendly model, but if it sounds as good as it did on the passive, then it'll be great. It's a really bubbly and squelchy pedal.

The only reason I'm not going mad to try an active friendly one is because I've just got myself an original Mu-tron III, so I don't need no Ashdown

[Clinks]

I just bought the Dual Band Compressor yesterday. Bongomania was right; compressors DO require a good bit of patience to get the sound you're after to be JUST RIGHT. I mainly bought it to support my LMS,
even though he hardly has any bass gear (are ALL music stores like this?).

But also bear in mind;

* I just started playing Bass;
* the only other pedals I have are a tuner and an OD/Dist;
* I'm using a 4-string Squier P-Bass w/ passive pickups;
* my amp is the old Rumble 15 that came with the bass.

Given the above circumstances and the LQ ("lower-quality") gear, I don't know how much my words are worth. Except maybe in "ease of use."

[rob_thebassman]

I had the drive plus, it wasn't the best