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Anyone uses the Ashdown ABM500?

#4
I used an ABM500 for years...great head. Here's how i usually set mine up:

Gain - around 2:00
Valve drive - 1:00
Shape - ON
Bass - 11:00 to 1:00, depending on the room
180Hz slider - down 1 mark
340 slider - up one mark
Mid - 12:00
1.3k slider - up 2 marks
2.6 slider - flat
Treble - 1:00

When I owned this head I was using a pick most of the time. This setting makes for a pretty wicked rock tone with some volume behind it.
 
#5
I played one of these at an open mic last night and man was I impressed by the tone, I mean really impressed! I only had a minute to play with it, but I cranked the input gain a bit, cranked the mid a bit and boosted the first slider to the right of the mid just a hair and the tone absolutely killed! Fat, round, yet clear and present, smooth and even sounding, with punch, everything you could ask for. I was digging it very much!
 
#6
R Baer said:
I used an ABM500 for years...great head. Here's how i usually set mine up:

Gain - around 2:00
Valve drive - 1:00
Shape - ON
Bass - 11:00 to 1:00, depending on the room
180Hz slider - down 1 mark
340 slider - up one mark
Mid - 12:00
1.3k slider - up 2 marks
2.6 slider - flat
Treble - 1:00

When I owned this head I was using a pick most of the time. This setting makes for a pretty wicked rock tone with some volume behind it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the settings. I'm looking at getting one of these as soon as music123 gets them in stock.
 
#8
R Baer said:
I used an ABM500 for years...great head. Here's how i usually set mine up:

Gain - around 2:00
Valve drive - 1:00
Shape - ON
Bass - 11:00 to 1:00, depending on the room
180Hz slider - down 1 mark
340 slider - up one mark
Mid - 12:00
1.3k slider - up 2 marks
2.6 slider - flat
Treble - 1:00

When I owned this head I was using a pick most of the time. This setting makes for a pretty wicked rock tone with some volume behind it.
Click to expand...

Nice ， I tried this setting for my band training today . That's great !I had never heard my j bass so pretty. Thx for your sharing!
 
#9
Glad it worked out for you. IMO, that head needs a lot of EQ'ing to sound good, but I don't have a problem with that. Once I got it dialed in, I was always very happy with the tone. I still think it's one of the best rock amplifiers out there. One of the keys for me was the slight tweak to the 180Hz and 340Hz sliders. The problem I found is that while the SHAPE circuit is a must, it's also fairly aggressive. Lowering the 180Hz slider just a tad makes it a little less "boomy" and the slight boost at 340Hz helps put back some of the mids that the SHAPE cuts out. The 1.3k slider is great for dialing in an aggressive SVT type snarl.
 
#10
R Baer said:
Glad it worked out for you. IMO, that head needs a lot of EQ'ing to sound good, but I don't have a problem with that. Once I got it dialed in, I was always very happy with the tone. I still think it's one of the best rock amplifiers out there. One of the keys for me was the slight tweak to the 180Hz and 340Hz sliders. The problem I found is that while the SHAPE circuit is a must, it's also fairly aggressive. Lowering the 180Hz slider just a tad makes it a little less "boomy" and the slight boost at 340Hz helps put back some of the mids that the SHAPE cuts out. The 1.3k slider is great for dialing in an aggressive SVT type snarl.
Click to expand...

+1. I always engaged the shape, and additionally quite a lot of EQ to make it sound good. But it DID sound good! Even the drive sounded real nice to me, and I'm all about a clean tone.
 
#11
R Baer said:
Glad it worked out for you. IMO, that head needs a lot of EQ'ing to sound good, but I don't have a problem with that. Once I got it dialed in, I was always very happy with the tone. I still think it's one of the best rock amplifiers out there. One of the keys for me was the slight tweak to the 180Hz and 340Hz sliders. The problem I found is that while the SHAPE circuit is a must, it's also fairly aggressive. Lowering the 180Hz slider just a tad makes it a little less "boomy" and the slight boost at 340Hz helps put back some of the mids that the SHAPE cuts out. The 1.3k slider is great for dialing in an aggressive SVT type snarl.
Click to expand...

When i play some funk and rock , i use your setting .that is very nice. sometimes，i play some pop songs , it needs a fat ,warm tone,i only make the valve ,and compressor on .The eq, shape is off . The tone is very suitable , and i like it . BUT , i have problem . That is the the sound of E ,A string is larger than the D ,G .And the tones of the D ,G string seems not very clear. Maybe my string is old ,but the tone is very very very diffence from the HARTKE HA3500 I ever tried.
 
#12
Your string to string balance could be dead strings, or more likely, your pick up height. You might want to look into having a tech do a proper set up on your bass, if you aren't skilled at it. You would be amazed at the difference it can make having your neck, action and pick up height set correctly.

For that pop sound, you could try raising the 340Hz slider another notch and setting the 1.3 slider flat. Then adjust the bass to taste.
 
#13
I use my nearly dead flat - with a bit of bump on the mids.

HOWEVER - it really does depend on the cab. I usually run it through one or two Epifani 2x10s, which tend to be very bottom-heavy... So bumping the mids on the amp brings out a fuller sound (And I do only bump them a bit). I never use the contour switch (that's a tool to sell amps in stores anyway).
 
#14
BigOldHarry said:
I use my nearly dead flat - with a bit of bump on the mids.

HOWEVER - it really does depend on the cab. I usually run it through one or two Epifani 2x10s, which tend to be very bottom-heavy... So bumping the mids on the amp brings out a fuller sound (And I do only bump them a bit). I never use the contour switch (that's a tool to sell amps in stores anyway).
Click to expand...

what is your setting , in detail ? ...
 
#17
Below are the settings I use but the bass, mid and treble knob settings can change very slightly based on the room. But for the most part these are the settings I use.


Bass:1:00
180hz Slider :5 mark
340hz Slider : 2.5 mark
Mid : 2:15
1.13hz Slider : 4 mark
2.6Khz Slider : 2 mark
Treble : 2:15
EQ button in
shape out
Active Passive out
Valve Drive I do not use.
My output level is always more than my input level(To keep distortion down).
 
#18
JAUQO III-X said:
Below are the settings I use but the bass, mid and treble knob settings can change very slightly based on the room. But for the most part these are the settings I use.


Bass:1:00
180hz Slider :5 mark
340hz Slider : 2.5 mark
Mid : 2:15
1.13hz Slider : 4 mark
2.6Khz Slider : 2 mark
Treble : 2:15
EQ button in
shape out
Active Passive out
Valve Drive I do not use.
My output level is always more than my input level(To keep distortion down).
Click to expand...

The eq setting is on the top , i had tried this , very difficult to control
 
#19
Too lazy to write them up :ninja:

ddc95d27.jpg

​
The Compressor and Sub are off, sounds good to me but I'm going to try out all the settings on this thread and see what I get :D
 
#20
i've had this head around 5 years now- been through tonnes of different bands settings etc- finally settled on this setting:

bass: 1 o'clock
180hz: 60%
340hz: 75%
mids: 2 o'clock
1.13khz: 60%
2.6khz: 75%
treble: 11 o'clock

input gain: 11 o'clock
valve drive: 11 o'clock
e.q. in
shape set to flat

what cabs are people running with this head? i use a marshall vbc 4x12. anyone using 8x10's?
 

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