Anyone uses the Ashdown ABM500?

[ingboy]

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?

i use the abm410t

 

[andrew]

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.

Did you use the Subharmonic effect on the amp Roger?

 

[ingboy]

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.

+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.

excuse me. engage the SHAPE is the bottom OUT ?

 

[R Baer]

Shape was always a must for me. You push the button in to bypass the shape circuit. Out is engaged.

I only used the subharmonic effect as an effect if I was doing a part up high on the neck and wanted a thicker sound. Never like the way it sounded on the low notes, as I felt it made the low end blurry. Not the fault of the effect, but more of just too much sub-harmonic info down low and that usually turns to mush in most clubs I played at.