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Ashdown ABM 500

#2
The ABM 500 is a great amp. It produces a warm, yet clean tone with plenty of volume. The 'input mix' knob on the pre allows you to add some grit to your sound if you wish. You have a couple of options as-far-as the chassis goes, too. You can get the padded carry-along version (blue with black padding) or the rack-mount version (chrome face.)

IMO, you can't go wrong with Ashdown.
 
#3
Jason Carota said:
The ABM 500 is a great amp. It produces a warm, yet clean tone with plenty of volume. The 'input mix' knob on the pre allows you to add some grit to your sound if you wish. You have a couple of options as-far-as the chassis goes, too. You can get the padded carry-along version (blue with black padding) or the rack-mount version (chrome face.)

IMO, you can't go wrong with Ashdown.
Click to expand...

Ditto this!

I have the chrome-faced rackmounted version. Besides being a great performing amp, it looks cool... stage lights sparkle off of the chrome.

The only negative things I will say about this amp are purely cosmetic. They bug me nonetheless, but I've grown to accept them:

1.) Power switch is in the back... I prefer that to be in the front...
2.) Tuner out is in the front... should be in the back...
3.) While the chrome face is really cool, IMO, the lable fonts for all of the switches, dials and sliders are pretty difficult to read...

...other than that, you couldn't go wrong if you went with an ABM500 Evo-II. :smug:
 
#5
I too own an Ashdown ABM EVO 500. It is a great amp, and their customer service is very good considering they are the in UK...if you lose a screw or a nut or something dumb like that, they will send you one. Sound is impressive...I bought mine in 2002 and A/B/C'd it SWR and Genz Benz. There was no comparison.

My only complaint is the VU meter light bulb is intermittent...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This problem just started a few months ago. As the VU meter itself still works and everything else is fine, I haven't bothered to bring it in.

At $899, it is a great deal. I also have two Ashdown ABM 2X10 cabs and they are incredibly solid and efficient. I play in two cover bands with Marshalls and I cut right through that mess. My drummer loves the way my amp sounds...he told me that other bass players he's played with have had bigger rigs but mine sounds the best.

Be forewarned...their stuff is not light in weight. Especially the cabs...My 2x10's are almost 65 pounds each. Not impossible to move, of course, but I live on the third floor...:D
 
#10
Volk said:
I've been looking at this head as well, I have a Mag 300 and was thinking of upgrading...but I can't decide between the Ashdown 500 Evo II and dishing out a few hundred more for a Thunderfunk 550...
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I would A/B an Ashdown ABM with an Aguilar or a GK head, then. That would probably give you a good idea of what the differences would be like. The tube pre amp makes a difference in sound for the better, IMO.

I'm sure the Thunderfunk is a great amp, but I am a tube preamp convert after playing solid state for years.
 
#11
Thanx for all the responses

Hearing that their everything Ampeg tries to be is kinda funny. I own a B2R and it's been alright but a little weak when it comes to power. I've tried every amp Ampeg makes and the only ones I'd even consider are;

1- SVT CL (a little too pricey, like $1599 new)
2- SVT 6Pro (it's new, so I don't know)

Pretty much everything I've heard is pointing me towards the Ashdown, allthough I haven't even tried one yet.

I guess I gotta get up to my local music store
:bassist:
 
#13
I'm surprised that I was the first one to bring this us, but have you tried usin the "search" function and put in ashdown ABM500. There is a wealth of informatoin and experiences on this board. I read through about 2 years of posts before I made the decision to actually pull the trigger on one of these. I've been reluctant to write a review of the Ashdown ABM 500 Evo II RM(Rackmount Chrome Face) with my Bergantino NV610, as I haven't tried it in a gigging situation yet...however from jamming in my living room with a drum machine, it sounds "saweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet":bassist:
 
#14
Poon said:
I'm surprised that I was the first one to bring this us, but have you tried usin the "search" function and put in ashdown ABM500. There is a wealth of informatoin and experiences on this board. I read through about 2 years of posts before I made the decision to actually pull the trigger on one of these. I've been reluctant to write a review of the Ashdown ABM 500 Evo II RM(Rackmount Chrome Face) with my Bergantino NV610, as I haven't tried it in a gigging situation yet...however from jamming in my living room with a drum machine, it sounds "saweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet":bassist:
Click to expand...

Coincidently, I replaced my pre/power rig (Aguilar 659/QSC1602) with an ABM500. I sold the 659 to Poon :) Check out Poon's other gear in his profile and you get an idea of his boutique tastes, so his praises come with some weight.

I recommend the Ashdown too: plenty of power, warm yet fairly modern. It's not "crispy" like some amps, so if you like super-hi it might be lacking.
 
#15
Poon said:
... I've been reluctant to write a review of the Ashdown ABM 500 Evo II RM(Rackmount Chrome Face) with my Bergantino NV610, as I haven't tried it in a gigging situation yet...
Click to expand...

Well... I suggest you get out there and gig with that set-up son, and then tell us all about it!

BTW, Poon... your last name wouldn't be "Tang", would it? Heh-heh-heh... just kidding, brah! :D
 
#17
Keeaumoku said:
Well... I suggest you get out there and gig with that set-up son, and then tell us all about it!

BTW, Poon... your last name wouldn't be "Tang", would it? Heh-heh-heh... just kidding, brah! :D
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Like I haven't heard that one before. My last name is actually Poon.
People keep asking me if I can mary a girl with the last name Tang...so I could have the Poon - Tang wedding. Pretty childish, but funny never the less. The other one I hear is "name your kid Annie", so during roll call they would be like, Poon, Annie. Is there Poon-Annie here?
 
#18
CaptainWally said:
Coincidently, I replaced my pre/power rig (Aguilar 659/QSC1602) with an ABM500. I sold the 659 to Poon :) Check out Poon's other gear in his profile and you get an idea of his boutique tastes, so his praises come with some weight.

I recommend the Ashdown too: plenty of power, warm yet fairly modern. It's not "crispy" like some amps, so if you like super-hi it might be lacking.
Click to expand...

I've bought quite a bit of gear from Wally, so I think get that Boutique taste from somewhere...:smug:. I think your praise comes with quite a bit of weight as well.
 
#19
Poon said:
..Like I haven't heard that one before...
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:D Nah! I figured you did... I have a good buddy friend over here on Oahu, long-long Chinese ancestry going back to the original imigrants brought over to work in the cane fields... I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. His parents have old pictures on the walls of their home showing some of their relatives... their family name is Mao.

So... when my buddy Geoff Mao became a daddy... we started calling him "Papa-um-mao-Mao"... talk about childish! :D

Me ke'aloha pumehana to you, Mr. Poon... ;)
 
#20
Keeaumoku said:
:D Nah! I figured you did... I have a good buddy friend over here on Oahu, long-long Chinese ancestry going back to the original imigrants brought over to work in the cane fields... I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. His parents have old pictures on the walls of their home showing some of their relatives... their family name is Mao.

So... when my buddy Geoff Mao became a daddy... we started calling him "Papa-um-mao-Mao"... talk about childish! :D

Me ke'aloha pumehana to you, Mr. Poon... ;)
Click to expand...


:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
 

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