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ASHDOWN ABM EVO OWNERS - Question...

Ronny49

Ronny49

Aug 22, 2009
411
39
Phoenix, AZ
#1
Hey...

I have owned an Ashdown ABM EVO II head in a sleeve for some time and always loved the sound I got from it. The head was getting old and had some issues arising. So, I went and purchased a new EVO III to replace the EVO II.

Have any of you owned both and can you tell me what you experience is with both?

I have found that the EVO III does not sound as good as my old EVO II. I know it has compression added, but I would like to know if anyone has noticed any difference in sound between the two.

My new EVO III rack-mount head is very hissy and I had to turn the horn on my cab all the way down and it still hisses a little. My EVO II was very quiet.

I'm running through a 410 SWR GoLight cab and I have to say that it is very middy and lacks upper end clarity. Not sure if it is the new EVO III head, as I just got it and never tried it out on my EVO II before getting rid of it. Now I'm kind of sorry I sold my old EVO II.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!
 
#2
As an amp gets older it ususally loses some power and becomes "softer" and not so bright as when new, due to component aging. That could be one factor that plays a part here.

(BTW I have an ABM 300 EVO, and it was always a bit laid back in the treble)
 
#4
Bassman1953 said:
As an amp gets older it ususally loses some power and becomes "softer" and not so bright as when new, due to component aging. That could be one factor that plays a part here.

(BTW I have an ABM 300 EVO, and it was always a bit laid back in the treble)
Click to expand...


My issue was not with the old, but with the new Evo III not sounding as good as the Evo II. My Evo II had MORE punch than the brand new Evo III !!

My EVO II sounded better all around than the new EVO III.
 
#5
If I follow, you got a new Evo III head and a new GoLight cabinet (that you never tried with your Evo II)? Could it just be the new cabinet that's largely to blame for the change in sound? I mean, without trying both the Evo II and the Evo III through the same cab, it doesn't seem like a fair comparison, unless I'm missing something.

I myself play through an Evo II most of the time (although my new Genz 9.0 has been earning more respect from me), and I love the bass that thing puts out. Never played an Evo III.
 
#6
Bassman1953 said:
As an amp gets older it ususally loses some power and becomes "softer" and not so bright as when new, due to component aging.
Click to expand...

Ummm, I don't think so with any solid state amp that I know of.

A tube amp will, over many years do this but it's not the amp that ages, it's the tube efficiency as the tube ages and it's no longer as efficient at boiling (emission) electrons off of the cathode. Replace the tubes and you are back to original factory spec.

This assumes a good design with proper parts selection to begin with. If the (other) parts deteriorate to the point that they affect amp performance within say 15-20 years, there is something wrong or unstable with the design or parts sources IMO.
 
#7
ryankself said:
If I follow, you got a new Evo III head and a new GoLight cabinet (that you never tried with your Evo II)? Could it just be the new cabinet that's largely to blame for the change in sound? I mean, without trying both the Evo II and the Evo III through the same cab, it doesn't seem like a fair comparison, unless I'm missing something.

I myself play through an Evo II most of the time (although my new Genz 9.0 has been earning more respect from me), and I love the bass that thing puts out. Never played an Evo III.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean... but there is a tremendous difference! I had previously an Avatar 410. Their both ported cabs and have high end Eminence speakers.

Well, anyway... my EVO actually FRIED today! It went hum... ping... flash -flash and poof! Out!! I think it was defective. :confused:

...and yes, I used a Furman power conditioner.
 
#8
You said your EVO fried, which one the new one or older one? And you really should try your newer EVO III with the Avatar cab for a truer comparison, that coulda made a big difference in your new tone/volume or whatever your now hearing. Or can you try your newer EVO into your Golite cab?

Tho I dont know if they changed anything in the II over the III EVO's, maybe that's it. I had a EVO II-RC a few years back that I loved the tone of thru SWR cabs, then it fried at a gig and oh well don't wanna rehash that whole story.
Good luck. Keep us posted on the outcome.
 
#10
I purchased this amp from a seller on ebay by the name of p-hill. His store is Butler Music located in Butler MO. He is selling Ashdown EVO III's for below MAP pricing. But is a deal really a deal if you don't get what you expected??

The amp arrived in a clean box, but when I opened it the bag was torn, the amp had numerous fingerprints on it and the screws looked like they were tampered with.

So I go and plug it in and it did not sound good. I called the stored by phone and the owner Jeff, the owner says to me, no one else has complained. He said I could send it back but I would have to pay the shipping. OH GREAT! So I said I will try it out some more and hung up.

I then played it for a while not liking what I was hearing and then went to bed. I got up the next morning and turned on the amp and it sounded the same for about a minute and then it started humming and I checked all the cords and everything was fine and all of a sudden, it made a loud ping noise and POP POP FLASH and OUT it went!!

I called Jeff and he asks me what did I do to the amp. I said nothing other than turn it on and play it. He says I must have done something. Well long story short, he argued until I said I will file a Paypal claim and I hung up. He told me that he would NOT take it back now that it was broken and that he doesn't RENT equipment, especially for free!

RENT EQUIPMENT???

I just paid hard earned cash for this head and he was leaving me to rot in the pits of hell!! This seller is one nasty excuse for a human being!!

A WORD OF WARNING! Do NOT buy from him, you WILL end up regretting it!!
 
#11
Bassman1953 said:
Well, it´s my experience with several of my (hifi) SS amps. And it´s when I changed the electrolythic capacitors in them, it became very obvious. But on the other hand they were 10-20 years old.
Click to expand...

With more professional gear, power supply 'lytics are chosen for at least 20 years service life without degredation. Even the better Hi Fi amps are /were designed this way BUT then again there's a whole lot of "cost sensitive" stuff coming out of Asia these days that may not share this characteristic. I've been out of that part of the industry for a long time.

We have bass amps that are approaching 15 years and haven't seen any requests for such parts yet. I know they are still out there because I field customer questions pretty regularly.

I myself have a large number of pro audio power amps that are in the same age range and I recently bench tested a few and there was no problem meeting factory spec.
 
#12
#13
youre best bet is to stay on the ball with Paypal! They will get you youre money if that is what you really want.... my advice, get your money and by a good used one like the one thats for sale at the moment here in the classifieds!!
 
#14
eyeballkid said:
youre best bet is to stay on the ball with Paypal! They will get you youre money if that is what you really want.... my advice, get your money and by a good used one like the one thats for sale at the moment here in the classifieds!!
Click to expand...

YES! THANKS EyeBallKid!!

I had already contacted that seller and if Paypal refunds me, I will buy that one from him.

Personally, I don't think the new EVO III's sound as good as the old EVO II's.
 
#17
:rollno:

Now after posting on several sites about the way this guy has carried on business with me and probably many others... he sends this email to me and says *I* am the one lying about him. WHAT?? How am *I* lying about him??? This guy is a total moron!!

Here is his exact email to me:

Sir:
Why are you doing this? We sold you a brand new head, answered your email even on our day off on Sunday, arranged to have the head picked up at no cost to you for replacement or repair, and were nothing but kind and professional to you. You responded by swearing at my manager and hanging up on him, lying on your feedback to me, now you are taking business away from me by stopping my sales? I don't understand. I never MESSED with you . Apparently you think lying about me on public forums and insulting me is OK ? As far as giving you your money back, I know from speaking to Ashdown that they are picking up your head and repairing or replacing it before the end of next week so it appears that not only are you spreading falsehoods about me, you are also trying to steal from me. You will have your repaired our replaced head back from Ashdown by next week. So do you want the new head and your money back? Is that how you work? Well, sir, I will tell you that I do not appreciate your insults, your lies, or your attempts to steal from me. If you feel I am wrong about anything I said and if you want to be a MAN you can call our store tommorow ay (660) 679-3500 and ask for me personally. We can talk about it man to man. You might want to also apologize to my manager while you are calling. If you aren't willing to call I will just assume that everytrhing I said was correct and that you are just trying to rip me off and I will proceed forward accordingly. We are open from 9:00 am - 5:45 pm central time if you want to call. Sincerly -- Jeff Sefton -- owner

Regards:

Jeff Sefton -- owner
Butler Music
103 W. Dakota St.
Butler, Mo. 64730
(660) 679-3500


I will say as I said in a previous posting, that Ashdown DID finally offer to have my head shipped to them via UPS Ground (5 day delivery) and repair the head (who knows how long this will take!) and finally ship it back to me. AND... I should add... that THIS only came about because a member of this board (no names to protect the innocent) decided to lend a helping hand and turn me on to an American Ashdown Representative, which was VERY cool of him... though I will not accept a repair on a brand spanking new head. NOW WAY!!!

WHY and I say again... WHY would I want to buy a brand new amp and the 3rd day, turn around and have to ship it to an out of state (I really don't care out of state or not) repair facility and wait a couple of weeks to get it back in hopes that nothing else will go wrong with it???

I paid for a brand new head and if I were to have bought this at GC or SA, they would have either replaced it or offered me a refund ON THE SPOT!!

This guy ONLY offers me to take it to a repair facility. NO WAY!!! I want my monies RETURNED!!!

This seller *NEVER* offered me a replacement or refund after it went out, ONLY BEFORE, did he. He even stated that since the head no longer works, he can NOT replace or refund! THIS GUY IS THE REAL LIAR!!!
 
#18
THE FINAL OUT-COME:

To be very brief, I called Ashdown USA and asked that they send me a brand new amp and the person I spoke with was Adamant about repairing it. But since I persisted, he hesitantly offered a replacement. But I do not believe him. He was very wavy in saying that he would replace it.

I originally filed a claim against the ebay (scammer) seller for a refund so that I could get another head on my own and today I received the GOOD NEWS!! I WON!!

YEAH!! :hyper:


Since I have not been happy with the out-come in my dealings with both the ebay seller AND/OR the Ashdown representative's way of handling this case, I am now refusing to ever purchase another Ashdown product again. I am just NOT willing to have my 3 day NEW amp sent into repair already.

Hartke... I'm coming home!! :hyper: :bassist:

DONE.
 
#20
Im surprised that Ashdown wouldnt just send you a new replacement on a 3 day old amp. I can see if you had it for a year, then a repair would be protocol... either way, if you got your money back all should be well.
 

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