Ashdown CTM300

[Warwick Qc418]

Try putting a cable between effect loop send and return

 

[jumbodbassman]

meter does not move at all. if i pout in bias mode it moves and turns red.

 

[jumbodbassman]

didnt know about the combo speaker connector. will try standard 1/4.

 

[Wasnex]

meter does not move at all. if i pout in bias mode it moves and turns red.

The meter on my big Ashdown tube amps don't really move much unless the they are super loud. I don't recommend cranking the amp until you get it operating properly.

 

[Wasnex]

Hope changing the speaker cable got you some sound. Aside from reseating or swapping tubes, I think we have tried pretty much everything that can be done without pulling the amp from it's headcase (which should only be done by a technician). I would contact the seller and/or Ashdown to see how they want you to proceed.

 

[jumbodbassman]

well the 1/4 inch cable worked. not sure why the other didnt but i had that with my SVT 7 few years ago. thanks for all the help. played it through an old sunn 12 15 cab that i just got. sounded ok but nothing sounds really good through that cab. needs some better speakers. will put it through a couple of 810 cabs i have for the right pairing as well as a 4 12 or 2 12 cab i have

 

[Wasnex]

well the 1/4 inch cable worked. not sure why the other didnt but i had that with my SVT 7 few years ago. thanks for all the help. played it through an old sunn 12 15 cab that i just got. sounded ok but nothing sounds really good through that cab. needs some better speakers. will put it through a couple of 810 cabs i have for the right pairing as well as a 4 12 or 2 12 cab i have

Awesome!

Look forward to your review after you get a chance to get comfortable with the controls.

The tone controls are a bit quirky, but this is intentional. Start with the tone controls at 9' o'clock and you should easily find a lot of good sounds in this head. Hopefully you like OD as the preamp is set up for high gain and IMHO produces some of the best preamp drive you can get. If you want a clean tone, plug into the High input so you can run the gain up without distortion.

 

[jumbodbassman]

thank you. yes the controls are very unampegish.....

 

[foal30]

Great amp
Pleased you have it up and running.

 

[DanScott]

Mine won’t function with non-neutrik speakon connectors (which work with other heads)...very odd.. “Use only Nuetrik brand connectors” printed on the back panel is actually for real in my case.

 

[LDS22]

The amp has a main fuse concealed in the AC plug assembly on the back panel. If this fuse is blown it's basically the same as if the amp is not plugged in.

There is a an HT fuse inside the amp. If this fuse is open, the amp will turn on, but none of the output tubes will show current when the amp is switched from standby to operate. This fuse is not user accessible
View attachment 3042577

i received a ctm 100 monday and still haven't heard it. when it was delivered i opened the box to find one of the kt88s to be rolling around in the head. looks like the black plastic post in the center of tube 2 was broken while in transit. I was surprised they were installed instead of wrapped up but whatever. so, i waited 3 days for replacement tubes to get here, installed them no problem and now the ht fuse light comes on when i flip the main ht switch after preheat. something is up with the ht fuse but i have no idea how to reach it and can't find any guidance. I can swap tubes no problem but what about the ht fuse? I was so stoked about this amp i bought a lakland full size hollowbody to go close myself in the basement for a couple days. I'm bummed.

tl;dr?
anyone know how to get to the ht main fuse?

 

[Wasnex]

i received a ctm 100 monday and still haven't heard it. when it was delivered i opened the box to find one of the kt88s to be rolling around in the head. looks like the black plastic post in the center of tube 2 was broken while in transit. I was surprised they were installed instead of wrapped up but whatever. so, i waited 3 days for replacement tubes to get here, installed them no problem and now the ht fuse light comes on when i flip the main ht switch after preheat. something is up with the ht fuse but i have no idea how to reach it and can't find any guidance. I can swap tubes no problem but what about the ht fuse? I was so stoked about this amp i bought a lakland full size hollowbody to go close myself in the basement for a couple days. I'm bummed.

tl;dr?
anyone know how to get to the ht main fuse?

If it's like the CTM300, the HT fuse is on the inside of the amplifier and is not considered a user serviceable part.

The amplifier chassis must be removed from the head case to access the HT fuse. I don't have an example of the CTM100 but here is an image of a CTM300 with the HT fuse circled in white (upper, left side of image).

There may be lethal voltages present within the amp, so proceed at your own risk.

If you do replace the fuse, I suggest setting the bias for minimum tube current before you turn the amp on. If both tubes pull too much current it can cause the HT fuse to open up.

If the fuse continues to blow, you either have a bad tube or there is something else wrong with the amp. Take the amp to an authorized technician.

 

[LDS22]

Thank you @Wasnex. That's what i was expecting from your prior posts in this thread but wanted to confirm. The 300 and 100 share the same manual. I really appreciate your help. Bummer...

 

[Manticore]

Did you try the mute button. It's right above the master volume.

A couple of other pointers.
The preamp is very high gain for a bass amp. Using the Low input, the preamp may begin to distort with the gain at 9 o'clock. If you have trouble getting a clean sound, use the High input. Ashdown's confusing terminology relates to the bass's output...IE high gain input for Low output bass.

Start with all tone controls at 9 o'clock. They are pretty intuitive from off to about 10 o'clock. Above that operation is a bit unpredictable. They are designed to be extremely interactive.

I usually like the mid shift button pushed in. This actually impacts the upper knee of the bass control rather than the mid control. If the bass control is turned down, the button will not have any impact on the sound.

The mid range control pretty much dominates above 10.

On my amp, the brightest sound is with the treble knob dialed all the way off. As you increase the control to about 10, it adds a very slight amount of low mids. When the control hits about 2 o'clock it will start pulling out some of the bass.

Optimum bias for the tubes is with the meter pointing straight up. Lower is okay...it's not recommended to set the current higher. My amp needed a simple resistor change in the bias circuit to get the tubes in the proper range.

The white light for the meter will probably burn out if it hasn't already. There is also two red LEDs that come on when you put the amp in bias mode. People assume the bulb is 6.5V as that is what most amps use. The socket in the CTM300 provides 8V and this is normal. I bought a couple of 12V and 14V bulbs and they work fine. Also there is an 8V bicycle bulb that is sold in England that Ashdown recommended. To get them in the states you need to order more than one. I can provide part numbers and comments if you like.

This is an excellent thumbnail of how this amp works! Everything said here is spot-on. These are fantastic amps that are often described as "Quirky." Some folks give up on them before they grok on to how the controls work, which is sad. Be patient, and you'll find fantastic tone lies within.