I haven't seen much talk about Ashdown pedals here, so I was wondering if that should be taken as a hint that they should be stayed away from. I haven't even gotten the chance to use one but am interested in the Nate Mendel sig pedal (whenever its available)
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Ashdown pedals?
- Thread starter comicbookguy95
- Start date
bongomania
Commercial User
comicbookguy95 said:
Yes. Now, the pedals aren't "terrible", but they are mediocre IMO; too large, and only "OK" sounding.
bongomania
Commercial User
No, that's just my regular-power opinion. 
I did end up buying the dual-band comp, because the price was right, and it made the bass sound better than without. I'd also like to point out that I used bongo's advice on how to get a good sound out of the pedal, and later found some nice psuedo-overdrive sounds that worked very well on my shows last weekend.
the hyperdrive in an insane bass distortion...i still think one the best bass distortions on the market due to how versatile it is and easy to get anything from it
I've been curious about their Dr. Green line, specifically the reverb. Much smaller than their other pedals, too. But, like the OP, since I haven't heard much about them, I haven't felt compelled to buy yet.
Juan Alderete did a review of the Octadose. I thought it sounded pretty good:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Keep in mind that Ashdown pedals have the input/output jacks backwards when compared to 99.9% of the other pedals on the planet. The in/out are on the wrong sides. It's also impossible to step on the footswitch without also steppin on the knobs on the 4 knob pedals. These things are probably why nobody buys them.
I love my Hyperdrive. It is very versatile, has some great sounds. With the frequency and drive knob it's easy to go from some subtle grind to Sabbath-esque fuzz to full out distortion, and the mix knob is great, keeps the original signal better than most I've tried. Plays nice with active basses too.
Only thing I dislike is the size, it can be a bit limiting real estate wise. I knew it was big when I ordered it, but to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't as big as I thought it would be.
Quality is alright, but it isn't as heavy as its size would indicate. That's not a bad thing of course, but it does make it feel a little "cheap".
The knobs are recessed, so no accidental tweaking, but the "Q" and "+10" switches are a bit hard to reach if you have big fingers.
All in all, it makes my dinky practice amp shine, and my 4x10 breathe fire. And if you run a seperate EQ afterwards... Sploosh.
Only thing I dislike is the size, it can be a bit limiting real estate wise. I knew it was big when I ordered it, but to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't as big as I thought it would be.
Quality is alright, but it isn't as heavy as its size would indicate. That's not a bad thing of course, but it does make it feel a little "cheap".
The knobs are recessed, so no accidental tweaking, but the "Q" and "+10" switches are a bit hard to reach if you have big fingers.
All in all, it makes my dinky practice amp shine, and my 4x10 breathe fire. And if you run a seperate EQ afterwards... Sploosh.
Would it be possible to rehouse the HyperDrive?? Ive heard a lot of love from the guys who use that pedal. I would think someone would've rehoused one by now.....
Also, IMO, one of the bigger reasons you don't hear/see a lot of Ashdown pedals here is because they don't seem to advertise a lot in the US and or they aren't available many places here. I think anyway. Maybe I'm wrong. But I know I don't often see Ashdown ads much. And I do look...
Also, IMO, one of the bigger reasons you don't hear/see a lot of Ashdown pedals here is because they don't seem to advertise a lot in the US and or they aren't available many places here. I think anyway. Maybe I'm wrong. But I know I don't often see Ashdown ads much. And I do look...
I think I read something here about rehousing the Hyperdrive. Opinion was, because of the size/layout of the circuitboard, rehousing wasn't worth it because you would only be able to fit it into a marginally smaller enclosure, IIRC.
Ashdown also has some of the worst dealers in North America. Most places stock nothing, don't know what they are, and usually don't recommend them, that includes their amps.
Also, a lot of their demos are pretty bad. It's always done by either people who just slap or run their stuff full on dirty to the point where it gets ridiculous.
Also, a lot of their demos are pretty bad. It's always done by either people who just slap or run their stuff full on dirty to the point where it gets ridiculous.
+1 most of their demos are awful. Wrong playing and usually miced bad and crappy amp settings.
Don't care much for their pedals due to the size (and dr. Green's inverted input/output *** ashdown ***).
However, their abm line of amps (at least the older ones made in England) are great amps. Especially when you learn how to use the eq. Really fat sounding amps.
Bad design, Dr. Green has a doctorate in what? Switches you can't stomp on, input and output jacks inverted, no tone controls on most of them. That don't impress me much, as the song goes.
The Ashdown pedals are just way too big, much like the Markbass pedals.
The Ashdown pedals are just way too big, much like the Markbass pedals.
Case in point with the inverted input/output. I was going to buy the Bass Verb, just to give it a shot. I didn't pay attention to the input, because I didn't think that anyone would actually have them reversed. Now that fact will keep my from buying one.
Yeh, I saw a different review that made me add it to my possible wish list as well.
