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Ashdown Superfly

Sundogue

Sundogue

Apr 26, 2001
8,795
481
65
Wausau, WI
#1
I'm looking to replace my Peavey T-Max head. My T-Max is really old (and I bought it used, very cheap), and the jacks are corroded and have got to the point where now I get intermittent cutout, snap, crackle and pops with it.

So I need to replace it. I saw that the Ashdown Superfly amps are on sale.

Here's what I have right now...

2 custom built 115 neo 4 ohm cabs.
T-Max head (300 watts into 4 ohms, 500 watts into 2 ohms)
Zoom B2 pedal for programmable tone and effects

Since right now I'm running my head at 2 ohms (getting 250 watts per 4 ohm cab), it almost seems like the Ashdown Superfly is the ideal replacement for me, as I can run each 250 watt side of the amp into each 4 ohm cab, and the programmable features of the Superfly can replace my Zoom pedal.

Anyone who owns it, or has used the Superfly care to chime in with some opinions and advice?

I've done the search thing and found some old threads about it. Seems there is a bit of a hum (no big deal to me) and most complaints about the power don't affect me, as I my current rig is powered exactly the same really, and it's been more than sufficient for all my gigs (including outdoor gigs with both cabs, as I had one last night and 250 watts per cab is just fine with me).

I always bring both my cabs as they only weight 21 lbs. each.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
#2
Just got a Superfly from Americanmusical.com (zzounds). It was set to 230v out of the box - an easy change to 115v.

A beautifully made amp that easily could sell for $1000. Mine has almost no hum. Sounds close to my Markbass LMII but not as clear. Maybe voiced a bit more vintage, at it should be. Power ratings seem right on the money. With the right cabinets - which are what you have - it should be a winner.

A steal at $279.
 
#6
Keep in mind the unbridgeable, dual outputs are rated at 4 Ohms each. Obviously, in order to make the most of it, you'll need two four Ohm cabs. That in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you decide not to keep the Superfly (for whatever reason), you're going to be 'stuck' with two 4 Ohm cabs. That's fine, as long as the next head you buy will tolerate a 2 Ohm minimum load (assuming you will want to keep and run both cabs). This scenario could work out for you, but its one of the reasons I decided not to buy one...
 
#7
Jo6Pak said:
Keep in mind the unbridgeable, dual outputs are rated at 4 Ohms each. Obviously, in order to make the most of it, you'll need two four Ohm cabs. That in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you decide not to keep the Superfly (for whatever reason), you're going to be 'stuck' with two 4 Ohm cabs. That's fine, as long as the next head you buy will tolerate a 2 Ohm minimum load (assuming you will want to keep and run both cabs). This scenario could work out for you, but its one of the reasons I decided not to buy one...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm one of those guys that actually use 4 ohm cabs. The Superfly's output is exactly what I need, as I'm currently running a 500 watt head into a 2 ohm load, so 250 watts per side (per 4 ohm cab) is really an exact replacement power-wise.

I certainly don't need more power than that, even with the outdoor gigs we do, as my current head and cabs are more than sufficient. Heck I never even push my current head very hard, even outdoors.

I'm curious if anyone has any personal usage info on this head. I think the power output is ideal for me (which seems to be the major problem most complain about).

I'm also not too concerned with it tone-wise as I also have a Zoom B2 pedal, which I may or may not use with it.

It's just very difficult to find a low cost amphead that can do 500 watts at 2 ohms (or in this case 2 X 250 into 4 ohms each).
My budget is tight right now, so expensive heads are out of the question and this Superfly seems to be the ideal head at $279.
 
#8
Just as a measure of volume as to how it might relate when using the Superfly...

With my current 500 watt (into two 4 ohm 115 cabs) Peavey T-max head, at the last outdoor gig I did this last Friday, I was plenty loud on stage with my master volume on 3. Even 4 was too loud for an outdoor gig for me (pre gains on both the tube & SS were set to 5).

I'm thinking the Superfly will be plenty loud through my two 115 4 ohm cabs. As far as tone goes, I don't know, but again, I have a Zoom B2 if need be, so I'm not as concerned about killer tone, though ideally I'd like to be able to program a great tone through the Superfly alone.

Doesn't anyone else have one of these currently? They have been out for a while now, and at $279, someone must have picked one up recently and played through it enough to offer up some kind of review.

Anyone?
 
#10
Cool. Thanks.

That's good to know I don't have to get Speakon-1/4" adapters.

I ordered the Superfly from americanmusical. I think the power supply is perfect as it is essentially what I use currently and it's more than adequate even for outdoor gigs.

The two 115 neo cabs I built are small and lightweight, with each easily carried in one hand.

If I get a shoulder strap for the Superfly (does it come with one?), I could conceivably put my gig bag over one shoulder, the Superfly over the other, and carry my 115 cabs in each hand. One trip for everything I need!

I'm not too concerned that it weighs 15 lbs. It's so small in size that it will be a piece of cake to haul. My current T-max head weighs 25 lbs, and the footprint is big, and it is a pain to carry with everything else. The 25 lbs. wouldn't even be an issue if it wasn't so wide.

I can understand guys comparing the Superfly's weight to other mini heads that weigh only 3 to 5 lbs., but really 15 lbs. being too heavy? Wow, you'd have to be pretty weak to not be able to carry 15 lbs. I don't think I could be in a band with anyone who can't lift that much without complaining. Heck my entire rig is now lighter than the other band member's stuff. :D
 
#11
The Superfly I got came with everything - bag, strap, strap handles, rack handles, power cord...really nicely packaged. You'll see - very luxurious for a bass product. It easily straps over your shoulder. A lot of the weight is the heavy casing - in a way, that makes it different from other micro amps - it's fully protected. The neat flip away handle makes it easy to grab. Heavier, but more road worthy. I'll know more about the power output this week, but I think your research led you to a good purchase. I wish more products would be offered at 80% off!
 
#12
Keep us all posted on your experience with this thing... I'm really tempted to buy one too, as I've been looking for a small head to use with a 1-15 cab as a practice amp. I've seen good and bad for it... but not much of both. Hope it works out for you!
 
#13
Thanks for the info.

And I will be sure to post a review of it as I will have some time to play around with it before my next gig, and then I have a huge outdoor July 4th celebration gig (actually on the 6th), so I will have lots to say about it.
 
#14
Looks like I won't get the Superfly delivered until Friday. Fine with me as I won't have much of a chance to do anything with it until the weekend anyway.

I like the fact that I will be able to dial in some presets on the EQ. My band plays a fairly regular circuit, and what I've done on the past is write down my EQ settings for each room so I don't have to play around with it much after I set up my rig.

I don't know that I'd use it for tonal changes within songs or from song to song, as I have a Zoom B2 pedal with effects for certain sounds I use, but I kind of like the idea that I can customize my EQ for a given room we play, and then save it as a patch.

It'll be great to carry my little rig in, set it up and go to that "room's" preset and be done with it.

Anyone use this feature for that purpose or do use it for tonal changes for given songs?
 
#15
When you change a tone on superfly it has a bit of delay between presets/programs. Therefore itsn't good within songs.
Mine is under 4.5kg with no cover. Smaller and lighter. Had a look inside the amp, found 300W power stage for each side! When use it you can keep your burger warm on it :) Get quiet hot after ~30min.
Yes mine noisey(hum) as well. If its a pro amp it should be quiet..Use a markbass cab (400W 4ohm) with, so only 250W available which is not as loud as you would except... So keep your eyes open(and your ears too) before you buy one..
 
#17
999laci said:
When you change a tone on superfly it has a bit of delay between presets/programs. Therefore itsn't good within songs.
Mine is under 4.5kg with no cover. Smaller and lighter. Had a look inside the amp, found 300W power stage for each side! When use it you can keep your burger warm on it :) Get quiet hot after ~30min.
Yes mine noisey(hum) as well. If its a pro amp it should be quiet..Use a markbass cab (400W 4ohm) with, so only 250W available which is not as loud as you would except... So keep your eyes open(and your ears too) before you buy one..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'm not too concerned about volume as I'm currently running 500 watts into two 4 ohm 115's right now (250 per cab), and I don't push my current amp in the slightest to achieve the volume I need (cover rock band, even outdoors). Actually even pushing the master volume up to 4 is overly loud for me onstage.

Interesting about the heat. Also, is the "hum" limited to my cabs, or does it go through the DI as well? If it's just my cabs, I can live with that.
 
#18
I spent days to found out where this "hum" came from. I think it is from the poweramp... I did not try the balanced out yet. If anyone did pls let me know. What i used that was the line out(jack) and it was ok no noise. If you plug a headphones into it and turn the gain up ,you will hear it... So i would use DI or Line out, no mic..
 
#19
999laci said:
I spent days to found out where this "hum" came from. I think it is from the poweramp... I did not try the balanced out yet. If anyone did pls let me know. What i used that was the line out(jack) and it was ok no noise. If you plug a headphones into it and turn the gain up ,you will hear it... So i would use DI or Line out, no mic..
Click to expand...

Someone PM'd me with some info that might be useful. He dialed out the hum (around 60Hz) with the EQ. Then he added it back in with his own seperate EQ. That way, he still had the 60Hz frequency in his tone, but the hum was gone.

I use a Zoom B2 pedal, so if the hum is too annoying, I'm going to try that.
 
#20
Sundogue said:
Thanks for the info. I'm not too concerned about volume as I'm currently running 500 watts into two 4 ohm 115's right now (250 per cab), and I don't push my current amp in the slightest to achieve the volume I need (cover rock band, even outdoors). Actually even pushing the master volume up to 4 is overly loud for me onstage.

Interesting about the heat. Also, is the "hum" limited to my cabs, or does it go through the DI as well? If it's just my cabs, I can live with that.
Click to expand...
What's your gain setting when volume up to 4?
 

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