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Ashdowns dark sounding?
- Thread starter juan13
- Start date
Yes. I've heard a rumour though that they aren't just MK500 heads but have a higher gain section on them
Probably a good thing, as on the one I had, no matter how hard I hit the front end the "input signal VU" meter barely moved at all.
I'm a long time Trace Elliot user (AS400SM) and I use my own custom made cabs, which are very flat and "hi-fi".
I've just bought an Ashdown Routemaster 420 and here are a few observations after a week or so. The gain knob seems to need to be nearly maxxed out with my active basses. The compressor adds a lot of gain past 12 o'clock, which is odd because the manual says that the gain should stay constant through the compression. The Sub (octaver) doesn't have an on/off switch and it tracks pretty bad unless the compressor is engaged. The drive is ok, but there are better sounding op-amp based overdrives available. The 5 band EQ is very nice but I find that the amp seems to have a baked in "rock" eq which is a bit boomy on the bottom end. With this EQ, it's hard to dial in a truly flat eq. I like this amp's sound, but it does seem to have quite a dark sound at lower volume levels. As the volume (power section) gets pushed, the mids comes out more and the boomy bottom end seems to tighten up nicely.
In a comparison with my trusty Trace...sorry guys but my Trace does sound better, sounds louder for my 400w and also have a much more usable 7 band graphic eq. BUT...my Trace is a 25kg lead sled...and this new little 420w class D is only about 5kgs max. It's small and light...and it certainly sounds good enough for most gigs.
GK and ashdown guy here. I have found my GKs (700/1001/mbfusion) to feel decidedly sharp sounding in the upper mids compared to my ashdown gear (CTM100). The Gk goes lower, but is tighter.
I prefer the ashdown for its warmer, more harmonically rich tone.
I prefer the ashdown for its warmer, more harmonically rich tone.
I am an Ashdown user (and lover actually). I play in a rock band and we play covers of foo fighters and similar. I can compare it to Aguilar or Ampeg. I found the Ashdown less straightforward (mine is an ABM EVO II). I like "hot sounds", a little overdriven (as you said you wanted to sound). With the valve in the pre you can do that, but you will have to scoop the a little bit the mids and the highs. In my case: mids are 1 o'clock and highs at 1:30-2. I also scoop the faders, but not too much (even the low-mids). All I can say is that it sounds incredible.
With a Tone-Hammer you can have a really really good sound just with everything set at 12. And with the gain, you can add some overdrive. It will work too, maybe even better (it depends on your taste of course).
Is Ashdown darker? I'd say no, but it has more lows than Aguilar or Eden without doing anything in the eq. It is also easier to get an overdriven sound from the Aguilar (but I don't think it's too easy from Eden). If you are gonna play in a power trio, I'd recommend Ashdown. You will always move in the lows, but you have enough clarity to cut through the mix if you do some solos in the higher notes.
With a Tone-Hammer you can have a really really good sound just with everything set at 12. And with the gain, you can add some overdrive. It will work too, maybe even better (it depends on your taste of course).
Is Ashdown darker? I'd say no, but it has more lows than Aguilar or Eden without doing anything in the eq. It is also easier to get an overdriven sound from the Aguilar (but I don't think it's too easy from Eden). If you are gonna play in a power trio, I'd recommend Ashdown. You will always move in the lows, but you have enough clarity to cut through the mix if you do some solos in the higher notes.
What cabs you using? (Thinking about getting a GK Neo 410 can to use with my ABM500 head, you ever tried the combination of GK/Ashdown?)
Is it versatile in that you can you EQ it (with the right head) to get more highs/mids or is it v deep voiced? Do you know how it compares to ashdown 410's?
Yep it will respond to EQ just fine.
I've never played an Ashdown cab, so can't comment there. They are very well priced, and people speak well of them, so I would gladly give them a whirl
I've never played an Ashdown cab, so can't comment there. They are very well priced, and people speak well of them, so I would gladly give them a whirl
Well, of course Ashdown now has the new RM-500-EVO which btw, are apparantly delayed another week, and is supposedly an upgrade to the 420 in terms of power. I'll probably end up getting one, hoping that they won't lack that girth that I prefer; I did hear one at Namm and it sounded pretty good, but that's a limited observation because of the floor showroom. An example of lacking girth would be the lower end Eden WTX500, which looses some low end balls when pushed too hard. Hopefully the RM-500 will not suffer from that. I might be a little too optimistic because the price for these is supprisingly low at $400, but so far it's the sound that's selling me right now.
I've not had any power issues with my RM 420, it certainly doesn't have any bottom end issues at any of the power levels I've used it at. I'm not sure that anyone would notice the difference between 420w and 500w, the 80w difference is a bit academic. 420w to 800w, that will give an extra few clicks of headroom.
Had an abm 500 for years. Dark was never a word that came to mind. I recall when I got it to replace a svt3 pro it felt like there was a blanket lifted off my amp. Very clear clean sound. Never managed to get a good dirty sound from the amp tho. Even with the valve drive. I never cared for what that added...
To get a good valve drive sound from an Ashdown amp, I dial in a bit of pre amp overdrive from hitting the pre amp's input hard. Then I dial in some of the valve drive knob so that I get a cascaded OD sound...Then I dial down some of the upper mids and treble frequencies.
