can't believe the thick sound in the top end. Very versatile and just a little EQ goes a long way.
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Ashly SC-40 Preamplifier
- Thread starter stanknuckle
- Start date
can't believe the thick sound in the top end. Very versatile and just a little EQ goes a long way.
LOVE it!
This was my main and favorite preamp for years. Beautiful controllability of sound and probably one of the most intelligent and ergonomic designs ever. The only reason I stopped using it was because I sold it to buy something I later found to be inferior, a BIG mistake. 
Years later, I designed my own preamp virtually to the SC-40's basic concept except with a second midrange band, and with selectable low/hi Q for each mid control.The SC-40 is built like a tank and very reliable as well. The only things I didn't like about it was the noise level and 4558 opamps, which as eB3Nut said can be changed. Some of the noise may still remain due to the inherent design, but this usually isn't a problem live.
can't believe that a solid state pre could sound this good. The noise level is next to non existant after I flicked the ground switch and I like the way in which the pre slightly roughs my tone. Can virtually find any sound and most are usable. I really like its vintage vibe, sound and looks. Can almost get that motown type sound too. Just running it flat sounds great and a tweak of the low pass filter really fattens things up. It loves LOW END as it doesn't "choke" my low B. For something so old, I am impressed. Glad I'm not a "name brand" buyer or I would not have found this.
Not to dredge up an old post, but here I go. Geddy used JBL speakers in the enclosure you mentioned. I think he had two 2x15, through two BGW 750, and two Ashly pres...running the Rick is stereo. I think this rig was his main rig from the late 1970's through most of the 1980's. A nice rig...simple, and good sounding. Frankly, it is way better than his current Sansamp sound, imho.
Mark
Just started using an Ashly SC40 as a high-pass filter and this thing just sounds great. I should pair it with a Peavey IPR and sell my Mesa M9, LOL. Sucker is heavy though so I will probably wind up buying the fdeck HPF
And how do you find that it compares to the SC-40? Both of these have come up on my radar recently, thinking about a rack rig (though I hope a compact one!)
Uh, sorry? There was a recent-ish post (relatively so) by the OP, related to a pre I did a search on, so I thought a reanimation fair game. I guess I feel your pain, though. I've done similar.Good Grief!! I've just read through another ZOMBIE thread!!! I hate that!
In reality it's myself I get cross with. I really should get used to checking the dates when they were posted. 
Back in the day, early Eighties, i was given an Ashly pre-amp that had slipped out of a truck and promptly run over by a tyre. It was in a sorry state all squished at one end. As it turned out I could rescue the main pre-amp board which had survived without damage. I built up support circuitry on hand made pCBs and mounted it all in a IU chassis I assembled. The end result worked very well and sounded great. I designed and built a 200W per channel stereo power amp to go with it. You can see the power amp in the "amp guts" thread. The pre-amp still works fine except for a couple of noisy pots.
Ashsly made some very fine gear. Well made and reliable!
Ashsly made some very fine gear. Well made and reliable!
There's more EQ, input switching for 2 basses and the tone is made for basses. If you can get a BP41 then get it. They're cheap now but don't let the price fool you into thinking it'll sound cheap.
The SC-40 was the first preamp I ever used when I switched to a pre/power amp rig, back in the '80's. I tried a bunch more " bass " preamps since then, but, looking back, I think it had the best tone of any preamp I ever played through. Never got to try the PB-41. After awhile, I sold it and moved on, but, about 5 years ago, I traded for one that needed some work and parts. I called the Ashly company on a whim, and wound up talking to a lady who had worked there since day one. We got to talking about the SC-40, and she told me that it was her first job to work on those units. I gave her the serial #, and she figured out that it was one of the many she assembled ! She sent me the parts I needed , no charge ! Great company, great products. There is a guy on Ebay who has cornered the market on older Ashly products; he must have 50 auctions going on at the same time on Ashly stuff. He wants a pretty penny for those old SC-40 and BP-41 preamps.
You're very very close on that. Ged used the BP-41, not the SC-40. His cabs had EV speakers (but, if I remember right, were Thiele-designed cabs like you said).
I recently built an in-ear monitor rig for my gigs, using the Ashly SC-40 preamp. This thing sounds KILLER! Ashly is a GREAT product and the SC-40 sounds great with my bass, electric guitar, or acoustic guitar running thru it! If you're looking for a great preamp, get an SC-40; the Ashly BP-41 doesn't interest me, as it is less flexible.
