Finally!! Ashdown Steps Up with some Small Tubers!! Yes

[Rob Martinez]

The 15 watt has my attention.

 

[fuzzy beard]

Great review Tom!

 

[tombowlus]

Great review Tom!

Why, thanks!

 

[KJung]

I'm pretty sure that all the GB class D amps are using some variant of the B&O ICEPower modules.

Correct, he just identified the wrong module and then posted the non-bridged performance charts

And +1, B&O powers most of the mainstream class D amps like Aguilar, GK, Genz, etc. They are fantastic power modules. There are quite a few different designs. There are also quite a few other class D suppliers that make great stuff, like used by Glockenklang. Markbass uses their own designs which are produced in house, and TecAmp uses a higher end line of the B&O modules (recently switching from Powersoft). Of course, the godfather of class D, Walter Woods, uses is own designs. They all sound GREAT, and performance varies quite a bit due to quality of the execution, the exact modules used, and the designer's tone goals,and of course, the preamp design along with the hi passing circuitry, limiting circuitry, etc.

I guess this is similar to why all the 'tube amp executions' sound quite different, even though most use the same power tubes and transformer design. Lots more going on that just the pure power amp design with all this stuff. Lots of cool all tube stuff coming out now also. Nice time to be a bassist!

 

[Rob Martinez]

I Link Removed in Bass Gear Magazine issue #9. IME/IMHO, it's a great cab that works really well with the LB30.

NICE review! And I concur. I have the LB30, the VS-112 and also the VS-115. They sound great, and for about $1000 I have a killer all tube rig.

I want that 15 watt head to go with the VS-112!

 

[Downunderwonder]

Could you perhaps elaborate? I think the CTM-300 has been available at least here in Europe for a while, but I haven't seen a single comment or review written about it. Or was this what you meant by "like no other tube amp", that no-one has actually bought one?

TB is US-centric to a fault. You can call someone a wanker and nobody blinks. Hiwatt and Orange are only slightly ahead of Ashdown for US market penetration.

Ashdown may have only sold a half dozen CTM-300 in the US. Certainly I never heard anything about the big'n so I looked it up. Now google serves me up an advert for it at the top every other advert, it's there right now, clever google! It's a nice static advert in black, recommended advert wallpaper for any screen! Look it up your good self!

As to taking over the market in tube amps I LOL'd, endorsees can dream of free amps forever I suppose. The market is well populated with tube amps of all sizes. More are about to be released from Mesa and Ampeg. Fender already has a full set doing well. Good luck running over USA made dino's in the USA!

 

[JAUQO III-X]

General question to any poster who knows... why are most of the offerings called 'hybrid' but yet have tube power sections? That is a different usage of the term 'hybrid'. Is it that they are using SMPS versus a linear power supply? I was a bit confused.... maybe I just read it incorrectly.

Ashdown generally produce three types of amps.

1. Fully solid state.
2. Fully Tube.
3. Hybrid, which covers all sorts of variations including Tube preamp / solid state power amp, Solid state preamp / Tube
power amp, and variations in between..

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Could you perhaps elaborate? I think the CTM-300 has been available at least here in Europe for a while, but I haven't seen a single comment or review written about it. Or was this what you meant by "like no other tube amp", that no-one has actually bought one?

The CTM-300 has been available in Europe for close to a year, the same amount of time as availability in the US. And as far as comments and reviews every body who buys a bass or an amp does not run to talk bass or some forum of sorts to jot down that thoughts on the product.

And my comment about like no other tube amp is based off of it's sound and features overall.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Hiwatt and Orange are only slightly ahead of Ashdown for US market penetration.

Hiwatt and Orange are indeed slightly ahead of Ashdown in US market but that has not kept Ashdown out of the US market. And it has just been a short time as Ashdown as been easing it's tube amps onto the US shores and they have been getting pretty decent responses in regards to sales and attention.

As to taking over the market in tube amps I LOL'd, endorsees can dream of free amps forever I suppose. The market is well populated with tube amps of all sizes. More are about to be released from Mesa and Ampeg. Fender already has a full set doing well. Good luck running over USA made dino's in the USA!

I don't dream of free amps, I happen to be in a position to use any amp I want but I like and endorse Ashdown amps because I actually like what the brand does for me in regards to sound.


I wont put any other amp companies business out there but again Ashdown will definitely be taking over the bass amp market when it come to tube amps. Many seem to forget or simply aren't aware that the US is a small buying market in comparison to how Ashdown does outside of the US but that is changing.


In the last two years alone no other bass amp company has been causing a mild stir if any when it comes to their tube bass amp offerings like Ashdown has.



Personally I have never owned a tube amp but but I have played out of a few here and there. when I did decide to check tube amps out I went with Ashdown and will be receiving a CTM-300 in a few months.

 

[scotch]

...


In the last two years alone no other bass amp company has been causing a mild stir if any when it comes to their tube bass amp offerings like Ashdown has.

I dunno... the Fender Bassman 100 and Superbassman have been getting a LOT of attention & I'm seeing lots of them in stores as well as stages! The 100 with it's scalable power is also making a real impact. They sound great, look cool and have smart feature sets.

I think Peavey tried to make waves with its' lighter-weight VB amps, but they haven't caught on nearly as well.

Mesa's all tube amps are likely great - but so late to the party! Maybe Mesa will pick up steam when they actually start shipping them? In the meantime, they're losing ground...

Even companies like Divided by 13 and 65 Amps have introduced GREAT sounding all-tube amps over the last few years (but pricing keeps them relegated to a much smaller market demographic). The 65 amps 1x15 low-power stack I played was one of the most satisfying musical experiences I've had since plugging into an Ampeg B-15 for the first time!

Overall, I'd say Fender is reigning the last two years with a really great tube bass pairing that combines classic aesthetics with modern tube features like self-adjusting-bias, digitally selectable bias and switchable power. Switchable power is one of the coolest new features in tube bass amps - with the Bassman 100 you get a 100 watter AND a 25 watter for one price!

Ashdown is definitely in first place for the number of separate tube power options, though! Great to see that too! It's a great decade so far for bass amplification!!!

 

[MKA]

Could you perhaps elaborate? I think the CTM-300 has been available at least here in Europe for a while, but I haven't seen a single comment or review written about it. Or was this what you meant by "like no other tube amp", that no-one has actually bought one?

The CTM-300 has been available in Europe for close to a year, the same amount of time as availability in the US. And as far as comments and reviews every body who buys a bass or an amp does not run to talk bass or some forum of sorts to jot down that thoughts on the product.

And my comment about like no other tube amp is based off of it's sound and features overall.

Well could you perhaps tell us something about the sound and the features of the amp? I for one would like to know as it seems like a cool amp.

Saying that this is or that amp is "the best amp" or "like no other" without any info to back it up is quite useless. Like kids arguing about who has got the coolest toy car. "Mine is better than yours!" "No, mine!"...

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Well could you perhaps tell us something about the sound and the features of the amp? I for one would like to know as it seems like a cool amp.

Saying that this is or that amp is "the best amp" or "like no other" without any info to back it up is quite useless. Like kids arguing about who has got the coolest toy car. "Mine is better than yours!" "No, mine!"...

With all due respect I'm more of a give the amp a spin for yourself person, because every ones ears and needs are different.

I have played out of the CTM-300 and it seems to work for my needs. Very strong and focused sounding and versatile to say the least.

And any one who knows me, knows that I am not the kind of person who feels that what I use puts everything else to shame. I like what I like. One of my favorite amps outside of Ashdown is the Genz Benz Streamliner 900.

 

[Downunderwonder]

It's been out a year you say and this is the first I heard of it. Your "mild stir" is confined to this thread as far as I can tell.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

It's been out a year you say and this is the first I heard of it. Your "mild stir" is confined to this thread as far as I can tell.

Outside of talk bass people have actually been purchasing the CTM-300 model.

There really is a world of bass players who have no dealings at all with talkbass.

 

[guy n. cognito]

TB is pretty representative of the amp-buying market. If it's not being discussed here, then it's probably not being discussed much anywhere, especially in the US. The CTM-300 is a $2400 amp ($600 more than comparable Ampeg and Fender competitors), and that alone is why they won't sell in any sort of volume.

Unless we are to believe that this amp has strong sales, yet isn't being discussed ANYWHERE on the internet expect the retailers that are trying to sell it.............

 

[JAUQO III-X]

TB is pretty representative of the amp-buying market. If it's not being discussed here, then it's probably not being discussed much anywhere, especially in the US. The CTM-300 is a $2400 amp ($600 more than comparable Ampeg and Fender competitors), and that alone is why they won't sell in any sort of volume.

I'm sure most members here at TB have friends or know people who has no affiliation at all with talkbass who make their purchases based on what they like and can afford.

And as far as costing $600 more than comparable Ampegs and Fenders that has nothing to with anything when some one chooses to purchase the amp that they want for what ever reason they choose.

The same can be said about people purchasing US Sadowsky's, Lulls, US Laklands, Xotic J basses, etc. instead of a US Fender J bass.

Unless we are to believe that this amp has strong sales, yet isn't being discussed ANYWHERE on the internet expect the retailers that are trying to sell it.............

The Ampegs and Fenders that you speak of are not knocking doors down in the sales department and they've been on the market far longer than the Ashdown CTM-300.

Is any one here other than Tom Bowlus going to NAMM? If so take the time to check out the Ashdown CTM-300 and come to your own conclusion.

 

[guy n. cognito]

I'm sure most members here at TB have friends or know people who has no affiliation at all with talkbass who make their purchases based on what they like and can afford.

And as far as costing $600 more than comparable Ampegs and Fenders that has nothing to with anything when some one chooses to purchase the amp that they want for what ever reason they choose.

The same can be said about people purchasing US Sadowsky's, Lulls, US Laklands, Xotic J basses, etc. instead of a US Fender J bass.

Of course we all understand that a large percentage of bassist don't spend time on TB. But TB is still quite representative of the bass market given it's size and diversity. Google the CTM-300. I can't find one reference that doesn't come from the manufacturer or the retailers (or the compensated reviewers). Everyone here makes decisions on what to buy based on what they like and what they can afford.......no different than anyone else. We just like to talk about it......

Price has EVERYTHING to do with sales and demand. Why do you see 1000 times more Fenders than Sadowskys? Price. I've had plenty of local bassist play my Sad and want one for their own, but the PRICE is just too much for them.

 

[IPYF]

TB is pretty representative of the amp-buying market. If it's not being discussed here, then it's probably not being discussed much anywhere, especially in the US. The CTM-300 is a $2400 amp ($600 more than comparable Ampeg and Fender competitors), and that alone is why they won't sell in any sort of volume.

Unless we are to believe that this amp has strong sales, yet isn't being discussed ANYWHERE on the internet expect the retailers that are trying to sell it.............

Not trying to bust your chops here, but I've seen quite a few of these big Ashdown Tubers in Australia. Having heard one of these amps in action I can say with a fair bit of confidence that if I was in the market for a high end tube amp, I'd be strongly considering it.

The reality is though is that bass amps are specialty products and this is at the top of the price range. From a sales perspective a high end retailer isn't going to stock more than one of these at at time just due to the size, so rarity on the shop floor is to be expected with these amps. They're hardly going to go like hot cakes at that price point, but they hardly need to.

TB in my opinion is often a very poor representation of the industry in any country other than the United States. For example, Carvin is an extremely popular brand on the forum, but they're simply unavailable here. It's purely a matter of perspective.

 

[guy n. cognito]

If it's not being discussed here, then it's probably not being discussed much anywhere, especially in the US.

Not trying to bust your chops here, but I've seen quite a few of these big Ashdown Tubers in Australia. Having heard one of these amps in action I can say with a fair bit of confidence that if I was in the market for a high end tube amp, I'd be strongly considering it.

The reality is though is that bass amps are specialty products and this is at the top of the price range. From a sales perspective a high end retailer isn't going to stock more than one of these at at time just due to the size, so rarity on the shop floor is to be expected with these amps.

TB in my opinion is often a very poor representation of the industry in any country other than the United States. For example, Carvin is an extremely popular brand on the forum, but they're simply unavailable here. It's purely a matter of perspective.

I already got that covered.

TB is an American forum with largely American members. No surprise that we tend to reflect US purchasing trends....at least not to me.

 

[Rob Martinez]

Anyway, I will be buying the 15 watt amp when available! And I live in the USA!