Later today I'm heading out to pick up my new amp. I have picked out an Ashdown ABM 500 rackmount head and ABM 410T cab. This thing has been causing a severe GAS attack for several months now, and I can't stand it anymore. Maybe this purchase will calm down the GAS fires, but I fear it won't. Rehearsal should be a lot more fun tonight.
GAS never dies................. however, after reading joe beets' posts about the "threshold of farting", it seems that that might be a viable cure................
I was not really interested in this amp when I first saw it (sticker shock), so I plugged into the MAG300 and MAG410 that were sitting beside the ABM. The MAG setup did sound good, but then for the sake of comparison I plugged into the ABM. The sound was much more ... articulate I guess you could say. The lower notes sounded tighter somehow without being sterile; I hope I'm using all these buzzwords properly . In short, the sound is warm and deep but not muddy and allows the notes I play to ring out clearly. I'll shut up now before revealing the true depth of my ignorance.
oooops. Ashdown's are pretty cool. I tried an MK500 through 2 Ashdown 4x10s the other day. I didn't like the sound when I played an ESP through it the first time I tried it a few weeks ago, but It sounded much better with a Peavey and a Warwick this past time. How similar is the AMB 500 to the MK500?
Just got back from rehearsal with my new rig. OMG it sounded great . My bass cut through like a knife.
way cool!! happiness is a new rig that lives up to expectations. what did it replace? the Music Man HD130 w/1x18 cabinet?? i bet it cut thru like a knife in comparison. the thing to do is to see if you can use both cabs together (if the amp can handle the net impedance) and you need to update your gear list bro.
Nice! I played drums in a prog rock band at one point and the bassist used an NS Stick running through almost the exact same rig. It sounded fabulous.
AAHHH! Note Definition is a wonderful thing. The single 18" cabinet needs a new speaker, so I'll be replacing it with an 8 ohm. Then I'll be able to run the two cabs together until I replace it with an ABM 212T; crap ... just when I thought the GAS was getting better - something else pops up.
too bad . how about AL-AD600 ? can i buy just preamp ABM RPM-1 EVO II(witch is basiclly the same as ABM 500 RC EVO II Head ) and a poweramp that can go down to 2 ohm ? will that do the trick ? tnx
That would probably work...but if you're looking for a 2 ohm load amp, check out this list: http://www.3ms.com/bass/2ohms.htm
[How similar are the ABM500 and the MK500?] It's the same power amp, but a different preamp. The MK500 uses all analog circuitry in its preamp, and is all graphic EQ. Aside from the Harmonic Emphasis function, it's pretty straight-line.
i see now that for ABM RPM-1 EVO II preamp the limit is 4 ohms (from ashdown site) but it doesn't say anything for AL-ADRP1 preamp's minimum load ? does anybody know ?