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In praise of Ashdown Engineering support

I just wanted to share a very positive experience I had with Ashdown, following purchase of a second-hand ABM-600 IV.

The unit I purchased was used from Gear4Music. Unfortunately, it had a few faults... broken VU meter lamp and some distortion that shouldn't be there. To make matters worse, the distortion appeared to be intermittent, so when I returned it to Gear4Music they couldn't replicate the fault I spoke to Dave Green at Ashdown Engineering service team to get some pointers and he suggested that I send it to them so that they could see what the issue was. Unfortunately the problem didn't manifest itself while it was with them, and it showed up again when I was using it, so I sent it back to them for another look.

Within two days, the amplifier was returned to me fully working, with a complete set of replacement pre-and power boards. Of course, is working fine as it is essentially brand new. This unit was just out of manufacturer's warranty, so this work was done FOC as a goodwill repair.

I think this is an exceptional level of service and care for end customer satisfaction that is very rare nowadays. I understand that Ashdown have repatriated their manufacturing to the UK from China, so they are in a position to continue to provide long term service and support for their products.

I did choose Ashdown, because of their design and construction, having been burnt by a Class D amp that was unrepairable out of warranty because the repair process for the ICEPower module was to replace it, no component level repair was supported and the boards were obsolete!. If you want to get long term value and service out of your gear, bear this in mind.

Anyway, wanted to share this with the Talkbass community and thank Dave Green and Ashdown Engineering for their customer care and integrity as a company!.

Best regards,
Alex
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Good for Ashdown!

Just to set the record straight, ICEPower modules are not to be repaired at the component level (with a very few exceptions), because doing so voids the safety certification on the module. This is their official policy and most manufacturers using these modules follow it closely. Besides, it’s usually less expensive to replace than repair do to the high amount of highly skilled labor required to diagnose these faults in high technology.

Also, replacement modules are available for all ICEPower modules that have been used in the bass amp industry going back to the very beginning. There are no unavailable modules in their product line, so that information is incorrect.

Additionally, Ashdown has used ICEPower in some of their lightweight amps.
 
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Good for Ashdown!

Just to set the record straight, ICEPower modules are not to be repaired at the component level (with a very few exceptions), because doing so voids the safety certification on the module. This is their official policy and most manufacturers using these modules follow it closely. Besides, it’s usually less expensive to replace than repair do to the high amount of highly skilled labor required to diagnose these faults in high technology.

Also, replacement modules are available for all ICEPower modules that have been used in the bass amp industry going back to the very beginning. There are no unavailable modules in their product line, so that information is incorrect.

Additionally, Ashdown has used ICEPower in some of their lightweight amps.
Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, that is what I was told by ICEPower themselves - that they wouldn't repair the board as other components may have been damaged or degraded. They checked the part number and it was out of stock for the foreseeable. Maybe there is stock in the channel or with the OEs, but they didn't have any at that time.

Nothing wrong with Class D - I have several amps that use the technology. It's a shame that repair isn't more feasible due to a lack of service information. Bench time for diagnosis and repair usually makes it uneconomic. Everything will break sooner or later, but If I have a choice, I'll choose products that can be diagnosed and repaired cost effectively with the tools I have on my workbench, although I'm comfortable with SMD rework.
 
Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, that is what I was told by ICEPower themselves - that they wouldn't repair the board as other components may have been damaged or degraded. They checked the part number and it was out of stock for the foreseeable. Maybe there is stock in the channel or with the OEs, but they didn't have any at that time.

Nothing wrong with Class D - I have several amps that use the technology. It's a shame that repair isn't more feasible due to a lack of service information. Bench time for diagnosis and repair usually makes it uneconomic. Everything will break sooner or later, but If I have a choice, I'll choose products that can be diagnosed and repaired cost effectively with the tools I have on my workbench, although I'm comfortable with SMD rework.
Every IcePower module is available through the standard service channels.

If an amp manufacturer chooses not to support their products with replacement parts and modules, that’s on them not their suppliers. I stock a large number of AlL ICEPower modules that were used in our legacy projects, essentially a lifetime supply given their inherent reliability.
 
Happy to agree with that - it's the responsibility of the manufacturer to hold sufficient spares stock and am glad that your company does.
Our former company has been shut down for 13 years, yet we still support everything with in stock factory parts and service, there's no reason why others couldn't do this as well.
 
I'll add to the happy tech support party. What a feeling to get great tech support.
I just had an experience with ART. I emailed their tech support when the second VU meter light bulb on my 20 year old MPA gold mic preamp stopped lighting.
I mentioned that the bulbs were out of stock everywhere, and I asked if a similar Amazon bulb I found might be a suitable replacement.
Their answer was to just send me new correct bulbs for free. I'm now kinda in love with ART...
 
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