Let's talk about the Ashdown Little Bastard

[Nuage420]

 

[twinfallsbass]

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Love the red chicken head knobs!!!!

 

[wellso74]

I have owned one for a number of years and I love it! Great for recording and small gigs. I use an EA Wizzy M-Line 12 cab that is 4 Ohm. Really nice combo

 

[Nuage420]

Love the red chicken head knobs!!!!

Thank you, I love the look. The black knobs are too big and I kept knocking them when I'd go to flip the switches. They were like 12 bucks on Amazon for a dozen or so. They have metal inside and a set screw.

 

[Joris 55]

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Very classy!

 

[Joris 55]

I have owned one for a number of years and I love it! Great for recording and small gigs. I use an EA Wizzy M-Line 12 cab that is 4 Ohm. Really nice combo

Now that's something I haven't seen yet. Any chance you got some pictures to share?

 

[two fingers]

I have owned one for a number of years and I love it! Great for recording and small gigs. I use an EA Wizzy M-Line 12 cab that is 4 Ohm. Really nice combo

Now that's something I haven't seen yet. Any chance you got some pictures to share?

Some years ago I used to run my LB30 with an EA VL210. That little cab was heavy as CRAP but it hit pretty hard with the LB.

I'll try to find a pic later.

 

[Nuage420]

Some years ago I used to run my LB30 with an EA VL210. That little cab was heavy as CRAP but it hit pretty hard with the LB.

I'll try to find a pic later.

I was thinking about getting an old heavy 12 or 15 cab to run this LB with instead of another lightweight cab.

 

[two fingers]

I was thinking about getting an old heavy 12 or 15 cab to run this LB with instead of another lightweight cab.

I have also done several gigs with the LB into am Epifani UL410. HPF in front to clean it up a little.

Kicked like a mule.

 

[Joris 55]

I was thinking about getting an old heavy 12 or 15 cab to run this LB with instead of another lightweight cab.

I used to have a vintage Kustom 215 with JBL's in it. Heavy, but a GREAT combo with the LB

 

[Nuage420]

I used to have a vintage Kustom 215 with JBL's in it. Heavy, but a GREAT combo with the LB

I'm very unfamiliar with ashdown, is the 210 cab it was designed with any good? I see a 310 cab that has me interested as well.

 

[Joris 55]

I'm very unfamiliar with ashdown, is the 210 cab it was designed with any good? I see a 310 cab that has me interested as well.

No idea, I haven't played one through an Ashdown cabinet - although they did get some favorable reviews in the past.

 

[Nuage420]

I may have a bass vi coming my way and since I have the LB30 and now a bigger ashdown head I think the stars are aligned for the LB to handle some baritone rhythm duty. If anyone has some experience with a similar situation what kind of cab did you use? A bass cab or guitar?

 

[Joris 55]

I may have a bass vi coming my way and since I have the LB30 and now a bigger ashdown head I think the stars are aligned for the LB to handle some baritone rhythm duty. If anyone has some experience with a similar situation what kind of cab did you use? A bass cab or guitar?

I haven't used it with a baritone guitar, but it handles my Jazzmaster like a champ!

 

[Nuage420]

My local shop has a close back Mesa 112 guitar cab. When I get the LB back I'll take it in and give it a go.

 

[Nuage420]

Had a blue led put in place of the dim bulb they use for the VU.

 

[Joris 55]

My local shop has a close back Mesa 112 guitar cab. When I get the LB back I'll take it in and give it a go.

Keep us posted!

 

[Joris 55]

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Had a blue led put in place of the dim bulb they use for the VU.

Nice

 

[Nuage420]

This is the bass vi I have coming my way. Traded some gear for it. I'm pretty excited about this one.

 

[lizardking837]

Hi folks!

Let’s talk about the Ashdown Little Bastard 30.

A couple of years ago, Ashdown Engineering produced the Little Bastard: a 30-watt all-tube head with a sound to die for. The way Ashdown put it:

“Rebellious, uncompromising and cool as f***, James Dean - and the car he nicknamed the Little Bastard - are the inspiration for this iconic, all-tube mini bass amp head.”

A pretty accurate description if you ask me. Have a look!

View attachment 4390998

Yeah, the chrome front panel is beautiful. And that VU-meter gives it a cool-factor that other amps don’t have. The rotary controls are big and convenient and the amp has a very basic circuit.

It’s equipped with two 12AX7-tubes in the preamp and four EL84’s in the power section. My go-to tech guy popped it open to have a look under the hood. By no means I’m an expert, but the amp did make a good impression on him. I brought in a Mexican-made amp at the same time, which was nowhere nearly as well-built. It seems like Made in China has become a badge of honor.

In spite of it’s stripped-down appearance, it is packed with features: there’s a mute switch, a high and a low input, an effects loop and a bunch of rocker switches to tweak your sound. This tiny amp is has it all!

Using the 1⁄4” speaker outputs on the back, you can hook up 8- ohm or 4-ohm cabinets.

The sound

I’ve had mine for a while now, and I absolutely love it. Needless to say, it gets a lot of use.

The amp is pretty small, but boy, does it sound good! Thick, warm tones; rich, classic harmonics; mild tube-saturation and full-on grind: the Little Bastard does it all. It has - for lack of a better term - a certain ‘heft’ to it. Something you rarely find in low-wattage amplifiers with limited headroom. Must be the tubes, right?

Comparing the Ashdown to some of my other tube-amplifiers, it sounds even warmer and thicker. Needless to say it sits very well in a mix. And I haven’t even mentioned the transformer-coupled DI yet. It’s post-EQ only, but this is what a tube-DI should sound like.

So how does it perform in real life?

This little amp plays with the big boys. It might be the perfect studio weapon. It’s very manageable, but the sound is glorious. Tubes – or valves – really are something else.

Hooking it up to my 112 cabinet, Motown is right around the corner. But with my 410 it becomes quite nasty. It’s capable of delivering a drive-sound no pedal can achieve. And with a vintage 215 cab it keeps up with a drummer.

The 30-watt Ashdown delivers a tonal quality very few amps offer. It rivals the sound you hear on so many old Motown records. But those who seeking a more modern sound, should be on the lookout for a used one as well.

That doesn’t mean this is the perfect amp for every occasion. Live, it quickly runs out of headroom. You may get away with a coffee shop gig, but for anything bigger, it’ll need some PA-assistance.

As a studio tool, a silent-out would have been nice. But other tube heads offering this feature are more expensive, and often they don’t sound as good.

So why aren’t these amps all over the place?

Who knows? The last couple of years, the good folks at Ashdown have put out a ton of different amps. The lineup has become a bit confusing. A shame, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Little Bastard 30 is an amazing piece of gear.

It was only in production for a short while, but from time to time one pops up on Reverb or the Bay. Keep an eye out for the LB-30 and the CTM-30 as well. They don’t look as good, but on the inside, they appear to be the same beast. Has anyone played both?

It's been on my GAS list since I found out about them. You don't see them up for sale for sale too often which, to me, is another sign of their quality.