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My New Ashdown Superfly...

#21
OK, I played out Friday night, outdoors, for about 600 people and here's my final thoughts on the Superfly...

Anyone who had reservations about it's volume is clearly deaf, and even if you are deaf, you'd still feel how much output this little amp has.

Awesome night. We never sounded better. I can't attribute that to the Superfly as much as our new JBL SRX728 subs. We put 2500 watts into each sub cab. Everyone we knew came up to us during breaks and after the show to tell us we never sounded better.

However, my Superfly onstage provided me with a wonderful night of solid, clear yet warm low end. My bass never sounded better and it was inspiring to hear every single note be so full and clear.

Even my drummer said it sounded so good that my playing and sound was inspiring to him. We gelled so well as a band Friday night. I was in tone heaven. I've never heard my bass sound so present onstage, with every note having such depth and clarity. Volume wise, this Superfly really cranked out the bass through my two 4 ohm 115 cabs.

The Superfly kept up all night, and even at our loudest I never had to push the Superfly or my speakers very hard at all. I only used three presets I made and it was pure joy playing through it.

As far as the hum? I never noticed onstage, all night long, even when it was turned up loud and I wasn't playing anything. I had a dedicated 110 circuit just for my bass amp that was not shared with anything else. Perhaps that's what the Superfly needs to eliminate the minor hum altogether. There was absolutely no hum through the PA.

Also, I usually run my DI out of my amphead set on PRE, so the mixer gets a clean bass signal. But, with my Superfly, we set my bass flat on the board, and used my DI POST EQ, and everyone we knew in the audience said my bass never sounded better.

If I were to rate the Superfly from 1 (being lowest) and 10 (being highest), I'd give it a 10. Best "tube amp" type tone I've ever had with more volume than I'd ever need. At $279 this amp is a total steal and everyone should try one out.

Superfly is a great amp. Great.
 
#23
Well, I'll admit that just because it was a new amp, that there was a certain amount of partiality and there is always that wonderful "honeymoon" period with new gear one always has.

But, I NEEDED a new amp, and it had to be cheap, go down to 2 ohms (to go with my two 4 ohm cabs), and have enough power and features to do the variety of songs I play with my band.

There just are not many heads that cover all those things. Those that went down to 2 ohms, weren't cheap. Those that were cheap didn't go down to 2 ohms, or were very low end and had little power or features.

The Superfly came up on my radar doing a search through online outlets. It had everything I was looking for...cheap, and while it didn't go down to 2 ohms, it did have two separate 4 ohm, 250 watt power sections that was identical to my then current T-Max head (500 watts into 2 ohms), and enough features to be worthwhile (great EQ section, programmable, and small/light).

Still I was skeptical because there were hardly any reviews on it, and almost no one replied to my questions about it, and searches here and elsewhere had little to say except that it had an annoying hum and was not very powerful. I thought, "just great...it has what I'm looking for and it isn't getting rave reviews".

So I bought it thinking I could always return it. Also, I do have a Zoom B2 pedal that always gives me my tone, no matter what amp I play through, so as long as the Superfly had enough power and did not hum as bad as everyone said, I was good to go.

So my opinion of it initially was that I was getting a lemon at worst, and at best it would simply be a sufficient replacement for my dying T-Max without having to spend a fortune.

So, after the first time powering it up and playing through it, I was quite surprised at how good it sounded. I still remained skeptical and never felt in total love with it, like one might with some new gear. But the more I played through it, the more I loved this little amp. And still I knew that until it went out on a gig with me, it still had one more test to pass the audition of a live performance.

And it not only passed, it surpassed my expectations. It was not only adequate, it is simply the best amp head I've owned to date (in 25 years of gigging). Awesome tone where my Zoom pedal is relegated to being only an effects pedal and tuner. I never thought that would happen. Easy to carry around. I showed up at the gig with the Superfly in it's padded case and the included strap over one shoulder, my bass in my gig bag over the other, and an accessory case in one hand. Two trips (another for my lightweight 115's) and I had all my gear on stage.

My gear is now lighter than all the other musicians in the band, and we play mostly classic rock cover tunes. No heavy tube amp and cab(s) to haul around. Just this little 15 lb. Superfly and two 21 lb. neo cabs and I'm ready to crank out some seriously loud bass (that easily competes with a pounding drummer, keyboardist and guitarist with a Fender twin and a Bassman 150).

Have I helped sell more Superfly amps? Hard to say. I can't believe how little hype there is for this amp on talkbass. This one definitely slipped under the Talkbass radar. Their loss is my gain, because it initially was priced over $1000. I can see why. It is worth every penny of that. But that price would have kept me from buying it, only because that is more than I"m willing to spend on an amp head. and at that price there are lighter and smaller amps that I'm sure equal it. But at $279? I might buy another before they are gone.

Ashdown is coming out with a more powerful version that is identical in every other way. I suspect that those who were put off by the 2X250 watts into 4 ohms will be in for a real treat when Ashdown releases the 2X500 watt version of the same head. I understand that those with 8 ohm cabs might not like only putting 125 watts into a cab. But I've always been one of those 4 ohm cab lovers, and as long as companies will put out heads that go down to 2 ohms (or in this case 2X into 4 ohms) I'm sticking with 4 ohm cabs. I've never liked the 8 ohm configuration. Heck, even our JBL subs are 4 ohm monsters. There's a reason for that.

IMO, get a Superfly now before they are gone (and get some 4 ohm cabs while you are at it), or get the newer, more powerful Superfly when it comes out. But the new Superfly's won't be selling for $279.
 
#27
Sundogue said:
Well, here's an interesting tidbit of info...

I was packing up my gear for my gig tonight, and then I realized that I hadn't tried out my new Superfly with my new strings. I was only half done, so I put it back together, turned it on and played some more with it.

It sounded fantastic with new strings. I was already thrilled with it's sound even with my old strings, but the new strings and this amp? Well, I was in tone heaven.

I kept playing a while longer when I realized that it didn't seem as loud as I thought it had been before. I turned it up a bit more than I had it and it was quite loud (still louder than I typically play on gigs), but I kept thinking it wasn't quite as loud as yesterday. I chalked it up to ear fatigue as I have been playing through my Superfly for a few days now, at very high volumes, just to see what it could do, and thought perhaps it was still just as loud as before only I was getting used to the volume.

Then I turned it off and as I was unplugging everything, I noticed that when I put it back together, I had forgotten to plug in one of the cabs! All this time I was trying my Superfly with new strings, I was only playing through one cab and it was still quite loud (though I had turned it up a bit more). The Superfly with one cab was still sufficient for gig volumes!

I plugged in the other cab and tried it again. Wow, Now that's what I had heard yesterday! Insane volume and clean, well defined low end. Good to know the Superfly still has enough juice to work with one 4 ohm cab and be loud enough for most gigs.
Click to expand...

What is your gain and volume settings when you say loud?
mine gets really hot(right side) while i just leave it on but no bass pluged in and master on 0. did you notice anything like that?
 
#30
999laci said:
What is your gain and volume settings when you say loud?
mine gets really hot(right side) while i just leave it on but no bass pluged in and master on 0. did you notice anything like that?
Click to expand...

Sorry...I've been gone for the last three weeks.

I don't recall what my input gain and master are on when it is loud for me. I only noticed it being hot when I played my last gig with it, but it was pretty hot outside anyway and it didn't appear to be running any hotter than any other amp I've had.

Loud is subjective. What is loud to me, might not be to you. I do know that running it through my two 115 cabs, it can get louder than I ever need it to be. I play in a classic rock cover band (two guitarists, keyboards, drums) and my last gig was an outdoor show and I never needed to push the Superfly very hard to hear it cleanly over the other instruments onstage.

Now again I have to say that I am always next to one of the PA subs on my side (JBL SRX728's with 2500 watts into each sub) so as far as feeling the bass onstage, most of that comes from our PA subs, and I specifically designed my cabs to be louder above 100Hz and let our PA subs handle everything below that.

But, having said that, my Superfly through my 115's easily gets louder on it's own than I will ever need it to. Louder and cleaner sounding than my Peavey T-Max head did with the same output (500 watts into a 2 ohm load)...the same cabs I use now.
 
#32
XtraLongScale said:
Just won one of these from ebay today. Can't wait to try it with my pair of 112 neos :bassist:
Click to expand...

Are your 112 neos, 4 ohm? If they are, this little amp should kick with them. I've tried a single 4 ohm cab and it was still adequately loud for my situation, but with two 4 ohm cabs it gets stupid loud (way more than I need), which should suffice for most all band situations except insanely loud heavy metal (in which case there are more powerful heads/cabs).

I haven't tried it with 12" cabs, but I have with 210, 410, 115 and 215 cabs and all sound great with it. You can adjust a lot with the EQ section, so if you like the sound of 12's, you should be able to dial in what you want.

I love my neo 115's. I threw out my back last week, and it's still a bit sore. I just carried my 115's out of my basement and loaded them in my car. All I have to say is..."Thank God for neo speakers!!!" I don't think I could have hauled my other bass cabs today by myself.

One thing about the Superfly's EQ. While I don't normally recommend a smiley face EQ, you can push the lows up higher than what you normally might do on another amphead and still have clean bottom end without it turning to mush. So go ahead and experiment with the EQ. It seems to do more than just EQ frequencies. It almost sounds like while you adjust the EQ other things come into play (perhaps it automatically adjusts the amount of compression applied as you boost low end frequencies?). It just seems that it does more than traditional EQ's. Then again, maybe it just sounds that good.

Let us know how you like it, and also report if you experience any of the issues like the hum, etc. We seem to be getting differing experiences with some issues, so all feedback is appreciated.
 
#35
Yeah, they are 4 ohms each. I actually own 5 cabs of different 10 & 12 in configurations that are all 4 ohm :) I bought it because my main head, an Eden Nemesis NA650 was starting to fritz on me last week and I only have a few weeks left on the warranty, so I needed something to get me through the next few gigs while the Nemmy is off for repairs. The Nemesis w/my two Avatar SB112 Neos (my current configuration since the beginning of the year) is way more than adequate for all my shows since I always have P.A. support. No effort at all for good stage volume doing Metal amongst two tube 1/2 stacks and stellar Noble & Cooley drum kit. Since I barely have to push the Nemesis, I figure the 'Fly will be able to hold it down well again, in a P.A. supported situation. Fortunately no shows this weekend, but I normally play twice a week and the Nemesis'll be away for a while and i couldn't find an acceptable 2 ohm capable head locally, so i pulled the trigger. EQ wise, I'm not much of a mid scooper and i won't be going for any extreme settings. Just a slight bump in the low mids and I'm generally happy. I'm hoping any hum, if at all, will be slight and that I get it in time for next week's rehearsals.
 
#36
XtraLongScale said:
Yeah, they are 4 ohms each. I actually own 5 cabs of different 10 & 12 in configurations that are all 4 ohm :) I bought it because my main head, an Eden Nemesis NA650 was starting to fritz on me last week and I only have a few weeks left on the warranty, so I needed something to get me through the next few gigs while the Nemmy is off for repairs. The Nemesis w/my two Avatar SB112 Neos (my current configuration since the beginning of the year) is way more than adequate for all my shows since I always have P.A. support. No effort at all for good stage volume doing Metal amongst two tube 1/2 stacks and stellar Noble & Cooley drum kit. Since I barely have to push the Nemesis, I figure the 'Fly will be able to hold it down well again, in a P.A. supported situation. Fortunately no shows this weekend, but I normally play twice a week and the Nemesis'll be away for a while and i couldn't find an acceptable 2 ohm capable head locally, so i pulled the trigger. EQ wise, I'm not much of a mid scooper and i won't be going for any extreme settings. Just a slight bump in the low mids and I'm generally happy. I'm hoping any hum, if at all, will be slight and that I get it in time for next week's rehearsals.
Click to expand...

That is the same position I found myself in. I had a T-Max that was acting up and I also needed a 2 ohm head. So, the Superfly fit the bill.

Best part is, the Superfly was an improvement to my sound. One thing I have noticed is that what slight hum I do have, is NOT present through the line out...only through my cabs on stage (and for me it is very slight).
 
#38
The EQ on the Superfly also offers possibilities for controlling room boom. One is to use the software in parametric mode, saving eight presets, with all the filters set for their default frequency, gain and Q save one, which you configure with a .2octave bandwidth, -15dB gain. Starting at 160 Hz save a preset with that filter set at 20 Hz intervals up to 300 Hz. At the gig if there is a boom scroll up through the presets until you find the one that kills the boom. Then adjust the levels of the remaining 'sliders' for your tone. If you find a consistent good setting for the other sliders you can save all of those as well, so that they remain constant while the only change in those eight presets is the boom cut frequency.
 
#39
billfitzmaurice said:
The EQ on the Superfly also offers possibilities for controlling room boom. One is to use the software in parametric mode, saving eight presets, with all the filters set for their default frequency, gain and Q save one, which you configure with a .2octave bandwidth, -15dB gain. Starting at 160 Hz save a preset with that filter set at 20 Hz intervals up to 300 Hz. At the gig if there is a boom scroll up through the presets until you find the one that kills the boom. Then adjust the levels of the remaining 'sliders' for your tone. If you find a consistent good setting for the other sliders you can save all of those as well, so that they remain constant while the only change in those eight presets is the boom cut frequency.
Click to expand...

This is a great tip Bill!
As a side note, I'll be building one of your O10's to go with my Superfly :D
 

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