new amp day!!! Ashdown Little Bastard

[Bassman62]

That was a lot more money then than it is now.

Also, the Ampeg would have been imported from the USA, making it more expensive.

Here, Orange gear costs more than Ampeg.

If you want something more authentic than the current Orange gear go to Matamp Matamp® - Welcome to the official MATAMP Amplification Factory Website now under the ownership of Jeff Lewis who purchased the name when the late great Mat Mathias passed away.
Their amps are still made to the traditional method, you can actualy visit and see you amp being built.
I hear what you're saying about importing but I paid £131 for a 120 watt orange when the 60 watt Ampeg head was £362 which had nothing to do with imports costs

 

[Korladis]

I'm not looking for an Orange or a Matamp. People are awfully quick to make assumptions on this board. I was just pointing out that UK stuff here costs way more (Matamp included).

Besides, what's your point?

 

[Fab Savage]

Which produced extraordinary efficiency by todays standards making as much as (with the horn loading of the 4560 cab)
The 106 dB 1 watt 1 meter with a K130 driver, of course
loudspeakers actually assist each other in a physical relationship called coupling. So yup add another in close proximity you get the equivalent of increasing amp power by a factor of two, equating to about 3 dB increase in level.
In the seventies watts were expensive so everything that could be got was got from speaker efficiency, horn loading and coupling. Now all we do is chuck huge power at massive yet lightweight motor structures in basic lightweight reflex cabinets. Its not big and its not half as clever.
Get an efficient 8 X 10 or a 4 X 15 for your little B and get quite loud.
Or get a Small block 427 and a 1x10 for a very short cab life and about the same sound level.
Thats how it really works.

Well said

 

[Bassman62]

Well said

Yes get an 8x10 or 4x15 and you'll be able to fry bacon on the top of your Little 'B' amp shortly (for a short while that is).

You've also got to ask why people still tote very heavy 200 watt tube/valve amps if the 30 watt little'B' will do all that is claimed.

 

[Bassman62]

I'm not looking for an Orange or a Matamp. People are awfully quick to make assumptions on this board. I was just pointing out that UK stuff here costs way more (Matamp included).

Besides, what's your point?

How much is the Little Bastard in the US?

 

[KPJ]

How much is the Little Bastard in the US?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Bassman62]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

That is about the same as the UK price, so another falacy goes out of the window.

I've noted before that some Ashdown amps are actualy cheaper in the US than the UK.

 

[Bassman62]

Get an efficient 8 X 10 or a 4 X 15 for your little B and get quite loud.

I'd rather have the same out of a 15" 450 watt Neo running out of a Little Giant 1000 for a fraction of the price and a complete rig that is a fraction of the weight plus after two 45min sets the LG is just warm and the fan doesn't even come on.
I've nothing against the LB I just don't want people to be misinformed as to the capabilities of the low output power in the long term.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Yes get an 8x10 or 4x15 and you'll be able to fry bacon on the top of your Little 'B' amp shortly (for a short while that is).

You've also got to ask why people still tote very heavy 200 watt tube/valve amps if the 30 watt little'B' will do all that is claimed.

The numbers of speakers just adds to the efficiency of sound production from available power. It doesn't make the amp work harder.

Who claimed 30w amp can do the work of 300w amp?

 

[Bassmec]

You missed out the misleading bit about the 106 dB @ 1khz @ 1 watt @ 1 metre frquency used in those days.
How many singer, guitarists or Bassists played at 1khz?

Well I think that JBL tried to produce loudspeakers that had as flat frequency response curves as they could within their range, then if they measured at one frequency you could get a general idea of efficiency. It hasn't changed but if anything
is less generally truthful today.
I don't think you have personally built a better loudspeaker.
I spent years trying at celestion, Ended up with the powercell and then sidewinder range. I was quite impressed with the Cetec Gauss 15" speaker with its double spider design and resultant ultra tight coil gap tolerances as where most of the engineers I worked with in the mid seventies.
Incidentally I still have the Altec Lansing 418 series 11 option in my Ampeg SVT115's same sort of efficiency as a Gauss, a little less power handling but a good bit warmer running full
range IMHO. Gauss where very good in old 4550 2 X 15's electronically crossed out at 125-250hz. You could stick it to them with a Crown DC 300A channel and they would still be there at the end of the tour.

 

[KPJ]

I'd rather have the same out of a 15" 450 watt Neo running out of a Little Giant 1000 for a fraction of the price and a complete rig that is a fraction of the weight plus after two 45min sets the LG is just warm and the fan doesn't even come on.
I've nothing against the LB I just don't want people to be misinformed as to the capabilities of the low output power in the long term.

My LB was on for over four hours straight at my last gig. It performed quite well. Everyone in the band heard me well and the house soundman did not see the need to turn up my fader. An LG 1000 into a single 15 could cause more damage to the single speaker than multiple speakers could ever cause to a low powered tube head.

 

[Bassman62]

Well I think that JBL tried to produce loudspeakers that had as flat frequency response curves as they could within their range, then if they measured at one frequency you could get a general idea of efficiency. It hasn't changed but if anything
is less generally truthful today.
I don't think you have personally built a better loudspeaker.
I spent years trying at celestion, Ended up with the powercell and then sidewinder range. I was quite impressed with the Cetec Gauss 15" speaker with its double spider design and resultant ultra tight coil gap tolerances as where most of the engineers I worked with in the mid seventies.
Incidentally I still have the Altec Lansing 418 series 11 option in my Ampeg SVT115's same sort of efficiency as a Gauss, a little less power handling but a good bit warmer running full
range IMHO. Gauss where very good in old 4550 2 X 15's electronically crossed out at 125-250hz. You could stick it to them with a Crown DC 300A channel and they would still be there at the end of the tour.

When ken Dibble did his 70s speaker checks in a monthly magazine he sounded the death knell for certain existing famous names, Gauss and Altec failed to live up to their price and performance claims and both distorted very early and were poor in sensitivity, how much is heard of these companys compared to Eminence and Fane UK, one of the best he tested was from a small UK firm ATC along with those built by the late Brian McKenzie.

Regarding frequency response as ken Dibble said what is the good of 1 watt @1Khz @ 1 metre a frquency that is way off the neck of most basses which therefore made the claim useless as 1 Khz in no way taxes a loudspeaker.
Only today do manufactures such as Eminence show a full response chart.
I've never claimed to have built a loudspeaker I build enclsures, I used to field trial speakers for Brian McKenzie both at McKenzie Accoustics ans his last factory Precision Devices when at Rotherham.
Brian was a personal friend of mine, I spoke to Val his wife just before he passed away, Val phoned me from the hospital shortly after he'd passed on.

 

[Bassman62]

My LB was on for over four hours straight at my last gig. It performed quite well. Everyone in the band heard me well and the house soundman did not see the need to turn up my fader. An LG 1000 into a single 15 could cause more damage to the single speaker than multiple speakers could ever cause to a low powered tube head.

Well I've been running mine for over 4 (not all with the LG) years playing hard Rock, Blues, Rock Blues, Plus various other genres and very rarely using FOH support.
So what you're actualy saying is that multiple voice coils (8+) don't require any more power than a single voice coil, amazing.

 

[Bassman62]

The numbers of speakers just adds to the efficiency of sound production from available power. It doesn't make the amp work harder.

So you're saying turning on all the lights in your house doesn't consume more power than just one light bulb are you?
Speaker voice coils are just like light bulb filaments and require power to drive them.

 

[JdoubleH]

So you're saying turning on all the lights in your house doesn't consume more power than just one light bulb are you?
Speaker voice coils are just like light bulb filaments and require power to drive them.

All those light bulbs would produce more lumens wouldn't they?

However a speaker isn't a purely resistive load like a light bulb, so it isn't a good analogy. True multiple bulbs mean more current since you have multiple parallel resistive loads. And while a voice coil does have resistance, placed in a magnetic gap and energized, it is more of an an inductive load like a motor or a solenoid. Multiple inductive loads in parallel means lower impedance. So we're not talking about just apples. I'll let the EE's take over from there, but in short, more motors at the same or lower impedance means more work product (acoustical power).

 

[Bassmec]

When ken Dibble did his 70s speaker checks in a monthly magazine he sounded the death knell for certain existing famous names, Gauss and Altec failed to live up to their price and performance claims and both distorted very early and were poor in sensitivity, how much is heard of these companys compared to Eminence and Fane UK, one of the best he tested was from a small UK firm ATC along with those built by the late Brian McKenzie.

Regarding frequency response as ken Dibble said what is the good of 1 watt @1Khz @ 1 metre a frquency that is way off the neck of most basses which therefore made the claim useless as 1 Khz in no way taxes a loudspeaker.
Only today do manufactures such as Eminence show a full response chart.
I've never claimed to have built a loudspeaker I build enclsures, I used to field trial speakers for Brian McKenzie both at McKenzie Accoustics ans his last factory Precision Devices when at Rotherham.
Brian was a personal friend of mine, I spoke to Val his wife just before he passed away, Val phoned me from the hospital shortly after he'd passed on.

Who the feck is Ken Dibble, Wait up! your saying Ken Dibble is personally responsible for the demise of altec lansing!.
I vote we go round with a bat and sort him right out.

 

[Korladis]

How much is the Little Bastard in the US?

I have no idea, why?

 

[Downunderwonder]

All those light bulbs would produce more lumens wouldn't they?

However a speaker isn't a purely resistive load like a light bulb, so it isn't a good analogy. True multiple bulbs mean more current since you have multiple parallel resistive loads. And while a voice coil does have resistance, placed in a magnetic gap and energized, it is more of an an inductive load like a motor or a solenoid. Multiple inductive loads in parallel means lower impedance. So we're not talking about just apples. I'll let the EE's take over from there, but in short, more motors at the same or lower impedance means more work product (acoustical power).

Thanks, that increases my understanding of it.

Short version, 4 series paralleled speakers have the same nominal load on the amp as one, but increase the conversion of the power into sound. Each speaker moves less to move the air the same.

Have a look at the dB ratings of a sealed 2x10 vs 8x10. If the 8x10 is four sealed 2x10 units piled up, (sound familiar?) it will be rated 6db higher from memory.

And no, I'm not suggesting investing in a fridge to go with your LB as a standout live gig rig choice.

 

[Bassman62]

Who the feck is Ken Dibble, Wait up! your saying Ken Dibble is personally responsible for the demise of altec lansing!.
I vote we go round with a bat and sort him right out.

He was the monthly contributor in a music magazine in the late 70s who carried out lab condition tests on just about all of the louspeakers (not systems) of the day.
His tests exposed some of the leading speakers of the day including Altec Lansing and Cetec Gauss, strange that we very rarely hear of them now also starnge that they didn't take out a court action or any of the other brands that he stated didn't come up to scratch.
McKenzie did come up to scratch and I paid £12.50 for the 12" and £26 for their first 15" when just a recone kit for a 15" JBL was around $50, God knows what a Gauss recone kit would have cost.

 

[Bassmec]

He was the monthly contributor in a music magazine in the late 70s who carried out lab condition tests on just about all of the louspeakers (not systems) of the day.
His tests exposed some of the leading speakers of the day including Altec Lansing and Cetec Gauss, strange that we very rarely hear of them now also starnge that they didn't take out a court action or any of the other brands that he stated didn't come up to scratch.
McKenzie did come up to scratch and I paid £12.50 for the 12" and £26 for their first 15" when just a recone kit for a 15" JBL was around $50, God knows what a Gauss recone kit would have cost.

So funny how the real cognizant completely ignored his empirical advise, bought the tooling and plant and still have to make these old speakers today at enormous cost.
Perhaps you can point me to a sound file of Kenneth giving it large via demonstration of the fabulous tone his preferred loudspeaker produced while playing an instrument or is it more of a flat cap, fawn lab coat and damp whippet + signal generator, loudspeakers for socialists deal.
Although I doubt ATC have many socialist customers.
I'll take Randy decisions over over Kenneth's any old day:
RANDY RHOADS – Studio Room Tribute Video! | The Metal Den
I have a sound to get mate.