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Okay, so who else is having serious problems with their Ashdown ABM?

#141
ok just finally got round to reading all the way through this, which seemed like a good idea as i am very interested in the ashdown lower end line (funds godammit!!:bawl: ) eg Mag and EB. (they are essentially the same amps just a lower power stage on the EB?)
its good to see a personal hands on approach to service and something i havent seen from any other manufaturer i have delt with regardless of the product, other than bespoke or small run production.
I am willing to accept that things can and do go wrong, it doesn't matter how much you spend there will always be a chance that something might go pop, and we are still a long way from being able to buy products that last forevr, and thats never likely to happen anyway thanks to a certain amount of planded obsolescence that is built into every single product you buy, yes everything. otherwise how would we be persuaded to buy something new?.
But what i am not saying is that these problems were planned, certainly not and i find it a shame to read somepeoples bad attitude to buying products based on somethings that can slip through the net, and saying never to buy an amp cos it's british is just plain dumb like just cos its british it obviously can't be made well.
kudos to ashdown for getting hold of this and sorting it (it is sorted now right) and i'd be suprised to see any manufacturer dealing with a problem that quickly. and like KJung just said, even the most unreliable product will have more working than not.
give em a break at leaast they are going in the right direction.
 
#142
I'd just like to put input into this thread.

I own a abm500evoII. had it for a year now, only a year but its seen many gigs, many band rehearsals, and for home practise this amp spends an average of 3-4 hours running per day.

It's been bashed around at gigs, and stuff, and has been cranked up alot running at 1/2-3/4 volume for usually 4-6 hours a time at reheasrals 1-2 times a week.

still working perfectly fine :cool: hopefully it stays this way though!
 
#143
matito said:
I'd just like to put input into this thread.

I own a abm500evoII. had it for a year now, only a year but its seen many gigs, many band rehearsals, and for home practise this amp spends an average of 3-4 hours running per day.

It's been bashed around at gigs, and stuff, and has been cranked up alot running at 1/2-3/4 volume for usually 4-6 hours a time at reheasrals 1-2 times a week.

still working perfectly fine :cool: hopefully it stays this way though!
Click to expand...

Good news, had my ABM 900 for going on 3 years now, never missed a beat.
 
#144
Had my ABM500-EVOII for a year and runs great. Everything in life isn't perfect. Lots of electronic items have problems but we still buy them, it's the nature of the beast. I can't see bashing the crap out of one company because of some problems , especially when they go out of thier way to rectify it. Try and get answers from one of the other big players out there !! Good Luck. Oh...and I would buy Behringer product.. For Fire Wood.
 
#145
slowhand mike said:
ok just finally got round to reading all the way through this, which seemed like a good idea as i am very interested in the ashdown lower end line (funds godammit!!:bawl: ) eg Mag and EB. (they are essentially the same amps just a lower power stage on the EB?)
its good to see a personal hands on approach to service and something i havent seen from any other manufaturer i have delt with regardless of the product, other than bespoke or small run production.
I am willing to accept that things can and do go wrong, it doesn't matter how much you spend there will always be a chance that something might go pop, and we are still a long way from being able to buy products that last forevr, and thats never likely to happen anyway thanks to a certain amount of planded obsolescence that is built into every single product you buy, yes everything. otherwise how would we be persuaded to buy something new?.
But what i am not saying is that these problems were planned, certainly not and i find it a shame to read somepeoples bad attitude to buying products based on somethings that can slip through the net, and saying never to buy an amp cos it's british is just plain dumb like just cos its british it obviously can't be made well.
kudos to ashdown for getting hold of this and sorting it (it is sorted now right) and i'd be suprised to see any manufacturer dealing with a problem that quickly. and like KJung just said, even the most unreliable product will have more working than not.
give em a break at leaast they are going in the right direction.
Click to expand...

Mike
my MAG started distorting at just under a year old. its been looked at by the bass centre and they say its fine. Its not and after it spending 3 months in the workshop i have given up hoping it will be put right.
No matter how good Ashdowns service deptartment are and CS if the amp fails at a gig or its your only amp your stuffed.
And while im not saying Ashdown are rubbish there does seem to be a few people having trouble with them and when they contact Ashdown it turns out its a common problem.
look at the old PSU problem. Ashdown knew about it and just seemed to wait for owners to contact them when their amps pack up. Also the VU not working and getting stuck issue seemed to be wide spread as well.
This is not good. Martin Burrows is a nice guy and very helpful but we shouldnt need this type of support in the first place. my MAG is the first amp i have ever had that has gone wrong. in 20 years of playing and ive used a lot of lower priced amps.
All IMHO of course (but i wont buy Ashdown again)
 
#146
with all due respect I can play any rig I want but I use Ashdown gear because I really like the product and have no plans to stop using Ashdown.

I know some big name Bassists who use the rig that they use and don't even like the tone or the quality and some of you wonder why they're using it,well it's because the check is fat.there's one big name Bassist that is about to leave the amp company that they are so associated with very soon for these very reasons.
 
#147
JAUQO III-X said:
with all due respect I can play any rig I want but I use Ashdown gear because I really like the product and have no plans to stop using Ashdown.

I know some big name Bassists who use the rig that they use and don't even like the tone or the quality and some of you wonder why they're using it,well it's because the check is fat.there's one big name Bassist that is about to leave the amp company that they are so associated with very soon for these very reasons.
Click to expand...

Thats a good point actually, if Ashdown was that bad would the bass players from U2, Foo Fighters, System Of A Down, Megadeth, Pearl Jam, David Gilmour, Razorlight, All American Rejects, Lenny Kravitz, Mark King, Gnarls Barclay, Robbie Williams, Buckcherry etc etc continue to use them. At these guys level having the amp cut out would be a major problem and they wouldnt stand for it, after all they can use any amp they wish, and I know for a fact Ashdown do not give gear away to artists as I'm sure Jauquo will back me up on.
 
#148
in due respect dave i totally understand your concerns but i expect things to last a year, (warranty and all that) after that its abonus, and i general they do, but the odd ones have problems. amps are made of many componants and that alone opens up the probability of things going wrong, i don't condone brake downs at all, they suck, but if they happen they happen then let the company deal with it. i have read of many people using behringer that have had no problems and some that have. it doesnt mean that make like GK, Eden, Fender, hartke aren't going to have many problems, they will do, but then alot of their stuff is more expensive and things are less likely to happen, if you took just the higher priced stuff from ashdown then the problems would be less. I accept that if i am going to buy on a budget then i am taking the chance of something going wrong hence the cheaper stuff is cheaper for a reason.
the fact that the problems appear to be similar means that they can be rectified, if they were all completely different then ther would be a major concern as then tracking down the problems would be harder. we all learn by our mistakes, and ashdown are obviously learning from some of theirs.

flaming gets us nowhere, constructive critisim does. :D
 
#149
Zakk007 said:
Thats a good point actually, if Ashdown was that bad would the bass players from U2, Foo Fighters, System Of A Down, Megadeth, Pearl Jam, David Gilmour, Razorlight, All American Rejects, Lenny Kravitz, Mark King, Gnarls Barclay, Robbie Williams, Buckcherry etc etc continue to use them. At these guys level having the amp cut out would be a major problem and they wouldnt stand for it, after all they can use any amp they wish, and I know for a fact Ashdown do not give gear away to artists as I'm sure Jauquo will back me up on.
Click to expand...

Yes but im sure they all have back ups and techs to sort any problems out and of course at that level im sure they can afford to buy more than one amp.
I would say they stick with Ashodwn because of the sound (as Jauquo has pointed out). im not saying they wouldnt be worried but they have a lot of people behind the scenes supporting them.
I would say at my level (just at weekends, mostly weddings and parties) its more of a problem as i only take one amp (cant afford two) to every gig and it has to work when i switch it on. if there is a problem i have to deal with it. something i cant do if im playing. I loved my MAG sound but its gone. i had to fork out very quickly to replace it and im not happy that i had to after just under 12 months with the MAG. even if i lived next door to the Ashdown factory it still would have meant i would have missed at least two gigs or it would cost me to hire in something.
 
#150
slowhand mike said:
in due respect dave i totally understand your concerns but i expect things to last a year, (warranty and all that) after that its abonus, and i general they do, but the odd ones have problems. amps are made of many componants and that alone opens up the probability of things going wrong, i don't condone brake downs at all, they suck, but if they happen they happen then let the company deal with it. i have read of many people using behringer that have had no problems and some that have. it doesnt mean that make like GK, Eden, Fender, hartke aren't going to have many problems, they will do, but then alot of their stuff is more expensive and things are less likely to happen, if you took just the higher priced stuff from ashdown then the problems would be less. I accept that if i am going to buy on a budget then i am taking the chance of something going wrong hence the cheaper stuff is cheaper for a reason.
the fact that the problems appear to be similar means that they can be rectified, if they were all completely different then ther would be a major concern as then tracking down the problems would be harder. we all learn by our mistakes, and ashdown are obviously learning from some of theirs.

flaming gets us nowhere, constructive critisim does. :D
Click to expand...

I cant agree about not expecting something to last. Ashdown are making amps to be gigged with. you expect a gig worthy amp when you hand over your money. i dont expect it to last for ever but ashdown (and of course all the others) know what type of use their amps should have to withstand IMHO and the parts should be up to that standard.
Im really not trying to bash Ashdown, im just pointing out that when an amp fails at a gig then customer support wont help.
Actually my MAG also came with a two year warranty so im guessing it was suposed to last two years.
As for paying more and getting more, most of the complaints seem to be aimed at the ABM range rather than the budget end.
 
#151
dave_bass5 said:
even if i lived next door to the Ashdown factory it still would have meant i would have missed at least two gigs or it would cost me to hire in something.
Click to expand...

I think if you lived next door to Ashdown you would not be with out an amp for your gig.


When I gig out I take one Ashdown amp to the gig(I do not worry about the amp going out)and some extra fuses.
 
#152
JAUQO III-X said:
I think if you lived next door to Ashdown you would not be with out an amp for your gig.


When I gig out I take one Ashdown amp to the gig(I do not worry about the amp going out)and some extra fuses.
Click to expand...

Well if im out on a gig miles away, at night and the amp broke down i wouldnt get through the gig no matter where i lived
If it was the weekend i think they are shut.
In my situation as i dont drive i would have a struggle to get the amp back to mine and then back to our lock up.
not immpossible, just a lot of organising.
Of course this is just my situation im talking about and i do take your point
 
#153
didn't realise it had a 2 year warranty, so in that case i would expect it to last 2 years, if not be replaced as yours should. yeah i know if you are playing and it cuts out you are stuck, but then we aren't all made of money to carry a backup with us (would be nice). i have a gig coming up and i am worried about the combo i am using as it is only 50w and i'm expecting it to go during the gig (sods law and all that) it might not but then it might who knows.
yes we should expect a certain level of performance from a product that is designed to be gigged with and that appears to be being addressed so that those that like the tone can carry on using without worries (or at least less of them).
 
#154
I've have just recenlty had a problem with my Ashdown MAG300, after reading this post i decided to contact Jauqo,. who has helped me in great detail. I contacted Ashdown via email, and a day later i get a phone call at 9.30 the next morning(actually waking me up!)it was Guy from Ashdown arranging for a courier to pick my amp up....TOMORROW....i cannot fault that service at all. Iv been rushing around like a mad man trying to get a suitable box to package it in! Now as far as im concerned, THAT is customer service, where the company ring you up, are totally civilized and arrange for it to be picked up, at a time that is suitable to you. I cannot ask for any more than that. I love the tone, and believe in the company.


end of rant :D


Brad
 
#155
bradleystamper said:
I've have just recenlty had a problem with my Ashdown MAG300, after reading this post i decided to contact Jauqo,. who has helped me in great detail. I contacted Ashdown via email, and a day later i get a phone call at 9.30 the next morning(actually waking me up!)it was Guy from Ashdown arranging for a courier to pick my amp up....TOMORROW....i cannot fault that service at all. Iv been rushing around like a mad man trying to get a suitable box to package it in! Now as far as im concerned, THAT is customer service, where the company ring you up, are totally civilized and arrange for it to be picked up, at a time that is suitable to you. I cannot ask for any more than that. I love the tone, and believe in the company.


end of rant :D


Brad
Click to expand...

That really is good service.
but, in my case i dont have my amp at home, would probably be at work, wouldnt have transport, i live in the congestion zone and so on.
Again, im really not moaning about Ashdown, just that my problems are bigger than me just sending the amp to be fixed and so i need one i can depend on. like ive said i havent had an amp go down at a gig apart from my MAG, and that was only distorting so i could still finish the gig but i do worry now. thats one of the reasons i went over to a MarkBass amp. at lest i can take that home with me on the night bus.
Hope you get your MAG back before the next gig;)
 

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