Hi guys, I know very little about amps and need to find a new amp powerful enough to do smaller venues at the moment and preferably able to go up to medium sized venues. I would also like this amp to be cheap used, I would say up to £300 and if possible, light (I am a scrawny, underdeveloped teenager). I have no problems buying used at all. I play in a rock band and use overdrive and subtle chorus quite a lot, so I would like something that sounds good with overdrive and preferably has a good, strong mid and treble. The amp I am looking at now is the Ashdown MAG 300 410 combo as it seems powerful/loud enough to do the job, and I think I read somewhere that 10" speakers respond nicely to overdrive effects. It can also be found used in very good condition for as little as £250. I have read a few threads and it seems that most people think that Ashdown amps sound good, but I don't really know what to compare that to as I have very little experience. What are your thoughts on this and your suggestions for other amps to look at. Forgot to add, It must be able to handle notes down to D (I use a 5 string) and still sound good.
If you can, try before you buy. Only your ears will tell you if you like what you hear. ANY excuse to go test gear is a valid excuse.
True, I will have to search around in the music stores in my area, luckily Nevada is about half an hour away.
I have the Ashdown ABM 900 with an ABM 810 and a MAG 410 and love all of them. Not as mid focused as the MAG range but has a more comprehensive EQ. I used the MAG 410 combo to record some stuff for somebody at college and I really liked it. I found it to work really well with overdrive and generally loved the sound. But these guys are right, you need to try before you buy. Ashdown is 'my flavour'... I'm yet to hear or try and Ashdown amp that I didn't like, so I'm a little biased Good luck
So I guess Ashdown's have their own unique sound, I will see which ones I can get my hands on to try. I see that the music store near me has a MAG 300 210, seems close enough, though they also have the MAG 300 head and the 410 cab as separate items, so I will see if I can try them together.
A few years ago I played a MAG for about 10 minutes in a music store... using my own bass... and knew right off the bat it wasn't gonna be my thing. This was at the time when Ashdown was picking up some big-name endorsers and was kind of the new hot thing so I was really surprised how much I didn't like pretty much everything about it. So i was really glad I didn't just buy something on "rep" without trying it. That being said... YMMV and the amp is only part of the equation.
i've got the 115 300 mag combo. should be plenty loud for a "scrawny teenager" but i sometimes find myself lost in a mix with a heavy drummer and crappy sound. no footswitch on the sub octave makes it pretty useless in live situations, and the tracking on fast passages seems a little sluggish. Really versatile eq and the front panel di is nice. I'm looking replace it for 2 reasons: first, i've usually got it dimed at the crappy sound type gigs, and i need more clean head room. It breaks up nice and wooly, but i'm starting to realize that wooly isn't my thing. second: the weight and top handle are f-ing up my hand. Build quality and reliability are top notch considering the price.
I bought a MAG C210T-300 sight unseen...great sounding amp. it had 2 problems. an electrical buzz that was always resent and I bought it because I thought it was 307 watts. its not, its about 200 until you add another cab. given its sze and weight I thought it silly to need another 60lb cab just to get another 100 watts.... I am looking to get another Ashdown product. trouble is no one around me has them in stock nor have they ever.... I am looking at the Touring 330 2X10 rated at 300 W but only about 200 on its own maybe a Mibass bass but I am not too into these class D amps yet
I have been playing 15's for 30 years. the Mag 2X10 I had changed my mind on that. I need to replace the MAG and all I am looking at is 10's now
"(I am a scrawny, underdeveloped teenager)" LOL so was I. when I started Playing at 14 or 15 I think I was lucky if I weighed a hundred pounds or so. Anorexic people looked at me and said damn... I lugged my Fender Bottom with 2 15's, the head and my Bass all over. no problem
I have an Ashdown C410 MAG 300 combo and love it. Got it 2nd hand for £200 and can't believe how good it is for the price.
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