Me, too, although the room was a nightmare. The amp seemed quite solid, and had plenty of headroom.I've only used them when they have been the supplied back-line, but I dig Ashdown... I think they sound great!
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Ductapeman
Ringmaster and Resident Geriatric
I bought a Mag 420 combo to use when I visit my Mom's house, and it's a nice little amp and all,but it just doesn't have any character. It's nice that it has a compressor built in, except that I never use one, and the octave-down thing made me go buy my first pedal since 1968-- but I found a GK Micro for less money, and now the Ashdown never gets powered on. I'll probably give it to my grandson. <shrug> Also not at all happy that there is no headphone out.
I've always heard Ashdown (or maybe it was Trace Elliot?) is basically the English version of Peavey. Lot of backline use but generally seen as cheap/low budget.
The guy from Dorje (youtube famous, I guess) plays a nice big Ashdown rig and seems to get a pretty good sound though...
The guy from Dorje (youtube famous, I guess) plays a nice big Ashdown rig and seems to get a pretty good sound though...
I have one of those Rootmaster 800 heads and have used it quite a bit this last year with no issues at all. I took it apart to have a look at the inside and it's is very well put together. Nice and neat with good quality switches, jack, knobs etc. It has a very nice tone, but is shy on the high end department. Its got more of an old school vibe going on as it's very wooly sounding head. This is not a bad thing, it's just not crystal clear sounding like some of the more modern stuff out there. It has plenty of volume despite what some people say. Those people obviously have not read the manual etc. Lots of cool features that actual do work very well just like they describe them in the manual. Is it the best sounding amp I have, no, but it's not a dog by any stretch.
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They have a pretty wide range in price. The more expensive stuff seems to be built n England and the budget lines seem to be built in Asia. They do have a pretty impressive roster of endorsed users. I have a MiBass 2.0 that I now use as a backup. Quality seems good, sounds nice, but a bit underpowered.
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I've always loved Ashdown. They're extremely available and affordable in europe just like most other brands (except maybe Aguillar, Genz Benz, maybe Peavey to some extent,..).
But to me they always sounded great! It doesn't matter whether it's a tiny 10w practice amp that I own, my friend's mag300 combo or the best jazz bassist in town's ashdown head (don't know the model he uses) I dig the tone, the controls, the eq, the sub harmonics button, everything.
The octave down works best when cranked to full with full overdrive engaged, the EQ gives a bunch of tonal possibilities and I have yet to see an ashdown fail or blow a speaker.
It's all a matter of personal preference ofcourse, this is all IME and certainly YMMV.
But to me they always sounded great! It doesn't matter whether it's a tiny 10w practice amp that I own, my friend's mag300 combo or the best jazz bassist in town's ashdown head (don't know the model he uses) I dig the tone, the controls, the eq, the sub harmonics button, everything.
The octave down works best when cranked to full with full overdrive engaged, the EQ gives a bunch of tonal possibilities and I have yet to see an ashdown fail or blow a speaker.
It's all a matter of personal preference ofcourse, this is all IME and certainly YMMV.
Ive always used the UK made amps and never had a problem! Hundreds of shows and hundreds of practices with my ABM EVO II. Always gave a killer tone with my stingray that got me compliments all the time. Sold it. Now have the BTA 400 and the matching 810. Killer amp and cab!
I think people's complaints largely come from the budget lines made in china.
I think people's complaints largely come from the budget lines made in china.
I used a 1x12 combo with sub effect at a shared equipment gig. It was smooth to the point that it lacked any of the attitude and grind I like. I'm sure it'd pair well with plenty of tastes and genres, just not mine. 
wmhill
Inactive
- Aug 20, 2012
- 4,054
- 17,209
- Disclosures
- MTD basses endorsed artist Bartolini pickups emerging artist TECAMP bass players gear endorsed
I used the 300 Mag head for a couple years, and it was OK- but not nearly a clean as I like. I recently tried out the rootmaster 420, and it had serious problems with getting loud. Just messing around in my rehearsal space- I had the volume close to maxed out. felt more like a 100 watt amp. I stuck it right back in the box and returned it after an hour of playing. If someone was looking for a dirtier, grittier dark sounding amp for stoner/doom/sludge stuff- they would be a cost effective rig.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
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- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
I had a CTM 15 and liked it a lot. Traded for a bigger amp that I could also use at gigs.
Had high hopes for the Retroglide but returned it because of a noisy fan.
Had high hopes for the Retroglide but returned it because of a noisy fan.
I had couple of ABM EVO II but for some reason they seemed bit underpowered comparing to spec.....
I LOVE Ashdown. I've had 3 different Ashdown's over the years. Current rig is an ABM-500 EVO III and it rocks, but I AM gassing for one of the CTM tube amps.
For a solid, loud, and tweakable amp with a natural warm character; they are awesome. If you are looking for a DI-esque clean tone that's uncolored, or something super hi-fi (i.e. GK) then it won't be 100% your flavor, but it does do clean and modern pretty well ime. Years ago they had a rep for being unreliable but that's been sorted out.
For a solid, loud, and tweakable amp with a natural warm character; they are awesome. If you are looking for a DI-esque clean tone that's uncolored, or something super hi-fi (i.e. GK) then it won't be 100% your flavor, but it does do clean and modern pretty well ime. Years ago they had a rep for being unreliable but that's been sorted out.
- Oct 18, 2012
- 6,683
- 5,538
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- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
I've owned a couple of Ashdown combos. They seemed very under powered and sounded terrible.
You guys that didnt like the tone, how would you describe it? Were you using the shape button?
I could get nearly any tone i wanted and ive gone thru tons of amps anf and the evo ii is one of my fave hybrids ever.
I could get nearly any tone i wanted and ive gone thru tons of amps anf and the evo ii is one of my fave hybrids ever.
They were the flavor of the month about 15 years ago; I found their amps to be very nice but their cabs to be really bad. So I bought a head and ran it with Epifani cabs for years - and that combo sounded GREAT.
So don't worry about the "lack of love". Who cares what other folks think about your gear?
So don't worry about the "lack of love". Who cares what other folks think about your gear?
