Ashdown or Trace Elliot for a 4001?

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:26 pm

Well, I guess compared to that the PV will feel like a feather!

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:30 am

Trust me, it does! We had those Community 4x12's for our bottom PA cabs on the road. Loading those things in and out of the tour bus, especially in midwest sub-zero weather was not fun. At least the Peavey combo has casters on it. Those 4x12's didn't.

espidog · Post by **espidog** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:16 pm

Hi folks,

New member here - hi! On the subject of Ashdown gear: just in case you haven't heard, there is breaking news re. the recent spate of reliability problems.

Ashdown have been taking the issue very seriously, and have been conducting tests. They've managed to replicate the fault in the lab and have worked out what was causing it. They say that it only affects amplifiers shipped to the USA (I wonder if the 'universal' power supply circuitry wasn't terribly happy with running on 110VAC), and also that it doesn't affect combos - only heads (combos having better ventilation perhaps???).

As I understand the situation, Ashdown are asking all their customers who have experienced such problems to get in touch with them, so that the necessary modifications can be made. Not exactly a product recall, but better than nothing!

So, if you're at all worried about your new ABM / MAG etc., give them a call.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:06 pm

Are they changing the design a bit so that the problem won't happen with their amp heads in the future?

espidog · Post by **espidog** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:59 pm

I should sincerely hope so! It would be a bit perverse of them to carry on making something that was prone to a recognized fault.

jps · Post by **jps** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:29 pm

I briefly had a MK500 head to try out. It sounded great but it's inherent noise was extremely loud (buzzing primarily) and I did not like the way the "exhaust" fan sucked the cool air in from the back and exhausted the hot air out the sides of the amp and into the rack. Not cool!

jon · Post by **jon** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 8:42 pm

Hi Ken

I saw that note. I'd often wondered why so many people from the USA were complaining about Ashdown products, whilst here in the UK they seemed to be universally regarded as excellent. It's good to know that there appears to be a logical reason for it.

espidog · Post by **espidog** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:34 pm

Hi Jeffrey! The buzzing you experienced is certainly not normal. Sounds like you had a faulty unit on your hands. That airflow does sound plain daft, though, for a rackmounted item! The combos have much better cooling, on account of the larger chassis and plenty of vents.

Y'know, I'm beginning to see a pattern to this reliability thing. To me, it seems likely that it's a result of the following cocktail:

1) a power supply circuit that perhaps runs hotter when working off 110VAC...?

2) the fact that large parts of the USA routinely experience much greater extremes of heat/humidity than most of western Europe

3) the amp heads having insufficient ventilation to cope with the above factors

The mains voltage issue would explain why these problems are almost exclusive to the USA. Australia gets damned hot, too, but there haven't been anything like as many problem reports from users down under. Why? Australian mains is 240VAC !!

Ashdown are a good company, with agreat reputation for after-sales service. I trust them to deal with the problem to everyone's satisfaction. It's just a crying shame that it has taken so long for them to get to this point.

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:59 pm

Ken,
I spoke with the US service tech about the buzzing issue. He said that was normal! It has a fairly pronounced buzzing around 400-900 Hz which gets considerably louder when the 12 band EQ is engaged. I also found the first gain stage to be quite weak as I had to crank up the input gain and I still only got no more than about -7dB on the meter. With any other amp that has an input clip LED I can get it to light easily, so the output of my basses are not an issue. I was really hoping for more from the MK as the tone was incredible.

espidog · Post by **espidog** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:01 am

Hi Jeffrey,
400-900Hz ??? That IS weird. As for such a phenomenon being regarded as 'normal', that just doesn't make any sense. Why would they market an amp with such obviously poor performance? I mean, nobody would buy any of them if they all sounded like that. Combined with the lack of first-stage gain, this still smells to me like a faulty unit.

It's a real shame you had such a rotten experience, as it has probably put you off trying other Ashdown products. I'm glad to say that my ABMs have no such problems. They run quiet, have tons of gain and I have no trouble getting that VU to bounce around using just a passive 4003.

I know you don't have the MK500 any more, but I'd be interested in running those symptoms past Ashdown's design team, to see what they have to say.

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:50 am

Peter,
Very late in the thread here but since you said: "Really sounds nice, but I think that it needs the extension cab," I'll put in my two cents.

Caveat: I can't say what's best for a 4001 since I don't play one.

When I was thinking about what gear to get, I decided on the MAG 2x10 combo. (Sight unheard.) But the delivery date kept getting pushed back over and over again so I cancelled my order and decided to go the head and cab route instead.

As I've mention before, I now have all "A's:" Ampeg, Avatar and Ashdown. The Ashdown is the MAG 1x15 cab (with the blue cone). And I am very happy with it.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:29 pm

After five weeks my "Amp for a 4001" thread seems to have mysteriously migrated south to "The others" for some reason.

Mark, I agree that the MAG300-15 does the job well, but I think that the extension cab will help it to shift a lot more air and make it really rock!