Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've been reading a lot about Ashdown Bass amps here. I never heard of them. How do they compare with GK, Trace-Elliot etc?

From what I've read, the Ashdown heads are good. I've got a Behringer head, which is apparently a knock off of one of the Ashdown models. Not sure the comparisons are valid...

But the Behringer head is a little muddy/farty sounding in my opinion, but it's a solid and reliable head. I can compare it to a Trace head I have (ripped out of a BLX-80)...the Trace is a far brighter amp. But since the Trace is only 80 W, and I still haven't put a cover over it, I haven't used it in the band setting.

Rikk in answer to part of your question and living here in the UK and being a long time user of Trace Elliot it should come as no surprise when I tell you that many of the people behind the Ashdown amps used to be with the Trace Elliot company but moved ship when the Trace Elliot changed hands a few times and eventually closed.

And now the Peavey company have restarted Trace Elliot made here in the UK if you can see a copy of this months Bass Guitar Mag for the 1st new Trace Elliot rig review or try this website www.bassguitarmagazine.com

I had an ABM 500 EVO II that I sold like an idiot. I thought the bass was too boomy and wound up getting an Aguilar AG500. Last Saturday, I was in a local shop and the salesman hooked up an ABM 300 EVO II to my Aguilar GS121 cabs. I loved the sound! I checked his EQ settings and noticed that he rolled off the bass a bit and boosted the mids. I went home, listed my AG500 on Ebay and ordered a rackmount version of the ABM 500.

The ABM line has been described as a midpoint between a hi-fi amp and an Ampeg. That's not very far off. The tube drive knob will let you go from squeaky clean to a nice mild saturation. It has a lot of attack, too. I find the bass to be overwhelming and rolling it off to about 3 or so helps tame it.

The only thing I don't like is the harmonizer. It just sounds artificial to me and some of the tones come out jumbled. Get an 8-string bass if you want to do it right.

I am looking forward to trying the new TE AH1000-12 when they are available here. I have never tried an Ashdown, but I have read nothing but great things about them, especially the ABM series. I am not so sure about the Chinese made MAG series, I'd get an ABM.

I recently bought the Ashdown EVOII RPM-1, which is the preamp for the EVO series heads:

It replaces my Ampeg SVP-Pro, which had started to die. I agree with Ron, the Ashdown sound is more "hi-fi" than the Ampeg and retains more of the piano-like sounds of the bass. The tone controls are very responsive, and the tube blend is nice, although I can't get a real snarly grind out of it, which I could with the Ampeg. The sub-harmonic thing is a gimmick IMO; you can actually hear two distinct sounds, like a thuddy echo, so I leave it off.

What I like best about it is the clarity and openness of the sound; it projects the full range of the bass much better than the Ampeg, which always sounded muddy and compressed to me.

I see you also have an RBI in your rack. How is that for getting the snarly grind out of your basses?

I've got an ABM500-RC (the chrome faced rackmount one) EVO that I haven't used for a while. It's an awesome head, tons of headroom, but I mostly just stick to my 70's SVT's. If anybody's interested, shoot me an email.

The RBI is pretty good at that sort of thing, but some days I like it, other days it sounds dead; I guess it depends on how I slept the night before or something. I've had it for a few years and am still playing with it.

I am expecting one to show up any day to try out. I want to use it primarily for recording, although if it does the job, I may use it for gigging, too.

Ironically I can get far more "snarly grind" out of my Ashdown than I ever could out of my Ampeg SVP, and I much prefer the tone, but my Ashdown (and the one that preceded it) had been in use for a long time before I bought them used. I don't know if it just takes a while for the preamp valve to start cooking. The new ones I've tried in shops don't get close. I can go to Lemmy and beyond with mine. I pretty much always turn the bass down on every bass amp I use, but that's because I hate boom, and I never use the octaver. I'm really happy with my Ashdown so far, and I used Trace previously; I'd say my Trace gear was clearer, but the Ashdown has the edge tone-wise.

All this Ashdown talk got me a little curious, so I went out and auditioned the ABM 500 with an ABM 410 cabinet. I wound up getting both and am selling all my Aguilar gear.

Just can't sit still, can you?

Shaun, I've only had the Ashdown for about six weeks, so I haven't fully explored it yet, but I might give thought to replacing the tube with something a bit more aggressive. I do really like the tone as is, though.

Ron, what do you like about the Ashdown cabs? I have an Aguilar GS212, and am curious why you prefer the ABM over the Aggies (this is one of those questions that makes my wallet cry "Don't answer him!").

Lindsay, there's nothing wrong with Aguilar cabs and they've served me well over the past year. It's really a matter of coloration. The Aguilar's seem a bit more linear to me and I tend to like a warmer tone. The sound I always come back to when ever I've tried Ashdown gear is something between Roger Glover and Glenn Hughes with maybe a little more shading towards the Hughes tone. The Ashdown cab seems to tame the boominess I've head in the ABM heads while maintaining its dynamics.

If I was playing solely active 5-string basses, I'd have no problem recommending Aguilar gear since it compliments that style of bass well. But I play active 5er's as well as Rics and the occasional flatwound-strung bass and the Ashdown gets me closer to a vintage sound while having the ability to go hi-fi if I want it to.

Jeff, no I can't sit still. But what do expect since I'm a Gemini and my favorite guitarist is Ritchie Blackmore?