Ashdown or Trace Elliot for a 4001?

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:30 am

Anybody tried either of these? Are they good, bad or indifferent? Should I buy either or neither? I can't try them locally 'cos all that are around here are sheep!

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:42 am

Sheep? Are they that baa-d?

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:51 am

Hey, some of them are quite pretty.

As someone asked me once "Are you shearing?".
"No" I replied, "Go and find your own!"

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:55 am

I have to remember I live near NY farmland... I might have just insulted someone's girlfriend...

Back to Peter's ORIGINAL thread (sorry, man!)

funksterman · Post by **funksterman** » Fri May 19, 2006 6:40 am

Good question Peter - I have a Trace Elliot GP12SMX PreAmp/Head as my back up amp unit at home. It has a combination Valve and Tranny pre-amp with a blend control as my backup head.

(My staple workhorse is a Gallien-Kruger 1001RB)

I'll give it a try over the weekend and see what it sounds like - can't comment on the Ashdown though.

blueflamerick · Post by **blueflamerick** » Fri May 19, 2006 6:49 am

I have an Ashdown MAG C115 combo on order. It's supposed to arrive on Monday. I'll let you know.

I did play a 4003 through an Ashdown EB 12-180 combo and it sounded killer. Shook the whole guitar center.

moonliner · Post by **moonliner** » Fri May 19, 2006 8:11 am

I have used an Ashdown AMB500 for about 6 years now and love it.
Very powerful and it has a deep, warm tone. The 'input mix' dial that goes from clean to grind is very nice at adding some grit to your sound. Also, the 'sub-harmonic' feature is great. You can dial in anything from nothing to full on ... the latter adding huge amounts of earth shaking depth to your sound. It's foot switchable too which is a very handy feature.
I run mine through 2 Bag End 15's and couldn't be happier.

fran4001 · Post by **fran4001** » Fri May 19, 2006 9:57 am

I use an Ashdown MAG300 1x15 combo, and both Ricks, and everything else in the stable sound great through it.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:05 am

Erik, was that the Fountain Valley GC?

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:30 am

I've thought of trying the Ashdown Mag 300 1x15 combo, but I've heard of a few units that have overheated too easily. I'm still considering it though. I'm also looking at the new Line 6 Low Down 300 Pro Combo as well as the Ampeg B2RE Head and 1x18 cab set. As well as the Peavey Combo 115. I'll get one of those when I find a new band to play with.

fran4001 · Post by **fran4001** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:57 am

No problems with mine overheating, at least yet. I have major PA support, so I don't need to crank mine. I noticed mine has less air vents on the front panel too, so it's probably one from before the fix. Mine's also UK made, and supposedly the newer ones are Chinese. Nonetheless, I recommend it!

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:04 am

Get an Ampeg B200R.

blueflamerick · Post by **blueflamerick** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:17 am

Yes Joey, it was the Fountain Valley GC. Did you see the older Fireglo 4003 they got in about 2 weeks ago? It's the only bass I've ever played there that had decent action and perfect intonation.

I also tried the Line 6 Low Down 300 Pro Combo. It's ok, too many effects to play around with.

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:24 am

Hi Peter, I can't speak about Ashdown as I've never used one in battle, but I've been thrashing Trace gear for years. I'm told Ashdown was founded by the same fella who started Trace, so there may be some similarities.

I went through a phase a number of years ago when the band began to work a lot. It was a guitar band with a rookie on rhythm guitar. This was new to me playing in a small group, giving a bass player more freedom and space to work. As a result I became much more aware of the sound, or tone, as opposed to thud or power. So my search began.

I was having great difficulty choosing a rig as they would sound great in the store or at home, but when used at a job, crash. So for period of months I made a conscious, or perhaps unconscious, decision to damn the VISA payments and went on a tear. I would buy an entire rig, bring it to the bar, set it up next to my current rig, and A B them under fire. The rig that blinked went back as a trade in on the next candidate. I went through all the usual suspects, Fender, Acoustic, Peavey, Hartke, Boogie, Ampeg, and finally Trace Elliot. Trace was a clear step above to my ear and feel. Mind you these were big rigs used at high volume in noisy crowded stink holes. In that environment the Trace punched through without having to deafen people, filled the sound with a warm rich tone without turning her up to "11".

I think the secret to a great Trace rig is to go for the SMX heads with the built in crossover, and use it to bi amp your sound. Naturally this leads to a substantial sized rig, but if you can use it, it provides a wonderful and powerful sound. I've been abusing them for years with no problems. Broke my heart when they disappeared, but it sounds like Ampeg may try and save them.

jon · Post by **jon** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:25 am

Ashdown are superb - run by the guy that used to run Trace too. They sound magnificent.

The cheaper Ashdowns are made in China. As far as I know, the ABM range is still made in the UK.

For some reason, any problems I've read about them have been from people in the US - no idea why that is.