Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Tell me about your feeling regarding the
Ashdown amps/cabs, likes, dislikes, tone, quality etc. Thanks.
cp

John Entwistle was using an all Ashdown amp rig during the last years of his life. He probably considered it to be the best setup of his career, or I doubt he would have bothered putting it all together. He was wicked picky. I think the Royal Albert Hall DVD has him using this rig and it sounds freakin amazing.

I have an Ashdown EVO RC [chrome rackmount], and really like it. I played a Hiwatt 100W head and cabs since '72, switching over about four years ago... I haven't looked back since.
The higher end Ashdowns are well built, and are easy to tweek to get a good sound. The EQ section is well laid out, and small changes go a long way. Stay away from the MAGs though, they're cheaply built and sound it.
There are so many good amps out there these days. Some of those amps will set you back quite a few dollars, too... but IMHO the Ashdown EVO and the newer EVO II compare with the best of them, and are "reasonably" priced. When I bought mine I put it up against an Aquilar that was way more money, EQ'd to my taste there was no perceptible difference. The Aquilar was a little more Hi-Fi... but that's not my bag, so I bought the Ashdown.
They are built in England, and are top quality. I have heard of some complaints [Harmony Central] with their customer service, but have myself never needed them. I've put many hours on mine over the past few years, and have never had a problem.

i had an ABM400 for a few years and used it for shows/touring extensively. for a ss, i thought it sounded very good.

I have an ashdown mag300 4x10 combo, and for a fairly low priced amp, it sounds amazing.

Sean, good to hear what you are saying. I use an Ashdown ABM 500 head with two ABM 2x10 cabs and am really pleased. It DI's well and have no complaints on stage or in the studio, where I only use the DI.

I used to have a Hiwatt 100 head and 2x15 cab back in 1973 with my shiny new 4001 JG and always remembered it being a better sounding combo than the Ashdown. I have some recordings made at gigs and by the BBC back then and it sounded like it had a bit more punch and growl in the low end. I also had a roadie and a stronger back in 1973, so the Hiwatt is no longer an option!

I have an ABM500 EVO II head with ABM210T and ABM115 cabinets. I like the setup, but hated lugging it after gigs due to the weight. I switched to a Thunderfunk head with Epifani ultralight cabs.

The ABM heads can go fairly modern or vintage depending on how you EQ them and how much tube saturation you put into it. It's a nice in-between tone.

I tried several other rigs and came back to Ashdown several times. But the weight savings of my new rig are great and so I'm selling my Ashdown rig.

The ABM/EVO range are superb amps - all my basses sound brilliant through them. There's a good range of tones available with the EQ, but even just using the shaped pushswitch with no further eq, most of my needs are covered and I cut through the mix nicely (too nicely according to some!). You can dial in a bit of grit by bringing the valve drive into play.

In the UK, their support people are really on the ball, judging by the one piece of contact I had with them.

I have an Ashdown 2x10 MAG DEEP cabinet and I love it, until recently, when I downsized my rig, it was one of my main show cabinets. Nice and light too!

As mentioned previously, I use a MAG 15 cab and am very happy with it.
Mind you I don't play a Ric bass.

[All "A's" in my rig - Ampeg, Ashdown and Avatar.]

I bought an ABMII 500 watt head and a 4 ohm 4x10 a couple years ago; this rig kicks ***. The head is light and the cabinet is manageable. I've had many, many rigs over the years, including Trace, which was my favorite before it was stolen. Ashdown's got a real warm bottom end with a nice edge to the top. It's the only amp I've ever had that you have to turn the bass down on! I've had many a compliment on my sound and highly recommend it; it's got real simple but powerful EQ features. The only problem I've had is with the octaver feature; it cuts in and out on me. As I really don't use it I've not dealt with having it repaired.

This thread inspired me to hook up my Ashdown rig one last time. Well it probably was a good thing to do since I'm not so sure I want to part with the head now. The cabinets are no big loss since I can adjust the EQ to make Epifanis match them at a significant weight savings, but that head just has a "presence" about it. I'm thinking about selling my EBS head instead.

I heard Ashdown are now being manufactured in China,Ampeg too.

The lower end of their product line is made in China, and has been for awhile. I should have elaborated in my earlier post.
The ABM [Ashdown Bass Magnifier] series, which includes the EVO amps, are built in the UK.
The companies roots go back to Trace/Elliot, another well known amp company from the UK.