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MGR/Chris Jeffs « Ashdown Five Fifteen 100 Watt Combo »
Published on 04/29/07 at 15:00I play bass in a band, and sometimes jam with others from time to time.
I take electric bass very seriously (practice for hours every day), and I also play the flute on and off.
I like REAL music (ie not rap or hip hop crap) everything from U2 and Cream to Marcus Miller.
I bought this amp at Billy Hyde in Australia for $400 AUD, or something like $320 US. I was looking for a good quality reliable amp.
This amplifier is probably the best deal in existence. It's an Ashdown and that probably means, above other things, that it'll kick anything else in the price range to the next suburb. You get that classic tight and punchy Ashdown tone, 100 watts and significant bragging rights all for a very reasonable price.
I'll start with looks. It is possibly the tidiest and best looking 100 watt combo in existence. The controls are located on the top rear of the box, like a Roland Cube or Ampeg BA115. They are extremely tidy, easy to learn your way around etc and they are set into the box, not on top of it, so it's quite hard to break or knock a knob off or damage the controls by sitting something on top. I spent a while when I first got it just to admire the Ashdown badge in the top left corner of the front. The quality of the badge alone shows the confidence and pride the company have in themselves, Unlike other cheaper amps, where the badges look like you made it yourself out of plastic and glue.
Tone-wise, nothing within 200 bucks is better or a justifiable purchase. It has such a tight, clear and punchy tone. It is very very clean and precise. The thing I love a lot is the gain control, where you can adjust precisely to match any passive or active bass. It also provides more gain than most other amps I've used, allowing lower output basses like one of mine to really shine and sound huge. I found it worked really well with my SG bass, the humbuckers seem to work really well with the amp's natural tone and 15 inch speaker. I found the amp to be right at home with slaping and popping. I don't know if you share my view, but I find 15 inch speakers to provide the best responce and bite when I'm slapping. The deep switch is interesting. You need the amp to be turned up a bit for it to work it's best. It basically boosts the low end and smoothes out the higher frequencies, resulting in a very deep tone (hence the name). Power-wise, I find this amp to compare with other 120-150 watt amps.
Functionality is above average, but let down slightly due to the power switch (see the 'what I dislike about the unit' section). I could not have asked for a simpler or easier to use set of controls.
You've got your basic three band EQ, your output/volume control, your gain control (very nice) and your deep switch. A single input jack for your bass, a headphone jack, external speaker jack and on mine there's a line in (for something like a CD player or maybe a tuner or metronome etc). The handle actually works.
It's rather compact for a 100 watt combo with a 15 inch Speaker.
The only thing I dislike is that the power switch is located halfway down the rear of the amp. It's no big deal for me, but for some people leaning down and having to reach behind the thing to turn it on would be annoying, especially if it's got something on top of it or next to it.
It would have made more sense to put it on the top of the box on the face of the head with the rest of the controls.
The finish is completely flawless. Everything is perfectly alligned and nothing is loose or rattles when in use. Unlike other amplifiers in its price range, the speaker easily handles the amount of power driving it, and does not fuzz, rattle or blow out at full volume.
Although it is an Ashdown (and comes with union jacks all over the cardboard box), it is made in China, which makes it affordable for more players.
Some people would say that the made in China sticker automatically makes it crap. I'm here to say not so. This thing is one of the best quality amplifiers I've ever seen or used. It will easily out-class anything else out there in the category, from Fender Rumble 100s to Roland Cube 100s. Even 100 watt combos twice its price may no longer seem worth the extra money after you've played one of these.
This is the best tone possible in this price range. Best quality as well. People may think 'oh, I'll buy a behringer because it has more features and watts'. Well you'd be a retard if you thought that. This amp's beautiful tone makes up for it's lack of features, and the power is actually what it says on the box, unlike crappy behringers. The Ashdown would blow any behringer in the price range away. I guess the same with anything else in the price range.
Buy this amp if you respect your own talent as a musician. I bought it, and I haven't stopped smiling since.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I take electric bass very seriously (practice for hours every day), and I also play the flute on and off.
I like REAL music (ie not rap or hip hop crap) everything from U2 and Cream to Marcus Miller.
I bought this amp at Billy Hyde in Australia for $400 AUD, or something like $320 US. I was looking for a good quality reliable amp.
This amplifier is probably the best deal in existence. It's an Ashdown and that probably means, above other things, that it'll kick anything else in the price range to the next suburb. You get that classic tight and punchy Ashdown tone, 100 watts and significant bragging rights all for a very reasonable price.
I'll start with looks. It is possibly the tidiest and best looking 100 watt combo in existence. The controls are located on the top rear of the box, like a Roland Cube or Ampeg BA115. They are extremely tidy, easy to learn your way around etc and they are set into the box, not on top of it, so it's quite hard to break or knock a knob off or damage the controls by sitting something on top. I spent a while when I first got it just to admire the Ashdown badge in the top left corner of the front. The quality of the badge alone shows the confidence and pride the company have in themselves, Unlike other cheaper amps, where the badges look like you made it yourself out of plastic and glue.
Tone-wise, nothing within 200 bucks is better or a justifiable purchase. It has such a tight, clear and punchy tone. It is very very clean and precise. The thing I love a lot is the gain control, where you can adjust precisely to match any passive or active bass. It also provides more gain than most other amps I've used, allowing lower output basses like one of mine to really shine and sound huge. I found it worked really well with my SG bass, the humbuckers seem to work really well with the amp's natural tone and 15 inch speaker. I found the amp to be right at home with slaping and popping. I don't know if you share my view, but I find 15 inch speakers to provide the best responce and bite when I'm slapping. The deep switch is interesting. You need the amp to be turned up a bit for it to work it's best. It basically boosts the low end and smoothes out the higher frequencies, resulting in a very deep tone (hence the name). Power-wise, I find this amp to compare with other 120-150 watt amps.
Functionality is above average, but let down slightly due to the power switch (see the 'what I dislike about the unit' section). I could not have asked for a simpler or easier to use set of controls.
You've got your basic three band EQ, your output/volume control, your gain control (very nice) and your deep switch. A single input jack for your bass, a headphone jack, external speaker jack and on mine there's a line in (for something like a CD player or maybe a tuner or metronome etc). The handle actually works.
It's rather compact for a 100 watt combo with a 15 inch Speaker.
The only thing I dislike is that the power switch is located halfway down the rear of the amp. It's no big deal for me, but for some people leaning down and having to reach behind the thing to turn it on would be annoying, especially if it's got something on top of it or next to it.
It would have made more sense to put it on the top of the box on the face of the head with the rest of the controls.
The finish is completely flawless. Everything is perfectly alligned and nothing is loose or rattles when in use. Unlike other amplifiers in its price range, the speaker easily handles the amount of power driving it, and does not fuzz, rattle or blow out at full volume.
Although it is an Ashdown (and comes with union jacks all over the cardboard box), it is made in China, which makes it affordable for more players.
Some people would say that the made in China sticker automatically makes it crap. I'm here to say not so. This thing is one of the best quality amplifiers I've ever seen or used. It will easily out-class anything else out there in the category, from Fender Rumble 100s to Roland Cube 100s. Even 100 watt combos twice its price may no longer seem worth the extra money after you've played one of these.
This is the best tone possible in this price range. Best quality as well. People may think 'oh, I'll buy a behringer because it has more features and watts'. Well you'd be a retard if you thought that. This amp's beautiful tone makes up for it's lack of features, and the power is actually what it says on the box, unlike crappy behringers. The Ashdown would blow any behringer in the price range away. I guess the same with anything else in the price range.
Buy this amp if you respect your own talent as a musician. I bought it, and I haven't stopped smiling since.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com