Does the new Ashdown bass amp software sound like the real thing? 

I’ll never wrap my head around all of the Ashdown hate. In the early 2000s, I worked at a guitar store that was the first dealer in the state to carry the brand. Our other major in-store bass amp brand back then was SWR, and this timeframe would probably have been around SWR’s peak (think Mo’bass.) I almost always gravitated toward the Ashdown ABM stuff. The simple drive, compressor, and octave circuits were great. These days I play a 30 watt all tube Ashdown head with a matching 15” cab, and in the 10 years I’ve had it, I’ve never felt compelled to get anything else. Before that, I was swapping out amps and cabinets every few years.

I use an ABM evoiii 500 live and bought the plugin for home practice and recording. I love both.

Love that you brought Daniel in for this vid. He’s such a talented dude! Great vid dude!

Ashdown has great gear. I still have a Spyder head. Its a hybrid, tube before preamp, passive EQ then tube before power amp. ABM 550w SS power amp. Fantastic warm tube amp tones.

This might be the Ashdown model that was backlined for a gig I played 6 years ago. I remember loving the sound.

I totally get it that you sometimes regret selling your Ashdown. I used to be more or less addicted to its sound! I only needed that shape button and play with the input and output volume a bit to get a great sound. Comming from using Trace Elliot amps since the late 80’s, I immediately switched to Ashdown in 1996. My first ABM-400 in ‘96 was a monster! And really expensive. Built in the UK. But, because I felt convinced I needed a little more power (and a spare amp) I got a 575 watt ABM-EVOII in the early 2000’s. They did become somewhat less expensive at the time, wich helped too. My first one... I’ve had three more after that one and even a 2x575 watt (ABM-EVOII 900) in a flightcase between 2002-2008! I used to play lots of gigs in these years. No crazy stuff, just Americana, blues, rock/popcovers at medium volume. You know what? They all died a sudden death on me. On stage during gigs! All of them! Except that first one... A few repair guys and technicians took a look inside some of those oversea built Ashdowns that died on me onstage. Their verdict: one big mess inside! Ashdown didn’t want to know about any of it. More people had issues with them back than. It was all over the forums. Even more than with that little Ampeg PF-500 a few years later. I got scared. So did my bandmates... That first old Ashdown I kept for a few more years. Trusty amp, just like my 1986 Trace Elliot 4x10 combo (!). High quality. No more Ashdowns for me... No more of that great typical tone. The most beautiful I ever heard. After some time with a very beautiful and silk sounding all tube Marshall VB-400 head, I started playing Markbass (Casa) and Taurus Qube-300 heads and never looked back. Boy, how I loved that Ashdown tone and look!! 🖖

That is a super musical sounding plugin. I would love to use those sounds in the studio or live.

Hey phil! First i wanted to say i really like watching your videos. Its really inspiring and interesting, with an enjoyable and warm mood. BUT i have to get sth off my chest, that takes away a good proportion of the enjoyment sometimes, at least for me: Please remember to tune your basses before recording something! This is at least the fifth time i have noticed this in your videos. It was also in one episode of the tiny song live challenge, where you went for the semi hollow bass (?) and it was really not in tune. I wished i would have watched live to get on the chat to remind you, but i was rewatching... You make such great content, and with this notion i really only want to help you get the best out of it all. I really don't mean to shit on you. Maybe i'm more sensitive to intonation issues because i'm mainly a classical upright player but i think it would add to the absolute professional style of your content if you just smetimes doublecheck, if your instruments are really in tune (in this video,the estring of your jazz bass is way sharp, at least the frettet notes, but i guess you did a good setup for intonation..) Keep up the great work, i will keep watching all of you videos, as ive done for the last year or so🫡

Honestly, every track sounds great due to you fingers. Nice touch.

I had and loved a ABM 500 RC I used with Epifani UL-310 and it sounded great with a jazz bass I had at the time…. I’m lusting after the LB 2

I literally played the ashdown abm evo IV 600 last week for the very first time. I most play fingerstyle funk on a pbass. The sound is so rounded and full. Truly beautiful. I was in town looking at amps with my bass. The ashdown made markbass, the new boss katana head and fender rumbles all sound and feel sterile lifeless. I wish it had a headphone out but I’m thinking I will just have to live without one as the tone was insane. I will say I tried the old ampeg pf500 which I REALLY liked also. Different sound to the ashdown but you get get REAL funky with both.

Ive always had a soft spot for Ashdown ABMs. I had the ABM 500 EVO iv, but it was too loud for me and I didn’t like all the eq sliders. I’m getting an eye out for an EVO II 300. Such a great fat tone!

Ashdown toujours des bonnes sorties matos, une marque à surveiller , le little bastard ❤

Ashdowns have a sound of their own and a cheerful look. As well as major problems with reliability. I once had a tour where 2/3 of venues were supplied with Ashdowns by the renting companies. And each one of those amps malfunctioned in one or another way.

I’ve been running an original ABM-500 into a BAG END 15 for decades.

I had the Ashdown ABM-C210H-500 from 1998-2008. It was a gigging workhorse; Dub, Salsa, Rock, Punk, Funk, Jazz, D&B with loads of FX, whatever I threw at it. I quit music for a couple of years, then one day I had to move house and had no money to hire a van, and no space in my car, and no time to give it away, so…. I dumped it at the local recycling depot! 🤦‍♂️ (“Be careful what ya do when you’re stressed, Kids!”)

I used that amp for years and yeah, it's great. Total ampeg killer.

Sounds awesome. Will check this one out!

That first fat low pass tone tho!! FIRE!

Two Note has a fantastic Ashdown DynIR collecton

This is one of my favorite bass amps of all time.

Sounds really good:O Was Not really expexting that. I play the Ashdown LB 30 2.n and absolutely love it. Best tube amp for me 🤩

Mixwave makes great plugins, use their Benson Chimera plugin all of the time, can't really go wrong, I'm sure this would be super useful as well!

I just don’t get the distorted Bass sounds at all. The clean Radial DI is way better to my ears.

You guys ever try on each other’s glasses?

Never liked ashdown Amps. It was cheap at the time and looked cool with the VU meter so I got one to play in my band, but always ended up plugging my tech 21 by bass into the return to skip the asdown preamp.