Members freakk guitarist Posted January 6, 2006 Members Share Posted January 6, 2006 my friend is going to be picking up a new bass head in the next few weeks and hes debating which one to get. i realize that the kustom is only 500 watts at 8 ohms. so its power rating isnt all that it seems. but which amp is going to sound the best/be the loudest sounding it will be used in the studio alot, but also live in a rock band setting. most likely going to be used with an avatar 410 with eminance neo's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rovito Posted January 6, 2006 Members Share Posted January 6, 2006 Ashdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted January 6, 2006 Members Share Posted January 6, 2006 Ashdown=quality Kustom=questionable. Kustom used to make good {censored}, back in the day, when coke was cheap and hookers were free. C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members der oxenrig Posted January 6, 2006 Members Share Posted January 6, 2006 Originally posted by Crescent Seven Ashdown=quality Kustom=questionable. Kustom used to make good {censored}, back in the day, when coke was cheap and hookers were free. C7 Actually, I haven't heard a single bad thing about the Kustom, whereas i've heard mixed reviews of the Ashdown stuff ever since it moved to China. That said, the Ashdown is probably only 300 watts or so @ 8 ohms. Both have warm tone, although different. It should basically be try both before you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted January 6, 2006 Members Share Posted January 6, 2006 My Ashdown MAG300 has 275w @ 8ohm. I'm sure the MAG600 has about twice that. Kustom, on the other hand, advertises that their head puts out MUCH more wattage than it actually does. Ox, I know you have an old-gear fetish, but Kustom just ain't the company that it used to be. C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members der oxenrig Posted January 7, 2006 Members Share Posted January 7, 2006 Originally posted by Crescent Seven My Ashdown MAG300 has 275w @ 8ohm. I'm sure the MAG600 has about twice that. Kustom, on the other hand, advertises that their head puts out MUCH more wattage than it actually does. Ox, I know you have an old-gear fetish, but Kustom just ain't the company that it used to be. C7 I know it's not, but the GrooveBass is an impressive head for it's pricepoint. Not sure if i'd actually own one, but it's cool in a nice low-fi kind of way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rovito Posted January 7, 2006 Members Share Posted January 7, 2006 I have a friend who has a Kustom guitar amp that has been nothing but trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cortfan Posted January 7, 2006 Members Share Posted January 7, 2006 The Groovebass has been getting a lot of rave reviews. Kustom hired James Brown away from Peavey to further their cause. Remember the XXX, 5150, Firebass, etc. James helped design all of those. Our guitar player has a Kustom amp that sounds really good, and he has had no trouble with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zomawia Posted January 7, 2006 Members Share Posted January 7, 2006 FWIW, both amps are made in China. I had the Groovebass for a bit. Warm, loud and clean can describe it best. It was a nice amp, just make sure your friend rackmounts it if he decides to get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted January 7, 2006 Members Share Posted January 7, 2006 I own the smaller Ashdown (same tone, more juice in the 600). I've played through the Kustom. Both are very nice sounding. Neither of them is going to do tube-amp grit (no tubes all around!), but neither is a Hartke either. The Ashdown seems a bit more even across the frequency spectrum, while the Kustom seemed more low-mid based. This was the combo with the single 15" speaker, mind you, but it still didn't have a lot of high end. If EQing is important, the Kustom looks nice on paper but the graphic EQ is so powerful its almost useless. The 3-band EQ, with its push/pull features works very well though. The thing about the graphic is that turning down any frequency very far almost completely drains your volume. The EQing on the Ashdown is nowhere near as powerful, but I personally prefer it. Five knobs, deep and bright switch. Leave the bright on and you get lots of clarity but it never gets harsh. Otherwise just boost the low end a bit and I've found it to sound pretty good overall. I don't think the Kustom had the sub-octave switch either, which while somewhat cheesey is still cool on a few songs. In more than a year I've had zero problems with my Ashdown. I've known several people with Kustom gear and I don't recall any of them having problems either, nothing major at any rate. Definately a try-before-you-buy thing with either amp. I doubt your friend will be displeased with either one. FWIW, it seems that both Kustom and Ashdown watts go a long way. I wouldn't worry about wattage as much as tone between the two amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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