Strenths and weakness of ashdown mags?

[rovito]

Lets hear it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I plan on buying some of their stuff and want to know what to expect. I would try it out for myself but my local dealer wont let me try out in the real world.

[Night Crawler]

I have an older Mag 250 head that i bought about 2 years ago - a great little amp which has many different tonal possibilities. A great feature is the octave function that will double the note that you play, only an octave lower for some bowel shaking moments.

 

The 'bright' feature will enable you to cut through, increasing the high end. I believe that the Mag 250 has been upgraded so that they are 300W as opposed to the 250 on the older models like mine.

 

It's British made, so it'l probably never break too

I bought mine blind too and have never regretted it.

[rovito]

Thanks for your input. I think these things sound great in the store and are cheap enough that I could build a nice system.

[mahatma]

I have the Mag300 head and I really like it. The VU meter on the input is not a gimic..it is very useful in setting your input level to get just the right amount of growl. The tone controls are very responsive.

 

I don't particularly care for the sub harmonic generator that night crawler likes. I suppose It would be useful in some situations. But 'moving truckloads of bottom end tone' is a stretch. That said, my low E string rings out deep and clear. I would guess a low B string would, too.

 

One other concern- you would have to take the chassis out of the cabinet in order to replace a fuse. Doesn't appear to be difficult. looks like four top screws hold the chassis in place. Not as convenient as a push/twist external fuse holder, though.

 

I don't use any effects or use the line out to a board so i can't comment about that. the tuner out I have used just to check the function and it is okay. However, my Highway 1 Jazz stays pretty well in tune and I use a battery operated Zoom tuner between sets.

 

Its a solid unit and I like it a lot. I play it through an Avatar B212Delta and the Jazz/ASH/Avatar combination is freakin' AWEZOME !!!

 

Dave

[Cougar207]

I have the Mag300/Avatar combo too. I use a tube preamp in front of it , but even without it the tone is warm and thick. EQ is great and I use the sub-harmonics effect can fill in some bottom if you need it. It has more than enough power to keep up with a loud drummer. It's not British made, only engineered, but it feels sturdy and I have bumped it around a little. Overall it is great for the price.

[sunburstbasser]

Well, I dig mine!

 

It sounds kinda like any other solid-state amp. It soudns almost exactly like a GK head but the EQ controls are much more powerful. The Ashdown has lots more low-end than a GK, and I don't have to max the bass knob out to get it felt. The bright switch is a little transparent to my ears, however the deep switch is very noticeable.

 

The only downside is that it still doesn't sound like a tube amp but for the price what do you expect? Its a good medium-priced SS amp with great EQ controls and features.

[Markee]

I really like the sound of Ashdowns but nobody has mentioned the bad and the ugly yet. Unit for unit, model for model they are probably the most repaired amp in the industry. Don't believe me? Ask your local tech repair person. They love the Ashdowns......but here's the ugly part, most of them charge $65 to $90 buck an hour to repair them.

[b-bryan]

i use an ashdown rpm-1 into a crown k2 into an avatar 2x12... and i love it. best octaver on the planet (even if it is based in the head.) does the mags have the added tube section? that was a sweet score, and prolly the clinch to buying mine...