Messe: Ashdown Launches Bass Pedal Line

Rendering of Bass Pedals (Click for a close-up)

Ashdown Engineering arrived at Frankfurt with an innovative new range of bass effects pedals. Developed specifically for use with bass guitar and featuring true bypass switching, the range comprises of a Dual Band Compressor, Sub Octave Plus, Bass Drive Plus, Envelope Filter and Bass Chorus Plus.

All pedals are housed in durable metal cases and feature an input level control with a trademark illuminated Ashdown VU meter to allow optimum signal matching from any instrument -- active or passive. Similarly, all pedals have an output level control -- essential for obtaining the perfect balance between the effect and the true bypass mode.

The pedals can be powered either by an internal PP3 9 Volt battery or an external DC power supply.

Dual Band Compressor

Designed to meet the specific needs of the modern bass player, Ashdown's Dual Band Compressor splits the signal into high and low frequency bands and applies compression separately to both -- fast attack and decay for the high frequency and slow attack and decay for the low frequency or fundamental waveform of the note. The amount of compression applied to each is independently variable and the balance between the high and low frequency components of the signal is also controllable as they are re-combined into a single, full range output.

Sub Octave Plus

This pedal generates a note one octave below the note being played, at the same volume and based on the waveform of the original signal. By blending the sub-octave note with the original signal, bass players can move from a subtle reinforcement of the sound to truckloads of bone-crushing tone. As a further Plus, distortion can be added to the sub-octave note, with the amount and tonal characteristics of the distortion both adjustable by the player.

Bass Drive Plus

Why should guitar players have all the fun? Ashdown's Bass Drive Plus pedal generates a wide range of bass distortion effects from a slight grunge through to high-gain overdrive. The Drive control sets the amount of distortion, Distortion Tone adjusts its character and Distortion Level balances the amount of the effect with the clean bass signal.

Envelope Filter

It's time to get funky with the Ashdown Envelope Filter. Capable of a wide range of effects from auto-wah through to spaced-out, auto-triggered funky tones, the sweep of the filter can be either up or down with selection of band-pass or high pass filter modes. A peak control is provided to deepen the "Q" for more extreme effects and the depth of the effect is controlled by the volume of each note as it's played, making this a truly creative and dynamic pedal.

Bass Chorus Plus

A chorus just for bass players. In addition to the standard Depth and Speed controls, the Plus part of this pedal can be switched in to provide flanging and a range of delay effects.