Ashdown ABM-500 EVO-II Head

I have the limited edition rackmount version, it is all chrome like other rack mount ashdown's but this one has extended chrome brackets instead of black ones. The head it self looks and Sounds amazing. the bet feature of this amp to me is the vavle overdrive, it can be tuned on and off by a foorwitcht making it easier to play live! like all other abm's this has the vu meter, mute switch, tuner out, di out, effect loop and a 4 band graphic eq, and there tonal knobs (bass, midlle and treble) also the sub harmonics option, which again can be turned on anf off by a foot switch. hoever i had rthe choice of this or the ashdown labs amp ad600, with the 12 band eq, i went for this purely because it had the vavle drive!

i use a warwick corvette through this, and it sounds absolutely immense, i play all sorts of music ranging from heavy rock to jazz, to funk, reggae.. list goes on. this is one of the very few amps i found which could hack all different styles of playing! the other one was the eden wp100 pre running though the ashdown power amp.
like mentioned before i love the vavle drive on this amp, it changes the tone even when moved slightly, but like with any other good amp, in order to find your tone u have to sit down and twiddle for a while before u achieve it.
however i LOVE the ebs faffner sound, and someday when i have enough money i will sell this to get the daddy ebs!

VERY VERY reliable, i have used this at many gigs, and it has never let me down! however as it is a rack mount you will need a good rack case, i have a alluminium heavy duty one, keeps it well protected. i previously had a mag 300 and that was built like a tank as well. i dropped it a couple of times at gigs, BUT it still worked like new! no scufs, or internal damage AT ALL! i trust ashdown and thier products.

never had to deal with them and hopefully never will , the shop i bought my head from is an ashdown dealer/engineer , hence if there ever was a problem all i have to do is go to him.

A brilliant amp, tried against various othe makes like the ampeg svt 3, swr sm 400 and 550 x ,warwick x-treme etc etc this amp is right for me. could not have asked for better amp at the price i paid for it! AND it was brand new and a limited edition!
would definately replace if boken or stolen or would save and get a faffner!

This is an '05 version. I play rock, country, blues, whatever. It's as simple as it needs to be and gets an amazing tone right out of the box. Some fine-tuning, and it's killer.

The controls are simple, intuitive, user-friendly and all very usable, with the exception, IMHO, of the sub-harmonizer thing.

I dislike tons of "stuff" and complex EQs, and this keeps it to a minimum. It has a speakon and a 1/4" speaker output jack...I just wish it had two 1/4" jacks. I have no need for speakon stuff with my cabs, and to run both my 15" Mesa cabs I will need to buy a speakon to 1/4" adapter. No big deal, I suppose.

Power is plenty high, 575 watts @ 4 ohms. Tube / solid state preamp, and solid state power amp. It weighs around 30 pounds, has a very nice handle and is easy to carry around.

I play a RIckenbacker 4003 and a Fender jazz bass. I put this amp in the same league as my Mesa/Boogie bass400+, but as my guitar player said after only a minute of jamming, "it sounds tight". That's a real compliment coming from him. He prefers the sound of this, over the bass 400+. No question.

I am still attached to, and sort of biased toward my Mesa, but to be honest, this Ashdown is pretty much a better sounding amp. Long term use will determine if it is as reliable as the Mesa.

It has a fat, sweet sound, and can be as clean or dirty as you like. It almost sounds like it has a bit of compression built-in, (hence the "sounds tight" reference).

I have had no problems thus far. I really don't know what to expect. I haven't heard good or bad about Ashdown reliability, so time will tell.

Have had no need to use customer service, and have no idea what to expect if I do.

I have been playing for close to 30 years.
I have owned Ampegs (original SVT, SVT-2 pro, SVT-3 pro) and several GK heads, along with the Mesa, and many years ago fender bassmans, and probably others that I forgot about.
Until now, my all-time favorite amp is the GK 400RB. I used them for years with never a problem. The only drawback was a lack of power for larger gigs.

This Ashdown can be just as powerful, and versatile, and sound just as good as anything I have ever played or heard. Ampeg kool-aid drinkers will disagree, but I don't care. There's not a lot to not like about this amp. I am a firm believer that if your gear sounds good to you (the player who uses it) and works well, that's all that matters. If you're going to impress anybody else, it will only be other bass players, and frankly I don't much care about impressing other bass players. Your audience won't give a damn what it says on the front of your amplifier, either. I really like what this light, powerful, and tonally versatile amp can do for me.