Ashdown ABM-C210H-500

Wow, this thing sounds great right out of the box. And the Sub feature is very useful without being annoying.

Perfect bass sound, can get a nice clean sound or a good growl with the drive control

Dunno yet! Good so far.

Dunno

Ampeg for sale! I'm Ashdown from now on!

Not sure of the year(maybe '99?). This is a versatile amp, but Ashdown has it's own sound,for sure.You're not gonna get a 'transparent' sounding amp. I mainly play rock/R&B in a 6 peice band with keys. I also play jazz and other styles when the need arises. No channel switching but you can use footswitches with some of the amps functions(like the flat and EQ switches) and get very different switchable sounds. Has an fx loop. I have used it in quite a few gigs since buying it used (but in great shape). This this has A TON of power(500 British watts and they are not kidding). Really, it is way loud. I've never been lacking for power in any gig. It has a dual triode tube preamp which gives a very tubey sound indeed.This is an EVO I but is essentially the same amp as the EVO II.

I use the amp with a G&L ASAT bass and a Fender Precision. The amp suits me quite well. I would say the cooling fans are kinda noisy but that is mostly noticable when practicing at home. Not noticable at a gig.
I would describe this amp as "British sounding". Having owned a Trace-Elliot GP7 400 watt 2x10 combo, it's easy to see the relationship. I got the Trace because I loved Tony Levins sound. But the Ashdown sounds better and more like a tube amp(and I really liked the Trace). I am wary of giving out 10's but this amp sounds really great.Fat,warm and very tubey.

I've heard of some people having reliability issues with some Ashdown amps but not with the ABM combos. Based on my experience,this is a very reliable amp and the build quality is excellent. It's been played in quite a few medium to large venues with no issues whatsoever.

E-mailed Ashdown UK and got a reply right away from the owner. I get the sense that they really stand behind their stuff. Hopefully if there was an issue,they would be helpful.

One thing about this amp: It is fairly heavy. When I owned the Trace 2x10 combo I mentioned, I lived in an apartment where I had to climb a long set of stairs. I loved the sound of that amp but it was too heavy for my situation. This amp is heavy but the sound is as good as it gets and I can move it more easily now.This amp has a more shallow depth to the cab than the Trace or the Eden Metro so it's easier to move and easier with a small car.In 25 years of playing, I've played through a lot of good bass amps from all different manufacturers and this is the best overall amp I've had. (Really).

Bought it brandnew from Ebay. Came out of Austria with DHL. The amp has a lot of featurs; the equaliser is divided between three turn-knobs and another 4 sliders for precision equalisation. Power is 575watt RMS and it is LOUD.

I use it whith my 1977 P-bass and my 5-string Ibanez. Last one is active, but I NEVER use the switching between active and passive input: hardly any difference if I don't switch and IF I switch (to active) there's too much dynamic range lost to my opinion. No humm, noise or whatsoever if properly grounded. The harmonizer is nice, but I don't use it much.

IT WENT BROKE!! After about 4 months of use: PANG! Lot of noise and a dead amp. Probably something loose since the beginning. But my friend (has a shop) shipped it to Brussels and everything was taken care of; completely repaired! Don't know WHY it was broke, but I guess it was a monday's amp.

As I said: Great. No hassle of anykind, no difficult questions, it just came back repaired.

Been playing >25yrs in bands now, over a LOT of amps. Last two stacks were Trace Elliots; big bulgy cabinets, and this small powercabinet fits me more! If it was stolen, I would buy another one the same moment.

Would guess it's new, but I don't know for certain. Very versatile and fits the style we play very well. Check out www.so73.com to see what we do. The only thing the amp seems to lack so far is a ground lift switch. Otherwise, it seems to have everything a pro quality amp should have. I plan to gig with it regularly, and I imagine it will have plenty of power to spare with 575 watts. I only use about 1/3 of the power now and only with 2x10. I imagine using a 4x10 or 8x10 cabinet would take the amp to the next level if I needed it there.

Will do what you need - we play a style of music where the bass sits more in the midrange or upper low's. It does just what I need it to do. I can also get a very full rich bass tone from it with little effort, basically, I use my bass to EQ how I need it. The amp overdrives and distrotes warmly and smootly, and can be as agressive as I want, though I can imagine someone might require more of it with the 2x10 config.

I think so. It looks very well put together, and I can't see where there were any corners cut. Still new but I'm optimistic it will serve me well for many years.

Can't say as I haven't had the need yet.

Awesome amp worth every penny. I compared to SWR, Ampeg, Yorkville, GK... all the others paled in comparison and most were more expensive.

tube/solid state combo, 2x10 with tweeter(no adjustment level) great sub-harmonizer feature!

when I bought it, I was choosing between the Redhead, Metro and Ampeg..it was so obvious that the Ashdown sounded much warmer. Live I play 2 Sadowsky(4&5) and every time,someone is telling how fat the bass sounds! Great for vintage tone,rock, blues,walking bass,hiphop, but not for slap..it,s kind of slow, just like slapping thru an SVT...you know what I,m talking about! but for the rest, it,s the fattest and warmess tone I ever had and I,ve been playing pro since 82,so I,ve got a few bass rig before

I played with it in every kind of gigs and it always performed great,night after night, this is a great product, all sound men are crazy over the D.I. too...

Ilive in Vancouver and the transport dammaged the tweeter last november..the dealer told me that we don,t have a distributor in Canada at the moment...he said to me sorry! so I emailed Mark Gooday and he emailed me back the next day to say he,d send me a tweeter free ..I could believed, but a week later it was in the mail!!! these guys are great, the best customer service I,ve seen

overall, this a fantastic bass amp, I love the sound and the VU it is so COOOOOL !!it,s vintage look remind me Abbey Road, Harley Davidson, 64 Mustang...I love it and I recommend it VERY MUCH

Yes,Yes,Yes......etc This Amp is the best it was made in 2002.This amp is the best sounding amp that I ever played.I am a former SWR guy.I had a Grand Prix pre amp,2400 watt crown power amp ,Two Goliath 111 4x10 cabinets along with a Goliath 111 2x10 I sold every nick and craaaaany of that crap after being convinced to plug into this 250 watt combo amp.This thing sounded 1000.000 times better than all of that crap I was playing.It sounded so good I figured I would go ahead and buy the ABM-C210H-500 COMBO .I am a guy who plays every type of music this thing is crazy powerful .For example I played a Show room gig in vegas with this Star the sound guy comes to me and says hey Tony what is that amp called ,I says its the ashdown bass combo, he said man that thing sounds huge can you turn it down ? Yeah so I turned it down I ended up only running my post and pre at 9:00 oclock this is no hype im seriuos if you do not own one of these amps buy one now!
I am using STEINBERGER BASSES This stuff is great i tell you.I also added the 2x10x15 cabinet for huge stages other than that this Combo will kick your BUTT.If you want your insides massaged use the subharmonic out feature WOW ,WOW ,WOW ,WOW YEEEEAAAAAAAH!

Sounds great for everything.I mean this is my opinion.This combo will sound great in any situation Funk ,Rock ,Country,Blues,Jazz What ever your heart desires.

So far very very good!

Never had to deal with this!

I have been playing for 30 years.I have one more SWR CABINET TO SELL ITS THE GOLIATH 2X10.Yeah if some one stole my amp I would hunt them down like a DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG and make them tell me everything there is to know about the amp and if they got one answer wrong I would I would make them play one of my old beatup basses until blisters would appear then i would kick the living you know whatever!
Yeah I compared it to everything.Everthing else sucks! The only thing is judging from what these guys paid.I think I got robbed.I other words I think the store I bought it from charged me to much .If anybody out there thinks the store over charged me please respond.Thanks!

My amp is brand new. It is somewhat versatile, great vintage sounding amps. If you play BASS, then this is what you want. No snap crackle pop garbage, just good sounding bass. It has everything a bassist could use, effects loop, tons of headroom, a friggin cool VU, and an easy to use EQ. You can plug right into this baby and get some sweet sounds.

I use a 75 Fender Jazz Bass with maple neck, a Warwick Streamer LX and a Rickenbacker 4001 with this and an extension Ashdown 2x10 cabinet. It suits my music style perfectly. I play classic rock, modern rock, funk, blues and jazz and it suits all of this absolutely perfect. It can be noisy at high volumes but when your playing it goes away and during a gig its not noticeable. In terms of clean sounds, people who prefer the hi-fi snap of SWR and EBS should look elsewhere, but if you want a kick in the ass bass amp that makes your chest pound, ashdown is it. If your looking for a vintage tube sounding amp, you've come to the right place. I a/b'd this combo amp with the 2x10 extension against a vintage 70's SVT. The only huge difference was the weight. Now there is nothing like an Ampeg SVT, but theyre friggin heavy. Ashdown is just hands down where the vintage is at.

My original purchase was a 1x15 with the 2x10. That night during practice with my band, the speaker popped and there was no sound. The amp was still powered and there was a signal, but no sound. I tried different cables and different bass, it was the same deal. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the two fans on the back did not work. This was obivously the problem. The amp would overheat and shut itself off to prevent from blowing up. I took it back to the store the next day and exchanged it with the 2x10 combo, which sounds better also. Better dispersion, etc. The fans are supposed to kick in when the amp is powered up. These fans just didnt come on at all.

Have not had to deal with.

I have been playing for five years now. I used to own an SWR 900, Big Ben 118 and a Goliath III. The ashdown blows this SWR crap out of the water. I was sold the moment I heard the ashdown. Its so loud and sounds soooo good. If you are looking for an amazing bass amp, ashdown is the way to go. If it were stolen, I would probably go Terminator style on the bastard who stole it from me. I love everything about it. It looks cool, and sounds AMAZING. I dont hate anything about it. if youre looking for hi-fi garbage for slapping and tapping, this isn't your amp. But if your looking for an organic, rich, warm, and fat bass amp, this is where you should be looking!

Year made: 2002

Versatility: Very. This amp blends from a warm all solid-state head to a preamp tube grind. It is thick and clear. The sound is not fuzzy like an Ampeg, but not sterile like a trace. You can adjust between the two with the knob that mixed in the tube preamp.

Features: Sub out, Input mix (tube), Push flat/shape, EQ In/Out, 7 Band EQ, Sub Harmonics (octave below- fantastic tracking), DI (direct inject), Mute, Tuner/Line Out, Sub Out, Output Level, Line Input, Effects Send/Return, Mute Footswitch Sockets, EQ /Shape Footswitch Sockets, Extra Speaker Output (two total at 4 ohms each),

Construction features: Everything is built to last. Gold connectors. Tons of headroom, doubled reservoir capacitors. Double cooling fans. Toroidal main transformer. DC heaters for tube. FET input circuit for warmth. Thermal trip for output protection. Etc.

For me, this amp is the G.A.S. killer. Get it right the first time. It sounds great. its easy to use. It also gives you the flexibility to ease into the amp and use its more subtle expert tone shaping controls. It is also the only amp I have noticed that has an attention to aesthetics. It looks great.

This amp sounds good set flat and most of the tone shaping can be accomplished simply by using the tube blend mix control. Later, I?ve added some subtle touches with the EQ
Year made: 2002

Versatility: Very. This amp blends from a warm all solid-state head to a preamp tube grind. It is thick and clear. The sound is not fuzzy like an Ampeg, but not sterile like a trace. You can adjust between the two with the knob that mixed in the tube preamp.

Features: Sub out, Input mix (tube), Push flat/shape, EQ In/Out, 7 Band EQ, Sub Harmonics (octave below- fantastic tracking), DI (direct inject), Mute, Tuner/Line Out, Sub Out, Output Level, Line Input, Effects Send/Return, Mute Footswitch Sockets, EQ /Shape Footswitch Sockets, Extra Speaker Output (two total at 4 ohms each),

Construction features: Everything is built to last. Gold connectors. Tons of headroom, doubled reservoir capacitors. Double cooling fans. Toroidal main transformer. DC heaters for tube. FET input circuit for warmth. Thermal trip for output protection. Etc.

For me, this amp is the G.A.S. killer. Get it right the first time. It sounds great. its easy to use. It also gives you the flexibility to ease into the amp and use its more subtle expert tone shaping controls. It is also the only amp I have noticed that has an attention to aesthetics. It looks great.

This amp sounds good set flat and most of the tone shaping can be accomplished simply by using the tube blend mix control. After getting more familiar and discriminating with its sound, I?ve added some subtle touches with the EQ and I have yet to be dissapointed with its flexibility.

It works well with all kinds of bass sounds, considering you are liikinf for a modern/retro sound. Jazz, Funk, Slap Rock all work well with this amp.
Its very quiet. Ive noticed a slight hum when the tubes are turned up. I later noticed the problem came from my bass instead.

There is great care payed to the construction of this amp. Like most amps, the exterior is made very strong. However, unlike most amps, there is also great attention paid to the internal engineering. I expect this amp to last a very long time while retaining a high resale value.

Ive only heard that Mark Gooday, the owner, is a gentleman and will answer your questions directly. He builds a quality product and stands behind his amplifiers. Though I never had a problem, I expect that on the rare occasion that I do, the problem will be handled swiftly.

There is a reviewer below who paid 999 for his amp. I couldnt find anyone to go this low.

If anyone were to steal the amp, i would replace it. The thought of that eventuality might force me to chain the amp down.

Its just fantastic. Its a modern classic and will be in demand for a long time.

500w RMSw peak 2x10" + horn Combo with 4 Ohms Output Impedance.
The dimensions- 24" x 24" x 13.5 with 84 weight lbs.
3 rotary tone controls supplemented by 2 pairs of sliders provides a bunch of tone options in the most simple way. In addition an input mix control provides a blend of Solid State and Dual Triode Tube preamp stages. A front panel mounted balanced DI out,a sub-bass output,a tuner output.Instrument Input for active and passive basses.
*The Best on-board Sub-Harmoniser! wich is, itself footswitchable.

I got whatever Good-Sound I ask for.

I like the metal grill speaker cover, but, it's need some support
under middle area to get a more firm and less loose impression; and with 38 Weight Kgs,Ashdown must consider to put something under it...

Mark Gooday email me back with an "old friend" good attitude!

I like the Huge Ashdown sound more than weak-tone of SWR, less expensive than Eden, more simple controls than GK and more clear sound that Ampeg, So, I choose this 2x10" combo because the overall big fat sounding with loads of headroom and simple/useful features.

First of all, the input VU is freakin' cool! My trumpet player gets distracted by it's utter coolness sometimes. The solid-state/tube mix gets a bit noisy towards the tube side, but blends well at 50/50. A little bit of tube noise is expected at some point, right? The EQ section is laid out artfully.. with a little bit of tweaking I was able to dial up what I needed. The "sub-harmoniser" is subtle through the actual combo, but once you DI into a large house or festival PA with some kickin' subs... OH MY GOD!! The bottom is ridiculous. I use it sparingly and only with passive four-strings. Finally we come to the volume issue. I kid you not, this thing can go to 11. 576 watts RMS through a 2x10 with no distortion. I recently had it onstage with a Plexi/412 and an Orange/412 and they were competing volumetrically.

As far as effects go, I guess I use a lot of outboard gear for a bass player. The one thing that this amp doesn't do is compress or limit. I use a Yamaha FX-500 to handle those functions. I have used many different distortion pedals, auto-wahs, phasers, choruses, and bass syths to much avail through the Ashdown. My old Trace Elliot rig never fared as well. I primarily play an active 5-string Jazz through this rig, the highs cut through better on the active bass. This amp, in my mind, caters to a rock bassist playing a passive four string. I've spotted Lenny's bassist, for example, playing it in smaller venues. The onboard highs can't be pushed past 70% without getting noisy, and you can't adjust the HF horn on this one. I feel that I can closely emulate the sounds of Adam Clayton and Pino Palladino with this rig (and a good Fender.)

It has given me 100% every time I've fired it up. I was on tour last summer playing everywhere from festivals to barn lofts.. my Ashdown never even winced. I would be stupid to bother hauling around a backup.

I mailed in my warranty and never heard back from them.. hopefully I'll never need it. Their website looks good, but lacks substantial help for owners. I would consider upgrading to the King Combo if I was going to be touring full time.

I play urban/funk/jazz and CCM/rock. It is well suited for fusion but more so for rock. It is a good match for me. I have played for about 10 years now and this is my fourth bass rig. I chose this amp over the Eden Metro because of its distinctive tone, retro appearance, smaller size, and lower price. I'd say that this is the first amp I've ever had that felt like my 'voice' as a bass player. Did I mention that the illuminated VU input meter is freakin' cool?