Ashdown EB 12 180 Combo

I'm guessing mine is a 2006/07 model, and as it has a VU meter (I've seen some pictured without) I presume it's the latest, as I write.

My main reason for buying: With 180W, features-wise it has everything I need to go from bedroom-rehearsal-small/medium gig without worrying about whether it'll be suitable. It's basic, but versatile, without being laden with presets and effects: There's a "Deep" button to add glass-rattling grindy undercurrents and a "Bright" control for, well, I'm not sure...the "Bright" button seems a bit pointless - adding a bucket-load of treble where none should be. I'm sure someone, somewhere appreciates this, but I'd have prefered something else - maybe a "Mute" or Compressor? There's also an "EQ in/out" which seems to over-ride the EQ section when selected. Ashdown's "Subharmonics" control is still a bit of a mystery to me - it supposedly thickens the sound by emulating notes an octave lower than those being played... maybe I need to spend an afternoon messing with this to appreciate it, but it seems hardly noticeable.

Option to D.I, and the ability to hook up to extension speakers mean that if larger gig's ever beckon (and its a big IF) I should be able to stave off shelling out on a bigger rig for a while. I toyed with the idea of the Line6 LD studio 110 because of its extreme portability and D.I, but at a measly 75W for the same price as the EB 12-180, it's use would always rely on a decent PA or monitor onstage to hear over our drummer - something we can't rely on in some of the more ramshackle places we might be playing.

Tuner output (line level) is a nice touch and can be used to slave to other Amps, though I've not tried this yet.

Oh, and it's fan-cooled, which is nice - but you won't notice as it's scarcely audible when not playing.

It's also just about small enough to be carted around on public transport (even London buses), with the aid of a small hand trolley or modified granny-shopper - However, it is NOT lightweight. Portable is a better term, but don't plan on carrying it more than a couple of hundred metres without help or small wheels. The carry handle is a bad joke.

I'm using it with a Yamaha BB414 (passive) as standard. Pretty low-end set-up - synth pedal, overdrive pedal - that's all. Would be nice to see if there was an audible difference in response with an active bass or a more expensive guitar, but as it stands, I'm pleased.

It seems a good fit for the music I play, Grungey Rock with a slight tinge of Punk and Metal, and it certainly sounds okay in the odd blues jam - at reasonably low volumes it gives a nice rounded bottom end.

It's also pretty easy to shape the basic sound you want with dials replacing the sliders found on Ashdown's higher-end amps and amp-heads. I've always been daunted by the array of sliders, dials and buttons on bigger combo's and amps. Getting the right sound with other amps is often more down to luck than judgement. The EB 12-180 is more traditional and stripped-down. There are 5 basic rotary dials on the EQ panel, which allow a minor amount of tinkering across the whole range. I dare say you would want a more flexible EQ for recording, but this is fine for plugging in and playing.

I've not yet got the amp to distort fully - but then I've not played it anywhere near to full volume. Even if it did, well, I could live with it given the sort of music we play. It might be a bit too earthy for more articulate jazzy styles. It has a fundamental growl to its nature that means you should definitely try before you buy. On the upside, the 12" speaker sounds responsive to treble in a way I wouldn't have expected. It's punchier than it has a right to be at this price.

Noisewise - left alone, with a single pedal in line, it's silent.
No problems with crackling, hiss or hum, so far.

Good solid build - Have yet to gig with it, but have no fear doing so for first time next week, without backup (I have no option anyway).

Had less than a year - so I honestly couldn't say, but so far so good!

Considering the budget ??179 new price (even cheaper on the internet) other options didn't come close, particularly given the power rating.
For that reason I probably would buy it again, if lost or nabbed.
The simplicity of use and versatility for small scale playing is great and I could find nothing else new that compared to it.

I would have rated it a 9 if Ashdown had bothered to stick two handles on the side, or castors on the bottom, because that carry handle is nothing more than a useless decoration.

I think this one is a 2006. Good for rock. High/Low inputs for Active/Passive. Send/Return effects inputs. I like it being a simple combo amp.

Go here for full detail:
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?ID=102

Played it with my Heartfield Prophecy II and my Ibanez ASB150 Bass. It's pretty good. I do get some weird distortion at some points when I play with the Prophecy II in the low notes with 1/2 input. There is a Subharmonics feature that's interesting, but I dont toy around with it much. You can get a couple of different tones when you toy around with the EQ.

I needed a bigger amp compared to my *cough* Squier 15 amp. So this is a good gig amp I guess. Not too shabby. I don't play too much and it's good enough for small gigs or playing at church.

Some guy sid it before. Martin Burrows is excellent with customer service! I bought the amp used and it had a broken knob. So I emailed and asked how much it would be for a replacement knob. He said it's free! I didn't even have to pay for shipping! (UK to US shipping probably would be a little pricey.) And it came right on time.

A+

Been playing for 6 years. This is the first bigger amp I've owned. I was about to get a 160 watt Carvin amp. It sounded good, but I decided to give the Ashdown a shot. I like it a lot because it looks cooler with the blue head. I think if I start playing more, I'd go for an Ampeg (Duh!), Eden, SWR, or bigger Ashdown. But for now, I think it's great for what I play. My only concern is the distorting with my Prophecy II...

Bought from SoundControl Birmingham new for ??179.

New model with V.U. meter - made in 2006. 180w into 4ohms. 5 band EQ / deep & bright switches / subharmonics (octaver). All other details on Ashdown website.

I use this amp to practise at home and have so far used it at one gig. I had it at about 6-7 volume and 5 gain. Up against 2 guitarists with 100w amps it did quite well (and they do play very loud), but I think making use of an extra cab (MAG115) will be a neccessity should I gig anywhere larger (50+ people). It must be remembered that this is quite a cheap deal for 180w and isn't really advertised as a gigging amp.

I currently use a Yamaha BB614 and Yamaha RBX775, they are fairly dissimilar basses (P/J Vs H/H). The Ashdown wasn't ever built to do jazz fusion, it's an amp built to rock. It does this for me nicely, a very solid foundation, slightly accentuated mids and can get quite rebley should you want it. There is a slight noise due to the poweramp fan but only apparant when in silent rooms and not playing.

I've never taken it to 100% so can't say how it distorts - I wouldn't want to either, i'd rather get another cab than max out the current speaker (as you should for any combo).

Have had it 2 months, no problems what so ever.

Martin Burrows at Ashdown was very helpful in providing information about the amp to me and replied on the same day.

If lost/stolen i'd probably be tempted to get a MAG300-115, as although this EB is good, it isn't as powerful as I *might* need. But it is currently ample (excuse the pun).

Overall the amp is perfect for my needs to practise at home and take to small gigs, should they get any larger than i'll get a cab for it.

Brand new model with the V.U. meter, not the L.E.D.'s. Decent EQ. Needs a pre-EQ direct out. If you use the bright button your D.I. tone is way too trebly. Has a tuner out but no mute switch. Relatively powerful (supposedly). All in all feaure set pretty good.

As a practice amp this thing may be acceptable. The tone is reasonable enough at low to mid volume. Unfortunately, when you turn it up, things get pretty bad. It starts to distort terribly about halfway up the dial. It did this with active and passive basses, and not only with the low notes. The funny thing is it didn't seem to matter where the pre was set. In general the input level meter was just ticking over and it would still be distorting like mad, but the D.I. was as clean as you could hope for. Even when the pre was turned almost up full, I still couldn't get the preamp to distort. So the distortion has to be coming from the power amp or the speaker or both. Any way I tried it I couldn't get an acceptable ammount of volume to be of any use in a live situation. I had a SWR working man's 10 (80 watts) that had much more usable output than this 180 watt amp.

only had it for a day

haven't tried it. I'm returning it asap.

I've been playing for over 25 years in every style you can think of. My main amp at the moment is an SWR Black Beauty. I have had lots of different things over the years including Mesas, Yamahas, Carvins...In recent years I look for pieces that are small and modular...things I can take out and use together or one at a time. Afer reading all the positive reviews I was very disappoited in the performance of this amp. Although I guess I should have known that it couldn't be great AND dirt cheap. Like I said, for a practice amp maybe it's usefull and a reasonable value. If you want to gig with it...keep looking.

I think it was made in 2005. Very versatile amp. Has only one channel. I use this amp for recording and small gigs.

I'm very impressed by the tone. It's very even and mellow. Also, the EQ is very versatile.

It's brand new, but, seems tough. I plan on using it without a backup.

Don't know. But, there are very few places to service the warranty.

Overall, for the money, I'm very impressed. It's extremely lightweight. Has a great sound. It is definitely powerfull and ideal for the gigging bass player (smaller clubs since it's not a monster).