Ashdown MAG-400 Head

Easy to use controls. The analog volume meter is really cool. Straight ahead EQ and effects loop. Lacks some of the whistles and bells of the EVo's , but the price is right

I use this amp with fenders and laklands. Great classic tone. I usually use a sansamp bass DI in front of it, but it sounds pretty warm for a solid state pre. Very creamy and amazingly loud and punchy for 400 watts. I play through Aguilar 1X12 cabs (1 or two depending on gig)

This is the UK made version, not Chinese. It has been rock solid for 3 years. Never has broken down. I blew a fuse once. That is about it. The twin fans keep it really cool.

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This a nice inexpensive amp that offers a creamy and punchy vintage tone. Great for rock, jazz, or retro funk. Maybe not the best amp for crisp slap tone, but perfect for me. It has always been loud enough for me. Rooms that are too big for this amp should have a decent PA anyway, right?

Looks good on paper. See Below

Like I said...........

Absolute pants. Used it 17 times in total. It stopped on 3 seperate occasions during rehearsals and once three songs into a gig. Each time it failed it was returned to the shop i bought it from (Sound Ctrl Newcatsle). Each time it came back with no fault found. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. IT COST ME 2 MATES AND A BAND. (But now we speak occasionally). Now runnin a complete Peavey system which has reliability comprable to the likelihood of a woman gettin PMT.

Paid 700 for the system (Mag 400Head 2x10Mag Cab & 1x 15Mag Cab).which would av been a good deal if it worked. Initial customer support was shiiit.

I was advised to 'sell my 7 month old system on ebay to get some money back' by the guy I bought it off when it broke down (which was at a gig. As u can expect, this had the desired 'U look like a prick effect' in fornt of expectant friends and family. The previous 3x times it broke down, we had to cancel rehearsals)

After speaking to the Manager of Sound Ctrl London about the farsical support in Scum Geordie Land, (Thanks v much ur a star London an u pointed me in the right direction), Im sorted.

Back in Newcastle I had explained that I wasnt gonna be let down again by 700 quids worth of gear that I hadn't yet paid for. I also stated that 15 stone of 5ft 7" of stubbornness was not going to leave their (then) full shop in Newcastle until I had a either a comprable max 700w NON ASHDOWN SYSTEM or #700 in used notes.

They declined my request. They offered me a 350w Ashdown head. (Half the initial power an half the cost) as a replecement.

Enter the Company Sales Director.

After an age of discussion wi their gaffa I now have a grands worth of replacement Peavey Bass Kit. Looks good an sounds good...... but wat fuckiin hard work an 2 get.

2001 Ashdown MAG 400 amp
Has been a versatile amp for my needs, ranging from funk to roots reggae. I wish it had a crossover though, it's a real bummer not to be able to use the cabinets I run (Ashdown 1x15 and 4x10) with more control depending on the venue's dimensions. Big minus there. I definitely love the 5 band EQ with boosts, and the adjustable sub-harmonic is extremely fun to mess with. I use it for dubs in reggae in live situations.

I play a Yamaha BB3000 (all original setup w/ P+J) and it sounds phenomenal with this Ashdown amp and cab rig. It puts out plenty of low end for heavy roots reggae and is very adjustable for all venues, ranging from outdoor festies to coffee houses to mid-sized clubs. I get tons of compliments for the sound I get with this combo from sound engineers of all stripes.

Unfortunately, I have to fault Ashdown a bit for the internal QC on this unit because mine has had several problems in the first two years I've owned it. Problems range from tangled and snarled pots requiring re-soldering (even with very minimal adjustments, I hardly change the levels of the pots that failed); to floating washers because things were not tightened inside sufficiently when built. The floating washer knocked out the VU meter light bulb, natch, so that had to be replaced as well (no biggie functionally but still a drag). And just last week, with my power conditioner reading just slightly hotter than 120, the amp fried out completely and left me stranded in the middle of a gig. Luckily it was two bars away from the song's end so I didn't look like an idiot, but having to play through a DI the rest of the night leads me to knock some points off the reliability category with the MAG 400.

I have had several email communications with Ashdown, about various things ranging from asking them about availability of vinyl covers for the cabinets (referred me to a US sales person who was helpful though I passed on the too-high-priced covers) to asking them why my unit didn't come with a serial number (other Ashdown owners likely notice that these folks enter this info by hand with a Sharpie, so I can excuse them forgetting to label mine).
However, questions about certified service in my area (DC) resulted in a bit of British confusion about US geography, as he recommended I drive it to NYC. I was thinking more like within a 30 minute radius when I asked. There's a definite downside to playing UK gear in the US, so I hope Ashdown certifies a few more stateside service centers really soon. Since my warranty is over, it hardly matters, but it will for somebody else.

I love this amp, don't get me wrong. And one of its greatest strengths is its ability to kick serious bass with a very round sound, yet it weighs almost nothing. It's why I bought the MAG series rig, i can carry any two pieces (1x15, 4x10, head) at a time with no problem. I even picked the whole stack up once to move it a few feet over on stage, though I don't recommend it, but try doing THAT with an Ampeg rig. I'd buy it again, for sure.

2000 or 2001 model. This amp is astonishingly versatile for an inexpensive solid-state.5 bands of parametric eq,effects loop,tuner in/out,v.u.meter,and sub harmonic.I admit that I am a little confused about the wattage though.Other reviews claim this amp to be 500 watts @ 4 ohms as does the Ashdown website but my amp is clearly marked on back as being 400 watts RMS and 800 watts peak.Whatever--all I truly know is that it easily powers my 2 SUNN 4x10s with power and authority.

Beefy and thick.More so than any other solid-state that I am aware of.I have played through and owned many bass amps and this is by far my fav.This amp has the clarity of a GK 800RB but is far more tube-like.I was shopping for the best bass amp for under a thousand bucks when I got the MAG-400 and I feel it is truly the best.I adore the sub octave on this thing.I play detuned hard rock(Melvins,Kyuss)on
my 2 USA Fenders-a precision and a jazz and I play kinda psychadellic Jazz(Soft Machine,Weather Report) with my fretless Godin bass.I real treat with the MAG-400 is add an envelope filter while the sub-octave on the amp is engaged and WOW! THE MOST DEEPLY "AQUATIC" HYPNOTIC THROBBING BASS SOUND I HAVE EVER HEARD!
Cool.

Almost 3 years now and no problems.

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Imagine 2 differing schools of bass amplification: On one side you have ultra ballsy amps like AGUILAR and AMPEG SVT as favored by old traditionalists and on the other side you have more transparant and clean amps like SWR and EDEN for modern style slap-pop.I feel like the ASHDOWN is in the middle but maybe leaning a little towards AGUILAR and AMPEG.The MAG-400 is about 60 lbs lighter than an SVT and
about $1500 less than an AGUILAR and far more versatile than anything by HARTKE(quite decent amps though)and also since TRACE ELLIOT is no more this makes the ASHDOWN MAG-400 imho the superior bass head for under a grand.If I lost this amp I would certainly want another or maybe I would be willing to step up to the more expensive ABM series by ASHDOWN.

This 500 watt solid-state amp has all the right stuff on the control panel. you've got your input gain, 5-band EQ, output gain, post-EQ DI on the front, a subharmoniser that mixes octaved sounds with the original signal to beef up the sound...hence, the "Magnifier" name. there are also "deep" and "bright" switches. another neat feature is you can set the EQ and subharmoniser to be mixed in at the input or output stages. FX loop and tuner out are also on the front. also has a really useful VU meter in the front, an Ashdown trademark that lets you know how loud your signal is when it hits the preamp.

My bass is actually not spectacular. It's a hot-rodded 2001 Squier P-Bass, with an EMG pickup and a treble-bleed on the volume pot. also, i am using D'Addario Chromes flatwound strings. after these modifications, it actually sounds pretty decent. Moving on to the amp...

I was blown away by this thing, plugged into a matching 1x15 and 2x10! it had me completely convinced that i was playing a tube amp, when really, i wasn't! much better than any tube emulator circuit i've come across...and these guys don't even pretend to sound like a tube! Ashdown bass amps are the only ones that have done this. the sound is very warm and smooth. kind of like a big, warm, and soft "bass blanket" to wrap yourself up in. the EQ is helpful in dialing away that annoying upper-midrange fluff common to P-Basses. the only thing that didn't impress me that much was the subharmoniser. though it did work, and did its job well, i was hoping it would have a more apparent effect. more beef would be nice. I think the sound is very versatile, and that suits me very well because i play a wide variety of music from jazz/blues, to R&B/reggae, to rock, to punk, to hard rock and even some metal. handles them all with no problem. you won't get that Gallien-Krueger/SWR hyper-clean "sound of your bass" thing, but that's not the amp's mission anyway. it is a simple, straightforward plug-in-and-lay-the-groove amp.

i don't actually own this amp, but i play through it all the time. the sound never falters, it's always ready to go. it appears to be built very well. the damn thing is bulletproof!

Not much experience with their customer service other than one email i sent them asking about the when the MAG-200 was upgraded to the MAG-250. recieved a very quick response and it was a good one. still, i won't give a rating because it was just one email, not a service problem or anything major like that.

i've been playing for a few years, and i plan to buy one of these amps myself when i can. if mine were stolen, i'd go right over to the place i bought it and grab another one. that is, after hunting down the thief and opening up a can of whoopass. i like the fact that it's very small and light, and has a convenient carrying handle on the side so i can carry it like a breifcase. one thing i wish it had was a bigger logo. people need to know about the truth that is Ashdown! i've also played this same amp in stores, and compared it to various ampegs, SWRs, Fenders, Trace Elliots, Mesas, etc etc. i love each and every one of them...but with this amp, you get the highest amp per dollar ratio of all of them!