Ashdown Essex Blonde 112 Combo

Im usually a guy who goes for 150watt heads with 4 channels and this is my first venture into class A boutique amps and im impressed. its got bass,middle,treble,reverb, volume and attack. I read great a great review in guitarist and picked it up. the great thing about amps like this, is if you play like poo (open strings sloppy technique) then this amp will pick up on that and you'll have to be alot tighter with your playing. my serial number is 17 (out of 50) i hear the first 20 are matamp and the last 30 sound like trash well this one is quiet!

wow for my benchmark test i used an ibanez noodles signature model with dimarzio distortions and straight away it was a full warm, clean sound yes it could go bright and with the neck pickup and eq very very smooth like a pie thats been left to long in the pie shop! up the volume and you get that bite and sustain and that nice overdrive growl, with the attack knob it just growls and sustains and gets more edge and has a biting tone very crisp and defined. with strats its jangly and bridght at low volumes then at higher volumes you get that easy overdrive blues tone. the great thing about this being an 8 watt is its easy to get it into overdrive zone and it reacts differntly to every guitar

i havent changed the tubes or the speaker, but im tempted to with a celestion blue or a jensen maybe in a few years if i get tired of the tone or want something new. i havent heard any rattling come from the amp

You wont get much luck i tried in vain to find out from matamp how many they made to no avail and ashdown-hayden couldnt help, but from the tone i like to think i have a matamp one

these things where quoted at ??500 new and the hayden ones are more and i picked up a number 17 ashdown for ??275! you CANT beat that. im hooked on boutique amps now i want a conford hurricane next! if it was stolen it cry. If you do find one of the 50 give it a go to make sure it sounds okay and then welcome to the club!

An update to my update... er... possibly.

Anyway, Marc Jennings kindly got in touch with me regarding the rattle problem with my amp - it did turn out to be the horrible plastic nameplate thing under the handle, which was duly removed.

With this annoyance out of the way, I must say that I'm really warming to this amp now - despite the tiny, boxy cabinet (as discussed below) and the very muddy speaker, I've finally been getting some great sounds out of my strat and ibanez hollowbody (ES175-alike). I currently use a T-rex alberta pedal for drive sounds. This amp does like to be turned up a modest amount before you'll start to get a good treble response and reverb depth.

Some googling has turned up various forum threads with heated debate as to what extent it's technically a matamp, how it compares etc. I'm going to go with my ears on this - I'll have a jensen speaker arriving next week, and am looking into having a decent sized 1x12" cab built. I hope to improve the treble and presence, and cut down the boxy mid.

I'll report back in. For the moment I'd say that things are definitely looking up, and for an initial investment of #350 I'm hoping this can be turned into a very nice little amp indeed.

I'd just like to state firmly, however - #750 for THIS cabinet? No way.

As other reviews.

Basic simple amp.

Great semi clean tones using my PRS but very loud for the rated output but you may need a boost of some sort if you want endless sustain at lower volumes. Responds well to pick attack and cleans up well using the guitars volume control.

No problem with noise as reported in other reviews - just some hiss when reverb is high and attack is set low (max gain). Noise levels are lower than a work colleagues Matamp C7 which is the same amp but both are ok and with hand wired amps you expect variation to a degree.

I think the tone is limited to a degree by the size of the cab but thats what you would expect so i've not deducted points. It still sounds great but is even better through a 4x12.

Have had no problems and the amp is very well made. A look under the chassis shows that it uses top quality components and construction so don't expect any issues.

It's a tried and tested Matamp design so no problems there.

Whether it is made by Matamp or Ashdown it is simply a well designed and contructed amp.

Ashdown responded to my questions via email before I brought the amp vey promptly and answered my questions fully and explained the change in branding and the matamp connection.

Well designed and built amp using quality parts and at the price paid exceptional value.

Update to my original review - I've had the opportunity to wind the amp up to a decent level, and significant rattle is occurring from the plastic nameplate under the handle, and from the cab itself. The rattle isn't coming from the chassis, and although there is some circuit hiss at higher settings, I'm pleased with the basic sound.

I am increasingly of the opinion that this is a great-sounding circuit in a dodgy cab.

I shall be taking it back to Sound Control to see what they say. If I get no joy then I may consider having a cab made - I don't fancy swapping for another with the same design problems.

This is an update to a previous review, and basicly this is indeed a copy of Matamp's C7 circuit. The first 10 amps with the Ashdown badge were made by Matamp, no doubt these are the ones guitarist magazine etc reviewed...essentially meaning a lot of people will be basing their opinions of the Ashdown/Hayedn Essex Blonde on the review of a Matamp C7... which is certainly NOT cricket.

It's also worth noting that after the first 10 amps made by Matamp, the only thing it shares with the C7 are the circuit layout and the majority of the components. It's not built the same, or it'd work. It is by no means to be considered a reflection of any Matamp, anywhere. They've actually gone to lengths to distance themselves from this as assosciation could possibly devalue their product. I would to. Anyhow, onwards...

Well, this is why my review is being updated. I use single coil guitars mostly, so I'm used to a bit of background hum and noise etc, but when I A/B'ed and ran this in stereo with my other valve amp (Laney LC-15) the noise suddenly became apparent. It was also very, very unexpected.

Guitarist magazine reviewed this (i,e, the Matamp) as a superbly quiet amp, ideal for recording.

The Matamp C7 is a guitarist gold award winning design, and is apparently very quiet.

My Laney LC-15 is a reasonably quiet amp, and this, good though it is for the cash, is an entry level valve amp.

MY Ashdown essex blonde is NOISEY. It buzzes, there's something wrong with it. Well, I know there's something wrong. Soundcontrol know something is wrong (and kindly didn't charge me for any of the shipping and gave me a full refund). But Ashdown think it's fine.

This amp, ASH026, is a noisey little begger. I thought the noise was down to my using single coils, but even hum-cancelling positions were noisey.

Even having been sent back to Ashdown, it is still problematic. This essentially means it's *NEVER* worked. They not only allowed an amp to leave their shopfloor and be delivered to a company to be sold on to a customer when it was faulty, but having had the amp sent back to them still failed to fix the problem.

There is no zero. "1 - Think it worked once" is generous...since it literally never worked faultlessly. Ever. Not once. Not a jot. Zip. Nadda.

When an amp is not working as it should be and is sent back under warranty, it should be fixed. Not just returned to the customer and a denial of any fault be made. Ashdown refused to budge on this, Soundcontrol went to bat for me but inspite of both me and them telling Ashdown this amp was problematic, nothing, I repeat NOTHING was done.

It's no wonder they can afford to give out manuals when they're ripping people off like this. I'm thoroughly dissapointed in them, and to be honest they've been given all the chances they deserve.

Now here's the funny part. Ashdown say it's working. Out of curiosity, and remembering that it's essentially Matamp's design, I called them. And THEY knew isntantly that something was wrong, even with what little information I was able to impart over the phone. Something to do with grounding or earthing. But the point is Ashdown are selling a product that works intermitantly, is not the product represented in reviews, and granted it's not their design, but if they're selling it they should at least know when it's broken, let alone how to fix it!

Overall, dealing with Ashdown while curtious, has been like dealing with a curtious brick wall. It was like getting blood out of a stone, albiet a polite one.

Ashdown have screwed me over by failing to rectify a problem that it is their responsibility to rectify.

Ashdown have screwed Sound Control over by having them send an amp to me, then back to them, then to Ashdown, and theeen *gasp* back to them again, and through no fault of Sound Control's having a faulty product be sold by them.

Ashdown have screwed Matamp over by discrediting what is generally a very, very highly regarded amp circuit with their routinely inept build quality.

And Ashdown have screwed the guitar playing world over, because some people (like me) are going to buy this based on reviews like in guitarist magazine, and what they reviewed was in all likelyhood one of the first 10 which was made by Matamp, making it NOT an Ashdown, inspite of the badge.

And the biggest deciding factor between me pressing Ashdown to fix this and getting a refund was their unscroupulous buisiness practice. Not only have they "cheated" on the Guitarist review, but they've tried to escape the poor reputation assosciated of previous Ashdown amps by using the new brand name "Hayden". The worst part of this though is that this amp that makes a loud buzzing sound even with nothing plugged into it will not be available for #350 which isn't great, but isn't bad, but will now cos #750 RRP. More than doubling in price.

I'm thoroughly disgusted with Ashdown, and yes, it was a good sounding amp, but I refuse to put up with the problems assosciated with it, it simpley is not worth it. Do not buy this amp, but more importantly, do not repeat NOT buy ASH026 under any circumstances, or any other Ashdown product for that matter.While essentially it's prehaps not a 1 rated amp, I feel I really have to redress the balance with my other review since that was made with far less information at my fingertips. Had this amp worked as it was intended, the previous review would stand, but it didn't, and Ashdown refused to even acknowledge this. All things considered, I could probably, with a bit of effort and some help have got this amp working at Ashdown's expense, but frankly I feel better knowing that Ashdown does not have my money, but an unsold and faulty amp and the deserved telling off that goes with screwing the customer over.

So long ASH026, it was just never meant to be...

Simple single channel non MV 1x12 combo.
Bass, Mid, Treble, Vol, Rev, and Attack control the later adjusts the negative feedback in the power stage.
DI recording out which lets you disconnect the internal speaker when in use for silent recording.

Very pure sounding amp and like most old non MV amps works best if you crank it up and then control it using the volume and tone on the guitar.

It's a single ended amp so you can change the O/P valve for EL34,6L6,KT66 etc. It comes with a 6V6 fitted as standard but a change to either an EL34 or 6L6 was a significant improvement to my ears.

It must be stated that this is not a high gain amp but can handle most styles from country to rock with no problem.

Been using the amp now for a couple of months in many situations from practice to small gigs and it seems rock solid.

As others have pointed out the cab is MDF rather than ply but it seems robust enough. The amp itself however is built like a tank and I have no doubt it will hold up. As others have said the amp is the old Matamp C7. I think Matamp have discontinued this model now. I have a mate who has connections with Matamp and I gather most of the first amps are standard C7's that have been built by Matamp and sold to Ashdown, don't know if this will continue as I gather the Matamp Factory were not happy with the price Ashdown were selling these initial amps for compared to their own Matamp branded amp.

No contact with Ashdown so can't comment

A great no nonsence amp with good tone at a good price. Have no regrets for the price I paid for it.

Features as discussed.
I'm puzzled as to why this is so obviously a vintage-style amp but then has a line out (useless!) and an FX loop.

The construction is an odd mix too - from a distance it's all very 50's, but get closer and you'll notice the big plastic rocker switch and plastic control plates that look like something off their bass range.

The amp is solid and extremely heavy, but there are a couple of cut corners - the plastic plate labelling the controls, for instance, is somewhat haphazardly nailed on(!) to the speaker baffle, with a tiny LED power indicator in the middle. Virtually every other vintage-style valve combo I've seen has a chromed metal plate, metal switch and proper jewel light. This just seems like they got about 80% of the way through construction and then realised they didn't have the time/budget for the trimmings and so just made do with what they found in the components bin. Apparently there was a last-minute redesign (the early release pictures show a top-loading chassis and smaller cab with a ten-incher in there), and this may explain matters.

Oh, and the big ashdown (now hayden) badge is also nailed on to the baffle.

These things, in fairness, don't really make a huge difference - but do lend a distinctly home made vibe. Oh well, I guess that can be described as "character" if you're feeling generous.

I bought this for #350 before the rebrand - if I found these construction oddities in an amp costing significantly more I'd be somewhat miffed.

The essentials of this amp seem perfectly solid. Just seems that a couple of daft decisions were made with regard to the trimmings.

First thing to be said is that this amp is NOT suitable for quiet use. It needs to be up halfway before you'll get a spanky response from it. This may be due to the rather puzzling choice of a celestion G12H in what is pretty much a fender champ circuit. Even the early releases said it'd be a Jensen. What the hell happened there?

Anyway, unless this big heavy MARSHALL STACK speaker is pushed it delivers a distinctly middy, muddy response. Which is why I'm yoiking the darn thing out of there and replacing it with something suitably snappy - jensen/weber/eminence etc.

If you max out any of the tone controls, you'll get a pronounced hiss/hum. Same with the reverb. At low volumes you WILL need to max the treble to get clarity. Wind it up, however, and you can happily leave everything set about halfway and control the tone and volume with the guitar. Plenty of non-noisy reverb depth too. But, you DO need to turn it up.

The good news is that you CAN get a pleasing snappy 50's-esque clean and convincing raunchy growl. Once you're using the power section properly it loses some of the boxiness associated with a small cabinet.

If you're planning on using this at home a lot (recording etc) I'd budget for a speaker change and an attenuator.

If, one way or another, you can run this amp with EVERYTHING up at least halfway then you're laughing.

Provided the tacked-on bits don't drop shake off the front of the amp, I'd should hope it'd be solid. I am going to keep a close eye on it however, as the cosmetic construction niggles I've discussed are actually making me a bit paranoid as to what else might have been skimped below the surface. Everything does look sturdy inside though.

Some rattles at higher volume settings - mild tube vibration and the annoying plastic bits when the bass is turned up. Possibly just bedding in.

Looking at it straight-on, I can see clear daylight between the chassis and the cab on one side. Sloppy.

Am I keeping this? Well, I'm undecided. I'm getting an attenuator as they're useful anyway, and interchangeable if I replace the amp, so I'll give it a couple more months' worth of solid cranked play and see how I feel.

I've emailed Ashdown with a couple of questions and their replies have been prompt, detailed and courteous.

Would I buy this if it was, say, #500? No. I could get a cornell romany, and even the Dr Z and Bad Cat 1x8 amps aren't that much more.

Main gripes: unsuitable speaker, significant corners cut with finishings giving a ramshackle feel which does not inspire confidence. Distinct hiss at some settings.

For #350 it's a 7. If they hike the price then probably a 6. If they double the price (as has been hinted by another reviewer) then a 5 or maybe less as we're getting into boutique territory.

Single Ch
Reverb
Attack control
FX loop

I've only rated it 5 for features and I hope this dosn't pull the overall rating down too much , it's a basic single ch non master vol combo , should I re rate it 10 as the features are all I'd expect?

Pretty versatile, but awesomely loud when driven hard.
Attack control the key to using the preamp, can be smooth or spikey.
Really loves a Les paul or 335 as there is even more gain avail that you just don;t get with a fender.
suspect that a mild overdrive would sort that problem out
With my Les Paul and the amp cranked up it produces that georgous harmonic feedback where the note sustains forever or jumps an octave.
...Nice.....
Reverb is interesting as it has a long decay, wouldn't mind being able to modify the rvb slightly , I'm sure somebody will come up with a mod someday.

Rated an 8 , I have an old Burman Pro 502 that is my 10 standard , nothing has since surpassed that.

Too new to comment

No contact yet , but I did have slight reservations re Ashdown quality ( heard of faulty transformers etc.)
Can't believe Hayden will charge 700GBP for this amp, its not remotely goodvalue at that price

Playing 30 yr , loads of guitars new and old and many amps.
I have a Fender Blues Jr which is tame compared to the Ashdown it's not a bad amp but the Blonde roars when fully driven.

This amp is brand new, made in 2005 and is one of just 50 made prior to Ashdown rebranding it's handwired amps under the name of "Heyden" (and subsequently hiking prices by more than 100%!)

The amp is extremely versetile and allows me to do pretty much anything I want except heavier styles of metal, that stuff needs a stomp box of some description.

Features are as follows...
*8 Watts Class A
*Single Channel, non-master
*Controls: Attack - Treble - Middle - Bass - Reverb - Volume
*Valves/tubes: Three ECC-83 (aka 12AX7) in the preamp and one 6v6 in the power amp. It's also worth noting it can run almost any octal power valve without rebiasing.
*12" Celestion GH12-30 speaker
*Ply baffle, MDF box
*DI for recording directly with speaker disconnected
*8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs
*Footswitch for reverb(not included)
*Belton reverb tank
*Effects Loop

It's not loaded with features but everything you need and nothing you don't works for me, and the versatility comes not from legions of knobs, but from how the amp will respond to what you do with it and with your guitar. Between you're playing, guitars volume, and the amps controls an amazing array of tones are to be had.

I'm using this with a partsbin-special telecaster fitted with Bareknuckle pickups (none better). I've also got an SG, although I've yet to try that with this amp.

This amp suits my musical styles perfectly, blues, vintage rock, some jazzier stuff, some more modern rock, it's excelling in everything I think to use it for. I also got a fantastic surf sound from it, but I rarely play surf music.

The amp had a lot of noise when I switched it on, but this was mainly due to using single coil pickups and being in a "noisey" room. By that I mean there's a lot of electronics in here to cause EMI that'd lead to the buzz. It's also worth noting that the attack knob along with varying the dynamic reponse also varies the ammount of hiss, but when you're playing with single coil pickups it does to use a noisegate anyway.

I was able to get a very primative early Marshall sort of sound on some settings, a Voxy chime on others, and some really tweedy sounds too. This amp can REALLY be unique sounding though, it's sound is largely dependant on what you do with it, it's very, very responsive. If you're sloppy, everyone's gonna hear you being sloppyness.

There's quite a bit of clean headroom, but the amp breaks up beautifully as you wind up the volume, this overdrive can be smooth or "rough" (but never bad) depending on your settings. And for 8 watts this things very loud, crankable at home... if your neighbours are a tollerant bunch.

The distortion isn't "brutal" as such, but that doesn't mean it's no good for that sort of music. Marshall's JCM800 2203 is one of the most used amps in metal, and that's not brutal either, but like the JCM800, stick an OD in front of this and it'll ROAR.

One thing I noticed though was some seriously not nice feedback with the reverb full up and the attack knob all the way to the left. It didn't like that...

Well I've no idea about reliability so far, but I imagine it'll last ages. The tolex being blonde will show wear before long though as it's far less forgiving than the normal black found on most amps.

The transformers are big chunky affairs and the valves and knobs are chasis mounted, the rest is on 3 hybrid PCB turret board things and it's all sturdy. The cab is made of MDF with a ply speaker baffle and is my only area of concern really, but aside from that there's very little to go wrong with this baby and the chasis is very solid, and the cab is as solid as anything using MDF can be. Time will tell however...

Called them up and they answered right away and are sending me a manual for nothing and a footswitch (#15) but not charging me for the shipping, very good of them indeed. They also answered my technical questions, albeit somewhat vaguely, but all in all it was very helpful and curtious.

I'm not sure what the warranty is like on it to be honest, especially since Ashdown's transfering this line to it's "new" company; Hayden. But so far, so good.

I've been playing 3 or 4 years and know good tone when I hear it, and I've been hearing it since I bought this amp.

If it were lost or stolen I'd be really REALLY hacked off since I'm unlikely to find another Ashdown Essex Blonde at #350, and paying the #750 Hayden plan to charge wouldn't happen... I'd get the Matamp that this *appears* to be based on... the C7 (although that may be called something else now too).

I think for #350 this is an absolute STEAL. It'd be a steal at the RRP of #500, but #750 isn't unreasonable sounding either with tone this good. I've not compare this to other products, I bought it unheard on the basis of a review in Guitarist. I'm glad I did too!

The only thing I wish it had was a solid wood cab, and maybe for the footswitch to have a 2nd button to operate the effects loop. The solid wood cab is easy to solve however since the speaker is connected with a lead to the same speaker output socket you'd use for the extension speaker, so in theory I could knock together a cab from pine in the near future.

If you see one, grab it. According to Guitarist only 50 have been made under the name Ashdown with the cheaper price, and I know for a fact that there can't be more than 48 out there now. (Mine and Guitarist's ones are spoken for!!!). I imagine in a decade or three these could command very high prices as collectables, but I aint selling this thing, no way.