Ashdown FA-40 Fallen Angel

Very versatile from clean to blues to distortion.
Two channels with foot switchable channel changing as well foot switchable master outs. Has digital delay,and chorus as well as decent reverb.
I play lead in a trio that uses midi sequences for drums and bass. Mostly medium size bars and private clubs.
The amp is all tube, and rated at 40 watts with one 12" speaker and additional speaker outs for 4, 8 and 16 omhs.
There is plenty of power for small to medium clubs but probably not enough for large venues. There is a direct out however with a control for level.

I play a stock american strat.
The band plays a most styles of music from country, oldies, southern rock, blues and even polkas if requested.
Sounds a bit noisy at home but not noticeable in a bar.
The amp can cover decent lead sounds from clean through distortion.

Only had it a couple of months but so far so good.

Unknown

I have played in bands since 1964.
I currently play bass in a southern rock band that works only a few jobs a year as well as this trio that I play lead guitar for.
I also own three bass guitars and two acoustics, one six and one twelve string.
If stolen I would purchase another for around the price I paid for this one.
A friend just bought a new fender blues delux which I personally dont think sounds as good as the ashdown.

2 channel all tube amp with a boost on the dirty side. 2 seperate master volumes. pre amp volume on both channels. also has reverb and internal fx. fx loop around back. almost forgot it's rated at 40 watts. all features you need and some you don't.

first the clean channel. very versatile great clean sounds anything from country to metal clean. not very usefull for jazz in my opinion. but still all around great clean sound.

now for the distortion side or channel 2. desent sounding without the boost. comes alive withe boost engaged. distortion has a sound all its own. not a marshall or mesa, but just as good in its own way. great for rock or metal, but not as much gain as the manufactuer would have you to believe. but heres the problem there is alot of bass and i mean a lot of base. i have to turn the base down most of the way. to get a useable sound. thats the only prob.

i've had this amp for 6 months and the only problem so far was a blown power tube that also took aout a fuse on the circuit board. but its a tube amp that crap happens with any brand not ashdowns fault. other than that no real problems to complain about.

after i replaced the blown tubes. the amp had no sound to speak of so i emailed ashdown ant they told me it probably blew the fuse on the circuit board. they where right. fast response within 8 hours. great service in my exp.

ive been playing for 8 years and have owned various tube amps. and i have to say this is probably the best all around amp ive owned. if it where stolen i'd probably get the head version. oh the enternal effects are decent, but don't get rid of toys. i would highly recommen this amp to anybody wanting a good blues to heavy rock sound with under 500 bucks to spend. i've owned the amp for 8 months now and don't regret buying it one bit.

100% tube power 40watts stated but belive me when i say this thing is loud! its easily enough to play in a band with although it would be worth getting an extension cab for clarity when giging.

I mainly play metal so was not completly satisfied with amount of gain this amp produces. Overdrive channel is heavy rock more then the nu metal stated in most of the advertisements but iam still not dissapointed. Easily fixed with a pedal pushing more volume into the preamp or i took the active EMG route to unleash the beast!

The amp had two channels plus a boost pedal which really helps with dynamics and leads. I doesnt really have many extras like headphone jacks, recording outs but this is a budget amp really so its not really expected. It does have extension cabs outs though and you could easly unplug the speaker from the 5.5 jack and use a different one altogether.

This is where this amp excels! Ashdown have done them selves proud with this amp. Unless you play death metal you would love this amp. warm, clear and versitile. Handles drop B with ease and still sounds great. Only thing i did point out earlier is that it needs a touch more gain for my playing but ive sorted that out with a EMG-85 and 60-A and now sounds even better.

Ive never owned and amp with tubes before but this this sounds better then solid states twice the price. Tubes do sounds alot nicer even when playing metal!

Bought it second hand gave it some abuse since and its still singing!

Not had to deal with them so cant really comment!

Been playing 6 years now and this was my first tube amp after owning a peavy bandit and marshall avt 100. This thing beats them hand down. would never go back to solid state now.

If it was stolen I would probably cry and then defintley go back and buy another one!

The only thing i recommend is getting some active pickups to really push the preamp to its limit but thats just my preferance! For the price though unbelievable tube quality!

Now I???ve after an all valve amp for quite a while and I had my heart on an Engl Screamer. They are very fine amps but at ??800 a bit beyond my present range. I???d looked at the Marshall DSl???s and TSL???s but I was not convinced by the sound or the functionality for what I needed. Also the Peavey Valve King was tried but it didn???t quite do what I wanted.
What I needed was something with a volume boost on both channels, separate from the gain boost. The reason for is this is quite simple, I play rhythm and lead guitar in a rock covers band and I also sing and as there is a second guitar player I needed to be able to boost the volume for solo???s so they???d cut through.
The Ashdown caught my eye for two reasons; 1 ??? it???s cheap, there are not many two channel all valve combos for around the ??300 mark, and 2 ??? it has two master volumes that you can switch between.
This plus the gain boost on channel two effectively gives you six ???sounds??? although it???s closer to say three sounds at two volumes.
I do like the way it???s set out. Not too fussy and looks good. The metal controls are easy to turn although the indentation is difficult to see in poor light as is the red script on black background.
Round the back of the amp you have the usual collection of speaker outs, effects send/return. Now there is a socket for the Ashdown four way switch (supplied) but there are also two further sockets for normal two way switches. These allow the user to either customise what they have on stage or use a non Ashdown footswitch in an emergency. Nice touch.
There is also a line level out put with speaker emulating circuitry to allow you to connect directly to a PA/studio without messing about with microphones. I???ve not tried this yet so I???m unsure how good it sounds.
There is also a nice little box inside the enclosure for the footswitch to slot into with Velcro straps to keep it in place, another nice touch.
Booth channels have almost exactly the same controls. Pre/Post gain, treble, middle and bass. Channel two also has a boost setting which is only activated via the footswitch, which is a bit of a pain if you???re just messing about at home and don???t want to get all your leads out.

Channel one is the clean channel, it???s bright and warm but I will say there is possibly a little two much bass available for one speaker to cope with. Through two or four speakers it might cope better but through just one. As it is wound all the way up it does get a bit muddy, but wind it back a but it regains control and becomes nicely punchy. Middle and treble are a bit less over the top but can be used to tailor the sound nicely. Wind the pre gain up and the channel will drive quite nicely. Don???t usually get this on two channel amps and it???s nice to see, and very handy for what I do where assorted different distorted sounds are desired.
Ashdown claim that channel 2 offers ???un-controllable levels of gain??? well I???m not convinced about that at all. It does produce enough for me with the boost on but if metal is your thang then I???d suggest buying an over drive pedal as well to wind it up. The sound is big and warm with good definition but could be described lacking in character. Good for both rhythm and lead work. Once again you have to be careful with the bass as it does go a bit over the top and can muddy the sound.
The digital effects are another unusual touch for an all valve combo, usually only found on transistor amps. These provide a good range of chorus and delay type affects but they are limited in what you can do and there isn???t a effect level control either which does make them a bit limiting.
Overall the sound is fantastic, if a bit generic valve amp. A Marshall DSL or TSL will give you that Marshall sound but at a cost and does not have the flexibility of this amp. Don???t expect this to sound like a Rivera, Engl or Mesa as it just won???t. the sound just doesn???t have the depth of character those amps have, then again it???s less than half the price of an Engl, and that???s the cheap option. Come to think of it a TSL could set you back ??600 and this is more versatile. Only a Line 6 Flextone offers more for less than ??500 but unless you want to go into deep editing it just won???t have the sound. Plus with the footswitch it will cost you about ??100 more.

Not had it long, so can't comment too much, I am concerned that materials may have been sacrificed in the name of cost. Having said that it seems the workers in the peoples republic of china know how to screw all the bits together and once cranked up it didn???t seem to make any nasty rattling noises.

For the money I just can???t think of an amp that will give you these kinds of switch able options, valve or transistor. If you???re really fussy about getting ???the??? sound then you???ll need to save up to get anything like the flexibility with a really good sound.
It is a fare old size, if not weight, so portability is not what it could be, something the DSL gets a bonus point for, as does an Engl (if you have the cash). The Flexton is a bit smaller, but also a bit heavier so is kinda even steavens. The baby peavey is also a good option. The smaller Valve King is decidedly more portable than the Ashdown and is similar in price but lacks the flexibility. I???ve also heard reports that the peavey can have a tendency to rattle when wound up.
Price wise you should be able to pick one up for around the ??300 mark and for the money I just don???t think you???ll find anything better.
I???m amazed by this little amp, truly amazed.

FA-40 as per Ashdown website. two channel with two master volumes. I bought it because I wanted to be able to get good blues/ rock tones and also pure valve distortion for solos.

Used with a variax 300. Mainly rock and blues. As stated in other reviews this amp is capable of excellent tones from very clean to dirty. The clean channel is excellent. It's possible to set the breakup point and then back off on the guitar volume to get an authentic 60's blues tone. The dirty channel is good too but the tone of the distortion doesn't change much once it has kicked in, no matter how high you set the gain. Still have to use an OD pedal for some sounds. The Channels on my amp are well balanced ( you can get the same tone on each) and the bass is not too excessive. Yes - i've used it set at 10 for a good blues sound on the dirty channel !

Bought from a dealer second hand. Noticed some breakup on both channels when trying it out. Returned to Ashdown and fixed free of charge. Tube replacements fixed the problem. Mainly used for recording but has been gigged. Build quality is good and no problems since the tubes were swapped. The cooling fan is a little noisey, especially when recording, but the amp never seems to get too hot so overall I think it's worth having. The tubes should last longer too.

The tube swap was handled efficiently.

Been playing for 30 years. Have had a '62 AC30TB (sold for #80 !!) and Fender Twin. The Ashdown can't beat the tones of the other amps, but it can get close. Plus it is versatile. Both the Twin and the Vox only had one good sound. The FA-40 can do some good varied sounds. If I had to replace it - I'd check other amps out to see if there is anything better at the time, but I might end up getting another one. very good for home recording because of the dual master volumes.

It has 2 chanels, reverb, no other effects, had to buy the footswitch seperately, most impressively there is a boost option, that allows you to get a bigger sounding distortion without turning the amp up to 11.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Standard and play mainly metal and heavy rock. For this purpouse this amp is excellent! The sound is loud, arrogant and has personality (which you wouldnt usually get from an amp at this price.). As well as an evil overdriven chanel, the clean chanel also delivers the goods nicely. On high volumes when the guitar is switched to treble there is some distortion which can be annoying, however when my guitar is switched to rhythem the sound is sweet and warm (imagine the sound of the clean parts on the earlier metallica albums...minus chorus obviously).

When I was shopping for this amp, I had a budget of around #600, this #300 amp put the others (incl. the entire Marshall AVT range)to shame.

However I have a few minor problems in the sound dept. Mainly Bass, there is too much of it! I never thought id say that, but at 5 it delivers what most amps achieve at 10, at 10 the sound is far too sludgy!

Secondly, distortion! There isnt enough of it (even using boost) the site claims that the distortion is saturated and boarders on uncontrolable, this is not the case, my previous amp (line 6 spider 112) was capable of a more distorted sound, and that isnt a dedicated metal amp.

I bought this 2 months ago, and have had many troubles with it...firstly the valves caused the amp to overheat. Once that was fixed, the input level indicator thing stopped working. Now I have 2 new problems, the amp goes quiet after about 20 mins of use then goes loud, then quiet...very annoying! also the footswitch is no longer working.

Ive had cause to contact ashdown 3 times now (as noted above), every time I answered quickly and with the correct information. I beleive my problems are with my specific amp and is not indicative of all ashdown amps, I know 1 other person with the 60 watt version and they do not have any issues.

Overall a very good amp! This particular one is broken, however as it is still under warrenty I am confident that I will get a replacement if it cant be fixed.

If this amp was stolen I would definately get another (possibly 60 watts though)

2 (and a half) channel 40 watt valve combo amp. Clean, Overdriven and gain boost channels (2-button footswitch supplied). Spring Reverb. Effects Loop. Switchable volumes (footswitch not supplied). 1 12" celestion vintage 30 speaker. No headphone jack which would have been cool. 4x 12AX7 and 4x EL84 valves. Same as all the other reviews. Everything a man could want - apart from a headphone jack.
bought of ebay in great condition at a great price, although i was the only bidder, which might mean it may be hard to resale due to the low profile of Ashdown's electric guitar range. It also has 3 external speaker connections, perhaps too much? It's also got the signature ashdown VU meter which give you the satisfaction of seeing a little needle go past the redline when you smash out a chord.

i'm currently using a cheap SG copy with a bigsby, regular electronics. This amp really makes this piece of shit sing. The clean channel is beautiful, a little too bright, but it can be tweaked to get a marshally warm clean tone or a bright fender tone, i use the neck pickup with the tone rolled down to 4 for some pink floyd stuff, very convincing even with humbuckers, this amp can be tweaked to do anything. Quite unexpected of a balls-out gain monster. While we're on the topic of gain monsters - THIS OVERDRIVE CHANNEL IS THE SEX!! I use a pretty scooped EQ (treble 5:00, mids 11:00, bass 3:00) with the gain at around 4:00 and the preamp volume at full. it gives such a smooth, filthy overdrive. It sounds best at those settings with the master volume at around half. This is my first valve amp and i'm never going back to solidstate. The next amp i'll get will probably be the 180 watt(!!!!!) version of this. This amp is only 40 watts but it's more than adequate for gigging. I use it at just over half volume and it happily shits all over the other instruments. Another thing is the bottom end on this thing. It's controllable but it shakes the floor at less than quater volume (with the EQ as mentioned above) very cool for palm-muted chuggery at breakneck speeds. There is a little background hum on the overdrive channel, which gets kind of loud when you hit the gain boost switch for solos. The clean channel breaks up pretty damn quickly, it has to be kept at less than half, but i hit the strings very hard (i use .11s and break them about every week!). This amp is so much more versatile than the sales pitch says. Ashdown tries to sell it as a nu-metal amp for dreadlocked-seven-stringers, btw who actually plays nu-metal anymore? This can be used for any genre, and i mean any, in most part due to its outstanding overdrive channel and incredibly versatile clean channel.

oh dear. This is wear the amp fucks itself over. little over a week after getting it - it craps its pants on me. Fair enough it was used but that's still not great to know. the volume suddenly drops to almost nothing, a crackly sound it just about audible at full volume. This had me stumped, being a tube virgin i assumed it was the tubes, i took it to a technician who spent hours on it and was stumped. After a week, he finds out it was the output transformer. Somehow, the transformer had shorted inside. If you know about transformers you'll know that it consists of coils of enamelled wire, thinner than hair, wrapped around a chunk of iron. the enamel must have corroded, somehow. A tiny amount of grease on the hand of the person responsible for wrapping the transformer could have been reponsible. Anyway, that's what was responsible for the strangled sound. The technician *happened* to know someone at Ashdown who *happened* to have one lying around. I shat myself when i heard the price; #58! plus #20 labour! what's worse is that the repairer said a few other repairs had been carried out on the amp by a previous owner! They must have been flogging it because it was a lemon! i've had no problems since, no need to change valves either. Seeing as i'm not rolling in cash, i would gig without a backup, but even if i was, i dont think a backup would be necessary. Other wise, this thing is built like a brick shithouse and weighs as much as one too, it must be around 30kg! maybe im just wimpy but that strikes me as a lot.

i emailed Ashdown via their online customer support form and got a response within a few days. It didnt say anything specific apart from he didnt think it was the valves. They all have a warranty of 3 years i think, this didnt apply as i bought it used. Although due to my experience with getting it repaired i've found out one positive and two negatives: positive; they freely give out schematics (circuit diagrams) for non-warranty repairs. negative 1; parts are expensive. negative 2; the part i needed happened to be lying around the workshop, i dont know if i would have got the part otherwise. for this it will get an average score of 7.

i've been playing nearly 4 years. i own a SG copy with a bigsby, and i use lots of effects; danelectro octave pedal, boss CE-5 chorus ensemble, marshall vibratem tremolo, digitech synth wah, crybaby wah and a 70's carlsbro echo pedal. If this was stolen or lost, i would either get it again or get the 60 watt head version of this or even the 180 watt version fo this, because it sounds too damn good. I think the reliabity problems can be put down to fluke as the transformer problem is such a strange and random problem that isn't really anyone's fault. I hate that little parts cost so much from ashdown, but they are british and this is ripoff britain. I wish it had better reliability, i wish it came with a manual but it's so sexy in it's satanic black and red get-up with its glowing VU meter and 8 valves, you cant stay mad at it. Please forget what Ashdown say about it being engineered for nu-metal, it's so much more versatile, not to mention nu-metal was only popular from 2000-2002. This amp is amazing for it's price tag of under #400. i looked at the Crate VFX5112 at #299, before Sound Control (a british chain of music stores like Guitar Centre) bent me over and boned me by raising the price to #800 without warning, the day i was going to get it. The only thing at anywhere the same price is some 30 watt Laney combo. Good for vintage tones at queit volumes, but nothing is like this amp at this price. This amp can be summed up in four words as a "working man's triple recto". Top VFM

It is a channel switching combo with effects loop and Reverb. 4 12AX7 and 4 EL84 tubes. It is a good rock and metal amp.

I am using this amp with a PRS custom 24 and a USA Wolfgang std. both with humbucking pickups. I play both in a cover band and an original band. We cover anything from old to new metal and prog rock. The amp is quiet not really noisy at all. This amp is a Marshall killer. It sounds way better than any of their combos. The main differance would be the presence of low end.The distortion is not quite as saturated as the company claims it to be but it is better than a marshall. Very musical and defined. The low end is great but the vintage 30 it comes with cant take it at higher volumes. You need to switch the speaker out for one of a higher wattage. The combo does sound great with a 4X12. I am comparing this combo to my Mesa Triple Rectifier. So yes this combo sounds good the clean channel doesn't break up as easily as the mesa but then again the distortion isn't as saturated either. This combo is quite loud.

I have used it without a backup so far for live gigs and it has not let me down yet. It is a hell of a lot easier to lug around than a mesa half stack. And is adequate for practice or small club gigs. Seems to be built very well.

Have not delt with them.

I have been playing for 17 yrs. Have a lot of gear and was looking for some new tones. This amp definately sounds different. Doesn't sound like a Marshall or a Mesa somewhere in-between. These amps are touted as being perfect for detuned music but I beleive they are very versitle, and can accoplish those tones and more. I love its portability and big sound. I compared it to Marshall and Mesa combos but for the price this one won! I am actually going to buy the 180watt head version to see what it can do.

The only thing I miss is a recording output.

The amp's much more versatile than the Ashdown web site makes you think. For example, if I use my neck PU I can get really sweet clean sounds out of channel 1 (even though I have an SG -> humbuckers only). Channel two delivers everything from crunchy Blues tones to really brutal Metal distortion, depending on the gain settings (the footswitchable gain boost is a really cool feature) and the output level.

It looks and feels really sturdy. But I've only used it in the rehearsal room so so far.

Didn't have to deal with Ashdown yet.

For the price I paid the amp was a steal.

This amp has a pretty good set of features. two channels with independent EQ, gain and volume on each channel, reverb, and two footswitchable master volumes. This is a really cool feature - means you can really get a variety of sounds out of the amp (from clean/mild drive on the clean channel, switching master volumes to gut wrenching distortion!)
the footswitch that comes with the amp changes the channel and also turns on the boost for channel 2 - this is great for solos, just giving you some extra power to cut through the mix. the reverb is usable - nothing amazing but just enough for most playing

I play a jackson DR-3 through this amp, with crybaby wah, boss HM-2, ibanez smashbox and big muff pi. i only use my distortion effects as extra boosts now - the amp handles all the distortion i need. the sound is quite bassy, but all you have to do is get yor EQ right and its perfect. once you get the volume up a bit youll really hear the amps tone coming through - i find it a bit like a cheaper mesa boogie. The clean channel stays clean with the gain switch down, but turn up the gain (right up) and you get that classic 70's style overdrive (the dirty channel on this amp is too dirty for that really lol)

ive had the amp 2 months now - no problems at all. i would always gig with a backup especially as it is only (!) 40 watts

when i got my first amp the courier had broken it. ashdown replaced the amp within a week. comes with a 5 year warranty which you can register online

ive been playing for nearly 2 years and this is the first tube amp ive bought. i needed something that would cover all bases but without fancy effects. it definately does this. i would be incredibly upset if it got lost or stolen id probably get its bigger brother (only because i can afford it now mwuhaha) if your in the UK this is the best valve amp you can buy for the money. After owning this im a born again valve lover. only potential problem is its only 40 watts, but this is more than adequate for the places i play (pubs etc) and if you were playing bigger it has outputs for 4x12 and 2x12 extension cabinets. the low wattage means you can saturate it at relativley low volumes