Ashdown FA-60 Fallen Angel

I thought it was kind of pointless to have 4 chorus effects 4 flangers and 8 delays i was rather dissapointed to find out my amp really only had 3 different kinds of effects and there are 16 setting knobs

i use and ibanez jtk4 jet king on my amp and its great for switching from blues to metal instantly on this amp, no noise what-so-ever on mine but i havent had the opertunity to really take this thing out and crank it up

im not sure if its dependable or not i havent gotten the chance to max turn this baby up past 4 to find out its real potential but im sure it will be great

i havent had to deal with them

i have been playing for a year and i used to play on a ashdown g20r before i got this and before that a line 6 spider 2 and also a roland micro cube. this by far has had the best sound out of all those amps. i love this amp because it gives me all that i want with the exception of the effects being limited, i will say though that it does the job so far and does it damn well and i'm very happy with my purchase i would suggest this amp to anyone amateur or professional.

2 channels, both able to produce a great amount of gain. I love the clean and the distortion is what I've been wanting to get for years.
also has a rotary dial in effects thingy that makes some.. well pretty cool effects...
anyhow ok read about the features in other reviews

the distortion is not brutal... I don't think it should be though, it gives enough that depending on what type of pickups you prefer its gonna make em sound like they were just a little hotter than on a jcm800 - at any rate, its not noisy unless you have some crappy pickups (and a few of my guitars do) I'd say it goes from happy clean fenderish to a tad bit slight of a mesa rec... I'd also like to say it doesn't have the mesa hiss... which some people want (I don't)

I think I can i've been playing it now for about 2 hours a day for 2 years and I'd say.. well it hasn't seen anything other than some green smoke no beer spills ect, the fan keeps the **** inside cool I guess.. it runs if u turn it on... ect so i'd say ya its been good to me

lol ashdown... warranty lol... ya I think hayden ownes it now or something though...

i've had it a while, I have a jcm 900 2x12 combo, a fender cybertwin (ick) a line 6 spider (great for bedroom jamming) and my only other real tube amp is an orange ad 15 (limitless gain)

I'd say seeing how I got this used, had it a long time and definately got my moneys worth outta it, and it still makes me happy when I look at it -- it rocks, and I love the sounds i don't think i'd trade it and if it were stolen I'd buy another (I'm gonna buy another anyway) maybe the 180 head... heh.

Fallen angel 60 watt head, You can see what the features are on the other reviews, but what i will say is that a effects loop for both channels would be nice and 60 watts somtimes is not loud enough but the next one up is 180 watts whitch is a bit too much for me

I play this amp with a gibson sg,and it sounds great its the distortion sound i have been looking to get for years, its got all the bass you could ever need and the clean sounds very nice

This amp has been reliable for the past two years, and has been well giged, but yesterday i blew one of the internall fuses, and too replace these you have to take the dam thing apart,if it happend at a gig you have had it,to sort this out i have drilled three holes in the amp casing on the bottom so i can change the fuse in seconds..

The company are very friendle and helpful, if you phone you can talk to an enginer no problem

sound great far heavier than a marshall,no need for peadals

Not a whole lot of features on this baby. It's got 2 channels, some decent effects, and reverb. The distortion channel has a gain boost button that you will need to have on for any time of modern music. There is a VU Meter that glows red although doesn't provide you much more than aesthetics.

The clean channel is excellent and the biggest reason I didn't keep using my modeling amp. It offers a really thick, thumping sound and has a really powerful gain that can give you all the punch you'll ever need for clean guitar work.

This distortion channel is pretty good, but it leaves more to be desired. I run mine at max gain with the gain boost initiated and still feel my modeling amp had more power. The notes are more defined, however; so I took the gain hit. I didn't get the 4-way footswitch with mine cause I got the open box unit from AMS, but my latching boss footswitch does the trick for channel switching.

The effects are pretty limited, but I'm fine with that since I like the simple clean/distortion switching. The reverb sucks and is only useful at the lowest settings.

What all these guys are saying about the bass is very true, holy crap this thing has a ridiculous amount of low end. I keep mine at 2-3.

This is a tough one. This is my first tube amp and I managed to blow a fuse at practice after our first show using it. You don't want to blow fuses with this thing because you gotta take out about 16 screws and remove the whole damn board to get to them. I had a friend of mine drill holes in the back and mount fuse holders after reading all the reviews on here and since then we've yet to blow another one.

They may have fixed this fuse issue in newer models, but you might want to make sure unless you're extraordinaryly skilled at quickly removing a plethera of screws on stage.

They are in the U.K. so it's either email or paying out the @$$ for a long distance phone call at midnight so I can't give a full 10 here. However, the genlemen Martin there was very prompt to answer all my emails and even sent me replacement fuses at no expensive.

They're good guys in my book.

Overall, you're getting a tube amp that blows away most Marshalls at the running rate of a moderately priced solid-state. I'm happy!

I am actually impressed with the versatility of this amp. It has two channels each with independent volume and gain, gain boost on channel two, and then there's two master volume knobs on top of that, so with a push of the footswitch you can have two preset volumes.

The effects aren't anything to jump for joy about, they sound good, but you don't have very good control over them. There's 8 preset delays, 4 flange and 4 chorus. You can adjust the amount of delay, flange and chorus you want, but you can't adjust the speed at all, which can be a pain. I don't use many effects so its not a big deal for me.

My main guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus with stock pickups and i also have a Strat with an Invader and a 59 model in it. I play a lot of stuff from worship to full on bowel moving metal, and I am extremely pleased with this amp. The clean channel is clean if you roll the gain knob way back. The clean channel gets significantly louder the more gain you add (not noise more volume) and you can get a gorgeous vintage crunch out of it.

The distortion channel is where this amp really shines. This thing has HUGE bass response. I usually keep the bass knob at around 4 and it sounds huge. With low gain settings it picks up right where channel one left off. Gain halfway you get a nice classic crunch, turn up the gain more you get a very nice heavy distortion perfect for very fast chording that stays clear and distinct with lots of power behind it. Throw on the gain boost and notes ring with endless sustain and clarity while crushing you with the huge bass and ripping distortion. I don't think this has as much gain a mesa rectifier you can't really get that fizzly uber gain sound of the Angel, but if you want insanely heavy bottom and that stays tight and defined this is your monster.

no problems so far, had it for almost 5 months now and not had a single prolem

Awesome amp!!! I played lots of amps Mesa's, Marshalls the whole bit and i couldn't pinpoint the sound i wanted until i played this, and the pricetag made it a done deal. You will never find an amp that sounds like this for the price. Tubes just sound gorgeous, i will never go back to solid state.

This amp is very versatile in the sound department due to internal effects & good switching options, i LIKE THE FACT IT HAS 2 INDEPENDANT VOLUMES SO EVEN AT FULL GAI YOU CAN HAVE A BOOST.It also has an fx loop.

One of the best amps Iv'e played for sound, from clean to scream can't fault !

This is the crunch,I'm on the second one of these,and this has just blown it's power too, the last one went back to the factory & was 2 weeks,came back battered so was a bit pissed about that,I think this is a real shame cos for the money you won't find anything that sounds like this, but it is so unreliable that Ican't recommend to anyone, perhaps I was unlucky, but won't chance it again (Sorry ashdown)

They reply to all emails quickly, but when I asked about the damage to the 1st amp they just said sorry and that was that.

Playing for 16 years,Rock/metal/punk etc, use trusty line6 flextone 2 head, behringer 4x12 cab,Gison les Paul, If this amp were stolen I would jump for joy/claim the insurance & buy a Marshall !

Amp is a 2005, made in China. A very verstile, the literature says three channels but really two with the second with a boost stage. A very powerful 60 all tube watts.

I play a Les Paul, I play classic rock and metal with some blues, this amp seems to cover these styles very well. The amp is very clean and quiet, this amp can go from a nice clean sound to full out metal mayham, and everything in between. The clean is clean at loud volumes if you roll up the gain you get the nice voxish crunch.

I have not giged with it yet but so far no problems, I have had it for over a month and have put some miles on it already.

I have not had to deal with them yet, hopefully I will not have to deal with them every.

The amp (well this version anyway) was released this year. The amp is capable of making a wide variation of tones from bright sparkling clean, to deep metal crunch, i love it.
It has a clean channel, an overdriven channel, and then a boost channel with a footswitch. At the back is a serial effect loop and effect return level control. It has all the basic features and nothing silly or over complicated, i use every feature whenever need be. It is a 60w Valve head unit, i use it with the fallen angel 412 cab at home, but gigging is where it really starts to show off.

PS the price shown does not include the cab, the cab is an extra few hundred pounds.

Its an absolute MONSTER, and i love it.

I use the Stock EMG-HZ H3s on my Jackson SLSMG usually, but before this guitar i had a KE3 which had a very dull, almost boring tone, yet still this amp made it sound great, it so sensitive and versatile. I play a lot of heavy rock/metal/death metal/hardcore and it suites all the above. Its very loud indeed, but has a feedback reducer, somehow, so it doesn't scream and shout at you if you ignore it. The clean channel can be distorted with the gain on full and high volume, or with active pickups, but the sound is not compromised by turning down the gain which stops it from distorting.

The distortion is absolutely immense. The reason i bough this amp is because of the bass and distortion capabilities. With the bass on full and distortion of this amp will blow your head off, its incredible, you can actually feel the music pulsating through your lungs. This is excellent for palm muted chords. It manages to have so much bass without dumbing down the sound, which remains sharp. I LOVE it.

So far the amp has been totally reliable, the power cable seems to fall from the back at the drop of a hat, but who cares, you dont move the head unit with it plugged in anyway. Its not that bad and wont let you down when thrashing on stage. Its not had a single problem, and i would always gig it without a backup, its very durable.

I've dealt with ashdown quite a lot, and this is no reflection on the amp. But whn i ordered my amp, it had just been recalled to china because of a techinical fault, so it took three months in the end to get the actual thing. But i frequently e-mailed martin burrows from customer services and he was extremely helpful throughout the entire experience. Superb.

I play with a Jackson Kelly KE3 and a Jackson Soloist SLSMG, and for effects, a Zoom GFX3 Effects processor, the best thing for this amp, for distortion's sake (if you have the chance, try out the metal distortion setting on the GFX3, who needs mesa boogie?)

Overall, i needn't say more, just the following;

BUY ONE; GREATEST AMP EVER

2005 2 X 12 Combo, extremly versatile for Blues, Rock, Metal.
Technical features as listed by other reviewers!
This amp has plenty of volume and connect to a 2 x 12 cab and it
goes ballistic. Use it at home, rehearsal, recording and live.

Withs a Gibson Les Paul with Seymour Duncan JB in bridge, and what a fantastic tone this amp provides. Its tone I have searched for for 15 years. I love this amp. From Gary Moore style heavy blues to Black Crowes Open G rhythm to Pantera style metal this amp is the one for me. Its not noisy live and feedback is easily controlled. Totally wonderful rich, creamy valve tone with warm singing overtones and wonderful sustain. With a Crybaby its just amazing.

You can't depend on it, in 3 months it broke down 4 times and spent nearly a week each time at the dealer for repair. The never told me what was wrong but in the end they have replaced it and the new one has had no faults! Live its impossible to read the controls like bass, mid, reveb because red on black is not visible in a dark venue.
both amp and footswith are very robust.Boost feature just squeals feedback and just cannot be used live. But the double output volumes are subperb for switching to solos. Rating for this based on the first amp and not the 3 week old replacement.

Not great I emailed them a query and got a wishy washy reply telling me to consult my dealer. I sent a second query by email and got no reply at all.

Overall this amp has to get a high rating because of wonderful tone and huge output (When there is output!) It will break down again, I'm sure of that, but I just love it! These amps are no longer produced in UK and the new Chinese models are pure crap! In years to come these FA60's will be much sought after so get one and hang on to it.
Final word is tough on the outside, but kinda delicate on the inside,
but precious tone makes it all worthwhile. p.s. Wish it had a reverb control on footswitch.

All features described from others above this post :)
One thing that amazed me is the volume foot switch. very helpful for live gigs if you are guitar - straight to amp plug and play!

I use Fallen Angel 60 with a marshall cabin 4x12 (modified at 4 ohms, and rewired to play only the two speakers). Wouldn't recomend this modification at high volumes cause you could damage the speakers. It's sounds like a boosted sound at lower volumes.

Never heard my amp on Ashdown cabin. They didn't have at the store here in Greece!

Guitars: Ibanez JS1, Baritone Custom made (bridge: seymour duncan dimebag, middle: seymour duncan single coil (can't remember model) neck Tom Anderson ST2), Epiphone Les Paul (seymour duncan's).

Style: Drive is near perfect for heavy metal dark sound. Much better from a Messa Boogie Mono Rectifier. Of course can't be next to a Dual Rectifier (This Amp kills!!!)

Noise: I get some radio noises at home. Don't know yet which radio station is!!! Never tried it at studios though.

Clean Channel: Not as good as I expected. This amp is made for heavy music. So I don't think it's a must for that amp. I would choose a fender twin reverb or something else for clean parts.

Distortion:

- Lead Channel. Exactly what I was looking for. Full dark sound, controllable drive for fast playing and great low responses.
- crunch is also great.

I always manipulate my gear and push everything to the limit. My Fallen Angel is new and haven't test it "properly" yet. But, yes, I would take it on gig and explode it!

never have problems with the amp. Works fine 'cause it's still new and fresh.

Ordered a cover and an extra foot switch for volume control (Too bad it comes separately). Shipping was very fast (I live in Greece that's why my english are not so good)

I play guitar for 15 years. I used to have an AVT150H Marshall. Didn't like it and sold it to buy Fallen Angel. Nothing sounds like a tube amp! I was going to buy a dual rectifier but it's very expensive. So the cost of Fallen Angel for how it sounds is a 10!
I intend to keep this amp forever.
I heard that all models from now on will be made at China. Don't know if this is true.