Ashdown Peacemaker 40 112 Combo

All tube, class A (whatever the hell that means) 4 EL84s, 4 12ax7s, celestion vintage 30 12" speaker, effects loop, worthless-but-cool-looking VU meter, dual master volume (very cool feature), 2 channel with gain boost.

I am using two Schecter Avenger 7-strings with Seymore Duncan Invader and distortion humbuckers as well as a Gibson les paul Goth with EMG 81s. Planetwaves and Monster cables only.

The clean channel:
Sounds a lot like a Vox AC 30. the clean channel is punchy as hell and has a nice tube color to it. Its never truly clean like a Roland JC 120. I happen to like that. Sounds great for blues and jazz and funk. The EQ (bass, mid, high) is VERY responsive and can drasticly alter the character of the tone. very low self noise, great dynamics, very responsive.

The Dirty channel:
THis is the area where my opinion may be a little flawed. I am a "hi gain" sort of guy. this is not a hi-gain amp. However I love it for what it is. Excellent clarity even at max drive and volume levels. great vintage-style breakup and supurb harmonic overtones. The feedback is magical from this amp! You can easily get a Stevie Ray whatshisface lead tone from this channel and a great Angus Young style crunch. Its just so Goddamn punchy! The sound is thick, perfectly defined and full and easily loud enough to be heard over a drummer. Sounds great. I now use a ToneBone Hot British pedal and it makes this amp sound GODLYKE!!!

I am alittle worried now after reading everyone elses complaints concerning its reliability. Nothing bad has happened yet, I owned it now for a month. Still good as new. It hasnt left my house yet though.

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Considering I scored this amp brandNew for $220.00 out the door due to a pricing mistake I would give this amp a perfect 10 a dozen times over! If I had to pay regular price I would still recognize it as a very nice amp. Its so light!! its lighter than my Bandit 112 transister amp!! Considering the price i got it at it wouldnt be fair to say that I wouldnt replace it if it were stolen. I primarily use it in my home studio for recording and practicing. it sounds incredable!

I believe this has been covered. I will say that this is basically a 2 channel amp. Don't buy it for the "3rd" channel. Plenty of power.

I use an Ibanez AS83 w/ Schaller Golden 50's > Vox 848> EH Big Muff> Orange Squeezer, Arion SAD-1(best bank for the buck pedal out there)> Peacemaker w/ RCA & GE tubes. Clean is to die for. Just the right amount of clean/grit for my taste. I tend to have the gain at 2 O'clock on the clean setting. Usually have the volume for Ch1 around 1 O'clock. The EQ is VERY SENSITIVE. It takes time to find a good setting, but if you buy the amp, you have plenty of time, so no fault there. You have to have the master to at least 11 o'clock for the magic to happen.

CH2 has been slammed pretty hard here, and I'm not sure why. The EQ has to be set differently, but good sounds are to be had here. If you want Fuzz, get a Muff. I use Ch 1 clean/grit, Ch 2 moderate grit, & a Muff combined with either channel....depending on the sound I'm going for. Ch 2 is not as "fat" as channel 1, so you will need to adjust EQ's accordingly. It has a vintage rock feel to it...kinda a "Keith Richards" tone IMO. But don't get me wrong, this channel will sing.

OUCH! First off, Mark if you are reading,....scrap the VU meter, it is a waste of space, and makes servicing this un-reliable amp even worse. Everything that could possibly go wrong w/ an amp has gone wrong with this one. I initially bought it used, and I'm not sure how it was treated before me, but from the looks of previous reviews, this looks like the norm. I had my amp tech do an overhaul on this amp's guts, changed the main fuse, installed new output transformer, and have not had any problems since ***knock on wood*** Again, you take this amp to a tech, and he will want to pull his hair out.

When this amp was doing its best rendition of snap, crackle, and pop, I emailed Ashdown, and they mailed me 4 new output tubes. The support was great, but tubes were not the problem. Their best customer support would be to get it right the first time. Mail the amp to the UK? LOL

I've been playing for 8 years, and have owned several amps, tube & solid state. It is the best sounding amp I have had the privilege to play. After gutting out the original caps, and cleaning up some weak joints, this amp has been a joy. I highly reccommend installing a computer fan, or to have some ventilation for the amp, as it runs hot as hell, and wires and circuit board are too close for comfort. If I lost it or it was stolen, I would get another Fender. If it craps out, I will get another Fender. But as is, I will keep it. It is a love/hate relationship.

This is a follow up to my follow up.

Nice tones for the money and very light weight. Try carrying around a mesa boogie. This is one reason I bought the Peacemaker.

Besides upping the fuse rating, I have now installed small computer type fans in each amp. This cools down the hot el-84's. Since I did
this I haven't had a problem. If I can make it through a whole year without breakage I will rate my two amps again.

Very good.

Bought new in 2001, plain plastic strap handle rather than the fancy spring one (that is STILL shown on the Ashdown website ? maybe time for an update, chaps?). Features have all been covered many times in other reviews. Lack of LEDs on pedals is a bore ? see Mark Bratcher?s review for suggestions on how to mod it yourself, which I haven?t done (laziness and inability in equal measure). This amp looks stylish, but don?t confuse style with good design. Front panel ergonomics are poor, with little round sliver plastic knobs that make settings hard to see on stage, and hide the badly-positioned LED indicators. But once past the quirks, it has everything I need for gigging ? the dual master volume is extremely useful for stage work. Deduct 2 points for poor design details.

I play a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion and a 1990 US ?57 reissue Strat and in my dreams play nothing but searing heartfelt jazz-tinged blues, exclusively, all the time. In real life I play in a guitar club, do occasional elementary tuition, and am part of a middle-aged dance band (?everything from Abba to Zappa?) where I play country, 60s pop, classic rock, 50s rock and roll, jazz, chart, easy listening, novelty stuff, happy-birthday-to-you, you name it. The Ashdown supplies pretty well everything I need. I find that overdriven sounds work better with humbuckers than with single coils, but the clean channel sounds fantastic with the Strat for country twang where it gets just a bit of distorted edge. It doesn?t do metal; if I want to get that sort of sound, and sometimes I have to for the band, I use a fuzzbox and go to confession afterwards. And it doesn?t do loads and loads of effortless clean at high volume (buy a Fender or a Roland JC). This isn?t a practice amp, it doesn?t sound anything special at domestically-acceptable volumes, but wind the masters up above 11 o?clock and everyone starts to smile ? and it gets very loud if need be. When I do get the chance to play my sort of Blues through this amp, I smile too.

This is where I stop smiling and cross my fingers. This is the most expensive amp I have ever bought and is also the most troublesome piece of guitar-related equipment I have ever owned. Main fuses blew initially ? Ashdown were very helpful, supplied replacements, and eventually recommended a higher rating; good, but I worry that this is not the most challenging bit of electrical design to get right and I notice that HC reviews of the much newer (and may I add quite astonishingly vulgar) Fallen Angel combos also mention problems with inadequately rated fuses. Why do Ashdown keep getting this rather simple thing wrong? Then there were problems with pots not working properly and occasional dropouts. Again, very helpful response and suggestions about tightening up the pot locating nuts ? which I did but it all felt a bit wrong for a #500-plus amp, as it was then. Still not working, and problems getting worse, so back to Ashdown it went, via my excellent and totally supportive local supplier (Soundhouse in Cheltehham). All fixed. Hurrah. A few weeks later ? same problems again, worse. Back to Ashdown again. All pots resoldered and, for some reason, all valves replaced. And a clip added to prevent the speaker cable from resting against the very hot power tubes (design?). Since when it has worked fine. But it doesn?t really inspire confidence and I always have a backup ? even when practising at home! On the plus side, it has never actually let me down on a gig. But Ashdown really ought to get their fundamental design and build quality up to scratch, before diverting effort into installing functionless illuminated dials and other furbelows. (OK, I?ll toggle grumpy old man mode off now ? it?s bad for my blood pressure)

They couldn?t have been more helpful. Well, actually I suppose it would have been more helpful if they had fixed it right first time (so I?ve docked a point in my curmudgeonly way). They answer emails and generally seem really keen on their products. And full marks to Soundhouse in Cheltenham who were fully onside, determined to get this thing fixed, and prepared to give me a full refund if it couldn?t be sorted.

I?ve been playing guitar for 40 years and own and have owned all sorts of gear ? including amps by Peavey, Yamaha, Fender, Roland and Marshall (none all that expensive). Sonically, the Ashdown does everything I want. If it wasn?t for the woeful reliability, I?d be completely satisfied with it. As it is, if it were lost or stolen, I?d probably save up my pennies for an entry-level Rivera or Mesa. That?s rather a lot of pennies, come to think of it; so I might settle for a Laney LC30 or a Peavey Classic 30 instead. If you really love the Peacemaker sound (and I do), then cross your fingers and buy from a good, local specialist dealer who will stand by you if it turns out to be a turkey. Given the unreliability, I don't think I would recommend buying mail order, even if the price looked right!

All in all, I?m a bit disappointed. Shame really ? could be a great amp with better engineering design and decent quality control. I understand that the styling and general vibe is supposed to derive from classic British sportscars. Well, in my 20s I spent many hours sat beside the road with my 1972 wire-wheel MG admiring its classic lines while waiting to be rescued by the AA, so maybe this model isn?t the best example for Ashdown to follow.

I own a 2002 original "Silver Logo" PM 40. I have owned all types of tube amps in the past, including many more expensive rigs- Matchless, Soldano, and Groove Tubes- and was not concerned about having a "real" third channel. The reverb is a short box and sounds very good, warmer than expected. I have it dialed at about 2 O'Clock.
I use the PM 40 at gigs- I am a working musician playing a blend of funk, jazz, rock and blues. I play a 1993 fender Custom Shop SRV Strat through a typical assortment of pedals including two Boss delays, a Microvibe, and a Dunlop Crybaby. I shoot for a Knopfler- like lead tone, smooth gain with more sustain and personality than outright distortion, and have found a way to coax the lead channel to this end. I have found the 40 watts to be fine for everything from bars to halls. I do not use the effects loop, so I am happy there.

There is a trick with this amp, and those who have left por feedback simply need to find an amp that better recreates the sound they are looking for. I LOVE this thing. The trick for me has been to dial the EQ on the amp in fairly extreme settings. On channel 1, I have the bass all the way up- the mids at 9 O'Clock- and the Treble at 11 O'Clock. My gain here is at 2 O'Clock. Then, I dial in further from the guitar's volume pot. It just sounds awesome, nice even harmonic overtones, some slight crunch that is very musical, and beautiful shimmering, spongy highs.

The lead channel also took some time. Bass up full, Mids at 8 O'Clock, Treb at 9 O'Clock. This took care of the brashness I heard with the EQ at neutral settings, and allows me to coax some SERIOUS darker tones from this amp. The tone, again, resembles Knopfler's Soldano live rig tone from the late 90's, crossed with a darker and
more ambient wash a la Doyle Bromhall's " Welcome" album when run with the Microvibe. Add in a little of Jimmy Herrings ARU days- articulate and warm....But it was al about the "Trebble be Gone" EQ trip to be sure.....SWEET!

This amp is not for everybody. I am a tone junky looking for a specific thing, and it took some work to get what I was looking for. I often run a Marshall JCM 900 4X12 cab with the amp at larger gigs and that sound great too, just a few more highs dialed in to the EQ.

I replaced the Svetlana tubes it came with with Groove Tubes EL-84y series. A very good choice to add a little power and headroom. I play this amp out all the time, in a variety of gig settings, and have never had a problem I have owned it for 6 months.

I bought it on Ebay from a guy in Dallas who sold it for a discount because the grill cloth was stretched a wee bit. Never had a reason to call anybody about this amp.

My most recent rig was a gem, so take my feedback knowing I can compare. I ran a Soldano X-99 through a Groove Tubes D-75 with a Lexicon PCM-90 for reverb. I then used a Marshall JCM-900 4X12. That rig beacame to cumbersome to be carting around, and I had it for years, Time for a change. I can hardly believe that the PM 40 fits the bill, but with a little work is is a nice alternative to a bigger rig.

I also play a National Steel Resolectric through the Ashdown and it sounds great, keepind the Terble factor at bay, and creating a darker but articulate tone for slide playing. The lead boost is what it is- a fairly harsh boost that I never use. I use a TS-9 for some extra gain and warmth, so that aspect of the PM 40 is irrelevant to me.

I like this amp better that other mid-range-but-quality combos like the ProSonic, etc...Again, this amp serves a very particular master when it comes for tonal versatility, so unlesss you are looking for the tones I talked about, it's not for you. NO heavy metal or FUZZ rock. This is an articulate amp that will expose your playing weaknesses if you are used to letting a very high gain setting buffer your personal tonal reality. If you like Robben Ford's tone on his earlier records- Tiger Lilly is the name I believe of my favorite, a funky instrumatal with darker lead tones than his past few blues-pop releases- then the PM 40 is a steal.

ashdown was able to pack a lot of versatility into this 40w combo. 2/3 channels, effects loop, separate 'gain and volume' knobs for each channel, 3 separate eq knobs for each channel, 40w class 'a' tubes, and...a celestion vintage 30 speaker...look at reviews...a nice speaker!

i love the sounds i can get out of this amp. It really works for quite a variety of styles...all sorts of rock, jazz, etc.
i run a schecter diamond series through a dunlop gcb95 crybaby>boss ce-2 (that's one ill pedal :D )>boss ds-1>amp...simple, straightforward, sounds good. Only problem, (well not for me) is that its hard to get a loud clean sound...the amp's got lots of gain.

its pretty new, but it seems solid

I really love this thing to pieces...granted, it is my first tube amp, but i've had lots of experience playing on devilles and the like...deluxe reverb...mm, nice amps...but this one has a unique quality...it doesn't try to imitate anything...fender, marshall, whatever...this is different...and, in my opinion, better.

I own two of these amps. Which I play out in small venues. I only use
the clean channel. I use a Boss Metal Zone for more crunch and the
volume boost for leads. Bought the amp because its probably the lightest 1x12 tube amp around. And has a very good tone. If you want
super clean try somthing with 6L6s or go solidstate.

I currently use a Cort solid body G-90 with active EMG pickups. I play
in a cover band. As mentioned the amp doesn't have a super clean sound but more of a vintage Marshall/fender sound. The amp sounds great live.

Both amps have broken in the past. The older one had transformer problems which I heard was common with the early batch of amps. Ashdown sent me a new tranformer and it works fine. The second one had a burned out rc-61 resistor. My tech mounted the rc-61 of each amp away from the el-84's and off the circuit board No more problems. This is an important mod to consider. Ashdown UK was prompt
in getting the parts out to the U.S. free of charge.

See above.

Been playing for over twenty years. It would be hard to find anything
as nice that weighs the same. Want to preserve my back as much as possible. I wish it had El 34's which don't run quite as hot. The
price is great for a quasi class A amp with 40 watts. With the mod is now a very good amp that should be more reliable.

Among Ashdowns venture into combo's form the Lead guitarist is the all tube, 3 channel Peacemaker 40 (the third channel is only really a boost switch) .Full EQ on two channels ,one clean the other two, drive plus a spring reverb control. Channel switching available via a foot switch provided,it has a series effects loop(the old model was parallel)no headphone jack. I bought this amp 3 months ago from Sounds Live,Newcastle .Paid #360 . I use the amp as home use only and is perhaps too loud for this purpose.

I use only Fender Strat's or a Burns Marquee,with Zoom studio rack reverbs thr'o the effects loop.I play 60's music and wanted a nice clean sound with overdrive option. If you are looking for the same DO NOT BUY THIS AMP. You can not obtain aclean sound even on the clean channel even using single coil pick ups!SO BE WARNED. Only at low settings can any sort of clean be found and I mean low settings the result being very little volume, no use at all. Now if its drive you want there's bucketfulls of the stuff, and very nice too. A very loud amp in this mode but then it is all tube. Then as if this had not cleared the last of the ear wax, push the third channel button (on the footswitch only)'DYNAMITE'. But the down side is ,all the EQ settings have changed everthing has gone treble,with limited tonal control. All this is because the third channel is mearly a resistance change to a pre-amp cathode. Oh well. So this is not a universal amp and with much disappointment I sent it back!

Did not own the amp long enough to judge

I complained to Ashdown that I had expected a parallel effects loop .The booklet the came with the amp confirmed this,even the rear panel said it was? Ashdown said they had changed the circuit without notice and I could retern the amp to them for a MOD. at my cost or change the circuit myself? When I complained that we had laws regarding misdescription they were not interestedand said speak to the retailer 'Sounds Live',so I did. 'Sounds Live'of Newcastle-on-Tyne were at first sympathetic, and said they would deal with Ashdown,but after three weeks of no action from them they said I was too much trouble and did not ever want my custom again!

I have been playin guitar for 50 years and have over the years used vox ac30's Watkins amps and Echoes . But after putting the competition for a side by side test Fender Princton(nice)Marshall DSL and the Vox Valvetronic(very dull and boxy sounding) The best without a doubtis the LANEY VC30-11 .Buy one and youv'e got the BEST!!

Mine is the 2002 model with the original black and silver 'ASHDOWN' logo which i like more than the newer red and white 'ASHDOWN ENGINEERING' but each to their own.
Basically its a twin independent channel amp.By that i mean,
-Independent EQ,gain and volume for each channel

There are also two master volumes which is a great way to get a solo boost without adding gain.The reverb is a spring unit and there is a parallel effects loop and speaker outs for different cabinets.
Power output is fine for home practice and more than enough for the average pub gig.

I play a Mexican strat with a rosewood fingerboard,Tex-mex pickups and 11-49 D'addario strings.I play straight into the amp with no effects at the moment.

Channel 1 is clean to bluesy crunch/lead depending on the gain settings.My Eq settings are generally as follows

Bass- 1,2 o'clock Middle- 11,12 o'clock Treble- 9,10 o'clock

Gain at 12 noon is best for clean sounds and 3 o'clock gives good crunch, those are my main gain settings for this channel.The general characteristic is very fat and warm with a really good overall frequency response.
The neck pickup gives a good woody warm sound just right for chordal type rythmns (Freebird) and bluesy riffs/lead.The middle pickup has more definition and is great for cleaner pieces where all the notes need to ring (Under the bridge-Chili Peppers) or for arpeggiated lines,chords (Intro to Sanitarium-Metallica).This is also a great pickup for more punchy distorted settings that cut through a little bit more than the neck pup (fine for bluesey lead).The bridge i tend not to use for rythmn generally but is jangly and with some twang.With more gain it makes a very good performer for riffs like Layla (intro) and Lynyrd Skynyrd type rythmn riffs.

Channel 2 is a more specific channel (for me at least).I tend to keep the gain around max for sustain at low volumes and i generally use it for lead not rythmn (metal riffs are not my thing really).
This channel i found to have much more treble bias than channel 1 so i compensate with more bass heavy EQ settings:

Bass- 2,3 o'clock Middle- 10,11 o'clock Treble- 8,9 o'clock

The sound is very much a smooth sort of sound, think Dave Gilmour with the solo in Time (Pink Floyd).Responds well to pinched harmonics too but not to the extent you unintentionally do them just because of the amount of gain.I tend to need the higher gain for this channel because at lower volumes it can lack depth and power (channel 1 overpowers it at the same volume settings).

NB: Both channels change quite a lot when the power tubes get going at high volume.Channel 1's EQ is a lot more expressed and the treble can build up a lot more than lower volume.This is not a problem it just means that you need to alter your practice EQ settings when you play at live volumes.Also the headroom runs out fairly fast so it becomes more of a blueser than a clean amp at really high volumes (max or nearly max).Still fine headroom for a normal gig though.

Channel 2 just gets better as you crank the tubes into action.It gets more gain, thump and punch and just is great ,very loud though,need earplugs ;-) Also when you get up on the volume scale, the previous statement is reversed, ch2 beats ch1 easily when you're really cooking.

Very good reliability.Worked fine for over a year even on the original valves.I have taken it to a gig without backup but it would be sensible to at least one preamp (12AX7) and power (EL84) to a gig just in case of valve burnout.

Havent dealt with them on major issues but prompt response to emails asking minor questions.

Been playing 2 years and i basically own the Ashdown and my Mexican Strat (plus a Boss DD3 that i rarely use).
If it were stolen i would consider a Matamp 1224 head to replace it (I actually considered getting one to supplement it) because it offers excellent features and outstanding,boutique quality sound for #650.The reason i decided not to splash out on the Matamp was due to the sound of the Ashdown when i was jamming one night,gritty,raw and a great performer.After that i couldnt justify the spending to myself (maybe in a few months).Overall i would say that for a bluesy gigging or bedroom musician it is a fantastic performer that will do almost anything you want with great sound.Don't expect grinding metal riffs and you wont be disappointed with this little magic box.A final plus is that its only 17kg so not a challenging lift by amp standards (lighter than some Solid state 1x12's).

Give it a try.

Just to help the previous poster who just put 1's in for everything... If your amp cuts out you should check the vacuum tubes to see if they are very secure in their sockets. I was having some noise and cut-out problems and found that it was due to the tubes not being tightly seated after transporting the amp. I put in some 12AX7 tube shields (I bought them from Crate, which fit) and I check the EL84's every time I set up the amp. Since I did that, no more cut-out or noise problems.

As far as the overdrive channel "sounding like crap" it's all about what sound you're after. All overdrive's are different. See my prior post on this. It's a boutique sound, and sounds best when driven in a live situation. Although I can't get every sound I'm looking for, I've gotten some fantastic sounds out of it.