Ashdown Peacemaker 40 112 Combo

Lots of knobs. Lots of features

Very trebly amp. Have to turn the highs all the way down even on the clean channel. Clean channel sounds like a good EL84 amp. Has a British sound to it. The natural overdrive sounds good, but it has too much treble. The overdrive channel is again, too trebly. It sounds decent at lower gain levels, but at the higher gain levels, there is too much treble. need I say more.

Fender 72 Telecaster Deluxe- Gibson Les Paul Studio - Fender US Jazzmaster.

The glue holding the larger components together inside the amp chassis has melted and dripped into the tube sockets, gluing power tubes 1 and 4 into place. Amp gets very hot, so I can forsee the PC board and components being damaged in the future.

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Decent amp if you can get it for cheap. Not very well designed or well made, but the sound is surprisingly better than it should be.

Made some years ago, so I bought it as "used". I bought it mainly because I needed an amp that can produce sound with a huge bunch of pedals I use. This is the best amp to do that, so far. I t has as you know two channels, of which I use clean, very seldom(actually never) drive channel. So my opinions are based only clean channel. Reverb if fine enough and it certainly has a lot of power to do little gigs. I normally switch my guitar to effect return via pedals and therefore I must say that even Digitech GNX-3000 sounds great in live sessions. And that is a lot!

I play paisley tele(Tokai -84) and I play any kind of music that you can hear in restaurants and pubs, mostly covers, and therefore I need a lot of things to sound as original as I can. Ashdown is very silent when not in use, it does not have this typical humming that for instance Marshall/Vox has. And if you use this return loop, sound does nor effect your pedals sound at all! So if you need rotosound you get it!

Had this amp six months so far with no troubles. No backup, it seems confidence enough.

Never dealt with them. The store who sold this to me is the best in Finland(Topsound, Sein??joki, Finland).

I??ve played guitar three decades, mostly with Vox tube amps and with Marshall 1974 tube amp. This was, and I really mean it, so good that I sold Marshall. Someone says "jerk" here, but to my needs it is better now than noisy, dirtier Marshall. Vox is of course nr 1(I have 60 anniversary AC-15 with extra cabinet) to bigger gigs, but to pubs and small events Ashdown is great. Try it with pedals you use and use return loop, and you believe me!!!

Features covered amply below. I give it a 9: extremely versatile, but not exactly up there with the Mesa Nomad, (which is quite frankly over the top).

As others state: the clean channel is great: nice EL84 spank and the reverb can be as jangly or as "surf" as you wish depending on where you set it.

The dirty channel is what everybody argues about... this is NOT a Mesa by any stretch of the imagination, but then again, in my experience NOTHING sounds like a Mesa: they have the most brutal distortion available, period, bar-none, end of discussion. If you want to sound like John Petrucci, then by all means go get a Mesa... (and practice 'til your fingers bleed while you're at it).

With that said, the Peacemaker has two non-Mesa styles of dirty: the first, tamer style is almost like hitting an overdrive pedal: doesn't do much, but does give either fuzz or bite depending on where you set the gain. The second style is a bit heavier, right there in Marshall territory when compared to any of the Marshall EL84 offerings.

Voicing: the voicing of the amp seems to suit Gibson style guitars (ahogany / humbucker)... but maybe that's just me: I usually play a strat through Mesa Rectoverb, so it's a radical shifting of gears to the Peacemaker. BUT... I can play my usual gig just fine with either the Mesa or the Peacemaker: it sings just as well in all areas except for that low end muted "chunk." Otherwise, with a tubescreamer, it nails everything that the Mesa does just fine. Tonally slightly different (i.e. less midrangey) than the Mesa, but

Tubes: swap the Sovtek power tubes for most anything: tone will improve slightly. In general let this thing warm up for a good half hour too... I think some doorknobs left reviews after plugging and playing for just a few minutes: they probably never even got the tubes hot!

Seems well built but I haven't owned it long enough to give a rating.

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Overall, given the insanely low prices these seem to be going for lately, these are EASILY a 10. Even aside from the price: it's an excellent sounding Class A EL84 combo that is quiet yet powerful and extremely versatile... made in the U.K. and comes stock with a Celestion Vintage 30... reall ought to be a ten in anybody's book.

These features have been discussed in detail.

I rate the clean channel an 8. I have opted to only use the clean channel with a metalzone on low gain.

If you want a solid fix for the older Peacemaker 40's read my review
2/5/04. I also added computer fans and retubed with Ruby tubes. My amps have not blown since.

Ashdown UK has always been great.

This is a great light little tube amp if you take the time to make it more reliable with my changes.This amps low weight makes it easy to transport.

All tube class A 40W amp.
I find this amp very versatile as the 2/3 channels allow lots of different ranges of oversdrive/distortion. The tone can be ajusted using the bass, middle & treble (obviously) but what i am saying is it really does work!! The tone really does change unlike some other amps i have used in the past which just amplify noise in different eq bands! channel switching is footswitchable as is the different master volumes although i dont use them much. The amp has enough features to play lots of styles except metal as the distortion doesnt quite get there, however it is close! I play rock, jazz and other electric stuff to accompany acoustic guitar and it handles these styles no bother!

Lots of variety of sounds as meantioned before and the clean channel is amazing. It stays crisp and doesnt distort alsthough i havent got it up to full volume yet which leads me to my nexdt point....This thing is loud! playing on stage is no problem. The distortion is meantioned in the last section. I play a fender strat with 3 single coil pickups and all sound nice with it. It can be a tad noisy on the 3rd channel but its not much to get worked up about.

Cant really say since i havent had it that long. I've had it in bits to replace a cracked VU meter and the components all look solid and secure, the electrics seem sound but the VU meter is easy to crack as it isnt protected and protrudes out from the metal casing a little bit. It doesnt affect the sound of the amp though....

Never dealt with them

Been playing for 8 years but only seriously for about 3 or 4. Had other solid state amps but they are nothing compard to this! I would definately get another one if stolen, its such a nice sound and such a good range of sounds. I love the different sounds and the reverb is lovely and very "real" but its not foot switchable which is a bit of a bummer. I chose this one as it was sooooo cheap compared to others as well as the lovely sound.
This is an amp for people who want a good sound for lots of different music styles but dont want to break the bank either!

I used to have this amplifier, but in the end the sound was not what I was looking for, so I sold it.

Ashdown Peacemaker 40 is a 1 x 12" all tube combo with 2/3 channels. A clean channel, a gain channel, and a pseudochannel as a third. This is really the gain channel with some more gain and a lot more noise. The preamp tubes are 12ax7 (4 pieces), and the power tubes are el84. Mine was equipped with JJ tubes, which seemed to work well in this combo.

This is one versatile amp. The cannels are switched either with a footswitch, or via a push button in the front panel. It also has two independent master volumes, allowing you to have 2 different volume settings. An effects loop is present with wet/dry -pot. Didn't use that though, all my effects are between my guitar and the amps input.

The tone knobs actually work in Peacemaker. It is not like Marshall, where you can turn the knobs all you like, but end up getting the same (albeit good) sound.

It pretty much has all the features I wanted and needed, and then some.

Mine was a year 2004 product, I used it at home and with a band. Like most tybe amplifiers, the sound doesn't really open at bedroom volumes.

I play a Gibson Les Paul.

The sounds produced by Peacemaker are pretty much vintage. This is not a high gain modern metal machine, but lets out some very nice vintageish rock/blues/jazz sounds.

I'll go with the worse sounds first. This is the gain channel. The distortion sound produced in the gain channel is grainy, dull and uninspiring. It has a cardboard quality to it. I tweaked and tweaked with the settings, but just couldn't get it to sing. It gets a little better at band volumes, but just refuses to open up.

The extra gain 3rd "channel" is also very noisy. It is - or would be - a nice feature, if it was not so noisy. It's like having a built in boost pedal.

For the gain channel sound, I'd give a 5.

I'm still giving the Peacemaker a total sound rating of 7, and that is because of the clean channel. This thing has one of the best clean channels I have had the priviledge of operating. It has everything the gain channel does not have - the sounds have a wonderful chime and a three dimensional quality to them. The tone knobs really make a difference, and you can get a great variety of different sounds.

This channel also has a gain knob, and with a Les Paul, I needed to roll back with the guitar volume a bit to get an actually clean sound. This channel breaks up really nicely, and goes up to AC/DC'esque crunch. Some very nice Rolling Stones sounds there too.

All this at band volumes. At bedroom volume, the Peacemaker's clean channel sounds sort of odd, and tweaking with the tone knobs doesn't really help. But as soon as you turn up the volume, this channel starts to sing.

Peacemaker's clean channel responds nicely to boosting, and with an overdrive pedal, you can dig deeper in the realm of rock n' roll. I used a Digitech Bad Monkey here.

I also tested the clean channel with a distortion pedal (Proco Rat II), and it works reasonably well with that too, although I was not entirely pleased with the distortion. A bit harsh for my liking.

For the sound of the clean channel, a 9 is in order.

I didn't have it long enough to comment on reliability. When I bought it, it made noises, but that turned out to the speaker being a bit loose.

Didn't deal with customer support.

I have been playing for more than 20 years. I have played all kinds of music from trash metal to irish folk music. Nowadays I mostly play blues and classic (vintage hard) rock.

I sold this amp, because it was not what I was looking for, so it can't be stolen. And I wouldn't have bought a new one like it if it had been stolen.

I liked the clean channel alot - but didn't like the gain channel.

I have used tube amplifiers for about 20 years, and either owned or used many if not most of the major brands. For the price, Ashdown Peacemaker was ok. Nothing more nothing less. But - as I said - I sold it, and bought and Orange, which seems to suit my needs.

As a total, I'm giving Ashdown Peacemaker a 7. Having great features and lots of versatility just doesn't help if the sound is not there.

This amp, as far as i'm concerned, has two channels. The "third" is just a bit more gain on the 2nd channel. i'm not complaining about it, but it seems redundant. With two footswitchable volumes, who needs a bit more gain? Not me. i need more volume. EQ makes a world of difference, very pure, very reactant.

Very first thing: this amp needs a retube when you get it. I don't want to hear any complaints about crappy sound from this amp if you haven't changed the tubes. sovtek? no. JJ's. put all new tubes in, all JJ's, and this amp sounds supreme.

To me, nothing sounds better than a tube amp cranked up loud. also, I must compliment the cleans of this amp. they are supurb.

It's been reliable for me most of the time, but i wouldn't gig without a backup. no guitarist with a brain would gig with any 1 amp. things can go wrong with any amp.

haven't dealt with the company, but i've heard great things.

i've been playing for four years. i'm not claiming i know everything about gear, i'm not saying i've played everything through everything with all the effects in the world, i'm saying that i like this amp. if it were stolen, i would get a fallen angel as the peacemaker 40's are out of production. Ashdown's won me with this amp. I've read that this amp is like an AC-30, or a Fender tube amp, but i think it is its own personality. i can see where people are comming from with that, but the AC-30 is another very versitile amp. both amps are versatile, along with Fender tube amplifiers. Great amp.

Pretty straight forward old school amp with three channels( clean and two overdriven), reverb,effects loop,celestion speaker, 12ax7 and EL84 tubes,single input,vu meter,speaker out,footswitch,40 watts,pretty loud,nice looking amp.
Footswitch could do with a channel indicator light, can be a little confusing as the two overdriven channels don`t have a huge difference in sonic quality, so I`ve found myself doing little tap dance routines on stage to get to the correct channel.

I use a Gibson Flying V for playing rock/pop/blues styles of music. The amp suits this style of music but the Peacemaker 40 is not for metal heads,look elsewhere! The clean channel is quite nice but would probably be a lot brighter with maybe a strat, Flying V`s aren`t renowned for offering the best clean tones. The overdrive channels give a nice blues/hard rock sound,very 70`s classic rock feel but the amp lacks a little top end on the eq side of things.

Ok here`s where things get very sticky. Now I`m not one to slag companies off just for the hell of it but this amp has been a disaster for me,or should I say these amps( on my second Peacemaker 40)
I bought my first one summer 2003!! For six months worked and sounded great, then the problems happened. Died on me twice,both times sent back to Ashdown and repaired. Third time the amp "popped", back to Ashdown and credit to them they sent me a new unit.
The second amp has been worse. First six months things great then problems started once again. Now before anyone asks "does this guy know how to treat tube amp?", the answer is yes. I`ve owned Boogies,Fenders and Marshalls and I treat my amps like royalty, plenty of time to warm up, warm down etc etc.
Anyway I`ve had to replace power supply, cooling fan, main transformer, two sets of valves, two control pots, input jack, and three diodes have blown on the main circuit board. And two weeks ago (June 4th) she "popped" and died in front of 400 people on the opening song of a set. Not impressed.
Ashdown have been good in so much they are willing to take the amp and repair but it`s not been a happy experience and I will probably look elsewhere. Maybe I`ve been just unlucky,one of those freak occurences that nobody else suffers. The shame is, the amp sounds great when working. So if you`re in the market for one of these amps, just be wary!!

Good and so it should be after all the problems!!

Will not buy again!!

The amp is from 2000. It is a valve class A 20 watter, with 3 ECC83s, and 2 E84Ls. It isn't particularly versatile, but having made some modifications it is a nice clean amp for studio/home use. I play blues, rock and jazzy stuff all mixed up together. It has 2 channels, 1 clean (which is now really nice), 1 slightly dirty (too toppy/trebly for me) with a third dirty channel available via a footswitch (which is very poor, particularly with single coils). I only use the clean channel.
It has an effects loop which I don't use for anything other than reverb and delay, as the built in reverb is not to my tastes (it sounds cheap).

I use a 1995 G&L tele, an 84 Tokai goldstar sound strat, an old Ibanez studio with seth lover humbuckers, and an SG with P90s. I use a mk1 marshall bluesbreaker pedal in front of it for overdrive, plus numerous other effects (it sounds nice with a Morley wah).
It isn't very noisy, and it doesn't distort much through the clean channel even at 10 (with gain half way up) since I changed the valves and the speaker (here is the key). I replaced the rockier sovtek valves it came with (nice for Marshalls, but not this amp, which sounded too boxy) with Tesla ECC83s and expensive Harma E84Ls. I then output the amp through a customized open back Marshall 1x12 cab with a celestion G12m 70 watt speaker (the ashdown peacemaker comes with a 10 inch celestion - I much prefer the sound of 12 inch speakers). Bingo, lovely sound, bright, with body, but it won't cut it in a club band with enthusiastic drummer and another loud guitarist due to simple lack of power.
I think modifications with inexpensive amps always mean you have more chance of getting the sound you want. This is now a 1 trick pony, but it is the trick I was after for my studio, as loud amps are pointless in my fairly small live room. This is not for metal heads at all.

no problems since I bought it second hand, and looked untouched when I got it.

I emailed Ashdown for a bit of valve advice, and they replied very helpfully within a day, AND it wasn't under warranty. Impressive.

I have been playing for about 20 years. My gear changes as does most guitarits, but at the moment I'm using the Ashdown through a Marshall cab, and I've been toying with a Pod xt live through an HH power amp and a 100 celestion equiped custom cab (I have to say I am not convinced). When I play live again I suspect I will have to get myself another valve head as this little thing won't have the volume, but have you tried using a 100 watt amp in a small studio (impossibly loud)!
I like the fact that it is really light, as my back isn't what it was, and therefore I'm portable with a small cab to go with it and a few pedals when I go to other people's places to play. If it was stolen I wouldn't cry, but this is nice with modifications if you are after clean, reasonably volumed sound.

I do not know what year this amp was made, but it's relatively new.

Features have been covered before.

All tube, auto-bias (EXCELLENT!)

It has plenty of features for me.

It's loud enough for band practice, but I don't know about gigs.

It used to have a greenback speaker, but I replaced it with a classic lead.

It has some fresh JJ tubes also.

The VU meter looks awesome btw!

I mainly use a Gibson les paul special with humbuckers with this amp.

I play classic and alternative rock, and the amp is perfect for that.

It can get noisy, but it doesn't bother me.

The distortion is pretty heavy when you turn the gain up all the way, but it's not all muddy.

I haven't cranked it yet, so I can't comment on the cranked sound.

Very nice clean a distortion channels.

Here's the bad part of my review...

While it may sound great, the design has a few problems...The tube sockets are so close to the circuit board, it melted over time.

The guy I bought it from said there was a "popping" sound that happens sometimes, but I'm pretty sure that was the speaker (I don't know why he put a 25W speaker in a 40W amp?) and the old tubes.

I've only had it for a few days...so far, so good......

I haven't needed to call them.

I've been playing for about four years, and I own a bunch of other gear.

I would probably replace it if it was lost or stolen..I would probably buy the ashdown fallen angel instead...Sadly, all they sell in this country is the DSP model :(

I think $300 was a good deal on this amp though.

I'm happy with it, I just wish it was more reliable.

N/A- I've previously reviewed it...

N/A- I've previously reviewed it...

OH dear.... that's why I am writing

The warranty seems to last for ever- which is good 'cos this is the second time that I have sent it back. I also had fuse blowing issues at the start.
This time they have replaced a resistor which had died a death and re-did some soldering- and gave me a new VU meter- it all works great again- but that's not the point-
the point is how quick they were in answering my initial email, how polite and helpful that they were on the phone and how the warranty seems to last for ever- oh yeah and how quickly it came back home to me.
things get broken/break- there you go- but it's nice when someone fixes it about three years, maybe it's even four years now, after you bought it- and you just pay for the cost of sending it to them.
I wish someone would do the same for my car.
So that's it- I am just writing to say THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS BRILLIANT

N/A- I've previously reviewed it...

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?- I love it, but I always feel that it's going to break on me.... hell I'd go and buy a solid state- just can't be doing with these tempremental tube amps.

40 Watts Class A - Celestion Vintage 30 - Dual footswitchable master volumes - Auto Bias = SWEET

I guess it's fair to say that everyone expects something different from an amp. When I'm shopping for an amp, I look for a great clean channel and go from there. I use humbucker equipped guitars. The clean is righteous. Very easy to get that on the verge breakup sound. Hit that with an OD pedal, and your in heaven. I think the reverb is pretty good. I barely turn it on though (about 9 O'clock). Just enough to keep it from being completely dry. Ever heard a Fender Bassman, and then thought, "man that would sound good if it had some reverb" ? Nope. You take the crappy stock tubes out of this and install some NOS's and you've got a < $1000 AC30.

Changed the tubes, and never had a problem. Oh yeah, I did change the light to the VU meter after it went out.

Don't know....hope I never have to worry about it.

I am amazed that some of you dislike the sound of this amp's clean channel. Maybe you're used to a class AB amp? Maybe you went to Guitar Center and barely turned it up? Btw, why would you rate an amp that you did not even bring home and test with your own rig? That is the one knock on this otherwise useful site; premature reviews. Maybe you do not know how to dial in the preamp? I do not see how anyone could complain about the sound of this amp after what most here have paid for it. This is a steal!

I think this is a 2002 model. The anp is noit mine, but my best friend owns it and we have all our band practices round his house so I use his ashdown. I know he bought it off a friend for #250 which in my opinion was a good deal seeming how they cost over #400 new and this one was hardly used. It has 2 channels plus a gain boost on channel 2 which they cheekily call 'channel 3' there are volume, treble, mid, bass and gain controls for both channels as well as two footswitchable master volumes and a spring reverb. It has a 12 inch generic speaker and the impedence is switchable from 4 to 8 ohms. (very usefull for changing between decent practice volumes to gigging volumes)
3 preamp valves, 4 output valves, generic and later changed to electro harmonix items.

oh yes and not to forget the classic ashdown VU meter on the front. legend!

I use this with a fender lite ash stratocaster and a customised tele. Also use american strat, SG, and Gibson LP DC with P-90s. I play Blues and rock, as well as country, jazz metal, funk and any other style you can name. This amp handles the blues and country well, but I found the channel 1 very weak with an over low-middy bias, even with the treble whacked up and mid down low (the way it should be) it just doesn't have the sparkle. However, adding an EQ pedal and an overdrive (a cheap one will do the job perfectly) and I saw a vast improvement. I use in this order: dunlop crybaby wah, dod FX-40 eq, Boss SD-1 super overdrive, boss OD-3 overdrive, boss DF-1 distortion/feedbacker, Electro harmonix USA big muff and an old DOD chorus. kicking the boss SD-1 in for a FAT gritty overdrive (this pedal is THE beast, Original and reissue tubescreamers don't even come close) gives the best sound, and I use the OD-3 for a tone/solo boost. SRV tones all around! usually I keep the eq on permanantly with a treble boost and a low mid cut to just clear up the otherwise dissapointing clean channel. The dirty channel I use for a rock overdrive/distortion and has a good sound, but not as good as the boss SD-1. The reverb is very weak and just doesnt come through, rather than just muddy the sound up with an inapropriate echo.

I would not use this for a gig. It is so unreliable. It doesnt have a fan, so the valves heated up and melted some of the wires, causing them to short out the circuit. a good slap on the top sorts this out dudring practices, but would not be too good for gigs. My mate had it services and he put new wire in and changed the valves. the new ones SUCK but thats just how it is. Now it is more reliable but the sound peaks so easily and takes the bass and top end off everything so not good.

never dealt with them, as amp was bought second hand.

I have been playing for nearly 3 years and have tried plenty of amps, but i would not buy one of these. it is cheap, and that is exactly how it sounds. it may be very well performing the riverdance all night to get a good sound, but a good amp should be good without pedals.



PS. BUY A BOSS SD-1!

pd 216.dollers

u.s. bought it from hermes music in brownsville texas as is..!!!

hello everybody this is the 2nd review i do in harmony central for a product and i would like to share my views on this amp..i like it alot..but boy was it messed up when i found it played it and bought it ! ha ha
my asdown peacemaker is a old classic looking one very nice look to it a blueish grey grill cloth and the cool retro red ashdown logo..black hide..1x12 celestion vintage30
its the typical control layout of all peacemaker 40 amps..
i used it by itself next to a old boogie 60 watt 1x12
and an old vox ac30 kept up really nice ..both clean and in overdrive mode..but it really sings with a marshall 4x12 hooked up to it..

i have tons of guitars but i used a 2002 or 2001 gibson faded flying v that is stock with this amp i also used a jackson flame graphic dinky soloist stock while testing this amp...i have only owne d it a couple of days but i have played the hell out of it in this time frame..!
i play classic rock ...power trio.... space rock and psych rock though i also play reggae a little country and jazz ...and funk...

if i get the guitar to close it is a little noisy but i can deal with it...i used a behringer gdi 21 with this amp and get a great distortion sound wow amazing...i also use a tube screamer and a johnson paramatric distortion ...little tweeks and all pedals sound good..

i can make this thing sing like 1980's rory gallagher at full tilt..my brother who is my drummer was amazed...
we were messing about last night with an original composition..kinda of like long train running by the doobie brothers and man o man this ashdown peacemaker has a real spanky punchy clean tone that really cuts through a tiny bit cleaner and sparklier than an ac 30 its great ! the lead tone by itself needs a little help but the amp is great ..if needed be only with the amps own distortion...i saw on the new hawkwind album dave brock the guitar player singer of hawkwind is using ashdown so i bought one also ha ha ! hes my hero ! that guy is kool!
the overdrive of this ashdown peacemaker 40..going through a marshall4x12 is very classic rock or space rock...it fits my music very well...

now here it gets funny and crazy but true....
i bought the amp from hermes music because it was trippin bad at the shop...it had gone from san antonio..hermes music to the brownsville hermes music and had been kinda abused..dusty and dirty but new old stock the amp had a price tag from 2002 !! and i bought it this past week october 2005 !!!! dave the head honcho at hermes brownsville texas gave me a great deal on the amp as it was fizzing out droping in volume and generally acting up i got kinda mad as a guy at the shop was banging on the poor little ashdown amp to try and get it going as if that would fix the problem ..i told the cat to chill out..and i offered 200 bux and made the deal and walked out with an amp i knew i could fix and plus dave brock of hawkwind used them ...hell they gotta be good right??? ha ha ..!!!

well my buddy john douglas out at south most acviation helped me open the amp up and we looked around...saw alot of little problems to much texas dirt inside (bad for any amp..ha ha !)
broken solder joints ..the amp had been open before probably in san antonio hermes music..brownsville dont have a repair shop.. all the pots were very gummed up ..got that cleaned quickly...but one thing that pissed both me and john off alot is that the ...tube sockets were mounted on the p.c. board we think that is a no no ! and what made matters worse is that the holes drilled on the chassis for the el 84 valves are too damn tight...so there was a hell of alot of heat on the chassis man u could fry an egg or sizzle a steak on the ashdown with all that heat on the chassis we both burned our fingers trying to check the heat of this amp wow too much heat..! so we drilled out the chassis and made the el84 valve holes bigger less heat on the chassis now..!
we accidently broke the vu meter we love it ! great idea ashdown...totally trick many ppl who have seen the ashdown amp here in texas at the store and at the aviation center loved the vu meter very kool thumbs up ashdown ! maybe ashdown will get us another vu meter..it is kool..! the tubes in side were electro harmonix el84 new..and sovtec12ax7's new ..also..
now that the peacemaker is fixed its running great less heat and it really sings in the overdrive channel ..!!! sweet and nice it has its own charachter...bravo ashdown..
i would use a back up at a gig but i will start a show with the ashdown..!

we have not called ashdown yet but im sure i will email them soon as i need the vu meter the website looks awsome !

hope they are friendly other ppl here say ashdown is kool..hell im gonna try and see who sells them here in texas these amps they sound great !
hermes dont sell them any more..this amp was old stock//....

folks i have been playing for a long time maybe over 20 years im 40 yrs old now..i know tone i have bought and sold gear to pro and begiiners alike all my life since i was 16 !! i know a good amp when i see one and i do not hesitate to advocate ashdown amps one bit try um there very kool..!

i got tons of gear lots of tube amps...the ashdown peacemaker40 has a sound all its own ..classic rock..to the bone..its gives and takes like any good valve tube amp...hope it does not blow up on me..i wish ashdown would make some adjustments..on thier lay outs inside the amps..its not to much to ask cuz the amps really do sound very very good..! i have boogies vox marshalls vampower..carlsbro and this ashdown has its own slice of the british tone holy grail..i would recommend this amp to any body that is looking for something differant but can also weild a soldering iron ha ha !
feel free to contact me on my website as ill have pix of my ashdown on thier soon i am using it on my new album in the recording studio it has a sweet overdrive sound and a really singing chimy clean sound ..! by itself or with a marshall4x12.cab...

I have one of the early manufactured onec. There are a number of people complaining about problems below, seems like an unfair number. My amp is used almost daily and has never had a problem.

This amp has 3 footswitchable channels: clean, OD1 and OD2. The clean is a typical British EL-34 Class A tone, like a vintage Marshall instead of Fender-type clean. But the overdrive channels are what it's all about.

The #1 and #2 Master Volume controls are a great feature! They give you 2 overall volume settings that are independent of the gain controls and footswitchable. Just an incredible feature for live playing. Makes you wonder why someone hasn't done this before. This feature alone is worth the price of admission for a working guitarist in a band.

I was able to easily and quickly dial up great tones with a Strat and Les Paul for all styles of music except metal. For metal I prefer to a clean channel a disortion pedal.

The overdrive is what makes this a great amp. The distortion on these is the smoothest and creamiest that I have ever heard. Especially for leads, Ashdowns are an incredible sounding amp. I could not get a bad tone out of this amp on the overdrive channels.

This is a LOUD amp! 40 watts into the ver efficent Vintage 30 is loud! I've had no problem gigging with it in small clubs. Plug it into a Marshall 4x12 cab and you can play anywhere.

I have owned the amp for almost 2 years and gig with it all the time. I have never any problems with this amp.

I broke the VU meter, and the factory sent me a replacement from England. For free!

This one is a keeper!

Standard Peacemaker 40 but more of this later. Features already covered adequately. Has all I want apart from a standard half power switch is usually the domain of boutique amps.

Guitars used are USA Deluxe Strat, Yamaha MSG, Tokai Love Rock, Tokai Custom Tele; Jap Squier Strat etc - whatever. I ws a little disappointed in the lead channel until (a) bought a THD hotlate allowing me to crank the amp and still keep within acceptable sound levels for neighbours; (b) dug out my old 80's original Marshall Guvnor which adds just the right amount of extra drive and harmonics. This providesthe sound I was looking for apart from one small issue. My old 80's Sessionette (solid state) provides almost the same sound quality when treated the same as a valve amp (e.g volumes at full and adjust eq to taste). never realised this until now.

No probs so far. Not gigged.

Not used.

Playing 25 years plus. Not in bands or professionally - just for kicks. Haven't owned many high end amps - tend to more attracted to guitars but the Ashdown (with extras) hits the spot for home use. Gigging musicians obviously won't necessarily need the hotplate. Very underated amp but would also check out the Ashdown Essex range if using for home and gigs.

This is an update on my rather grumpy review of a year ago (Anonymous at 05/30/2004 16:22). My P40 had suffered woeful reliability problems, with the amp going back to Ashdown twice for major attention. Since then, it has performed perfectly reliably for over a year of doodling at home and the occasional, fairly gentle gig. So I've put in revised ratings for reliability and overall. I still keep my fingers crossed and always take a back-up, but it still sounds perfect for what I want to play (blues for preference and everything else when requested). Oh, and I mistyped the year of purchase, which was 2002 not 2001.

I still haven't installed LEDs on the footswitches, either...

The Peacemaker 40 Class A tube combo is well spec'd, with two channels (clean and overdrive) and a 'third' (boost) channel. The usual tone knobs plus reverb complete the set. A 12" Celestion and a reasonably small cab make for a neat and versatile package with a reasonable bit of poke.

I bought my first one in the early days, when Ashdown started branching out from just doing bass amps - so it was about 4 years ago (2001-ish). At the time I was very pleased with it.

My workhorse guitar is a modern American Tele, with an added SD Lil Screaming Demon in the middle. I'm mostly a rhythm player, funky by nature, so I tend to prefer a clean sounding amp - which the Ashdown is quite good at - not quite a Fender, but for the money, not bad. I'm growing more into bluesy lead work at the moment, so the middle pickup, coupled with the overdrive of the Ashdown, comes in real useful too - and sounds pretty good.

Unfortunately, within days, the first amp went 'fizzy' on the overdrive channel (but only when it felt like it, which was unpredictable, but often).

The guys at my local shop (PMT Southend, UK), where I'm a regular customer, gave me a replacement amp (same model), which performed consistently well for the best part of four years.

I think the high running temperature of the class A circuit must have finally taken its toll, however, as the amp suddenly lost volume - then burst back into full voice, only to loose it again. I must admit that my band had been getting louder on this particular night, and maybe the amp got tired of competing with a 100 watt head of my other guitarist.

PMT sent the amp off to Ashdown - who sort of lost it somewhere along the way - so the weeks ticked by while I awaited its return. Meanwhile, the amp turned up in another branch of PMT, in another part of the UK - despite clear and repeated instructions to Ashdown from PMT as to where it belonged.

At last, I received my repaired amp, nicely re-boxed, and took it home - and plugged it in - noticing, as I did, that the mains connector was really loose (which it never used to be) - curious. After about 20 minutes, I managed to get sound out of the amp - rather a long warm-up time, I thought.

The valves seemed remarkably microphonic, the reverb was very buzzy, and there was a dirty mark on the front where some sticky label had been badly removed by someone with half a brain cell. The more I looked and listened, the more problems I found - and eventually came to the conclusion that this wasn't actually my amp ! Unfortunately, I hadn't noted down the serial number of the one I sent for repair, so I couldn't prove it.

I rang PMT, who asked me to bring it in immediately, as the Ashdown rep was in the shop at the time. He was very apologetic about the runaround I'd had, and the shoddy condition of the amp - and at least he agreed with me that this one was not my amp, and he arranged with the shop to give me a replacement amp there and then.

So that bumped up my 'customer support' rating by two points (from zero).

The 'new' amp is actually a refurbished one, but with the modern logo and a cooling fan (too noisy for home use). I haven't yet tried it 'live' - and I'm not sure I want to.

I've been playing - on and off - for about 40 years (ouch !)- so I've tried a great range of guitars and amps - some of which I still own.

I used to have a Fender Twin Reverb with JBLs, which was pretty darn good, even if it was a 'Silverface'. The Ashdown is 'Fender-ish' in looks and (clean) sound - but for a lot less money, so I'd always been prepared to tolerate its weaknesses. . .

However, I've just had the loan of a Cornell Rambler (15 Watt, Class A, with the same 12" Celestion as the Ashdown), so I did an A-B test - and the results were startling. The Ashdown sounds flat and lifeless next to the Cornell - and I've just discovered, after all these years, what a really good, hand-wired amp sounds like (I've found the Holy Grail of great amp tone !!!).

So, if the Ashdown were to be stolen or lost, I'd jump for joy - and I'd use the insurance money as the deposit on a Cornell !

Purchased in April 2004. Exact specs have already been discussed. I'm an old amp type of guy - Fender 135 Bassman and Marshall JCM 800 Super Lead. Those amps were great live but seeing as I just play at home now I was after something smaller. I brought the amp mail order for #200 from Coda music (normal retail is #380). I'd never tried one but knew I could sell it without loosing money if I didn't like it.

On the features from it's fantastic - master volumne, spring reverb, 2 channels, boot foot switch on 2nd channel. Great stuff considering what I was used to.

The 1st thing I noticed when I turned the amp on was the sound of the fan wiring away. Valve amp hum I can cope with but an amp that sounds like a PC just bugged me. I tired various guitars with the amp - Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat, Ephiphone Sheraton. The clean sound never sounded as good as the Bassman through a 70's Marshall 4 x 12. Clean sound was OK but I was never happy with it.

Turning up the gain on the clean channel gave quite a nice just distorting sound but still nothing to write home about. As for the overdrive channel, the only way I could discribe that is raspy, like something grating. I didn't like it at all.

I only ever played the amp in the house so it was never cranked up, perhaps it sounds better at high volume?

Only had it for 6 months. Never had any problems. Never took it appart so can't comment on its construction.

Never tried to talk to them.

I've been playing for 25 years. In that time I've only had old school amps - Fender, (old) Marshall, Northcourt, HH, nothing with this many knobs and nothing with a master volume (the Fenders don't count as you can't overdrive them). I know what I like and this isn't it. After 6 months I sold the amp for #240 and got myself a second hand 6W Cornford. The Cornford is right for what I want - good sounds at low volume and less knobs :)

No matter what I did with the Ashdown every time I plugged it in I wanted to get rid of it. A definite try before you buy.

Ok, just a little context to set the stage. This amp shares floor space w/ a DSL 50 on a 1960ax, JCm 900 4102 and an "Evil Twin" (blackface), so these are the amps it gets compared to. The main guitars are a quilt top wolfgang and an american standard strat, though there are others ( additional info later). With that said, the short answer to the question does it sound good, is yes, but don't think you've heard or played with anything quite like this before.

I mentioned the guitars before, and with good reason. Neither of my main guitars inspire this amp or visa-versa. The tones with the wolf, and I'm talking all channels, are o.k., regardless of EQ or gain settings. The strat is an improvement, and will even get a good rating, though still, it doesn't make the hair on my arm stand up.

There is, however, a place where the little guy truely comes to life. Plug in a 335. I 'bout fell out of my chair. The clean channel sounds like angels live there.. Lovely for smokey jazz and the like. Crank the gain here and the break up is smooth and very pleasing to the ear.

Channel 2 was always quirky at best with my main guitars, due to the fact that I was constantly tweeking the EQ and messing with the gain. Again, step in with the 335 and BINGO! Set it and play. The are some great sounds on this side.

The thing to keep in mind with this amp is this: It aint a Marshall or a Fender, so don't expect to find those here. This amp has its own personality, which is quite a kick in the ass once you get to know it.

Works every time I turn it on.

Been playing for 20 some odd years, and though it will probably never be my main amp, it's a great horse to have in the stable. I'd buy another one without hesitation.

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.

na

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.