Amplifiers: Ashdown MAG300 Bass Combo

Ashdown are a UK company specialising in guitar amplification. Although relatively new, the brand has been rapidly gaining popularity around the globe and has some prominent users including Adam Clayton of U2 and Colin Greenwood from Radiohead.

The Ashdown Mag 300 is a 300W RMS combo which retails for $1299. A glance at the instruction manual told me that the ‘ABM Design Philosophy’ meant a ‘no compromise’ design. Top quality parts are apparently used to build these amps which also include a dual fan system for more effective cooling and reduced fan noise.

Having digested the manual I was psyched up and convinced that this good looking brute was indestructible. The front panel of silver enamel with black dials and a VU meter gives it a tastefully vintage air, harking back to a time when such gear was simple and sturdy. Just in case some readers are too young to know, a VU meter is the little ‘speedo’ type needle that bounces back and forth to indicate the amount of signal going into the amp.

The front panel has an input dial, hi and lo jack inputs for passive or active pickups, a 3-band EQ, output dial (master volume) and a DI. It also has an on/off button for the EQ, plus high and low Boost buttons for additional EQ. The DI on the front panel is genius. Who would’ve thought? No DI box needed to go into the PA and no digging around behind the amp to plug the DI in, you can do it all from the front!

Another feature which I thought was very cool, was the sub-harmonic dial. Basically this adds a note an octave below to whatever notes you play, the dial winding in how much of this generated note you want added to the existing note.

The bass, middle and treble controls are very standard and easy to understand. In case these aren’t enough, there is a lo-mid and hi-mid EQ in-between them, labelled 220Hz and 1.6kHz, providing further options. There is also a Deep button which will add extra low end, and a Bright button for more top.

I started twisting the EQ knobs from hard left to hard right with my left hand, whilst playing the intro to Enter Sandman with my right hand (straight 8s on the E string...). ‘Not very responsive,’ I thought as I continued twisting, the feeling that something was amiss growing in me. ‘Damn, I must have broken it when I dropped it down the stairs on the way in...’ About then I noticed the EQ In/Out button. ‘Ahhh... technology!’