Gear Watch: Ashdown Valve Series Tube Amps
Ashdown Engineering has released a new line of tube amplifiers. The new valve bass amps include the BTA 200, 300, and 400, the 550 Spyder head and touring combo, the 427 small block head, and the “Little Bastard” head. All of the new products are hand-made in the UK.
BTA Line
The BTA (Big Tube Head) combines one of Ashdown’s third-generation ABM preamp with your choice of 200, 300, or 400-watt valve output stages. Features include EQ in/out footswitching, variable Tube/Solid-State input stages, on-board compressor and Sub Harmonic Generator, DI Output with Pre/Post EQ switching, FX loop, and tuner output.
550 Spyder head and touring combo
The 550, which is available as a rackmount head or a 2×10 combo, combines an all-tube preamp with Ashdown’s 500-Watt ABM power stage. The 550 Spyder head and touring combo features high and low gain inputs, front panel-mounted effects send and return, rotary bass, middle and treble controls with mid shift, bass shift and bright switching, a mute switch, and a balanced DI out with Pre/Post switching.
427 Small Block Head
The 427 is an all-valve head featuring 427-Watts of power. Coupled well with Ashdown’s US Series cabinets, this head shares the same features as the Spyder 550.
Little Bastard
Inspired by the coolness of James Dean (and his car, nicknamed the Little Bastard), this all-tube head uses ECC83 and ECC82 tubes for the preamp stage, and includes the same features as the 427 Small Block Head and 550 Spyder head and touring combo.
For more info on these amps and Ashdown Engineering’s other products, visit Ashdown’s web site.
