Ashdown Engineering Releases the Head 22 with Shavo Odadjian
System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has teamed up with Ashdown Engineering to create the Head 22, a 600-watt bass amp that is hand-built in Ashdown’s UK Custom Shop. The bassist has been an Ashdown user for some time, and as such the new amp is built upon the ABM 600 EVO IV head.
“Paying close attention to Shavo’s appreciation for ABM heads, the Ashdown Artist Edition Head 22 had to be built on the solid foundations of the ABM 600 EVO IV, featuring a 600-watt power section, 12AX7 powered valve preamp, one-knob compression, subharmonic generator, and 9-band EQ,” the company writes. “Shavo was drawn to the looks of the Geezer Butler Head of Doom after being there in person on its US debut at NAMM 2018, so it was clear that the Head 22 deserved the same dual VU functionality and bold visual presence.”
The Head 22’s 9-band EQ includes Bass, Middle, and Treble controls with sliders for cutting and boosting at six set frequencies: 100Hz, 180Hz, 340Hz, 1.3KHz, 2.6KHz and 5KHz. It also has plenty of connectivity with a tuner output, a line out, a transparent effects loop, a line input, and a DI output.
And how did it get its name? “Shavo has a close connection to the number 22. We were born on 22nd April, got married 22nd May, System of a Down started when he was the age of 22 and System fans would recognize that he’s often worn a 22 jersey on stage. It’s just his thing.”
The Head 22 was unveiled at the 2019 Winter NAMM Show. It will be available with a street price of $1,295.
Ashdown Engineering Shavo Odadjian Bass Head 22 Features:
| Power: 600 Watts |
| Input and Output VU Meters |
| Tube Drive Section |
| 9-band EQ |
| “One Knob” Dynamic Compression |
| “One Knob” ABM Sub-Harmonic Generator |
| Tuner Output |
| Line Out |
| FX Loop |
| Line Input |
| DI Output |
| Footswitchable Valve Drive, Compression, EQ and Sub Harmonic Generator (Footswitch not included) |
“Let’s put my name on it. Twice. And one in BIG black capital letters.” – Shavo
“Let’s just take the “Geezer Head of Doom” and color it red, put “Shavo” in big letters on the front and call it a “New” artist model, brilliant!