Ashdown Engineering Unveils the CTM-200R Bass Amp

Ashdown Engineering CTM-200R Bass Amp

Among Ashdown’s many new products introduced at the Winter NAMM Show was the CTM-200R, a 200-watt all-tube head that complements the CTM range’s 300-watt and 100-watt models. Ashdown says the amp is “built to be gigged” and is built to be rack-mounted.

“the CTM-200R rack head is housed in a 2mm mild steel chassis with spot-welded supports fabricated in Essex, England, hand-finished and powder coated in black before being fitted with its beautifully engineered circuit boards to support the amps valve complement of four KT-88 power tubes as well as the array of preamp valves consisting of 2 x ECC-832 2 x ECC-82 1 x ECC-99.” The transformers were also designed and built-in Essex.

The preamp section has a three-band EQ with Deep, mid-shift, and Bright switches. A Mellow switch voices the amp for a mellower ’60s bass tone while disengaging it will help to dial in more tube overdriven growl. “The EQ section is a passive tone circuit – meaning if all controls are at zero there will be no sound through the amp. All the controls are highly interactive, giving you the possibility to dial in exactly what tone you want. Don’t be scared to dial the pots all the way to get the most from the controls,” Ashdown explains.

Ashdown also fits the CTM-200R with a user-adjustable bias for each of the output tubes. It can be set by engaging the bias mode of the dual function VU meter. “Each output valve is individually fused and user-replaceable without removing the unit from its case (meter also indicates valve or fuse failure),” they add.

Other features include a front-mounted DI output and effects loops, a selectable multi-voltage switch, a mute switch, and three speaker outputs with varying impedances.

The Ashdown CTM-200R is expected this year with a street price of around $2,300.

Ashdown Engineering CTM-200R Bass Amp Specifications:

Power Output:200 Watts
Power Requirement:115-240 Volts
Speaker Outputs:3 x Jack 8/4/2 Ohm
DI Output:Valve Driven Transformer Derived
Impedance:Minimum Impedance 2 Ohm
EQ:Passive EQ Section. Bass, Middle and Treble plus shape push buttons
Effects Send:Jack
Effects Return:Jack
Pre-Amp Tubes:2 x ECC832 2 x ECC82
Output Tubes:4 x KT88
Weight:48 lbs

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