software

A friend of mine has been in the search for a new amp for a while and the other day i stumbled across the Ashdown Fallen Angel 60 Head, ive showed him the specs and he seems really set on buying it, now this is what i need to know.

1: is there a reason they cost a lot less than other valve amps? the 180w version costs 2x as much (or more)
2: what is the difference between the Fallen Angel 60 amp; the Fallen Angel 60DSP?, i have noticed that the 60DSP is as much as £100 less than the 60.
3: what type of tones can i expect from it, he plays mainly metal/hardcore/metalcore in a band with myself, but we dont particularly like the scooped tone.

4: how does it compare to top metal amps like the Peavey 5150, Marshall Jcm800, Mesa dual rect?. i use a 5150 and its ideal but he cannot afford one as he will NOT go used, also he wants to have a different amp than me for some reason.

well anyway it would be greatly apreciated if anyone can help me out.

Thanks

Ryan

Anyone? even tried one? hmm... im finding it hard to find any decent (non biased) info on this amp.

I've never played one but I've seen a used combo version in a Guitar shop and it looked like a good deal for it's price, it had been marked down considerably, however it had a sticker on it saying quot;Sold as isquot;. I've heard there are a lot of reliability problems with some Ashdown amplifiers.

I played an Ashdown at a guitar contest, and I was so pissed because it sounded like total crap. Everyone had to play through it that was in the contest, and it had horrible, horrible distortion. Muddy, thin, weak. I tried a Boss Super OD with it, but even that couldn't save it. The guy that won the contest did so because he hooked up a Metal Zone into it, which basically produced a wall of noise and feedback that somehow caught the judges attention. I would never own one. It may do the 60s overdrive OK perhaps, which might be useful in the studio or goofing around, but I can't see how in anyone's wildest dreams an Ashdown amp would be used in the same sentence as 5150, rectifier, etc. Do your friend a favor and tell him to get a nice used Carvin, Red Bear, Sovtek, etc. If he would rather pass up a used nice amp for a crappy new amp, there is no hope for him and he must now join a Winger tribute band called quot;Headed for a Heartbreak.quot;

today i managed to try the 180w version in a shop, i didnt even know they stocked them around here, but anyway the amp sounded like a mix of a 5150 and a Marshall tsl, not quite as gainy as my 5150 but i found it was a really nice tight amp, lovely tone and a decent clean channel, id like to see how it would sound with a decent set of valves in there, well anyway at least i know the 180w version sounds really good, the 60w version shouldent be too different,

it certainly didnt sound thin, and didnt need any pedals to be used infront of it.


Originally Posted by DankerellaIf he would rather pass up a used nice amp for a crappy new amp, there is no hope for him and he must now join a Winger tribute band called quot;Headed for a Heartbreak.quot;
I think the 180w is the real hand-wired made in England version. And the 60w is mass produced in India.

i got an email from ashdown, the new Dsp models are made in china which is why they are so much cheaper, they are the same amp but have effects, the non Dsp are made in Britain.

how much is this likely to affect the amps quality? since they have now stopped production of the 60w non DSP brittish amp.

he will have to get the DSP because its infact his father that wont allow him to have a second hand amp (hes only 16 years old), his dad doesnt understand anything about amps and cant see the logic behind it, stupid really, ive tried arguing to persuade him to buy used but he wont listen.