This amp does have it all. Smooth, Thick, Deeeep, yet Clean valve tone; switch to an overdriven grind sound; or tighten it up with fast, modern note-to-note attack with killer punch and everything in-between. It has nice gradual moves. Some amps go from quiet to obnoxious in .5, this has lots of headroom with no distortion whatsoever. One thing is for sure it can shake the house if you want it to.....Like blow your ears out loud. It sounds just as good at lower volume too which is rare. You do not have to run the valve full out to get good tone like with some valve heads. I was especially impressed with the way it handles my 5-String Fretless Acoustic Bass....one word MUWAH!!!!!!!!!!! Whether you are trying to fill a room with rich, warm transition notes or cut through the sound of a full band or a keyboard player with the HEAVY left hand, this amp can do it. I have not recorded with it yet. Recording really isn't my thing though. I figure the only thing I can control is what I am hearing on the platform and that is what is important. What everybody else hears is the sound man's deal.

What is nice is that it is SIMPLE. I am a set it and go type. That last thing I need is 47 things to change between songs or sets. You can go from one sound to the other really easily. Valve, EQ, Chorus (they call it Sub-harmonics), Input, Output..... What more do you really need? It has a pre-set EQ but I did not care for it. The EQ is too easy to get the tome you want so why would you want somebody elses?

I must admit, the first day I got it I could not find the clean tone I was looking for with that killer attack and punch I am used to with my other rig. So I wrote Ashdown and they gave me the settings, as in VERY specific so even I could not mess it up. Awesome Tone! I had made a fundemental error in not setting the input high enough. Live and learn. I set the input to 3pm like he said and then my rib cage was moving like it should when I play.

I have owned Trace Elliot gear for as long as I have been playing. It seems like every guy I speak to at Ashdown is a former Trace Elliot guy. I have not had the amp long, but it looks like it is built well and if it hold up like it's cousin, I will be playing it into my 80's. We go out 2x/week and I do not anticipate an issue with durability, but I have already ordered a padded case for it just the same. Something about rain, snow, and the occasional smack into a doorway, etc..... This thing to too good looking to smash into a door when your not paying attention, and we all do it, admit it.

It is not a cheap amp, but this is not a place to "save money" or "buy less" either. Well worth the $$

They relied within 12 hours....with the right answer too. always a plus :)

Design and Engineering are superior. It Rocks....period.

10+years Bass Player

Rock, Folk, Ballads,