Ashdown woes

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  • BorkBork Frets: 252
    Ashdown stuff made in China has had a number of QC issues over the years from the Superfly head onwards.

    I run two Genz Benz Shuttle heads, they use PCB power modules by B&O.  I had one spark out on me in a major way (melted PCB and tracks) last year.  BUT I bagged an identical power module on Ebay and it was literally unplug and swap. Couldn't have been easier.  There's a lot to be said for amps with after market replacement modules made by third parties.

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    edited August 2017
    Bork said:
    Ashdown stuff made in China has had a number of QC issues over the years from the Superfly head onwards.
    *All* Ashdown stuff has quality issues - in fact, the UK-made stuff is no better and may even be slightly worse. The Superfly is just more than usually poor .

    Bork said:

    There's a lot to be said for amps with after market replacement modules made by third parties.
    Assuming the third party doesn't stop making the modules, leaving your amp unrepairable even by the manufacturer…

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • BorkBork Frets: 252
    Yeah but this is the risk we all run with any amp and the lack of availability doesn't always mean something can't be fixed as you well know. 

     I was just pointing that it was nice to have something that was easy to fix.

    In any case, the amp is no longer available but the power module is still available on ebay.

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Bork said:
    Yeah but this is the risk we all run with any amp and the lack of availability doesn't always mean something can't be fixed as you well know.
    It does if it's a proprietary Class D power section or a switch-mode power supply, usually. Or at least if not impossible, then uneconomically difficult.

    It does not apply to any amp, at all - to be fair, the older Ashdowns do have one advantage despite their unreliability... they use standard discrete components and are easy to work on.

    Bork said:

    In any case, the amp is no longer available but the power module is still available on ebay.
    Until they run out.

    I wasn't specifically referring to the Genz Benz - just that it's a really bad idea to base a design on a complex sub-assembly which can't easily (or effectively at all, in some cases) be repaired at component level.

    Unfortunately this is becoming quite a serious issue in the repair business…

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • BorkBork Frets: 252
    Well, I'm quite pleased that there was an easy to replace part given the nearest amp repairman is about 1000km away and in a different economic territory. The last repair they did was both expensive and didn't work - I had to pay duty when they returned the item, too.

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