All I have to say is wow, this is my first 'proper' amp and its just changed everything about bass for me. I had a not so good little Fender bass amp before which sounded crappy but I didnt know any better. I got this as it wasnt too expensive but had lots of power and wow, it has totally blown me away. My bass sounds so big and fat but clear aswell. Loud too, i jammed with my friends the other night and I had no problems cutting through even with a clumsy drummer. I am so happy that I am already saving for an ABM Ashdown!

The 515 is one of the sweetest sounding best value amps ive ever played through in my life

The Ashdown tone which you can find in the more expensive MAG and ABM series can be found even in this their cheapest performance level amp

This amp is so well built i think you could drop a bomb on it and it would still work the thick mesh on the front protects the incredibly powerfull 15" driver, in fact i think a word of warning is in order to anyone who buys this upgrading from a 10W practice amp with an 8" speaker; THIS THING WILL SHAKE THE WALLS!, the original 515 was only 65W and used a generic 15" driver the new model is rated at 100W (and trust me its louder ive used both!) and one of the award winning Ashdown Blueline drivers found in the MAG combos and cabs

The Volume of the amp is more than sufficient to play medium-large size pub and club gigs and if you are DI'd to the PA it is more than powerfull enough to give on stage monitoring in very large venues

The input is designed with Passive basses in mind but Ashdown have allowed enough headroom for it to cope with active basses plus the inclusion of an input gain control allows you to set it up depending on the output of your bass
The controls are simple and well laid out, Ashdown market this amp to younger/newer players who are starting out gigging and want something that gives reliable good tone without too much hassle (not to say someone like me who has been playing for 4 years doesnt still aprecciate the sheer simplicity and funtionallity of the design)
The standard 3 way EQ works brilliantly and with vitrually no hassle, the addition of the deep button which gives a boost to the low end whilst cutting out some of the mid
The other great thing about the top of this amp is the headphone socket allowing this to be your only amp whether praciticing alone at home without annoying the neighbours or playing a gig and needing to hear yourself over the damn drummer! this little powerhouse has all bases covered
The last thing on top of this amp is the speaker out, this uses a 3/4" jack and will connect to an 8ohm cab this allows the amp to run a 4x10 cab if you want, it does cut the internal speaker though so i personally never found much use for it but its a nice extra to have

For such a powerfull amp it really is rather small! the sealed box literally just fits the 15" speaker inside giving the whole amp a punchy tight sound as well as cutting down on weight and making it easier to transport

The only real weakness there is with the 515 is the lack of side handles to keep down space they only included a top handle this is really a hard way to carry it and i reccomend cradleing it in your arms to move it (it will help your back trust me!)

I have played a Fender Jazz and Fender P-Bass plus a washburn and my Warwick Active Streamer through this amp and it always comes out trumps on stage im now using a Laney R3 head and cab for the simple fact i needed something louder as our drummer really is one of the loudest ive ever heard otherwise id still be using this little beasty!

It really is the best logical step for any bass player wanting something to start gigging with or even for someone who simply is fed up with lugging around a huge cab and head but doesnt like the idea of shelling out hundreds for an Ampeg etc.