Ashdown Five Fifteen Mini Bass Stack (LIMITED EDITION!)

Ashdown Five Fifteen Mini rig

Upon opening the box, the first letdown was how it had been packed, the mains lead had been placed so the plug had rubbed on the amp front panel making a few small but annoying scratches. Second moan; the amp/speaker cable, a 10\' lead coiled up so tight it will be forever curly! Anyway - who needs 10\' to go from amp to cab? Minor niggles I know but it\'s the truth!
Using my Fender \'51 ri P bass & starting with all controls set at midway, the Ashdown gave me a surprise! I thought \"HOW CAN THAT BE 100 WATTS?\" After a bit of knob twiddling though I was very happy with the sound & volume level. In fact I can\'t fault the tonal range, no problems using both active & passive bass\'s, plenty of adjustment on the gain & EQ, with loads of punch & the \'Deep\' button does exactly what you\'d expect, extending the lower frequencies nicely. I think most bassists will find the tones they\'re looking for with a little twiddling, plenty of range on all the pots.
The \'Line in & Headphone out\' are both right there on the front, so - for a practice amp - it\'s got everything you need!
The amp head is surprisingly heavy which gives it a solid, well made feel & actually the speaker cabinet is the same. I wondered if the drivers would be a compromise at the price, so I gently eased the grille off to find - no, they seem good quality 10\" units with big voice coils & decent diaphragms. Again heavy \'for the money\', makes it feel well made, solid & both units are fitted with substantial rubber feet + good strong carrying handles.

I\'ve been playing bass guitars for 45 or so years, from building my own at 14 (with help from good old Dad), through many bands & many, many gigs!
I know what I want from a practice rig & this ticks all the boxes! My 9 star evaluation is based on Sound, Build quality, Functions + Ashdown\'s reputation, I can\'t envisage any problems with this for years to come, used as intended, I think this will knock spots off almost any other practice amp/combo & it\'s easy to carry as separates, amp & cab. I\'m pretty sure this will cope with small venues as a gigging setup, having said that - my gigging days are long gone - I\'ll leave that to the youngsters!

In my book - the Five Fifteen Mini Rig = money well spent, & I recommend it highly.

PS: I always withhold one star, just in case something better comes along - but I won\'t hold my breath!