Ashdown Electric Blue 15-180 Bass Combo Amplifier (180 Watts, 1x15 in.)

Feature:
Many of today's amps come with built in effects. Ashdowns don't, but the effects on most amps sound artificial and boring anyway, so I don't really care. This ashdown is loaded with features, though, such as multiple imputs and effect/tuner imputs, an easy to use but powerful 5-band EQ, and in/out switches for bright and deep.

Quality:
Tough as nails. I have had no problems with my amp so far, and over the past 6 months that I've owned it, I've noticed no diminishment in sound quality or max. volume. The bulky buttons and switches don't fall off, the carpet cover is completely in tact, and I've taken it all around Illinois without it falling apart or breaking.

Value:
I bought this amp for it's dollar-to-watts ratio, and it's better than any other amp I've found. Totally worth it, this amp packs serious punch in a cheap package.

Desirability:
blue amp + awesome sound + fifteen inch speaker with blue accents + really cool head with cool buttons + smooth carpet covering + British flair = really really sexy amp

Sound:
We all by Ashdown amps for sound. The 'electric blue 180' delivers the warmest tone that I've heard on any amp, and it truly stands out from other bass amps with its lound, clean, soft tone.

Overall:
Awesome sound, great price, lasting quality, cool features, knowledgable support, huge speaker, not too heavy, insanely loud (but doesn't lose sound quality when playing quietly), sturdy construction...need I say more?

Feature:
For the price, the amount and quality of features is amazing. Seperate in and out volume amplification knobs, LED meter showing if you're about to overdrive the preamp, high and low impedance ins, very effective 5-band EQ, "deep" and "bright" switches (which boost the extreme lows and highs respectively), subharmonic generator with level control, effects loop, XLR direct out, tuner out, along with a plug in back for an extra cab.... The amp even has a dual-speed cooling fan.

Quality:
The carpet covering seems durable enough, along with the front grill. It would probably take a lot of abuse to take this amp out of commission. The only thing I have some doubts about is the top handle, it's just a hard rubber strip (like most combos in this price range) and it will probably last for a while, but handles on the sides would have been better. The knobs are also a little loose, which just means that your settings might get messed up a little while you're moving it, but nothing major.

Value:
I looked at a number of other low-end 15" combos -- Gallien-Krueger, Fender, SWR, Ibanez -- and the Electric Blue is not only cheaper and has almost double the power, but it even sounds at least as good or better in my opinion.

Desirability:
This was actually the first reason I noticed this amp. The blue amp head and speaker are cooler than heck, much more so than your normal black cabinet/black speaker motif. Plus it's British, 'nuff said.

Sound:
Very clean sound, with some good EQing and use of the bright and deep switches you can get it to fit just about any style of music you want. I have the lows, mids, and highs down a little and the low- and high-mids up, and it gives it a killer growl when I play with a pick. I use a cheap Japanese Fender P-J bass and I can get it to sound like a $1000 Stingray through this amp (well maybe not quite, but almost). The only thing that keeps me from giving this a 10 is that the sub-harmonic generator makes things a little muddy if used with lower notes. It also distorts somewhat and gets some noticeable noise at very high volumes, but chances are you won't have to push it that hard anyway.

Overall:
I was playing through my dad's old Gallien-Krueger GMT 300B head and a homemade 15" cab before I got this, and I don't think I could have found a better deal on a "first" amp (although I've been playing bass for almost four years). It just goes to show that you don't have to buy an amp from a well-known brand like Fender or SWR to get good quality. If it was stolen I would definitely buy another one. With 180 watts RMS and its extention cab out I can't see myself needing more power anytime in the near future, and if I did I could always just mic it or plug it straight into the PA. Someday if all goes well I'll probably end up getting a higher-end tube amp like an Ampeg SVT or Ashdown ABM, but until then the Electric Blue will do just fine.