I recently had a chance to play with the Ashdown Acoustic Radiator 2 amplifier. It's handmade in the U.K., along with a whole line of impressive-looking bass and guitar amps that are quickly catching on with touring musicians. For live musicians playing acoustic guitar on gigs, feed back control has always been an issue. The Ashdown addresses this and much more. Before I get into the nuts and bolts, I must say the Ashdown has a slick retro look that will get double takes from any guitar-wielding musician within eyeshot.
Specs/Features
The combo-style amp uses an 8" driver with a dual polymer diaphragm tweeter array. There is also a passive Auxiliary Bass Radiator (ABR). The amp provides 120-W RMS bridged power from two preamps. Each preamp has a level control and two inputs, channel one having ã" active and piezo inputs and channel two has ã" and XLR lo-z inputs. The tiny traditional style VU meter is a nice touch that only adds to the sexiness of the amp.
The EQ and filtering is impressive. There's a seven-band EQ for each channel and a two-band notch filter with variable Q that bridges both channels. For each channel there's an onboard Alesis digital reverb with 16 time-based effect presets.
The EQ, notch filters and reverb are all separately switchable in our out of the signal path. To add the ever-popular tube warmth to your sound, just dial in the clear/harmonic adjustment to taste. This adds second order harmonics from the dual triode tube in the preamp section. At the output there is a level control and a mute switch. The mute switch is also foot-switchable - you can mute your speaker and DI while you're tuning.
The Audition
I used the amp with a Yamaha CPX15W acoustic/electric guitar. The guitar has piezo pickups in the bridge and also a condenser mic suspended in the body with a mix control. When I plugged the Yamaha into the Ashdown, I was amazed at the flexibility the combination of guitar and amp permitted. I could tailor my sound very precisely by playing with the EQ and notch filters on the Ashdown as well as adjusting the mix control on the guitar. I was able to get a great sound and also sit directly in front of the amp at a healthy volume without a suggestion of feedback. Very impressive.
The only down side about the product is the manual. It's very sketchy and does not cover the territory necessary for a product as full-featured as the Radiator 2. For instance, the design of the seven-band EQ was tough to figure out due to the fact that they use sliders and rotary pots with some strange labeling for the bands covered. A better-written manual could have cleared up any questions I had and eliminated the need for e-mail volleys to the manufacturer.
The Verdict
The amp looks great, sounds great and is a lot of fun to use. Anyone who wants to own an amp that has the look of a collector's item and is also a great tool for the touring/gigging musician will want to give the Ashdown Acoustic Radiator 2 a serious look.
The amp comes in a number of finishes: Bookbound, Bakelite: $1,599; black: $1,399; solid walnut or solid cherry: $1,699.
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