THANK YOU

Thank you for purchasing your Ashdown Engineering Amplifier and welcome to the family!

We really think you’ve made the right choice and know that this amplifier will give you years of great tone and service. It is a machine though and needs to be looked after, please read through this user manual which will help you get the most out of your new Amp and keep it running as long as some of our happiest and very famous customers.

REGISTER ONLINE

Please register this product online so we can make sure we give you years of customer support through our friendly in-house service centre.

Here is where you need to visit to register your product:

http://www.ashdownmusic.com/register

ROOTMASTER - 500 & 800 -

Front & Rear Panels

VU

VU

Inputs

There are two choices of instrument input, these are marked passive and active. The passive input is high sensitivity and high impedance to suit passive bass instruments.

The active input is much lower sensitivity and impedance to accurately match the signal from active bass instruments i.e. Those with a built in battery powered pre-amp.

Input control

The input control sets the signal level through the preamp in conjunction with the input level vu meter. This is adjusted to give a reading of 0vu on the meter for average playing dynamics with occasional peaks into the red region. Please note that the setting of this may have to be re-adjusted after modification of the E.Q. controls.

Shape

With this button in a fixed E.Q. is superimposed on the pre-amp to give a bass & high boost to the sound. This gives +8db at 50hz and gives +10db at 10khz.

E.Q.

This button switches the equalisation section in or out i.e. the Bass, Middle and Treble controls and the two rotary controls placed between these.

Equalisation

This consists of bass, middle and treble controls with two more rotary controls placed in-between. This can be used in a number of ways:

Firstly as a very simple bass, middle and treble tone control section as found on older traditional amplifiers. This is done by leaving the 340hz and 1.6Khz controls set in their centre positions and using only the bass, middle and treble controls to alter the overall tone.

Secondly, if more control is required then the 340hz and 1.6Khz controls can also be used to tailor the E.Q. In the regions between the main tone controls.

This provides a very versatile equalisation section, it is simple to understand and operate, yet provides a wide degree of variation. It retains the simplicity of a three control tone section but provides the flexibility of a graphic equaliser.

Ashdown Amplifiers reserve the right to change specifications without notice. E & O E. All contents © Ashdown 2016.

Compression

Adding a small amount of compression gives a fat bottom end to the sound and allows a greater volume of amplification to be used without the playing peaks distorting the amplifiers output stage.

You will also find that this will add definition to your playing bringing out notes within a run more clearly as it evens out the dynamics of your playing. A large amount of compression can be used as an effect but it will tend to reduce the dynamics in your playing to such an extent that the volume of the note will be the same no matter how hard or soft you hit the string. Compression also adds sustain to notes making them longer before they die away.

The compression level control adjusts the degree of compression applied to the bass signal. For this to function correctly the input level must be correctly set as described in the input control section above. When the input level is correctly set there will be hardly any difference in volume between compression in and compression out. This is because the MAG automatically compensates for the reduction in level that would be apparent when compression is added by increasing the overall gain to restore the volume to its pre compression level, because of this you may notice an increase in background noise with high compression settings. Compression is switched in/out with the push button adjacent to the compression level control.

Overdrive

This is a valve/tube emulated overdrive that is variable from a slight ‘edge’ or ‘warmth’ through to a fairly aggressive overdrive/distortion effect. The actual degree of overdrive applied to the bass signal is also dependent on the setting of the input level control.

The higher this is set, the greater level of overdrive can be applied using the overdrives own rotary control.

Overdrive can be switched in with the push button above and to the right of the overdrive rotary control. The amount of drive applied to the overdrive circuit is adjusted using this rotary control. The over-driven bass signal is applied in parallel with the dry bass signal to ensure you never lose the full bottom end from your bass. Overdrive is situated after the compression allowing for a sustained over-driven bass signal to be produced by adding a degree of compression along with the overdrive itself.

Ashdown Amplifiers reserve the right to change specifications without notice. E & O E. All contents © Ashdown 2016.

Sub harmonics

This section produces sub harmonics an octave below the notes being played. The level of these sub harmonics relative to the straight bass sound can be adjusted using the level control. This is very effective in thickening the sound and you will find in use that only a small degree of this lower octave is required to really fill out the sound and provide a character that is not possible by any other means.

The degree of sub harmonics is also dependant on the setting of the bass control.

Sub harmonics are switched in/out with the push button below and to the left of the sub harmonics level control.

Output level

The output control adjusts the overall level of the amplifier. Adjust this for your preferred overall stage playing volume.

D.I.

A balanced D.I. Is provided on the rear panel xlr socket. This provides a post E.Q. Post effects signal.

The output signal from this xlr socket is set to a level and impedance suitable for connecting directly into a balanced microphone input of a mixing desk for either direct injection into the pa system or for recording.

Effects send/return

A serial effects loop is provided at a level of 0db. The effects send and return sockets for this are on the rear panel above the d.I. Socket.

The effects send socket can also be used as a line out socket if required. The signal path through the preamp is only broken when a jack plug is inserted into the effects return socket. The effects send is situated after the E.Q.

Line In

This input socket provides a line level signal that can be used in conjunction with the

Line in Level control on the front panel for connecting a line level instrument of playback device.

FS-2 Output

The FS-2 Output is for use with a double latching foot-swtich, this controls the Sub

Harmonics and also the Drive for ease of access (foot-switch sold separately).

Ashdown Amplifiers reserve the right to change specifications without notice. E & O E. All contents © Ashdown 2016.

Speaker Outputs

There are two speakon out sockets located on the rear of the amp for use with appropriate cabinets. Min load of 4 ohms.

MAINS

For use with the supplied IEC mains connector. Mains fuse is located beneath socket, please check rear of model for specific fuse ratings.

Everything possible has been done to make these reliable, minimum service, high quality, long lasting powerful bass amplifiers.

We know you will appreciate the effort that has been put into the design and manufacture of this unit and you will be rewarded in your choice of bass amplifier by long life and reliability.

Inputs

High Input Impedance - 3.9M ohms

Low Input Impedance - 10k ohms

Effects Return Impedance - 22k ohms

Line Input Impedance - 22k ohms

Input range 150mv to 20v p - p

Input range 300mv to 40v p - p

Input level 0dbu nominal

Level 0dbu nominal

Outputs

Effects Send

D.I.Output

Impedance - 22k ohms Level 0dbu nominal

600 ohms balanced Level -20dbu nominal

Speaker Outputs Minimum Impedance - 4 ohms

Frequency Response -3db at 22hz and 25khz

Equalisation

Bass

Lo Mid

Middle

Hi Mid

Treble

Shape

Signal to Noise

+/- 15db @ 100hz

+/- 15db @ 340hz

+/- 15db @ 660hz

+/- 15db @ 1.6Khz

+/- 15db @ 7khz shelving

+ 8db @ 50hz + 10db @ 10khz

Better than 80db (E.Q. Flat)

Distortion Less than 0.5% Thd

Output Power 507watts RMS into 4 ohms. / 800watts RMS into 4 ohms.

Ashdown Amplifiers reserve the right to change specifications without notice. E & O E. All contents © Ashdown 2016.

NOTES:

We recommend using Neutrik speakon cables to connect your

Ashdown Rootmaster to your selected cabinet.