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Joined: Apr 19, 2005 Posts: 5794 Location: At the bottom of the garden, amongst the birds and the bees
Dude, work out what you actually want before you decide what you're buying - you mentioned Ashdown, then get swayed towards an Orange, when their tonalities are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The Orange does the mid-range growly thing pretty well and nothing else really, but the Ashdown is a lot smoother and far more versatile. I can't say I've ever noticed an Ashdown lacking in punch either - the 'Deep' button is a huge boost at 50Hz, and the 'Sub Harmonic' dial is brilliant. Plus there's in-built compression, so there's no excuse to not get a chunky low-end out of them.
If you play a lot of intricate harmonies and more complex bass parts (rather than just root notes), the Ashdown will be easier to work with in the mix - the honky growl thing gets swallowed up as it sits right in the pocket of distorted guitars' chunk.
The Laney's are pretty good - I've used a combo of theirs live a couple of times and it was insanely loud and had really good presence. They're more like the Ashdown than the Orange, but not quite as versatile I would say. Marshall are nearer the Orange end, but not as good.
Dude, work out what you actually want before you decide what you're buying - you mentioned Ashdown, then get swayed towards an Orange, when their tonalities are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The Orange does the mid-range growly thing pretty well and nothing else really, but the Ashdown is a lot smoother and far more versatile. I can't say I've ever noticed an Ashdown lacking in punch either - the 'Deep' button is a huge boost at 50Hz, and the 'Sub Harmonic' dial is brilliant. Plus there's in-built compression, so there's no excuse to not get a chunky low-end out of them.
If you play a lot of intricate harmonies and more complex bass parts (rather than just root notes), the Ashdown will be easier to work with in the mix - the honky growl thing gets swallowed up as it sits right in the pocket of distorted guitars' chunk.
The Laney's are pretty good - I've used a combo of theirs live a couple of times and it was insanely loud and had really good presence. They're more like the Ashdown than the Orange, but not quite as versatile I would say. Marshall are nearer the Orange end, but not as good.
Steve
I've always found the ashdowns lacking punch, especially with passive pick-ups. Spent the last 2 years with a mag 600 and always thought it sounded a bit flat and sterile, the only way to get the punch and high end clarity from it was to chuck the bass driver infront of it and just use the ashdown like a power amp. I found the new marshalls and laneys to be much better and the EQ had a much more pronounced effect.
The orange is more versatile than people give it credit for, i was playing one for about 20 minutes and found plenty of tones all the way from UB40 through to The Who, they dont do just the classic orange sounds, theres a whole bunch more in that toaster.
Ampeg, Mesa and Genz will always be my favourite bass amps, theyre all expensive but very good. If you can stretch to a Genz then get one, you'll be rewarded with some of the best quality bass tones ever.
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also remember that for the price of an orange bass terror new, you can pick up some mid range ampegs for about the same price on ebay too. 
