Guitar Gear Gems (bass edition): Ashdown LB-30, Carvin BX1 and more!
New all-tube bass head, a compact preamp pedal and a new vintage-styled 5-string bass range
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This week on Guitar Gear Gems we take a look at a whole host of newly announced bass gear. These include the all-new Ashdown LB-30 2. N amp head, the new Carvin BX1 Bass Preamp and finally the Modern Vintage Guitars MVJ5 5-string bass guitars.
Guitar Gear News
Guitar Gear News this week is pretty bass-heavy and for good reason. There has been a wealth of new bass products announced over the last week and so let us check out these recently revealed heavyweight products from Ashdown, Carvin and Modern Vintage Guitars. Including an all-new tube bass head, a compact new bass preamp pedal and a range of vintage-styled 5-string basses.
Ashdown LB-30 2. N
The new Ashdown LB-30 2. N is a real 30-watt all-tube amplifier with an ECC81, ECC82 and a pair of ECC83 tubes each in the preamplifier and a quartet of EL84 power amplifier tubes.
This official package is combined with the Torpedo Technology of Two Notes, with integrated impulse responses from 6 classic Ashdown speaker cabinets and microphone setups:
- ABM-810H-EVO IV
- ABM-410H-EVO IV
- ABM-210H-EVO IV
- ABM-115-EVO IV
- RM-212-EVO II
- CL-310 DH
On stage, you can send the speaker emulations directly to the PA, while the real box acts as a monitor. And in the studio, the LB-30 2. N can even be used without an external speaker.
Ashdown Little Bastard 2. N · Source: Ashdown
MSRP – GBP 1399
Carvin BX1 Bass Preamp
The Carvin BX1 Bass Preamp comes in a compact pedal format and is designed to give players a natural bass tone. The preamp has what Carvin calls a boutique flat response, with an extensive tone control allowing players to sculpt their desired bass tone.
Carvin BX1 Bass Preamp · Source: Carvin
Compression
The BX1 includes an onboard dedicated compressor section. This has both Threshold and Strength controls and offers a clean simple-to-use compression circuit to tighten up your tone. It is a true bypass pedal and also features a handy effect loop section that allows you to easily integrate your favourite external effects.
Key Features
- Preamp Gain and master Volume controls
- BLEND control adjusts the EQ/dry mix
- Mid sweep semi-parametric EQ
- Switchable MUTE
- -12dB Attenuation switch
- DIRECT OUT balanced XLR and 1/4-inch
MSRP – USD 299 on offer at USD 239 currently
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Modern Vintage Guitars MVJ5
The new Modern Vintage Guitars MVJ5-series of 5-string bass guitars has also been announced. Each model features an alder body paired with a Torrified (Roasted) maple neck. They are available with either a terrified maple or an Indian rosewood fretboard with blocks and binding. The neck profiles are based on vintage instruments and therefore should make you feel right at home as they have a 34″ scale length.
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- Blocks and binding · Source: Modern Vintage Guitars
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- Blocks and binding rosewood · Source: Modern Vintage Guitars
Hardware
With quality hardware throughout which includes a set of Hipshot Ultralight Cloverleaf tuners, a dual action-two-way truss rod and an 18mm spaced vintage-style bridge with steel saddles. Pickups are a set of custom-wound single-coil passive pickups in the well-known twin pickup configuration. The controls are set out in a classic vol/vol/tone layout.
Finish options include Walnut Brown, Black, Olympic White and a Three Tone Sunburst. These new 5-strings follow on from the already well-received MVJ4 4-string models and these have proven very popular. Especially for players looking for a bass with a vintage style and feel. Therefore, I am hoping these new MVJ5-series of 5-string bass guitars follow in those footsteps, as they look ace.
MSRP – USD 2199
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