Celebrating 19 Years of Ashdown

Ashdown have turned 19!

It all began for Ashdown back 1997, but even in those early days, company founder Mark Gooday could've already easily been described as a bass amp veteran having previously been managing director of Trace Elliot. 

Swiftly approaching the 20th Anniversary milestone since their launch, Ashdown have become a firm favourite of bass players around the globe. Known for their cool styling, tour proven reliability and superb tone, Ashdown bass amps can be seen on stages around the world with some of the biggest artists.

Building not one, but multiple globally respected and loved brands does not come easy or without hard work. Ashdown, are always learning and evolving the product range to suit the ever changing landscape of the music industry. Ashdown look forward to continue building top quality bass and guitar amplifiers for the next 19 plus years.

The last few years has seen Ashdown push the boundaries and tap in to new technologies to keep up with the demands of the modern musician/consumer. In the last year, they have been working towards to launch of Meters Music, a new consumer electronics subdivision of Ashdown that will include the recently announced Meters Headphones, which uses Ashdown’s trademark VU meter as the vision behind the entire brand. 

Keep an eye out for more developments with Ashdown Engineering, Hayden Amps and Meters Music this year. Until then…

To celebrate Ashdown’s 19th anniversary, Mark Gooday and the guys over at Ashdown have (not in any particular order) shared 10 important things they’ve learned in the last 19 years that have made Ashdown the globally renowned brand they are today... and of some points have been added for a splash of humour (6 & 9).

1. Unparalleled Build quality - The only way we have continued to not only survive, but to grow and prosper in today’s competitive music trade is by gaining full customer satisfaction through the consistent delivery of high quality products.
2. Customer Service – Attaining and retaining customer satisfaction is key for any company. We find that a really simple yet efficient level of customer support, paired with unparalleled build quality (point 1) has been one of the primary reasons for Ashdown’s success.
3. Artist Relations – We never undervalue the advantage of our brand ambassadors. We’ve worked really hard to build such a wide and recognised artist roster and it brings us much joy playing #spotthevu on stages around the globe. Our artists pay for their gear and play our amps because they love the sound and reliability.
4. Social media and modern PR cannot be ignored. We dedicate a fair amount of time engaging with consumers on our social channels. During the evolution of social media, we really get the feel of our audience knowing who we are, where we are and what we stand for.
5. Product Evolution is truly important. We would love it if bass players continued to buy 8x10s and 1000 watt bass heads, but in reality the trend amongst modern bass players is practicality and tone at an affordable price. We can safely say we offer a comprehensive product range to suit every player and every need, bedroom or arena, studio or live, tube or class D.
6. Never get stuck in a hotel room with Shavo from System of a Down and Guy Pratt before a day’s work at the NAMM show... Just in-case you ever find yourself in such a situation.
7. Brand strength and recognition. Our VU meter has become the most recognised feature of Ashdown amps… so much so that we needn’t put the Ashdown logo visibly on the front of our amps anymore. 
8. Listen to the pros – we wouldn’t be where we are today without the feedback from some of the world's most respected bass players, including John Entwistle, Mark King and JJ Burnel amongst others. 
9. Back up your MySQL server – following the collapse of our website in March this year, we would kindly remind everyone to ensure their web hosts or IT partners back their s*** up to avoid timely and costly rebuilds.
10. Attend trade shows. Attending tradeshows such as NAMM and Frankfurt Musikmesse are a great way of touching base with existing customers, scheduling press and finding new business. On that note - The Frankfurt Musikmesse is back on Thursday 7th April to Sunday 10th April 2016. You can find Ashdown and Hayden Amps in Hall 11.0 stand D91. Come and say hello!