Ashdown
Latest Ashdown guitar news, new electric and acoustic guitars, signature models, artist collaborations, and releases tracked by Guitar Radar.
Guitar Radar follows Ashdown through 1 story, covering new gear, launches and company news as they happen. Most of it sits under industry. The most recent story, from Sep 28, 2026, is “Ashdown makes Guitar Center and Musician's Friend its exclusive U.S. retail partners”.
About Ashdown
Ashdown Engineering was founded in 1997 by Mark Gooday, who had joined Trace Elliot in 1985 and spent 12 years as its managing director. The name comes from his wife's family name, and before launching he asked leading bassists, including John Entwistle of The Who, Mark King of Level 42 and JJ Burnel of The Stranglers, for feedback. Mark King therefore tested the amps but is not the brand's namesake.
The flagship is the ABM, short for Ashdown Bass Magnifier, which quickly became the company's best-known line; the current ABM heads range from 600 to 1200 watts. Ashdown also makes the lighter RM series of solid-state amps, the valve-powered CTM heads and guitar amps, and set up a separate company, Hayden Amplification, for hand-wired amps.
The company is based in Essex in England. Guitar Radar follows new Ashdown amps, cabinets and artist editions.
Sources: Ashdown: About us · Andertons: Ashdown Engineering
