In these hard times when many companies are outsourcing, going under, or cheapening things some companies still hang in there. I would like to focus on Ashly. Great little company with highly underrated Made In USA products. So here is my list of Ashly gear and why I like it.

Ashly BP-41...Need I say more, makes my Fender P Bass Deluxe sound that much better and stands out in mixes

Ashly LX-308B Used for sub mixing effects, is dead quiet

Ashly SC50 Awesome compressor

Ashly CL52E Great compressors, but no threshold

All Ashly gear=built like tanks

What do you have?

fyi...ive got an old ashley comp ive had for years.

4x SC50
1x SC55

I've always been a little unclear about the relationship between Allison, Ashley and Valley. Aren't they different iterations or generations of the same company? If yes, my gear list is longer.

SC-66A. gritty and wonderfully "explody"

SC-50. non working since I bought it unfortunately. anyone fix/mod these things?

I love the 66 EQ, it's fun

Jim Williams modded two of mine. They're pretty much sonically invisible now.

CL100 comp

My old SC-50 is awesome. I've tried using other compressors but always end up going back to it. It's mostly transparent but with a small level of pleasant coloration. My friend gave it to me and I never knew how good it was until I started using other compressors.

Got a CL-52E on the way from the 'bay. Never heard one, but at $31 I figured it was worth a shot. What are you guys using them on? I'm hoping to smash snare, toms, maybe mono room, etc.

Ashly LX-308B

Submix for my keys and drum machine, LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

I don't believe there is any relation between Allison Research/Valley and Ashley.
I have read Ashley's entire website and it's quite involved history section makes no mention of anything about Allison or Valley.
I've been familiar with both companies since the '70s and have never been aware of any relationship between them.

Allison did morph into Valley and was started by Paul Buff.
The lady's face on the old Allison Research emblem was his wife (they got divorced, so he took it off.)
Paul Buff was also the guy that sold Frank Zappa his first studio in Cucamonga (now Rancho Cucamonga) in California.
It was also the studio where "Wipe Out" was recorded.

I have a SC-68 which is 8 band paramertic with a built in compressor.
It was designed as a device for increasing the gain in a p.a. / sound system by means of notching out frequencies that want to feedback.
The Q of the bands will get extremely narrow, so it is good for notching out troublesome stuff in recordings, too.
It is sort of a poor man's UREI Little Dipper.
The compressor is really intense and was designed to keep a p.a. system in feedback without getting really loud.

It was bit of a hassle re-building the thing because they used some slightly off beat ICs in the compressor.

I forgot to mention my coveted SC-33 gate, great post so far.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Do you like the sonic invisibility?

Not really. I went through a phase of "I want to use compressors, but not hear them". It didn't last very long, evolving instead to "There's no reason to put a box on a source unless it does something exciting." I'm glad to have made the experiment though.

Thank you! For some reason I keep thinking that Ashley is a splinter or split-off or cousin of Allison. Probably because they're both female names!

just adding some love for the SC-55... creamy, smooth, organic (??), sometimes i feel like i outta give her a name...

slight hijack: got a CL52E, works great. wondering how to make the stereo tie turn one channel into a master and one into a slave? right now having to match pots. (?)

my cl-50 was so rad. i wish i didnt sell that!

PQX-572 EQ is really quite powerful for (what was) the price. It isn't supremo fidelity or high-end but it certainly works and I've run kick and snare through it with success.

Ashly clx52 compressor. I have the slightly older version without the euroblock connectors. Excellent bass comp!

You should be able to find your manual here:

Ashly Audio - The Old Ones

Love my CL52E on bass here!

Have the SC-66 eq. Liked it so much I sold my Klark Teknik DN410 eq which cost me 4 times as much. The KT was more flexible and had more options, but the Ashly was right up there sonically. Have used it on kick, overheads, snare, and to eq effects returns.

Years ago, I bought a used BP41 Bass preamp based on the Ashly name. Hadn't heard it--didn't have a clue...

When a couple of pots on the pre went bad I contacted Ashley and was directed to a tech, as the pre had been discontinued. He was easygoing and informative about the pre, eventually sending me all of the few remaining pots he had.

Coupled with various comps, the BP41 became my go-to bass channel for many years and still remains viable alongside UA and API options.

I was kind of smug when I later heard Geddy Lee used the same pre for a while. It certainly gave my '70 Jazz a hard-rocking sound with the "Pres" switch engaged.

The thing that still thrills me about the BP-41 is it's great analog sound and versatility. In addition to bass, mid and treble EQ it has a parametric with 2 "Q's", an effects loop, DI amp out with additional X-over outs and a stage level control. For tone tweaking or late night practice it has a headphone out, too.

I've always considered Ashly a professional brand, above the glut of MI equipment they've competed against over the years. Thanks for bring up the topic!

MR

Love my SC-50, great comp. Wish I had another.

this thread is a terrible idea. I got my sc-66a for 50 bucks and my cl-100 for 25, if it continues like this Ashly used gear prices will go through the roof. So everybody ignore this thread and shut it about how good Ashly is.


And oh yeah, did you know Ashly gear totally blows?
I will gladly take it off your hands.

One of the hottest times I ever had after a gig was with a girl named Ashly, and I really appreciated it.

That's my CL52E right underneath the MM508 mixer.

Cheap, tanklike, and sounds better than you might think. thumbsup

Love my SC-55 as well, won't be getting rid of that one. Have the CLE52 as well. Not as distinct but still sees a lot of use.

beats the pants off audio equipment. thumbsup even "big iron" and neve and, wait i'm gonna throw up.


Hey! Cool. Can you tell me how the stereo link works on the CL52e?

Ashley SG-33e here. got it at a guitarshop. gave them my korg delay stompbox.
win win heh

TL072 in there