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Retro-styling helps it live up to its name.

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Since it was established as one of the primary agents of bass amp cool, Ashdown has always excelled in style, and never more so than with this simple and compact Little Bastard.

Curiously monickered after the nickname screen legend James Dean coined for his car, it proves to be highly appropriate. The cabinet with its cloth grille and classic 2 x 12 proportions is totally retro - even though the side port slot suggests far better understanding of acoustics than real retro designs - while the head presents a classy blend of both past and more modern elements: typical Ashdown.

"The head's chromed control panel is very simply laid-out."

Set-up with the cabinet standing vertically and the amp placed on top, this looks far more like a piggy-back, old-Fender-style configuration than a mini-stack. The head's chromed control panel is very simply laid-out with high and low inputs and the minimum of chunky-knobbed rotary controls - middle, bass, treble and volume.

Each control has an associated switch providing mid-shift, bass-shift, bright and mute. Then there's the send and return jack sockets for the effects loop and the typical Ashdown VU output meter - pleasantly simple.

At the rear we have the mains lead socket and power switch, DI output and standard speaker connectors (4 and 8 ohm) for the cabinet. Our review model is hand-built in the UK, but if your budget is a tighter then there's an alternative head built to identical spec in China that will save you £150.

Sounds

Not only does the VU meter look really good, it also tells us that even when pushing hard this set-up is working well within its capabilities.

It's essential to use the correct active or passive input, depending on your bass, as with no preamp gain control you could easily introduce unwanted front-end distortion. Some may see that as an omission, but in reality it's actually the simplicity of the whole circuit design that allows your bass to reveal its full potential rather than over-colouring its natural sound.

Fewer controls means better interaction and understanding of each frequency, while the switches provide that extra dimension for personal preferences. This is a passive tonal EQ, so everything you alter has a bearing on everything else in the circuit.

Bass Shift and the Bright switch offer direct enhancement at the extremes of the Little Bastard's tonal range but being an all-valve unit, the Mid Shift is far more subtle in operation. However it does help to define your playing style, so one way will suit the traditionalist while the other will enhance a more contemporary feel.

By using all three switches and spinning the tone controls we found more than enough tonal variation, all of which benefit from a gorgeous valve quality. It can certainly be a smooth Bastard - it excels in classic tones and delivery - but give it a little tonal push and it becomes far brasher and releases a very pleasing raspy growl that will curdle the milk and send the cat running for cover.