Ashbory

Sambient

Sambient

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Jersey girl
It's not enough that I've just started learning ukulele.
Oh no, I have to satisfy my bass desires.

Little with four strings? Count me in!
I love this thing.
 
Hehe, I've been reading up about Ashbory bass too lately.

They look and sound awesome!
And their compact size makes them very ukulele-esque :)
I want one >_<

Ashbory-DeArmond.jpg
 
Ashbory or Kala?

I've been thinking of getting an Ashbory for a while, but now I'm torn between this and the Kala U-Bass. Grrrrrrr. I like the idea of the shorter scale length. I play a 3/4 scale P-Bass anyway, because my girl hands are a bit too small.

Maybe if I'm really good this year, Father Christmas will deliver one :D
(I can dream, can't I?)
 
Feminine hands are indeed how I wound up thinking the Ashbory a suitable choice. The rubber strings, once you've put powder or Slide-Rite on your fingers, are a joy to play.
Sure, I want a Kala U Bass. I'm also intrigued to see if other brands follow suit.
U Bass is better looking. Even the salesman from whom I was purchasing my Ashbory was saying, "don't you want something that looks like a real instrument?"
Ashbory is very, very portable.
 
I remember the original Ashbory basses were fretless...something you might consider if thinking about getting an Ashbory.

Not sure if Fender puts frets on the new ones?

If you're used to playing fretless bass however, go for it! Good luck either way!
 
I love that it's fretless. I truly think this is the bass I've been waiting for.
It's not like there aren't fret markers. And with the shorter scale neck, movement is more intuitive for me. I don't need the braille.

Some people learn to drive on stick-shift, some on automatic. What you learn is what you do.
 
Cool...good luck with it then! Fretless definitely requires a more instinctive and active approach.
 
Even the Fender Ashburys are fretless but they are marked so you can find your mark pretty easy. The Ashburys are bad for the strings breaking. So have a source for getting replacement strings handy if you buy one.

That said. They are fun. I have one stashed away at work that I pluck on when we are slow. It's a return but it plays fine. They have a real nice sound. I love it. I keep meaning to buy one for myself but I ended up buying another uke instead. I guess if they ever get rid of the one I'm playing at work I'll have to buy one. They are fun to pluck.
 
I have a reissue Ashbory (pre-fender?). It is black and has the geared tuners. The G and D strings can be be a problem but I think the U Bass plastic strings are said to work.
If they do, then this would be great. I may be selling that one soon but I want to try it with those new strings first.
 
I just pulled the trigger on one of these bad boys, looking forward to getting it soon and working with it. I tried out the U-Bass also and even though it's a beatiful little instrument, I just couldn't justify the extra $250. The resale value of the Ashbory is very good (eBay, Craigslist), which is nice if you need to unload it at some future point. I purchased mine from http://www.largesound.com/ and Brock is a great guy to work with. Great prices also....
 
angelopb said:
... but I think the U Bass plastic strings are said to work.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know if this is true? I just got my Ashbory and I've been doodling around with it some. I played the U-Bass and liked the feel of those strings better. When you put the talcum powder on the Ashbory there's more glide on the strings, but it would be nice to not have to rely on another substance for the strings. The U-Bass strings were slicker, and black strings on a black bass would be pretty cool too.
 
Well each to his own as they say but I think the Ashbory is incredibly ugly and I will gladly pay the extra for the U-Bass...a real bass ukulele lol
 
I have the Road Toad Music strings that are on the kala too on my Ashbory for 3 years now (I bought it used with that strings on it already). I never broke a string, I don't have to mess up with that powder.
It's not the Ashbory that is bad it's the original white strings that were on it.
There are some design errors on the Ashbory, for example too small tuners, and if you wind the strings up on a too high position they hardly sound at all anymore, but all in all it is a great instrument.
 
I still think that the Ashbory achieves a better upright bass sound than the Kala U Bass. But I've not experienced a U Bass in person, so it could just be the setting that people demonstrate the U Bass on videos use.
Is the Ashbory fugly? Yuh-huh. But I treat is as part of its charm.
 
The actual sound that the Ashbory creates with no amplification is amazingly similar to an upright bass (when using the silicone strings). If you put your ear right on the body while playing or use one of the Dragonfly stethoscope headphones you will hear the bass tone that this instrument emits. I think it loses something in translation with the piezo pickups when it's amplified. I'm not a huge piezo fan, so I wouldn't mind having another pickup system in it someday possibly one to amplify strings and another to amplify the body.
 
+1
I think the natural sound of an ashbory is great and I do hate piezos. Some sort of internal microphonic device would be cool. The silcon rubber strings just have crappy intonation compared to the pahoehoe strings. I mean, realistically, can you play past the 5th postion with the silicon strings?

I found the pahoehoe strings quite sticky when new and reached for that little sliderite powder. I also use it for the back of the neck. THe ashbory looks cool because it is fugly. People in bars love that thing! But the larger U-bass tuners would be better.

The fret postion markers are not really accurate and it's sort of noticeable with the normal silicon strings. But it is WAY noticeable with the pahoehoe strings.

BTW, the original set I ordered was defective. But Owen from Road Toad sent me a repalcement set. I sent him pics showing how the strings were warped and bulging when strung on my ash.

I am toying with the idea of selling the ash for a U-Bass. But I am afraid I will miss it. Many good times with it. And when you break it out on a gig, it creates a show of its own. It looks like a toy and people chuckle. Then they hear the E string. . .
(and those who have played an ash live though a decent PA or amp know what I am talking about.)
 
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