NBD... Ashdown the Arc. 4 string P bass.

[spyder]

Like most here I've had many Fenders and Fender like basses but failed to some degree to get on with them.

I like a wide nut so Jazz necks fail to inspire me but I do like a J pickup sound especially when an active pre is involved.

P basses are my favourite, simple, passive and with a good size nut. Unfortunately again I've never quite found the 'perfect' bass. I usually get bored and sell them on.

Over the past 3 years I have been using a pimped Jack Casady with Mama pickup and simplified wiring, just a tone and volume. Strung with Rotosound Flats. This has been my only bass for playing chilled laid back cover stuff.

Over the past 3 months I've been on the look out for a second bass looking at P, J and everything in-between.

Last week I took the plunge on an Ashdown Arc thinking if I don't like it I can send it back.

Well... I was not expecting the bass that came.

Build quality is up there with the best. Ive searched all over the bass for imperfections or quality control issues.

There are none. 

It's light weight body is perfectly shaped with a neck that plays wonderful for me. It's the perfect dimension for my playing style.

Pickups sound as there should... Like a P bass and I have no inclination to swap them out.

Tone and volume controls have some resistance and provide a positive response when turned. I hate loose knobs.

I've put on Rotosound 45s which really suit this bass.

Action is 1.5mm at the 17th fret. Nice and low for my soft playing style.

As you can tell I'm impressed...👍

[Lozz196]

I’ve eyed these for a while, being an Ashdown fanboy, only thing that has stopped me is having too many Precisions already.

[spyder]

1 minute ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve eyed these for a while, being an Ashdown fanboy, only thing that has stopped me is having too many Precisions already.

It's a P but not a P.... Hard to describe.

Over the last 2 weeks I must of played 6 P basses and none felt right to me. I'm talking about the feel not the sound.

I tend to try basses unplugged first to get the feel of the instrument.

Now I'm not a fan of Ashdown. I really can't get on with their amps core sound so I was not expecting to find such a great bass.

It's interesting to see how these basses came to be. Look up Dan Lakin.

 

[Reggaebass]

Congrats 👍🏻, I like the look of those, last time I was at Ashdown they didn’t have any there for me to try, how would you describe the neck shape and what is the nut width on them 

[spyder]

Forgot to add that the neck is oiled. This is usually available on higher end basses. Makes a difference to the feel and playability of the neck. IMHO.

[spyder]

4 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Congrats 👍🏻, I like the look of those, last time I was at Ashdown they didn’t have any there for me to try, how would you describe the neck shape and what is the nut width on them 

It got a 44mm nut with a flat radius, I would say slightly flatter than a Fender.

Depth back to front would be medium? 

Not a bass ball bat chunky profile or an ultra modern thin skinny thing. Just feels right to me. 

 

[Eldon Tyrell]

10 minutes ago, spyder said:

It's a P but not a P.... Hard to describe.

Over the last 2 weeks I must of played 6 P basses and none felt right to me. I'm talking about the feel not the sound.

I tend to try basses unplugged first to get the feel of the instrument.

Now I'm not a fan of Ashdown. I really can't get on with their amps core sound so I was not expecting to find such a great bass.

It's interesting to see how these basses came to be. Look up Dan Lakin.

 

Interesting. Did not know that Dan Lakin was involved. Does anyone know what happened to him? His shop is currently closed:

https://www.dlakinbasses.com

 

[spyder]

56 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Interesting. Did not know that Dan Lakin was involved. Does anyone know what happened to him? His shop is currently closed:

https://www.dlakinbasses.com

 

Good question.

[Eldon Tyrell]

4 minutes ago, spyder said:

Good question.

Hope his shop is only temporally closed, maybe due to Covid related supply issues.

In the meantime, here is a cool home video that Dan shot back in the early 90s, showing the birth of the Lakland basses  🙂 

 

[spyder]

1 hour ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

 

 

Thank you.

Edited February 27, 2022 by spyder

[Grahambythesea]

Looks like a classic P, very glossy finish. Nice.

[shoulderpet]

11 hours ago, spyder said:

Now I'm not a fan of Ashdown. I really can't get on with their amps core sound so I was not expecting to find such a great bass

 

I share this sentiment regarding there amps,a place that my band uses to rehearse has Ashdown amps and I'm sure some people get great tones out of Ashdown amps but I can never get enough top end out of them, it always seems to sound like the highs are rolled off regardless of how I set the controls on the amp

[Lozz196]

The newer ones address this quite nicely, both my ABM600 & RM500 have plenty of highs, but I do know what you mean, I had an old ABM500 and that wasn`t all that sharp on top-end.

[Harryboylad]

Just bought one of these - second hand but clearly never played - mint - got to say WOW!

 

Quality feels great - pickups awesome - feels just right - and fantastic sound - love the neck and the tapering tuners

 

I have had literally hundreds of P basses (and a few others but really don't think you need any bass other than Precision) over the years and this is right up there - I am an Ashdown devotee with Spyder 550 amp and cabs as well as Klystron Black edition head and CL cabs so I am a fan - probably would have tried one before but I didn't fancy the £1,000 price tag BUT - the bass is worth that every day of the week.

[Paolo85]

Quite intrigued by the 44mm nut width!