Lew-Bass Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 hell is this! A very shortscale double bass/bass hybrid :ph34r: [url="http://www.basscentre.com/ashbory-bass/ashbory-bass.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/ashbory-bass/ashbory-bass.html[/url] It looks pretty eye-catching, anyone know what they sound like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_D Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='Lew-Bass' post='474354' date='Apr 28 2009, 04:56 PM']hell is this! A very shortscale double bass/bass hybrid :ph34r: [url="http://www.basscentre.com/ashbory-bass/ashbory-bass.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/ashbory-bass/ashbory-bass.html[/url] It looks pretty eye-catching, anyone know what they sound like?[/quote] A few people on here and other forums use them. Supposed to sound great! They have some kind of surgical rubber tubing for strings and have heard people say a wee bit talc on your fingers stops any blistering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 there's quite a basschat fanclub! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-Bass Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Would you actually be able to ellicit much from it though, seeming though it's essentially half of a standard bass scale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Ashborys are great! I had one for about a year, and even gigged with it several times. After one gig, a guy came up to me and asked if it was some sort of midi controller, as he couldn't accept that something that size sounded like a bass! I didn't stick with it though, as the sheer tininess of it was a bit too much of a leap for me, and they really need a lighter right-hand touch than I have. They can be very deep-sounding, a little like a fretless electric with flatwounds. Not at all like a double bass though, despite what some say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='Lew-Bass' post='474391' date='Apr 28 2009, 05:25 PM']Would you actually be able to ellicit much from it though, seeming though it's essentially half of a standard bass scale[/quote] They sound pretty big - the E string is about a quarter of an inch thick. I tried one years ago in a shop but couldn't imagine how anyone could play it. The combination of fat strings and short neck makes intonation really tricky. And the strings just feel flat out weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Played one for a whole evening recently and will never do so again. After the intial 'wow, it does sound like a bass', you quickly begin to find its limitations in terms of its expressive potential. Vibrato is clumpy and unmusical, right hand technique is all over the place because of the excessive flexibility in the strings (like tryin to play a hammock!!), and the smallness is a real barrier to digging in (its like a 6 foot man riding a five year olds bicycle). IMHO, they are toys and of limited use in real musical situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='474776' date='Apr 29 2009, 07:34 AM']Played one for a whole evening recently and will never do so again. After the intial 'wow, it does sound like a bass', you quickly begin to find its limitations in terms of its expressive potential. Vibrato is clumpy and unmusical, right hand technique is all over the place because of the excessive flexibility in the strings (like tryin to play a hammock!!), and the smallness is a real barrier to digging in (its like a 6 foot man riding a five year olds bicycle). IMHO, they are toys and of limited use in real musical situations.[/quote] With respect, it takes more than a single evening to get the hang of this instrument IMVHO. The Ashbory is now my main bass and I don't think it's a toy any more than a violin, harmonica, ukelele or any other small musical instrument, but it's not as easy to play as a regular bass and requires considerable effort and a different approach to get the best from it. It certainly doesn't suit all styles of playing and is best suited to old school jazz, blues, country, classical or (in my case) reggae finger style playing. It may not help fragile egos as much as a 'proper' big bass and it's not a popular choice - but I like being different, (I'm 6' 4" and hard as nails BTW). I got it last year because arthritis meant holding my old jazz bass was becoming too painful. At first I thought I would never get used to it and I nearly gave up a few times, but I now find myself enjoying it more and I rarely use the jazz bass even sitting down at home or in a studio. I've played lots of gigs and a few festivals with it and had many compliments on the sound. My playing is very basic though and the sound suits me - deep and smooth. All the tracks [url="http://myspace.com/redstriper"]here[/url] were recorded with the Ashbory. Please excuse the sloppy playing, they were recorded while I was still learning the instrument and most are first takes recorded live in my front room. In fact I'm still learning and that's one of the best things about the Ashbory for me - it's like starting again after 30 years with a 'normal' bass and I'm really enjoying the challenge. I've started to play more old school jazz bass lines recently to make more of the fretless sound and it can sound very double bassish. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyURepi1rvE&feature=channel"]this guy[/url] has made his own from Ashbory parts and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3IUSd5c6VM&feature=related"]and this guy[/url] has made a bass uke along similar lines. The Ashbory has been used on recordings around the world in a variety of settings, including: Lovetown by Peter Gabriel from the movie soundtrack Philadelphia: Music From The Motion Picture, with Tony Levin playing the Ashbory. It is also featured on multiple tracks from the 2002 release by the BYU Young Ambassadors titled Broadway Rhythm, where it plays the role of an upright bass. Mike Watt used an Ashbory on the 1989 self-titled release from Bootstrappers. There is a useful Ashbory forum [url="http://www.largesound.net/"]here[/url] and I wouldn't let bilbo's negative comments put you off if you're up for the challenge. One final point - the new black pahoehoe strings are higher tension, easier to play and don't need talc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-Bass Posted April 29, 2009 Author Share Posted April 29, 2009 [quote name='redstriper' post='475244' date='Apr 29 2009, 04:49 PM']With respect, it takes more than a single evening to get the hang of this instrument IMVHO. The Ashbory is now my main bass and I don't think it's a toy any more than a violin, harmonica, ukelele or any other small musical instrument, but it's not as easy to play as a regular bass and requires considerable effort and a different approach to get the best from it. It certainly doesn't suit all styles of playing and is best suited to old school jazz, blues, country, classical or (in my case) reggae finger style playing. It may not help fragile egos as much as a 'proper' big bass and it's not a popular choice - but I like being different, (I'm 6' 4" and hard as nails BTW). I got it last year because arthritis meant holding my old jazz bass was becoming too painful. At first I thought I would never get used to it and I nearly gave up a few times, but I now find myself enjoying it more and I rarely use the jazz bass even sitting down at home or in a studio. I've played lots of gigs and a few festivals with it and had many compliments on the sound. My playing is very basic though and the sound suits me - deep and smooth. All the tracks [url="http://myspace.com/redstriper"]here[/url] were recorded with the Ashbory. Please excuse the sloppy playing, they were recorded while I was still learning the instrument and most are first takes recorded live in my front room. In fact I'm still learning and that's one of the best things about the Ashbory for me - it's like starting again after 30 years with a 'normal' bass and I'm really enjoying the challenge. I've started to play more old school jazz bass lines recently to make more of the fretless sound and it can sound very double bassish. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyURepi1rvE&feature=channel"]this guy[/url] has made his own from Ashbory parts and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3IUSd5c6VM&feature=related"]and this guy[/url] has made a bass uke along similar lines. The Ashbory has been used on recordings around the world in a variety of settings, including: Lovetown by Peter Gabriel from the movie soundtrack Philadelphia: Music From The Motion Picture, with Tony Levin playing the Ashbory. It is also featured on multiple tracks from the 2002 release by the BYU Young Ambassadors titled Broadway Rhythm, where it plays the role of an upright bass. Mike Watt used an Ashbory on the 1989 self-titled release from Bootstrappers. There is a useful Ashbory forum [url="http://www.largesound.net/"]here[/url] and I wouldn't let bilbo's negative comments put you off if you're up for the challenge. One final point - the new black pahoehoe strings are higher tension, easier to play and don't need talc.[/quote] Great post mate, thanks for the insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I seem to remember that Mike Rutherford used one on the Genesis song 'That's All' too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I have two - a blue one and a black one. If you treat it like a instrument in its own right rather than a shrunken bass guitar it is a very rewarding bass to play once you realise the limitations, stengths and practice the specific techniques that get the best out of it. The most important thing I learnt is that to get good intonation you play between the fretlines rather than on them like you would a lined fretless BG. The best talc to use to. Despite an uniformed previous poster, vibrato is possible - it just that you move up & down the string rather than stretch it. Properly talced this is easy with practice. In the right hands it is a unique and expressive instrument. There is an example of a track with a very simple ashbory line on this page: [url="http://www.o5b.co.uk/ashbory-bass/"]http://www.o5b.co.uk/ashbory-bass/[/url] It serves as an example of the basic tone of the thing rather than any techniques as I only bought my first Ashbory during the recording sessions for that album. My Ashborys get a lot of use for acoustic blues sessions and jam nights. The easiest way of tuning them is by using a Planet Waves SOS LED tuner. There's a great website that is a wealth of info on all things Ashbory at [url="http://www.largesound.com"]Largesound.com[/url]. I like toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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