Dearmond Ashbury basses??

They had one at the GC I frequent marked down to $150. It was an attention getter. Everybody that saw it messed around with it for 5 minutes. Everybody that messed around with it for 5 minutes set it down, made a positive comment about it, and walked away. I don't know if they ever sold it. They probably threw it away or gave it away cheap. IMO, it's a toy. Try before you buy. You won't buy.

Their interesting and if you have the bucks burning a hole in your pocket get one. I was fascinated for a long time, finally played one and didn't like the feel of the rubber strings they were well... Rubbery. I didn't feel like I would ever play it. Does it sound like an upright as they say... Meh.

check out LARGEBASS.com it is the offical website for those little things.

G

I've got a black one - great fun - the sound is remarkably full for such a small instrument.

To hear what one sounds like - here's Tony Levin playing one on Peter Gabriel's track "Lovetown"

Unique is a very good word to describe them. I played one years ago and had similar mixed feelings about it as the other posters here. The shop had talcum powder standing by for my left hand (to prevent the rubber strings to stick to your fingers) but the short scale, thickness of the strings and the overall size and (lack of) balance of the body made it a truly odd experience. I don't think I'd ever get one to play as a real instrument, but maybe for a "beach house toy", why not. Just need the beach house.

Excellent instrument.
It something you may record with more than using live. It's got a very big sound, somewhat upright-ish. I think the reason that more people don't use it more is because it is so tiny.
Personally, I love mine.

The Ashbory's can be fun. I used to have one and I keep thinking about buying one again. They are the "professional" version of playing a rubber band, and as such they have a unique thumpy sound. What the online examples I've heard so far fail to capture is just how huge these little basses can sound through a real bass rig.

The strings Ashbory's use are fragile though. The G strings will break even when the bass is just sitting in the case. Sometimes the D will too. A lot of people keep them detuned to minimize the breakage. I used to keep mine tuned B-D. This issue is one of the primary reasons I haven't just gone out and bought another one yet.

You can read more about them at www.largesound.com. It is not an official site, but its an good resource with a dedicated forum. They also sell them there for a good price.

kevin_lindsay said:

To hear what one sounds like - here's Tony Levin playing one on Peter Gabriel's track "Lovetown"

Click to expand...

Of course, it bears noting that T-Lev would sound good on an ironing board strung with clothesline strings.

To the OP: it's AshbOry (it's an "O" in there, just in case you do a forum search).

I've had one for a few months and absolutely love it. It's a wonderful bass on which to work out your fretless technique and intonation without spending a lot of money, if you grew up on a fretted like I did.

Get your hands on one and play it before you buy it, as others have suggested. It has some characteristics that many players, especially those who are specific about how they want their basses to "feel", don't care for.

It's a very short-scale instrument, with a pretty narrow neck. That and the responsive strings make it a very "fast" bass. I can do runs on the Ashbory that are still way out of my league on my 34" scale fretted OLP.

The silicone strings are very easy on the hands. Your hard-earned callouses might actually deter the sensitive intonation those thick strings require. They do take some getting used to, but I've found now that I've acclimated I can switch back and forth from my OLP to the Ashbory without any trouble.

That said, be sure to invest in some Slyde-Ryte silicone powder (better than talc), and buy an extra set of strings. I've not had one pop yet, but enough folks have (as another poster has noted) that it's a known issue.

Also, you'll probably want a new Fender Ashbory instead of looking for an old Guild - the instrument has been improved quite a lot by the newer tuning pegs.

Don't expect to do any slapping on it, except in the sense that you might with a doghouse bass. It takes hammer-ons and pull-offs quite well, with the slight stickiness of the strings adding a bit of punch to pull-offs, and their sponginess and the plastic fretboard muting hammer-ons to some degree.

It has a warm tone with a rich "mwah", mostly neutral, with a bit of boom on the bottom. The trebles are quite nice and crisp. Attack and decay characteristics are similar enough to an upright for most applications with the proper EQ settings on your amp. Sustain is virtually nonexistent, though, with a rapid rolloff on release.

If you like effects, it's an outstanding instrument to use as an input device.

The piezo pickups are built directly into the bridge, and the body is one solid piece of plastic. Forget saddle and truss rod adjustments. Most of this bass is in the electronics, and all of your tone modification will be done on the other side of the patch cord. If you're a tweaker, you might not care for the lack of options in that respect.

I find that it seems to play better slung high (I play "typewriter" fingerstyle), so I made a slight modification to the strap buttons (see largesound.com) and put on a mandolin strap. It weighs so little that without the strap mod you end up with "neck-dive".

Overall, a unique sounding instrument, quite inexpensive, and sure to turn heads at the gig. Some won't be able to get over the fact that it looks like a toy, but I think they look and play great.

I would definitely pick one up if it was cheap enough, it might be fun to use in home recordings or to jam around with. I probably wouldn't take it over a Fender on a gig or with my current bands, but it has a growly upright vibe, which is unique on it's own. I personally had fun with it when I tried it in store.

I've got one, and I agree with others that they sound huge and great. Can sound very close to a tubby upright tone, more along the lines of an Ampeg Baby bass than a real hardwood or plywood upright. Strings take a long time to acclimate and settle in, as they need to be stretched and powdered often enough so that they don't slip out of tune easily. And yes, they will break whenever they feel like it. (I've heard loud pops go off on mine while it was in the other room, only to discover that a string snapped while it was in it's bag). Also, fret lines are only an approximation, especially when you get higher up the register where they're so close together you couldn't possibly fret on each line, so you're better off just using your ears. Also, I believe there's some company that sells a more durable silicone by the yard that a lot of guys order in bulk rather than buying the Dearmond strings.

I got one after seeing David Silvan in Berkley, his bass player used one exclusively. I work with it for about 10 weeks and was having trouble getting what I do on Bass to translate. A good friend of mine got off tour and I took it over to show him, he picked it up and immediately made music on it !


so I gave it to him......

I love the sound of those little suckers... I just can't make music on 'em.