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Ashbory plunge ...
- Thread starter msb
- Start date
I gig Ashborys regularly. I have since the Guilds were introduced.
They are amazing. Play it like it wants. It's not an EB so your touch is different. There are many types of strings so take your time exploring. Most are versions of polyurethane.
I play the Ashbory in a vertical position like an upright. There's a sweet spot with volume bass and treble at half I'd gradually reduce or add from there. YMMV
Okay don't know if it happens with the Poly strings but spontaneous G string breakage in the case can happen with the silicone strings as the gig bag drags on the G string. You can see it happen when you lift bass. A good substitute is the baritone Uke case MF sells. Very lightweight but rigid.
Enjoy!
They are amazing. Play it like it wants. It's not an EB so your touch is different. There are many types of strings so take your time exploring. Most are versions of polyurethane.
I play the Ashbory in a vertical position like an upright. There's a sweet spot with volume bass and treble at half I'd gradually reduce or add from there. YMMV
Okay don't know if it happens with the Poly strings but spontaneous G string breakage in the case can happen with the silicone strings as the gig bag drags on the G string. You can see it happen when you lift bass. A good substitute is the baritone Uke case MF sells. Very lightweight but rigid.
Enjoy!
I was a Guild dealer '77 - '88 and we had one of the first Guild Ashbory one. I later got a DeArmond one around 2000 or so. The silicone strings do have the spontaneous self-destruct problem, and that seems to have carried through from the '80s Guild through several reformulations by FMIC. Mine suffered it on several strings even while hanging on the wall. About four years ago I put a set of Aquiala Thunder Guts on and have had great success.
Physical balance can be tricky, and your approach has to take into account the relatively slow response the big but not taut strings give (which contributes to the double bass emulation).
I don't know of anyone making them now, as the bass uke seems to fill the niche quite well. I think if I didn't already have mine, a bass uke might be a more likely option.
Physical balance can be tricky, and your approach has to take into account the relatively slow response the big but not taut strings give (which contributes to the double bass emulation).
I don't know of anyone making them now, as the bass uke seems to fill the niche quite well. I think if I didn't already have mine, a bass uke might be a more likely option.
I found the original Guild silicone strings to have far better tone than the later formulations, but they all were prone to sudden self-destruction. The Thunderguts were a revelation, both sturdy and good tone.
I have one of the original Guild Ashborys. The friction banjo tuners are abominable. If they're tight enough to hold tune, they're too tight to tune easily. When my pickup died, and I had to do a small amount of wood trimming to make the replacement fit, so I figured what the hell, I'll drill a few holes and install the geared tuners from the later Ashbory (tight fit, as the spacing of the holes from the edge of the headstock is different, but it can be done), and it transformed the bass from something I'd swear at to a much more playable instrument. (I sold my old friction tuners to Zach at Frets in Westerly, RI if anyone is looking for a set.)
Side note: my partner's ex used to work at Guild, and she describes to me how the tuners originally had a manufacturing defect, a burr on them that would cut into the strings, and he'd bring home boxes and boxes of them and the whole family sat around the kitchen table with files and fine sandpaper smoothing them all down before they could be installed on the instruments.
I have one of the original Guild Ashborys. The friction banjo tuners are abominable. If they're tight enough to hold tune, they're too tight to tune easily. When my pickup died, and I had to do a small amount of wood trimming to make the replacement fit, so I figured what the hell, I'll drill a few holes and install the geared tuners from the later Ashbory (tight fit, as the spacing of the holes from the edge of the headstock is different, but it can be done), and it transformed the bass from something I'd swear at to a much more playable instrument. (I sold my old friction tuners to Zach at Frets in Westerly, RI if anyone is looking for a set.)
Side note: my partner's ex used to work at Guild, and she describes to me how the tuners originally had a manufacturing defect, a burr on them that would cut into the strings, and he'd bring home boxes and boxes of them and the whole family sat around the kitchen table with files and fine sandpaper smoothing them all down before they could be installed on the instruments.
I use the stock strap buttons. I just swing it up. It stays but I use a leather strap the rough back kinda grips my clothes. I do let it be horizontal for a measure or two.
The whole thing started because I let the headstock rest on my clavicle when reclining. Watched a lot of video while practicing this way. The huge resonance that goes into your body helps you own the tone from each pluck enabling the production of it live and loud. Hundreds of hours!
The whole thing started because I let the headstock rest on my clavicle when reclining. Watched a lot of video while practicing this way. The huge resonance that goes into your body helps you own the tone from each pluck enabling the production of it live and loud. Hundreds of hours!
I'm playing the Dearmond/Fenders exclusively. My two Guilds are retired. One is a rare white one. The Alun pickup replacement worked for a long while. The pre went in one and because I'm gigging I needed a commercially available replacement. I've had no failures with the Dearmond Fender Ashborys. They are quite good.
I have an acoustic Ashbory that has had the Fenders strings on for a decade.
The newer polyurethane strings prevalent on the Uke basses are more robust but don't approach the tone and note production ability of the original Guild Ashbory strings. The Fenders were a similar but distant copy. I mentioned there are different manufacturers and they have different qualities. The Aquila Reds have a slight texture and are less clacky than the Pahohoes and the variants like the Aguila whites. The Silver Rumblers are quite loud.
You may like any of them. We all have different tone goals.
I have an acoustic Ashbory that has had the Fenders strings on for a decade.
The newer polyurethane strings prevalent on the Uke basses are more robust but don't approach the tone and note production ability of the original Guild Ashbory strings. The Fenders were a similar but distant copy. I mentioned there are different manufacturers and they have different qualities. The Aquila Reds have a slight texture and are less clacky than the Pahohoes and the variants like the Aguila whites. The Silver Rumblers are quite loud.
You may like any of them. We all have different tone goals.
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That's beautiful! Is that a production item, or a custom/one-off?
Here's my slightly modded Guild Ashbory (geared tuners, FMIC pickup/bridge, which I managed to fit the original bridge cover to).
Here's my slightly modded Guild Ashbory (geared tuners, FMIC pickup/bridge, which I managed to fit the original bridge cover to).
One off. The fan bracing is published. What's amazing is it sounds just like an Ashbory. Just Acoustic. Big body but I have long arms.
Here's a link to an article about that Elastico.
Elastico Acoustic Ashbory-style small bass : Ashbory Bass
There are some on Reverb. The eBay red one is over priced. He's pricing it to match one in Japan that has been for sale at that price for a year. I spoke to him. He's not a player and just sells stuff. Meanwhile there are many in mint to near mint in the mid $300.s.
Again, enjoy.
I can't recommend or discourage you from the Kalas or Goldtone solid bodies because while they use the same or similar strings they don't sound alike. They are fine instruments. In the YouTube video at NAMM the testers are plucking really hard. With all that ambient sound in that hall it's understandable!
I own and play Ashborys and Kala and other uke basses and they're barely alike at all, only in small scale and rubbery strings. The U Bass is a very different animal. Some electric solid body uke basses are similar, but none are real Ashbury-ish as far as the variety of sounds you can get from it by altering your fingering and the location and touch of picking fingers, as well as using the stock pickup vol and tone controls. I've found the Ashbory to be far more versatile than any acoustic uke bass. There's no style of music I haven't used it for.
I've tried several alternative strings and always return to the stock silicone Ashbory sets. I alway detune it down when not in use and that helps strings not self destructing. Still pop Gs at gigs though, so I've been leaving them as 3 stringers for 15 years.
I've tried several alternative strings and always return to the stock silicone Ashbory sets. I alway detune it down when not in use and that helps strings not self destructing. Still pop Gs at gigs though, so I've been leaving them as 3 stringers for 15 years.
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