Natural Ash basses are boring

[Roger W]

Natural Ash basses are boring. Especially with a maple fretboard.
It's like eating unsalted soda crackers. Leaves you wishing there was some flavor to it.
I don't get the allure.

View attachment 4196653

You pretty much nailed my aesthetic right there: natural body, maple fretboard, black pick guard. As it turns out, my #1 bass looks nothing like that and it’s my #1 in spite of how it looks.

 

[Not yet]

70s thing for me, had some now don't. Been there done that, but best to those who like em

 

[pie_man_25]

>Natural Ash basses are boring

Kind of a dumb hill to die on, but you do you.

 

[sawzalot]

Anyone who doesn't like their natural ash/maple fretboard 70's Jazz basses can send them to me and I'll take them off your hands FOR FREE, that's how nice a guy I am!

 

[Ruknrole]

Agree completely, why a thread about this?

Because why not?

 

[devnulljp]

Natural Ash basses are boring. Especially with a maple fretboard.
It's like eating unsalted soda crackers. Leaves you wishing there was some flavor to it.
I don't get the allure.

View attachment 4196653

Fair enough. Don't buy one.
Easy.

 

[cxcxcx]

It’s not the wand, it’s the wizard. Marcus Miller won Grammy awards and helped sell millions of albums playing a natural ash body Jazz.

 

[Ruknrole]

>Natural Ash basses are boring

Kind of a dumb hill to die on, but you do you.

 

[coyote1]

I don’t like the plastic pickguards, and often the metal pickup housings. Take a Ric bass. You have this luscious neck-thru maple instrument.... then you put all this ugly metal and plastic all over it in a way that you cannot un-do?

That said, natural ash does look better if it has an ‘offset’ of some sort. A dark fretboard, a dark pickguard. Something.

 

[Ruknrole]

Ibanez used Tamo Ash for their Artist line in the late-'70s into the early-'80s and it was very interesting. Here's a Tele with Tamo Ash-

That's what I'm talking about! A little color makes life more interesting!

 

[Ruknrole]

Sound like a troll thread if I’ve seen one...

Negative, not a troll thread. It even has a poll. But I appreciate you commenting.

 

[Altitude]

This one is the worst.

 

[Bitterdale]

 

[Relayer71]

Like flippant sardonicism makes us so much more than animals.

I'm just pointing out the obvious. If that makes me an animal, *growl*.

("lazy as hell", "wood scraps & strings", that's not flippant, eh?)

 

[Bitterdale]

 

[James Collins]

Isn't it just the final form of a road worn?

 

[Mastermold]

Wood is not exciting maybe but it’s beautiful IMO. YMMV.

 

[Relayer71]

Three tone sunburst is boring

 

[Relayer71]

Well, that's just like, your opinion, man.
I despise black paint, so there!
"Oh, another black bass! How original, how outre, how radical! Henry Ford was right! Take my money now, it's got black paint!"

What about black paint over Ash?

 

[abarson]

What about black paint over Ash?

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That's dye, not paint. Dye still allows the wood grain's character to be noticed.
I have nothing against well-applied dye.
I despise the "dipped in a tar vat" look. Flame on!