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NBD: DeArmond Ashbory Bass

TolerancEJ

TolerancEJ

May 27, 2010
8,496
8,027
Vancouver, BC Canada
#1
I ordered a DeArmond Ashbory bass from Large Sound in January. It arrived yesterday. It is a fantastic little instrument.

It took a few minutes to get used to narrow string spacing and the silicon strings. It has a very distinctive tone and plays quite nicely. The sound is similar to an upright.

It came with a instructional sheet on getting the most out of the Ashbory, which includes various tips on playing and maximizing the life of the strings. The info sheet was included by the vendor.

The Ashbory is fretless with painted lines. But make sure to use your ears because the pained lines are not accurate. (We're supposed to use our ears with all fretless basses anyway.)

Sorry for the grainy iPhone pic...
DeArmondAshbory.jpg


I like the "club" thing. I could have sworn I saw an Ashbory Club in TalkBass once but I just performed a search with no results. If anyone finds it, let me know.
 
#2
I sold a couple of the original Guild Ashbory basses back in the '80s (I managed a guitar store from '77- '88) and then got a DeArmond one for myself around 2001. Very cool, albeit limited use instruments. Originally Guild shipped them with a small zip-lock bag of talcum powder to facilitate playing them because the original strings were pretty sticky. Of the two versions, I think the DeArmond is a better instrument, largely due to using better tuning machines. The originals used a friction style peg and the DeArmonds use a geared peg.

There's at least one recording of them that I know of, by Jack Bruce. It's "Kwela" from his 1989 album "A Question of Time".

John
 
#3
Thanks for the information. Yes, I received the little pouch of powder as well. (Probably explains why customs decided to open the product as it crossed the border. lol)

My DeArmond has the Fender logo stamped on the back of the headstock. So technically, this is my first Fender instrument.

Yes, it has its limitations. Having said that, I came up with some pretty cool sounds using it. Trying different techniques, what does and does not work well, etc. The information sheet provided to me suggested the Ashbory wasn't the best for slapping, but I got a really distinct sound just noodling with it for awhile.
 
#6
I like'em a lot, first i saw was in London 20yrs ago.

Dunno why somebody hasn't made a proper body or at least a body shell of sort (to "put" the bass inside it, dunno how to explain). IMO many luthiers would like to have a go at it, no? I know the word is portability, but still, it would be awesome to have small but regular-designed body - everytime i see somebody playing it, it looks umm funny...

BTW, i saw bit newer one also, made in early 90's, bit longer scale and more rectagular design.

What i wanna see, is Ed Friedland reviewing one :P
 
#8
I'll be back with lots of info. I love these. I gigged three times a week for two years with one. I prefer the Ashborys. It's just a preference. The tuning pegs work like violin pegs. Work for me. I often play them in an upright position. Paying no attention to the lines!!
Lay it on your chest with the pegs/headstock against your clavicle. You get great resonance. (Please disregard that phrase if you don't believe solid body instruments or even your night table has resonance.) You can practice while you watch movies etc.
 
#12
They did have some problems with the early formulation of the strings when FMIC started reissuing them under the DeArmond name, but I eventually got some newer versions (about five years ago or so?) that have held up very very well. The G and D used to disintegrate just sitting there (had nothing to do with the bag they came in, it was the string) but I've had the same set on there since at least 2005 and they're stable and sound.

The bridge isn't adjustable for intonation, but it's fretless so you really need to use your ear anyway. I've never played a lined fretless that really works right at the lines either so I've never paid attention. The lines are more of a target indicator than the target. They help with making jumps from the first fret to the seventh, but it still comes down to your own intonation.

John
 
#13
A heads up for you - From what I have read they have a tendency to break the G string. It seems that this may be due to the sharp edge on the tuner post.

To fix this, use a round file or a countersink to round the edge, and you will not have this problem.
 
#16
JTE said:
The G and D used to disintegrate just sitting there (had nothing to do with the bag they came in, it was the string) but I've had the same set on there since at least 2005 and they're stable and sound.
Click to expand...
You've had an FMIC G string on there unbroken for six years???:eek:

I'll have to get a set and see.

I've been using the Mike Tavener bulk G and it lasts forever, but it's a smaller diameter and doesn't really sound right after a while, very buzzy...but I didn't think I had any other option.
 
#17
Bongolation said:
You've had an FMIC G string on there unbroken for six years???:eek:

I'll have to get a set and see.

I've been using the Mike Tavener bulk G and it lasts forever, but it's a smaller diameter and doesn't really sound right after a while, very buzzy...but I didn't think I had any other option.
Click to expand...

Yep, but it's the later version. The original formulation they had when they reintroduced it was pretty bad- I went through three G and two D strings in about six months- just disintegrated on the bass without use. Happened both in the bag and out of it, and they didn't break at the tuning machine. Just came apart.

I got a new version of them with Fender's packaging but it was different colors on the packaging, and the strings looked different, a bit more white and less transparent. I don't recall if the good ones came from JustStrings.com or from The Guild Guy (Jay Pilzer at newhopeguitartraders.com).

John
 
#18
The newer strings for these are far better than they used to be.

There is no way of adjusting the string lengths that I know of. Just play it like it is unlined. :)

I love my Ashbory. I bring it along as my backup bass. It sounds awesome through my Acme B4 cab.
 

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