That rubber-band bass

  • Thread starter Thread starter dafduc
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dafduc

dafduc

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I've always been intrigued by those little Ashbory rubber string basses. Anyone use one? More importantly, does anyone use one as their MAIN bass? Any applications/styles for which they're particularly good?

And 18" scale sounds really tiny. Would they be a good starter for a kid???

Daf (whose grandkid's too little for even an 18", but they grow so fast...)
 
I played around w/ one many years ago. I remember it being very mid-rangey sounding, and the strings were incredibly sticky to the touch. A fun novelty, but I doubt you'll find anyone using it as their main bass.... but who knows?

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com
 
One of its selling points was that it supposedly sounded more like an upright than the typical electric bass does.

Never played one myself. I do remember reading that Jack Bruce used it a bit once, and I saw Trey Gunn play one with King Crimson two and a half years ago for a few numbers (but he didn't play it at all this past March). I never heard of anyone using the Ashbory as their primary instrument.
 
It's worth pointing out that they're fretless. With the short scale, that causes some pretty interesting fingering.

They have quite a following on some forums among serious bassists, but their main problem seems to be a G string that chronically breaks if stored under tension. Sometimes it just breaks anyway. Fender still markets the strings for these and promises to do so in the future, but they're about $15 a set at street price.

I figure I'll get one of these eventually, but not until I find a deal and a solution to the string problem.
 
i want one.


where can i get one?


where can i atleast see one?


or play with one?


they sound awsome.


but im still stickin with the p-bass.....


freak
 
Talc!

I owned one of those for a couple of years. I recall that I used talc on my hands and on the strings to get around the stickiness problem. At one point I used surgical tubing for strings but the original strings sounded and felt better. It is really important to keep your nails trimmed and filed smooth or you will nick a string and once they nick, they break quickly. They are fun but not something I would use as my #1 bass.
 
Thanks, everyone.

Anyone know of any recordings that used an Ashbory???

BTW, Bass Freak, Musician's Friend used to have them. Maybe they still do. If not, just do a Google on Ashbory...
 
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