Ashbory bass

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Ashbory Bass

Manufacturer	Currently Fender. Previously manufactured by the Guild Guitar Company (1986-1988). The Ashbory was re-introduced by Fender in 1999 under the DeArmond brand name.[1]
Period	1986 — 1988, 1999 — present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Neck-thru
Woods
Body	Agathis, Guild models used poplar (one-piece with body)
Neck	Agathis, Guild models used poplar (one-piece with body)
Fretboard	Plastic, fretless
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	One active piezoelectric bridge pickup.
Colors available
Black, Frost Red, Moon Blue

The Ashbory bass, designed by Alun Ashworth-Jones and Nigel Thornbory, is an 18-inch scale fretless (but marked) electric bass developed in 1985. This scale is just over half of the 34-inch scale of an ordinary bass guitar. When amplified, the Ashbory produces a low, resonant bass tone similar to the tone of a pizzicato (plucked) double bass.

Comparison in size between an Ashbory Bass (blue) and a standard sized bass guitar.

1 Features
2 Playing Styles
3 Miscellaneous
4 External links

[edit] Features

The Ashbory uses silicone rubber strings and an acoustic piezo-transducer pickup to create the instrument's tone. The lower string tension of the instrument means that no truss rod is used in the Ashbory's neck. Unlike electric basses and electric guitars, neither the bridge nor the neck is adjustable. The manufacturer recommends that the silicone strings be dusted with talc powder to make the rubber strings easier to play.

[edit] Playing Styles

The manufacturer recommends "standard electric bass 'fingerstyle' playing", and acknowledges that electric bass techniques such as slapping and popping and pick playing do not work as well on the Ashbory. On the other hand, the Ashbory can be used to create additional sounds. By muting the strings with the left hand and using the right hand to strike the strings, an analog-synth-like sound can be created. Snapping the strings with the right hand can create an upright-bass-like slap sound (a technique used in bluegrass and rockabilly upright bass playing).