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[Danko]

Hello all!

Yesterday I got my blue Ashbory through the customs and other import crap. Wooohooo! This is a first one in these parts of the world (Croatia to be exact). I intend to keep it a seecret till I can play good on it.

So here is a newbie question... How do you keep your Ash balanced? Since it doesn't have a usual big body that I can brace with my right elbow, it keeps swinging in all directions. It has very different balance that a normal bass. Neck goes down and to the front when I just let it dangle. I first tried to use my leather strap because I didn't like the one I got with an Ash, and it was a disaster. Then I tied it with the enclosed strap, and now its a bit better, but still cant stay still. The only place I can keep it under control is when the body rests on the upper side of my right hip. When I play it sideways- so to say.

Sitting with body on my right knee (my usual home-practice position) is out of the question. Body slips too easilly off my knee with every pluck I do. It's because it's so lightweight I guess.

How do you guys manage to control it?

[Alun]

They can be a bit awkward at first. If I'm standing I tend to rest the heel o my picking hand palm on the top of the body to keep it down. If I'm sitting, I tend to keep the strap on and rest the bass on my left leg in more of a classical guitar position. this also keeps the playing position very close to the way it is when I'm standing.

Alun.

[jburtonca]

Try this: http://www.largesound.com/ashboryarticle/mod/strapmove/ It works.

Jeff

[Danko]

Try this: http://www.largesound.com/ashboryarticle/mod/strapmove/ It works.

Jeff

Hmm, dunno. Tried that. The enclosed strap had like shoelaces, so I tied one end to the headstock just as you did, and other to the output jack. It worked relatively good, but there is still too much friction between strings and my plucking fingers. So, this way I make ashbory jump up and down.

Maybe I'll attach an iron rod of some sort to a back strap button, so I could press it with my right elbow and control the balance. Or I, myself,  may try to adjust to the current situation.

Danko

[topher]

I play sitting usually. I use a short strap over my right shoulder, using the factory strap buttons. I use a right-angle guitar cord into the body, and I prop that against my right leg.

However, I really want the body up and to my left about 2 to 4 more inches. So I intend to make a removable brace of light aluminum bar stock and lined with adhesive neoprene. This will attach to the Ashbory by means of a screwed-on bracket.

Question: has anybody already tried this, and if so, how did it work out?

If I try this I'll let you know how I like it and will post a photo.

[Brock]

topher,

Sounds interesting. Please share your results with us. I don't know of anyone ever trying what you describe.

-Brock

[honestjohnny]

I find that the stock buttons work well enough at balancing, if I wear the Ashbory high on my body.  Essentially, I tighten a regular guitar strap all the way down and slip it on in the usual way. This places the Ashbory about parallel with my nipples.  Then my forearm balances the neck when I rest it against the body.  I throw on a pair of Dunlop Lokstraps for stability.

[c10]

Suede strap, stock buttons, no problem.

[ctangent]

I was fortunate enough to discover a way of balancing the Ashbory that places it in the perfect playing position for me and without modification or investment.

I wear the Ashbory in the conventional way, using the free strap that comes with it. But I thread my cord through my pants beltloop located between the right front pocket and zipper. Once I'm plugged into the Ashbory, I feed the cord back through the beltloop, including the plug, which catches on the beltloop preventing the headstock from doing a nosedive towards the floor.

Hope this helps.

[topher]

I made a leg brace from aluminum bar stock from the hardware store. I put a twist in it and then bent it over and put a curve in it. I padded the curve with some neoprene I had. That's the part that rests against my leg. Then I wrapped the straight part with "industrial-strength" Velcro. I put a big patch of the complementary Velcro on the back plate of the instrument.

I'll take and post a couple photos soon, but this arrangement allows quite a bit of adjustibility, it's removable, it's cheap and easy to make and use, and it solved my problem quite well! I've gigged with this arrangement I think 6 times now.

My only complaint is that it is too big to fit in the case pocket.

Topher

[cybersnapper]

Before life as a bass player, I played clarinet and used a neck strap. I now use this neck strap all the time on the Ash by connecting the neck strap hook onto the upper button of the bass. There are no modifications to the instrument. I simply unhook it when not playing. The strap can easilly be adjusted to a comfortable height. This method allows me to easilly alter the angle of the bass depending on what sound I want. (I play Traditional dance music, playing & sounding like a double bass). To keep the thing in balance, my right thumb is usually about in line with the uppermost fret mark allowing free access to the strings (no other part of my right hand makes any contact with the instrument). My left hand thumb is always on the back of the neck and never used to contact the strings. Most of the balancing work is done with the left hand with a slight downward pressure causing the bass to bias towards the body. The combination of the left hand and the right hand action with the opposite effect from the neckstrap provides me with a reliable, comfortable and secure way to play. I have only found the problem of balance an issue when I am NOT playing as you have to keep hold of it to stop it diving to the floor. All I do now is simply unhook it from the neck strap and treat it like holding a fiddle or something!
Sorry if my rambles go on a bit, I gig with the Ash between 2 and 4 times every week and had to really think about what I did to keep the bass balanced. It is completely 2nd nature to me.

[topher]

Here are some photos of my brace and how it works for me.







The brace is just a short length of 1" aluminum from the hardware store. I bent it by hand in the vise. I added self-adhesive neoprene as a cushion to my leg (and it's probably not really needed.) I used "industrial strength" Velcro to attach the thing to the back cover plate. Thus it is removable and adjustable.

It works very wel. I've gigge with it 6 or 7 times so far - will two more times by the end of the week.

[tradman]

Hello all!

Yesterday I got my blue Ashbory through the customs and other import crap. Wooohooo! This is a first one in these parts of the world (Croatia to be exact). I intend to keep it a seecret till I can play good on it.

So here is a newbie question... How do you keep your Ash balanced? Since it doesn't have a usual big body that I can brace with my right elbow, it keeps swinging in all directions. It has very different balance that a normal bass. Neck goes down and to the front when I just let it dangle. I first tried to use my leather strap because I didn't like the one I got with an Ash, and it was a disaster. Then I tied it with the enclosed strap, and now its a bit better, but still cant stay still. The only place I can keep it under control is when the body rests on the upper side of my right hip. When I play it sideways- so to say.

Sitting with body on my right knee (my usual home-practice position) is out of the question. Body slips too easilly off my knee with every pluck I do. It's because it's so lightweight I guess.

How do you guys manage to control it?

[tradman]

From Tradman
Hi all, I have just taken delivery of my first Ashbory and it was immediately apparent that the balance of the thing was terrible, I just tied a cord around the neck just behind the nut  and attached it to the buckle of the strap just down from my left shoulder, that seems to have done the trick.
I would be interested in any other ways that owners have found.
Also I need a hard case for it, any ideas as to where I can get one please?