Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[fluent piffle]

Hello lovely rubbery Ashbory-type persons!

Just managed to pick up a nearly new black beauty, and can't seem to put it down. In fact, I just put a quickly improvised home recording together and put it on mySpace...  http://www.myspace.com/lepiff  - I've only had it about a week, so bear with me as, although i'm not a total stranger to fretless, i'm still getting used to the feel of the ultra-light Ashbory.

Very interested in some of the custom models people are making - some absolute beauties there! I'm also in the process of building an upright stand for a far healthier stance, so i'll put some pics and progress reports up soon, if anyone's interested.

Just been listening to redstriper steve's stuff...rocks! Nice one!


tiwie

[redstriper]

Hiya Tiwie and welcome to Ashbory land.
I'm enjoying to your myspace recording now - the Ash sounds very nice in that context and it sounds like you've taken to it straight away.
I would be interested to see your upright stand, although I'm not an upright player and  I do like to see the fingerboard so it might suit me.
Glad you enjoyed the reggae recordings, I also play the Ash with another group doing a variety of styles and I'll post a link when we have some recordings.
I've always had a problem with background hum from the Ashbory and a friend of mine aho knows a bit about electrics has just sorted it for me - I will post an article on here with instructions and pics to fix the problem, as I have heard other Ashbory owners complain about the same problem.
Cheers,
Steve.

[fluent piffle]

Hi steve,

I'm not really an upright player either, but having sat the Ash in my lap and played I can see that the position may have certain benefits. But i'm happy without frets as my usual player is a '69 Fender precision fretless (can be heard on the following track @ myspace). Playing a few instruments, one of the things i'm intending to do is to have the Ash standing in an upright position and play through a looper. As it will be poised in a playing position I will be free to do other things around it and come back to it...work in progress.

My playing nowadays tends to be of a slightly jazzy/arabic, world fushion type, which the upright sound seems to fit well with, my other main instruments being Frame drums, Udu, some guitar, keyboards and voice. I also used to play in a reggae band, about 20 years ago, in Manchester. Also played in soul bands, and I have to say I like the feel of a large band.

Can't say i've noticed a hum, but nice to know there is a fix possible if it develops one in the future!

Did I see somewhere else that you are using those Pahoehoe strings? Are they the same size (gauge) as the Fenders? I'm just considering the possibility of building something similar with maybe 5 strings and whether the two types of string could be combined to provide a wider range.

many thanks,

tiwie (it's another steve, but my little nieces pronounciation!)

[redstriper]

I also used to play in bands in Manchester which is my home town.

The pahoehoes are similar gauge to the original strings, but I wouldn't mix the 2 types - talc doesn't work on the pahoehoes and the silicone spray doesn't work on the old strings.

Maybe my Ashbory is unusual with the hum - try turning the bass on full and the treble right down and listen for any sound from the amp with the volume highw hen you are not playing.

I find the Ashbory quite hard to intonate without looking and I'm going to try a fiddle fretter to see if it helps - google it to see what I mean.

Steve.

[fluent piffle]

Ah yes, I can see how that might get a bit sticky - could end up kneeding dough halfway through a gig!

I have the first gig with the Ashbory this weekend, so i'll keep an ear out for that hum.

I also find the Ashbory more difficult to intonate at the moment, but that's because of the shorter scale and the fact that my fingers have to play closer together than they would with a standard size bass. I play with a lot of vibrato and slide anyway, and like you say, the Ashbory sound does seem to fit with the fusion-type/experimental musics rather well...but it has been said, "It's close enough for jazz!"

[tauzero]

I find playing with my fingers pointing more along the fingerboard violin-style than across it bass-style helps with intonation.

[heymelbs]

Interesting perception, I'll have to give that a try.

[fluent piffle]

I find playing with my fingers pointing more along the fingerboard violin-style than across it bass-style helps with intonation.

Yes that does seem to work a little better for me. I guess everyone adopts their own variations on a theme. One of the things I find generally 'better' without frets, from my perspective, is a wider scope for expression.

There was lots of whispering and pointing at the gig last saturday. I thought it was all about the Ashbory until someone pointed out that my fly was undone...

Going to try and progress with the upright stand this weekend.

[Bullheaven]

Hey just got my boy a blue one this thing is off the hook. I'm using a Slider 2 shoulder strap and it works great. Min. neck dive perfect playing possition. Can't wait to take it to practice.