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Post subject: Fender/Guild Ashbory
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 3:49 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2016 3:41 pm
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Hi everyone,

I'm looking to see if anyone knows where I can find an Ashbory Bass. I haven't had much luck on my own. If you happen to have one and want to get rid of it let me know! Otherwise if you can point me in a good direction on where to get one that would be excellent!


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Post subject: Re: Fender/Guild Ashbory
Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 1:00 pm
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Rock Star
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
I would steer you away from an Ashbory for the following reasons.

1. The last ones marketed as DeArmond and as Fender had some issues not present on the original Guild version. As one example the tuner gears on the Indonesian ones were prone to failure because they appeared to be made of inferior metal, like pot-metal.

2. Fender was making string sets for them up till about two or three years ago. Strings are now a tough find. Strings on them break frequently. Those Fender strings were the only string sets I know about that were made specifically for them. You can buy some bulk silicone o-ring material in the proper diameter and make your own sets though. A company in Germany sells the o-ring material.

3. The Ashbory 18.5 inch scale is very very short making them difficult to play with anything better than ballpark intonation.

4. You have to use talcum powder on the silicone strings and your fingers. Talcum is proving to be a carcinogen, especially for women.

I would steer you toward the Kala U-Bass available in both fretted and fretless versions instead. Also the U-Bass comes in acoustic/electric and solid body electric styles too. There is also a five string version solid body USA model available. The solid body has a 21 inch scale. The acoustic/electric scale is just over 20 inches. The slightly longer scale of a Kala U-Bass results in improved intonation. The acoustic/electric U-Bass sounds remarkably close to a stand up bass, which is also what the Ashbory sounds like. The solid body Kala U-Bass sounds more like a traditional electric like a P-Bass. The Kala is a genuine hit and string sets should be available for a long long long time. The Ashbory has come and gone and come and gone again. The U-Bass killed it off.

I thought I wanted an Ashbory at one time also. Fortunately I didn't buy one before trying a U-Bass. The Kala is way easier to play. They range from about $400 for an import acoustic/electric model to just under a grand for a USA solid body made in California issue. Here are two U-Bass demos and one Ashbory demo.







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