Ashbory Bass Tour   by Brock Frazier	<< Back   Next >>

Part four: Playing the Ashbory.

The Ashbory sound is often compared to an upright bass and depending on how it is played, it can make some convincing upright-like sounds. By virtue of the expressive nature of the strings, it is more versatile than an upright and can also make some full, deep tones like those normally associated with an analog synth. Being fretless, there are some shared playing characteristics and sounds with an upright bass, but depending on the technique used, there are more sounds to be had, and ones that are unique to the Ashbory.

The lack of body where the neck goes into the body area creates a really nice, comfortable, and intuitive thumb rest, which is more comfortable than the top or pickup edge on a bass guitar.

Left hand technique: Many of the popular techniques for upright bass and fretless bass guitar apply to the Ashbory bass as well. Vibrato can be achieved by rocking the left hand. The fingers "fret" the strings much like with a fretless bass, though with the shorter scale, adjustments are made with less motion and the silicone strings are more readily applied to the fingerboard. With the smaller scale, reaches are far easier, yet the distances are long enough to where one can maintain one finger for each without difficulty to the octave position on the neck.

Right hand technique: There are a variety of methods that can be used to get different and wonderful tones from the Ashbory:

• Fingerstyle: The standard bass guitar alternating two finger method works well with the Ashbory. Play closer to the bridge for a brighter sound with more attack, or move up the neck for a deeper, warmer tone.
• Pulls: Not unlike how some upright Jazz players pull the strings and make them snap, Ashbory strings can also be pulled and there's a similar faltering sound. The difference isn't as much how it sounds but how the sound is made, since the upright bass achieves the sound from the instrument faltering whereas with the Ashbory the similar sound is created from the faltering of the strings themselves.
• Hard Taps: Take the left hand and mute the strings towards the end of the fingerboard. With the right hand, place it on the fingerboard with the fingers parallel to the strings. Keep one finger for each string and start tapping and holding the strings down. Try different patterns and rhythms. The resulting sound is a fat, low, percussive sound not like that from any other stringed instrument.

There are many more methods and techniques for the Ashbory, and certainly some that have yet to be explored.