"New?" Ashbory Basses??

fronobulax

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I remember a discussion of the improvements in the D'Armond over the original Guild but all I can find is Grot's post on page one so your link following skills may be better than my memory.

Guild made several acoustic/electric basses. The B-4 is most common and the B-50 the most sought after. The B-30 is similar to the B-50. Someday I'll make a chart detailing the evolution and differences but that has not happened yet. There are one or two others but I think Grot is the only one who has them.

I don't know how much sound the Ashbory puts out but I upgraded to the B-50 because I wanted more sound than a B-4. BTW the acoustic basses sound more like guitars than uprights but I think someone has said that nylon strings on an acoustic come close to the standup bass sound.

There is a B-4 on eBay at $688 that has been dropping in price from $900 over that past year. My B-4 is in better condition but I also would like a little more which is why it is not seriously on the market (but PM me an offer anyway). There are a couple B-30's on eBay for upwards of $1500. Last B-50 I can recall on eBay went for $1,700.

If you want to play with friends acoustically, the Ashbory is certainly your lowest cost option with Guild on the label.
 

jte

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Follow up....

The Ashbory was designed by people in England, but they knew they'd need manufacturing and distribution from a known and respected company to get anywhere in the mid '80s. They eventuually hooked up with Guild who were willing to make AND market them. This was around the same time as the original Brian May guitar, the Aviator, et. al. Guild was really trying to get the image built up and having new and different stuff was key to them. Not that it always worked, but they were trying to NOT be just "a Gibson knock-off" or "the 12-string company".

The Ashbory didn't sell well, and was discontinued by about 1990 or earlier. It re-appeared when FMIC started the DeArmond line. FMIC bought the DeArmond trademarks, and made a series of guitars loosely based on older Guilds. They had them produced in Korea and included the Ashbory in that line. As I said earlier, based on the two we sold in the '80s and the one I bought around 2000 or so, the DeArmond one is objectively better- better tuning machines especially. Strings were a problem for FMIC at first, but after a while they changed the formulation to one that sounded good AND didn't self-destruct.

Sound? It's got a lot of the vibe of a string bass. Those big strings are critical to that sound, and it does it very well. The 18" scale can be a problem and if you're not used to fretless instruments the small scale (where very slight errors in placement make noticeable errors in intonation) can be frustrating. It's not at all like the Guild acoustic bass guitars (an area where there are only two production instruments ever that worked- the Guild B-30/B-50 and the Ernie Ball Earthwood). Listen to the Jack Bruce track "Kwela" from his "A Question Of Time" album for a good recorded example of the Ashbory (his was an original Guild model).

John
 

fronobulax

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jte said:
As I said earlier, based on the two we sold in the '80s and the one I bought around 2000 or so, the DeArmond one is objectively better- better tuning machines especially. Strings were a problem for FMIC at first, but after a while they changed the formulation to one that sounded good AND didn't self-destruct.

Thanks. I knew I had seen informed opinion comparing the two but could not find it and since I have been accused of "Remembering Things That Didn't Happen" there is always some doubt.
 

mavuser

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I am going to pass on the Ashbory, thanks everyone. here is the link if someone else wants to take a gander.
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/msg/2217400170.html

He did tell me its "in great shape, even has the original pickguard, and I have new strings for it." he also dropped from 185 to 175 to 155 within about 12 hours.

but he also wanted to meet me in a shopping center on the side of the road...(umm...i would need to hear it in an amp dude...)

im in no rush and to be honest im just a recreational/hobbyist guitar player. i do really enjoy it, i just dont do a whole lot with it. i am not a professional musician.

thanks for all the suggestions, i think the Kala is really cool. acoustic/electric, short scale, a fretless option and different wood choices. the bass has always intriuged me so maybe ill check one out at some point.

cheers,
mav
 

fronobulax

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jte said:
fronobulax said:
...I have been accused of "Remembering Things That Didn't Happen" there is always some doubt.

Ah, I see- you're married too! :D :D :D

John

Yes, but the first time it happened it was my mother. As an adult I was telling a story and she took exception with key details.

We both agreed that when we moved out of the house I grew up in (about 15 years before the conversation) there were dessicated peas under a pallet in the basement. We both agreed that I had put them there many years before. We both agreed that I pretty much refused to eat peas and that refusal was behind many clashes of wills. What we didn't agree on was how my uneaten peas and I ended up in the basement. I claimed I was sent to the basement to finish the peas whereas she claimed I had gone there voluntarily and without permission to leave the dining table.

Yeah, I still don't like peas.

But I'd love a green Starfire Bass!
BA-1472.jpg


(How's that for a veer?)
 

mavuser

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hey btw fronobulax, thanx for the offer on the bass. im going to pass but it sounds like u should (and want to) hang onto it anyway. and also, as to "remembering things that didnt happen" we have that in common for sure..."i have seen more than i remember and remember more than i have seen" no doubts...

also nice green Guild!

ok now i will post some pix of my favorite bass player out there right now, Catherine Popper. because she is awesome, has a classic Guild (late 60s, as well as a late 60s Fender Pbass, and a stand-up), and lets face it, she is beautiful. she plays with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals but has a never ending resume (Ryan Adams, Levon Helm, Willie Nelson, James Iha, Nora Jones and a ton more). cheers.

qUGIH8qSTnlxpr3nWXYqe9JJo1_500.jpg

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3438321554_a7e4f7aeb8.jpg

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fronobulax

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Thanks. Nice shot of the Starfire although with the strap and neckline it is perilously close to a wardrobe malfunction.

A little Google identifies it as a 1967. Good looking 'burst. Details suggest the earlier part of 1967.
 

mavuser

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I'm pretty sure Cat's Guild is a 67 and her Fender is a 66. I have often wondered if she got them from the same person, possibly a familly member. Maybe ill ask her one day
 

fronobulax

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mavuser said:
I'm pretty sure Cat's Guild is a 67 and her Fender is a 66. I have often wondered if she got them from the same person, possibly a familly member. Maybe ill ask her one day
From her myspace page here.
I play a 1966 P Bass and a 1967 Guild Starfire hollowbody.
 
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