AB2 Review

A full scale neck with a downsized body make the AB2 a top choice if you like it light without sacrificing sound. The rosewood fingerboard gives you a warm, mellow tone and the AP pickup delivers it to the amp and makes it all happen.

Features:	7.5
Sound:	6.5
Action:	7.5
Reliability:	8
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	7.5
Users rating:	4.6
Comments:	4

overall: 7

Featured review by: oz_bassist, on february 13, 2006

Price paid: $ 228

Purchased from: Mindarie Music Store

Features: I'm not sure what year it was made in but its got 20 medium frets. Maple nech with a rosewood fretboard, passive electronics, tone and volume controls with P Bass style pickups. Finished in either black cherry red or blue.

- Basswood body
- Rosewood fingerboard
- 20 fret maple neck
- Chrome hardware
- Standard bridge
- Die-Cast machine heads
- AP pickup
- Vol/tone controls
- Metal knobs. // 7

Sound: Well, I play punk rock rock and metal but it suits that style just fine. But it gets really annoying because of the buzz on the D string and when you go passed the 12 fret other than that a good bass for a beginner. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set it up pretty well but it does have fairly poor pickups so I got Fender P-Bass ones for mine. Another thing is that on mine it had a poorly cut nut and the finish on the side started to wear in the first month I had it. // 6

Reliability & Durability: I give it this, it will last in a gig and I've never had to use a backup (I can't 'cause I haven't got one) the strap buttons seem to be pretty good. // 8

Impression: If it were stolen I wouldn't but this one due to many other better products such as an Ibanez SR100 and a Yamaha RBX170. But for beginners its all right but not as good as the Ibanez and the Yamaha. // 7

overall: 8

Reviewed by: 0, on june 30, 2008

Price paid: A$ 200

Features: The Ashton AB2 has a 20 fret, 34" scale, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. The body from solid basswood. The fonosh on my bass is black, although I believe it is also available in blue and red. The body shape is a double cut-away design, and is considerably smaller in size than other basses of this kind, such as the P-Bass. This makes it more managable for beginners, which this bass is aimed at. The bridge is a Fender style hardtail, with four individual moving saddles. The bass features a single P-Bass style pickup with a volume and tone control. The tuners are generic no-names in a 2+2 format. // 8

Sound: I play bass across many styles ranging from blues to metal. I love the neck on this bass and playing these styles is easy on it. However, the pickup lets it down, as with most cheap guitars. I do not currently own a bass amp, and playing through a guitar amp it does sound cheap. One thing that does surprise is the lack of noise frpm the electronics. I also own an Ashton AG131 electric guitar which buzzes terribly, so it nice that the AB2 is more refined in this area. The tone control is quite bad and it jumps from high treble to high bass with no real in between. The volume suffers the same trouble, going basically from full volume to no volume. // 6

Action, Fit & Finish: When I got the bass the action was just a tad high. A simple neck shim had it playing much better. As I mentioned above, the pickup is not very well set-up, but afterall, this is a cheap bass. The routing of all cavities on the bass is cleanm which is more than I can asay for other cheap instruments I've played. My bass for some reason has an upside down saddle for the g-string which means I have to losen the string considerably to adjust the action, which is annoying, but obviously noot all AB2's will have this inconveniance. Overall, it is a nicely set-up bass for the price. // 9

Reliability & Durability: My bass has not seen live playing and probably never will, however it has survived the mate I got it from who didn't take much care of it. It also survived a recent fall. The stock strap buttons were a bit on the small side, and I now use a DiMarzio clip on strap. The bass seems reliable and I'd be confident that the electronics wouldn't conk out on me during a performance, but I don't play bas at gigs. The finish is solid and even. // 8

Impression: The Ashron AB2 is the best budget bass I have played, and with a bit of TLC will serve its owner for many years. I've owned the bass for a few years now, and am planning on upgrading the electronics in the near future. The electronics are the only real let down of the bass, the neck is just as nice as necks on some basses up to three times the price I paid. When I bought the bass it was because my mate was selling it and I thought a bass would be handy to have. I am glad that I made the purchase. For the price, you can't ask for much more than the AB2 provides. // 9

Comments

[punksucks666]

**** thoes off, my first bass and it sucked, i hated it so much after a gig at ma school i smashed it over the steps near da cantien.....felt good

[punk_isntemo12]

**** thoes off, my first bass and it sucked, i hated it so much after a gig at ma school i smashed it over the steps near da cantien.....felt good

hehehe funny. where the hell is Mindarie?? the bass sounds ok from what youv said, but i wouldnt buy it. get yourself sumthin better.

[aMbival3nt]

punksucks666 wrote:

**** thoes off, my first bass and it sucked, i hated it so much after a gig at ma school i smashed it over the steps near da cantien.....felt good

Damn dude, you're so hardcore

[Wratheh]

Nice bass for beginners like myself. As said, the D string does like to play itself but if you're quick enough at muting it's no biggie.