I normally play a ukitar (a 6 string guitar tuned ADGCEA, a 4th above the regular guitar). When I read the reviews of the Ashbory, I decided to try tuning it ADGC, a 5th below the normal bass. Now, the high string doesn't break, and I have a really nice rumble to the lower tones. This is a great little bass. It's a lot harder to slam on, but it's a lot easier to tap on. The strings are very expressive. If you have small hands like I do, this is the perfect bass for you. It's a lot easier for small hands to play. In short, I love my Ashbory and play it quite a bit, even though I am normally the lead guitar (on my ukitar) and/or melodica player for our group.

I've been playing bass on and off for 40 years. I bought my Ashbory on a whim and I haven't been sorry. Judging from some of the other reviews I think some folks don't realize what they are getting when they buy one of these. I think you either love it or hate it without much in between. I use my for recording and couldn't be happier with it. It has it's faults, i.e. string breakage, intonation, etc. But if you want a bass that sounds equal to an upright, you will put up with the quirks of this bass. I played an upright bass in a college jazz band in the 60's and I can tell you, this little Ashbory has that sound nailed. Just tune down your strings before putting it away and use talc when you play it. it's pure simplicity and a joy to play.

The tuners are (Crap) I had to change them before I could even tune it. The brass gear teeth broke off. They were hard to turn and would not turn enough to tune it. I had to take the post from them and put another gear and knob on them. Hope you have better luck than I did. And the G string broke before I could get it to pitch.

I'm a keys player who likes playing bass on occasion, so I'm a very simple player. I love this silly thing (and you will look silly playing it, it looks it was made by Fisher-Price), and will never sell it. It's just too pleasurable to play. The neck is so short, you barely have to move your hand to get where you need to go, and the bizarre rubber strings have a sensitivity to touch that make them extremely expressive, especially in the softer end of your playing range. The idea of being able to stow this near your recording rig (because it's so tiny), and have access to such an interesting range of bass sounds (very warm and acoustic-sounding) by just reaching for this little thing -- well, that's just some kind of heaven for certain bass nerds, I guess. The first time I changed a string, it was a little unnerving -- I was so sure I was going to break the darn thing well before getting anywhere near in tune. But I didn't. It just hangs in there, sounding all sweet and adorable. I played it all night long at a musician friend's birthday party, and it was one of the most effortless playing experiences of my life -- I really could have gone on forever.

I received it okay - no problems there. The g and d strings kept going out of tune (had for four days). But worst of all, the intonation was way out and there's no way to strobe tune this guitar. The twelth fret was almost a whole step lower than the harmonic. Ouch. I wouldn't recommend this bass to any professional musician. If you want to get your kid started on bass - ccol.