Fender To Discontinue Ash Bodies In Production Models

[drTStingray]

Presumably this will mean the end of the natural finish 70s American Original basses. These were as iconic in the 70s as the sunburst ones were in the 60s. 

As Chilliwater mentioned, Musicman announced something similar some while ago and now only offers the Joe Dart bass in natural.

Presumably Fender means you can only specify an ash body as a non-production line bass - ie a Custom Shop one. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by drTStingray

[Cuzzie]

@drTStingrayIt says it will use its stock  responsibly, continue the vintage range and potentially source responsibly - so there will be some.

Is this all ash, or swamp ash mainly....

[Bobthedog]

On 17/04/2020 at 16:35, AndyTravis said:

Probably more of an availability issue rather than conservation issue - although that’s a nice spin.

Some people call my cynical, but they would, wouldn’t they?

Ash dieback (a fungus) in the UK is looking to kill 70% of all UK ash trees and there is no known proven cure. Along with the US borer beetle I would say it is a conservation issue. It will become availability issue if you want to put it that way. It has already affected most of my young ash trees. 

[Cuzzie]

Thanks for that, I knew about the floods affecting swamp ash reserves and of fungus elsewhere but didn’t know about the U.K. and regular ash, which has fallen out of favour a bit due to the desire for lighter instruments 

[Doctor J]

EBMM used poplar quite extensively for a while on solid coloured instruments, IIRC. You don’t hear of people complaining about their poplar Stingrays - in fact, I’d say lots of people don’t know they have have a poplar ‘Ray and can’t hear any difference. It’s a fine wood. I have a poplar-bodied Charvel JP which is a nice instrument for sure.

[kodiakblair]

4 hours ago, Bobthedog said:

 Along with the US borer beetle I would say it is a conservation issue.

Sad thing about tress infected by the borer beetle is they get left to rot or used for firewood. The beetle goes for the bark so the wood below is fine.

You can't transport infected tree until they get stripped and sprayed,folk don't want to pay for that hence the firewood option.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I just read an article about this.

Definitely due to Borer Beetle impact.

There are Ash species that are resistant, but the timber is heavier than they'd like- resulting in 12-13lb jazz basses. As a result, they're looking at chambering to cut the mass to be more manageable.

Beyond that, Fender are looking at Pine (Roasted), Cedar and Sassafras as replacement body woods.

Historically significant reproductions can be ordered in the original Ash, as can custom shop instruments, but there's a restricted amount of Ash available.

[BigRedX]

Ash is a very wide-ranging description as there are over 40 species of tree that are described as "Ash". Strangely enough "Swamp Ash" isn't a distinct species but simply refers to any ash species that has grown in swampy conditions.

[ClassicVibes]

57 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Ash is a very wide-ranging description as there are over 40 species of tree that are described as "Ash". Strangely enough "Swamp Ash" isn't a distinct species but simply refers to any ash species that has grown in swampy conditions.

[such]

On 19/04/2020 at 20:17, Lozz196 said:

Gloss, it’s also a nice chunker of a neck, very similar in feel to the US Standard Precisions of 2012-16. 

I've got the Firenza Red version (somewhat ugly, but stumbled on it in a second hand section of a local store and had to leave with it) and totally agree with the neck description (owned a 2012 Am Std P for a bit). Brilliant bass, and one I use most these days.

[fretmeister]

Cedar and paulownia are the future!

Loving my Sandberg Superlight.

Slowly saving up for a 5 string. And then probably after that a VS (precision type). There isn't a VS superlight in the catalogue but I'm informed by their marketing dude that they will make one if asked.

Ability to save up is somewhat hampered at the moment though!

[hooky_lowdown]

30 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Cedar and paulownia are the future!

I hope not. All the Paulownia bodied basses I've tried were so lightweight, they had terrible neck dive. 😥

[Cuzzie]

3 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

I hope not. All the Paulownia bodied basses I've tried were so lightweight, they had terrible neck dive. 😥

No neck dive on the Sandberg ones

[chris_b]

3 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

I hope not. All the Paulownia bodied basses I've tried were so lightweight, they had terrible neck dive. 😥

If they all had neck dive maybe it's because they weren't designed correctly.

[therealting]

Headless paulownia basses would be amazing!

[drTStingray]

I think poplar and basswood will be more likely, if made well they make fantastic basses (eg MM Stingrays (including the excellent US Sub) and Bongos). Presumably alder for sunburst. 

I suspect you just won't be able to get a natural wood finish Fender unless you go Custom Shop, and likely Masterbuilt when you put an ash option in. 

Other manufacturers have been doing this for a while - I can only think Fender's customary lateness to the issue may be based on the fact natural ash or even ash at all is less common than say, alder on their instruments, especially as the late 60s look with flatwound strings is probably more popular right now than the mid/late 70s (such as Marcus Miller's Jazz). 

Different for Musicman as natural ash is one of the iconic original finishes and has been popular ever since. 

Edited April 22, 2020 by drTStingray