Ashdown Roasted Saint bass guitar

This is the second ‘step up’ bass we’ve received for test in as many months. Ashdown’s new line of ‘Roasted Bass’ (it takes its name from the roasted maple neck), is a full scale instrument aimed squarely at the beginner looking to acquire a more advanced instrument. With its P/J (Precision/Jazz) pickup configuration, this is a beautifully-presented, well-finished instrument. The gloss onyx green metallic livery of our sample wasn’t to our taste, but there are other colour/finish options in the series, so you’re sure to find one to your liking. The sculpted Poplar body carries the generic alnico pickups, together with three chrome knobs for volume, front and rear pickups. There is a fully adjustable tailpiece/bridge, a black pick guard (on our model) which incorporates the truss rod adjuster and a front face lower rear bout jack socket and standard strap buttons. The roasted maple neck which is secured to the body with the statutory four bolts, supports a maple fretboard with 6mm black position markers and twenty well finished frets. The headstock carries four individual vintage style chrome machines. Before plugging into the house amp, we realised that this instrument is a really easy player, with a fast and beautifully smooth jazz profile neck and a factory set action that most bassists would be more than happy with. The roasted maple neck is a more cost effective alternative to hard rock maple and offers not only better long term stability, but also an enhanced level of resonance.  Our only concern was the apparent lack of adjustment to the tonality with both pickups and the volume knob suddenly seeming to come alive at 9 o’clock. We believe that this may well be down to the generic CTS style ‘pots’, and feel certain that the instrument would benefit from an upgrade of these components. This is unfortunate, as the instrument itself is a pleasure to play, even with the limitations in the variance in volume and tonality (which may not bother every player). At around the £330 mark, the Roasted Saint bass offers exceptional value for money and with an upgrade or two, we feel sure will give many years of reliable service.

www.ashdownmusic.com

This review originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Jazzwise – Subscribe to Jazzwise today