The Ashbury AU-90BASS electro acoustic bass ukulele is a very interesting instrument, as it is the first in its class in the UK to feature flatwound alloy strings as opposed to the chunky, rubbery strings used on the Kala UBASS and derivatives of that ilk. They are metal strings, with flatwound meaning they don't have the grooves of a regular wound strings - that cause noise when moving your fingers along the strings. The guages of these strings are much thinner too that UBASS strings, making it easier to fret quickly, for example when playing bass solos.

This bass uke has an all solid construction, with spruce on top and maple back and sides. This is given a very smooth semi gloss finish with a brown lacquer. The black headstock has an etched Ashbury logo, and there is a bone saddle and nut. There are 18 frets along the rosewood fingerboard. While no gig bag is included, this bass will fit into most baritone uke gig bags.

The bass has an undersaddle pickup and 3 band EQ. The flatwound strings give a greater acoustic volume than regular ukulele basses, although this wouldn't be quite loud enough for playing in groups. Certainly though, the volume is perfectly adequate for practice. Plugged in the sound and feel is more akin to a regular bass guitar, as opposed to the double bass type tone you get with a normal bass ukulele. This is really quite nice, with the smooth strings feeling nice under the fingers and the amplified tone really very nice. Because this feature isn't the same as other ukulele bases should absolutely not put you off.

There are more pleasant looking ukulele basses on the market, but then there are others too that are vastly more expensive. With nice feeling strings and a traditional bass guitar tone, extra acoustic volume and a pleasing price tag - this Ashbury AU-90BASS is going to be popular!