Ashdown Teams with Dan Lakin For New Range of Bass Guitars

Another one of the exciting developments at the 2020 Winter NAMM Show was the introduction of Ashdown’s range of bass guitars. The four new models – dubbed the Low Rider, the Saint, the Arc, and the Grail – are a collaboration with Dan Lakin, formerly of Lakland Guitars and currently of D. Lakin Guitars. Lakin and Ashdown founder Mark Gooday are good friends and decided to create one bass together that snowballed into a full range.

“Dan’s passion sees him making basses in Chicago to order and totally USA built. Basses built to order are one thing but getting a brand out there as he had in the past was not of interest to him,” Ashdown writes. “So with Dan in tow Ashdown is taking up that mantra for him as having made basses before and always wishing to do so again, a chance meeting in Chicago Music Exchange on a road trip for Mark saw the seeds of interest sown.”

Each of the basses is built with an alder body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard. Other common features include Hipshot-licensed tuners, Dunlop strap locks, and Wilkinson bridges. The Low Rider combines a J-style neck with a retro body shape fitted with a pair of humbuckers, while The Saint is an original design with a P/J pickup configuration. The Arc and the Grail are split-coil and dual single-coil models, respectively.

The line is made in Korea with hand-oiled necks. There may be a few more models on the way, according to Dan Gooday. The Saint, Arc, and Grail basses will carry a street price of approximately $1,239.61 while the Low Rider will be priced $1,304.92.

Ashdown The Low Rider Bass Specifications:

Ashdown The Saint Bass Specifications:

Ashdown The Arc Bass Specifications:

Ashdown The Grail Bass Specifications: