Ashbury STR-100 Traveller

Short scale travellers electro acoustic. Solid cedar top with gloss finish. Neck joins body at twelfth fret. Back and sides are made of one-piece ovation stle plastic and ever so slightly bowled. Neck looks like mahogany, fretboard rosewood - none bound, solid feel. Cheap generic tuners are functional. Fitted with under saddle pick up and two chunky strat style knobs for volume and tone. These are conveniently on the upper bout of the side of the guitar. Very practical, user friendly arrangement. The cedar on mine has gone a lovely golden brown colour. All these features combine to make a compact, solid little guitar.

Unplugged - Very focussed small sound. Dry and a little like a dobro. Low volume but not a none existent tone. The guitar is sweet sounding and works well finger picked or when strumming. Ideal dor those who like a subtle accompaniement because its an unobtrusive sound. You can also play it to get an aggressive, 'plunky' sound, thanks to the plastic back. Stands up when playing and singing in small rooms, great sound for writing. You can also modify your playing so as not to annoy the neighbours but still hear the guitar.

Plugged in - This guitar trancends its size when put through an amp. I use a Marshall Acoustic soloist and I was delighted to hear a gutsy and full sound. Plenty of mid range. Again the word I'd use is focussed. I play in a blue grass flat picking style with a very thick pick and I find this guitar very responsive without the boomy overpowering clank you often get in a dreadnought. If you're playing without a band, it leaves plenty of space for your voice to come through.

On a similar note, I think the guitar would require some kind of boost when playing with a heavy band. Its not naturally loud and although it sounds good, I think its intended to be a solo players' guitar. Also, the pickup is a little 'sharp' sounding at the high E end, requiring careful EQing. The tone contol is a bit of a waste of time, I just leave it at 10 - seems to go from trebly to mud quickly forgetting the in between.

This guitar is very well suited to amplified acoustic folk singing and is also versatile as an unplugged recording guitar. Bags of character!!

The guitar is a cheap model, made in Korea. This is evident when looking at the binding which is badly done in places. The neck glueing is messy and there is a general raw-ness of construction - the name is simply painted on the head. I like this though, and it is solid. The neck is good and smoothe and importantly the frets on mine were pretty much perfect as well as being nice and beefy to the touch. Bridge is nicely inlaid, complementing the no frills style. Good playable action, easy string tension thnks to the scale. Nut and saddle are reasonable. Electronic components fine so far, seem solid.
For the money its fine.

I'd happily gig this guitar without worrying. Its compact and solid and the components themselves feel robust. Jack socket is fine, tuners are o.k (always replacable), pots seem solid. Reliable guitar, a true musician's friend.

I had to track this guitar down second hand through Hobgobblin Music in England, they were very helpful. There is not a lot that can go wrong with it and if it does I'll just take it to my repair guy.

I am an experienced player of acoustic guitars (electro and oherwise). I was looking for a decent sounding travel guitar which I could plug in and do little gigs with.

This fits the bill perfectly. Its unusual and gets a lot of attention. It sounds good in both its forms, particularly when through an amp where it will give a laminated electro a run for its money. Its well made (if a little rough). Its portable. Its fun and comfortable to play, you can curl up with it on the sofa. Destroys the Martin Backpacker. Lightweight.

I think I prefer this guitar to my Yamaha LL - its just so easy to use and pretty unique. I would strongly recommend this to any performer looking for a quality instrument on the move. I would not hesitate to buy another even at full mark up - worth every penny..