OK, I'm on my way back to the shop with my camera. I have decided that ash is officially the last wood I'll ever use on a bass!!! Actually, it's not that bad, but man is it hard to sand! No wonder they make baseball bats out of it.
The real issue is it won't take my walnut stain for beans. It soaks into the grain and just sits on top of the rest of the wood. Pictures in a few minutes! ASH IS A BITCH!!! In the first pic you can see the plain sanded ash. The second is with the DARK walnut stain soaking into the grain and not doing anything to the rest of the wood!
I'm thinking that it might be best to grain fill the entire bass (I have to do that anyway) and clear coat it. staining the ash is not going to end on a happy note I fear.