Basswood would probably work best with intended colour scheme for a newbie as Ash does need a lot of grain filling and can easily look crap under a solid colour if not done properly.

Raw Basswood is also a closer colour match to raw Maple thus making it easier to blend colour from body to neck without looking too obvious. Ash is a fair bit darker with an almost pinkish hue which adds a few more degrees of difficulty when trying to colour match neck & body.

Ash is best if going for a stain where you want the grain to stand out.

Cheers, Waz