Ampeg Dan Armstrong Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1970)
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Item # 12814
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Ampeg Dan Armstrong Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1970), made in New Jersey, serial # D1088A, clear acrylic finish, acrylic body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a very nicely preserved example of one of the last great 1960s American guitar/bass ideas: the Ampeg Dan Armstrong, nicknamed the "See Through" for obvious reasons. In 1968 amplifier giant Ampeg was looking to get into the guitar and bass market, after several previous attempts met with middling results. They consulted New York-based Dan Armstrong whose "hip" guitar shop had become a Mecca for electric players.
Armstrong agreed to design what they billed as "The Ultimate Guitar", a high quality instrument that was an original concept, not a re-tread. The resulting guitar and bass were both visually and sonically unique. In contrast to many over-designed 1960s instruments, Armstrong emphasized clean lines and simplicity -- so clean, in fact, that you can see right through it! The bass and guitar were designed as a matched, integrated set although the bass obviously has some different features.
The most radical element is the body, cut from a block of transparent Lucite. The deep double cutaway offers access to all 24 frets, inspired by the Danelectro Longhorn. The edges were contoured to reduce weight and make it comfortable to play. The design has other kinship with Danelectros; the chrome bridgeplate was similar, but bolted solidly to the body with a similar one-piece rosewood saddle. A whimsical touch is a wood-grained Formica pickguard and headstock facing -- a visual pun on a plastic guitar! This bass has serial number D1088A; the numbering on commercial models began at #100 and ran up to around 2500 making this one an early mid-period production example likely from early 1970.
While Armstrong's guitar had interchangeable pickups, the Bass instead has a single fixed stacked humbucker designed with Bill Lawrence, set in the mid-body position. This is a very powerful and aggressive sounding unit with a tone control that blends the coils offering an unusually wide range of sounds. This makes for a surprisingly versatile bass with tones range from a bright Danelectro-like twang to a deep Gibson-y thump from just the one pickup. This earlier example is not fitted with the tone modifying switch added later.
The 30" scale neck is relatively traditional, made of maple with a rosewood fingerboard and bolted solidly to the body. The small, slightly asymmetrical headstock looks graceful and still rather modern. The truss rod is adjusted at the head, which is equipped with Grover Rotomatic machines. The short-scale neck has a somewhat "Gibson-y" feel despite the Fender-like materials; short-scale basses were losing favor at the time and this is about the last classic design of its type.
The Dan Armstrong/Ampeg guitar and bass set were launched when established guitar names were perceived as losing some luster. The "See Throughs" (a term Ampeg trademarked) were premiered at the June 1969 NAMM show, listing at $290.00 plus $60 for the case. They got a huge boost when the Rolling Stones took a set on their epic 1969 US Tour. The guitar became forever linked to Keith Richards, and other players soon followed "Keef's" lead. Bill Wyman also used the bass for a time in the early '70s, as did Jack Bruce.
Unfortunately the "See-Throughs" had a short production life. Armstrong personally experienced issues with Ampeg's management and refused to continue his consulting agreement. The Ampeg/Armstrong instruments ceased production in 1971 with somewhere under 2500 examples each of the bass and guitar produced over less than 2 years. The Ampeg/Armstrong remains unique today despite many other subsequent instruments made from different plastics. It still exudes a supreme badass cool, plays great and sounds as unique as it looks.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) width, and 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm.) . Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This bass is also all original and generally clean overall. It shows some light play wear, mostly scuffing to the Acrylic and the pickup face. The back of the neck is very clean. The pickup works great; there is very minor wear and flaking to the pickup casing which is common to these. The frets show only minimal wear and still play well. This is a superb example of this beautiful if eccentric classic, one the cleanest we have had and a very cool bass to play still. It is housed in the original HSC and includes the alternate-height saddles for setting the action, the first time we have gotten those with the bass. Overall Excellent Condition.
This is a very nicely preserved example of one of the last great 1960s American guitar/bass ideas: the Ampeg Dan Armstrong, nicknamed the "See Through" for obvious reasons. In 1968 amplifier giant Ampeg was looking to get into the guitar and bass market, after several previous attempts met with middling results. They consulted New York-based Dan Armstrong whose "hip" guitar shop had become a Mecca for electric players.
Armstrong agreed to design what they billed as "The Ultimate Guitar", a high quality instrument that was an original concept, not a re-tread. The resulting guitar and bass were both visually and sonically unique. In contrast to many over-designed 1960s instruments, Armstrong emphasized clean lines and simplicity -- so clean, in fact, that you can see right through it! The bass and guitar were designed as a matched, integrated set although the bass obviously has some different features.
The most radical element is the body, cut from a block of transparent Lucite. The deep double cutaway offers access to all 24 frets, inspired by the Danelectro Longhorn. The edges were contoured to reduce weight and make it comfortable to play. The design has other kinship with Danelectros; the chrome bridgeplate was similar, but bolted solidly to the body with a similar one-piece rosewood saddle. A whimsical touch is a wood-grained Formica pickguard and headstock facing -- a visual pun on a plastic guitar! This bass has serial number D1088A; the numbering on commercial models began at #100 and ran up to around 2500 making this one an early mid-period production example likely from early 1970.
While Armstrong's guitar had interchangeable pickups, the Bass instead has a single fixed stacked humbucker designed with Bill Lawrence, set in the mid-body position. This is a very powerful and aggressive sounding unit with a tone control that blends the coils offering an unusually wide range of sounds. This makes for a surprisingly versatile bass with tones range from a bright Danelectro-like twang to a deep Gibson-y thump from just the one pickup. This earlier example is not fitted with the tone modifying switch added later.
The 30" scale neck is relatively traditional, made of maple with a rosewood fingerboard and bolted solidly to the body. The small, slightly asymmetrical headstock looks graceful and still rather modern. The truss rod is adjusted at the head, which is equipped with Grover Rotomatic machines. The short-scale neck has a somewhat "Gibson-y" feel despite the Fender-like materials; short-scale basses were losing favor at the time and this is about the last classic design of its type.
The Dan Armstrong/Ampeg guitar and bass set were launched when established guitar names were perceived as losing some luster. The "See Throughs" (a term Ampeg trademarked) were premiered at the June 1969 NAMM show, listing at $290.00 plus $60 for the case. They got a huge boost when the Rolling Stones took a set on their epic 1969 US Tour. The guitar became forever linked to Keith Richards, and other players soon followed "Keef's" lead. Bill Wyman also used the bass for a time in the early '70s, as did Jack Bruce.
Unfortunately the "See-Throughs" had a short production life. Armstrong personally experienced issues with Ampeg's management and refused to continue his consulting agreement. The Ampeg/Armstrong instruments ceased production in 1971 with somewhere under 2500 examples each of the bass and guitar produced over less than 2 years. The Ampeg/Armstrong remains unique today despite many other subsequent instruments made from different plastics. It still exudes a supreme badass cool, plays great and sounds as unique as it looks.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm.) width, and 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm.) . Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This bass is also all original and generally clean overall. It shows some light play wear, mostly scuffing to the Acrylic and the pickup face. The back of the neck is very clean. The pickup works great; there is very minor wear and flaking to the pickup casing which is common to these. The frets show only minimal wear and still play well. This is a superb example of this beautiful if eccentric classic, one the cleanest we have had and a very cool bass to play still. It is housed in the original HSC and includes the alternate-height saddles for setting the action, the first time we have gotten those with the bass. Overall Excellent Condition.