Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

The first thing to know about the AMB1 bass guitar is not to confuse it with Ampeg's earlier offering; the AMB-1 from the mid to late 1960^'s. The AMB1 was introduced at approximately the same time as its guitar brethren, the AMG1 which was 1998 - 2001. Seen below in what Ampeg's literature describes as the 'Amber Burst' finish, it too features a beautiful maple quilt top. Every time I see this picture I get a kick out of the all blonde bass seen to the right in the background, solely for one reason, and that's the shape of its headstock, for it looks somewhat familiar.

Seen above, left and right, the Wilkinson bridge is also mentioned in Ampeg's literature (which can be seen in the brochures section of this site) stating "The AMB1 features an original design, nickel plated 'high mass bridge, which allows a balanced tone and optimum single note articulation'. Strings can be installed either from the rear of the tailpiece, or through the body"... which, they say...... "provides for increased sustain."

Another beautiful Amber Burst finish over the maple quilt top. Perhaps it's the lighting but this finish seems to have a very slight touch of reddish tint to it.

Notice how the black-white-black scratchplate curves around the pickups' height adjustment screw and like the guitar model it also skirts around tailpiece as well.

To give these basses a professional modern sound they equipped them with Seymour Duncan SMB-4D 'Basslines' humbucking pickups which read in at 5.3k ohms. The electronics of the AMB1 consist of a master volume and tone control along with a mini switch for series or parallel connection of the pickup coils.

Sharp observers might have already noticed the addition of a thumb rest by a past owner - much like those on the Dan Armstrong acrylic basses - and positioned in the same location.

At left, another Amber Burst finish with yet another subtle color difference as this one has a slight orange tint. Again it could be the lighting, or maybe it's the actual wood. More importantly is the employment of what appears to be a different pickup that lacks the pole pieces and Basslines name. It is unknown exactly what type of pickup it is.

At right, and seen from the back, the colored ball-ends of the bass strings can be seen. Apparently the owner had decided to use the string-thru feature on his bass. Literature on this bridge states "The option of stringing the bass from the back, or using the string-thru design, bassists can choose between a fast attack or more sustain and higher tension." Because these instruments are short scale length (30.5") the thru-body design allows the use of standard 34" scale strings should one want to use them. Many bassists report that by stringing the instrument in this manner, it gives the bass the sound, or tone of a long scale model. Notice too, the Made in Japan label - as well as the serial number inked into the heel of the maple neck.

At left, Pearl Blue was another color option offered on the AMB1 basses. Seen here, it sports a 3-ply white-black-white scratchplate while at right one can see the ball end of the strings in the string-thru body ferrules.

At left, and seen outdoors the Blue Pearl takes on a lighter look. The enlarged view shows it with a full size Gator bass case, called a 'Rigid EPS Transit Series'. At right, the distinctive Ampeg 'a' adorns the headstock. Notice how the bass tuners take on the look of the Grover Rotomatic tuners that were employed by most of the Dan Armstrong acrylic bass models.

Above left and right, a Black Cherry finish was one of the options for the AMB1 bass with a maple quilt top. Seen here the color really 'pops' in its velvet lined case. The enlarged views show the Wilkinson bridge in better detail as well as the plastic silver control knobs.

Above left and right, an AMB1-PM bass that features a somewhat rare finish that Ampeg's catalog called Metallic Purple. Oddly, it appears to be a Metallic Pink to me. Even the strings are pink!

Seen at left from the backside it appears that the 3-ply laminate neck has a touch of 'curl' on it - meaning that at least some of its laminates, (and maybe all) are quarter-sawn. Ampeg's literature for these models state "a short scale neck carved from North American hard rock maple utilizes a select Indian rosewood fingerboard with 24 nickel/silver frets." At right, and like the Dan Armstrong acrylic models the AMB1 bass, as well as its AMG1 guitar brethren employ 3 strap pegs placed in the Dan Armstrong fashion.

At left and right, the 3-ply white-black-white scratchplate and truss rod cover can be easily seen.

At left, an AMB1 bass in what Ampeg literature for these instruments call the Black Pearl finish. Within said literature they also refer to these instruments stating "The Ampeg 'Crystal Cut' basses utilize a highly resonant Basswood body for extremely light weight (6 lbs 7.2 oz) and balanced tone.

At right, and again quoting from literature on these models it states "Utilizing the radical Ampeg neck joint, the ABM1 offers the bassist two full octaves of playing surface clear of the body." Notice again that the ball-end of the strings can be seen in the string-through body ferrules.

At left, one thing that is unique to this model is the scratchplate. Though it is shaped exactly like the other models in the line, it sports the distinctive faux-wood grain style pattern of the Dan Armstrong acrylic models. Seen better in the enlarged view, this model has a hole drilled in it up by the 4^th - or low E string, and one can only speculate that some type of single-screw thumb-rest was installed at one point.

At right, and seen from the back, and in the enlarged view the laminated neck shows some burl on it - suggesting again, that at least some of the maple (if not all) is quarter-sawn wood. The neck itself has what many call a medium 'C' profile. It's thickness (in inches) is .80" at the first fret moving up to .91" at the 12^th fret. The width at the nut is 1^5/8" and the fingerboard radius is 12°.

At left an AMB1 bass that's a little different than the one prior as it has a truss rod cover that matches the faux-wood scratchplate. The bass seen prior sports a 2-ply black over white cover. If I had to guess, I'd say the matching cover was stock. At right, the Black Pearl 'effect' is more easily seen, especially in the enlarged view.

Most users of the AMB1 bass are very pleased with the instrument stating they like the over feel of the body and neck. Equally, most tend to like the sound of the instrument and give credit to the Seymour Duncan Basslines pickup. With the ability to achieve the sounds of a long scale bass while enjoying the ease of a short scale neck, many users tend to hang onto them once they acquire one.