Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

Like their guitar brethren the Dan Armstrong · Ampeg black basses were produced when Dan began to experiment with plastic instead of acrylic. Known as Cellulose Butyrate it was (according to Dan) 'workable' as it could be 'machined like acrylic - but the overall process didn't work well' - and so after a total of 8 basses produced, the project was scrapped.

Seen above left is a bass that was restored from a horribly done modification which can be seen here in the Mods section of this site. Now restored to its natural beauty it shows all the signs of a bass made rather early on in the overall production run as most, if not all, of these basses are equipped with a chrome plated cover that attaches to the body and helps secure the pickup in place. When I spoke with Dan about it he referred to it as a 'pickup plate'.

At right, another prototype exhibiting the very same pickup plate as well as other features, such as a chrome plated (non sandblasted) tailpiece with straight slotted screws anchoring it to the body as well as thumb-rests that are placed further back (closer to the pickup) than later models.

Another Dan Armstrong black bass, this one is unique in that it has a serial number of D000A according to the Dan Armstrong registry web site. Seen better in enlarged view notice that the pickup is totally encased in resin - even the bar pole piece. This is something you only see on the earliest of the Dan Armstrong instruments. Also, notice the reflections of the volume and tone control knobs on the scratchplate as the early plates had a smooth glossy finish to them - unlike later models.

At right, and seen from the backside, the maple neck stands in sharp contrast to the black body which is otherwise completely void of any features - save the four chrome-plated carriage bolts. Notice in both photos that only one strap peg is visible on the bottom of the body. One peg was no doubt removed by a former owner at one time.

At left, the 24 fret quarter-sawn rosewood fingerboard can be seen, while at right the one piece quarter-sawn maple neck. Rumors persist to this day that some have of these black prototypes (both guitar and bass models) were produced with matching black finished necks, but not according to Dan Armstrong - for when I asked him he stated that ''they were all prototypes and were fitted with stock necks'.

Upper left & right, front and rear views of the headstock showing Schaller tuners which were used on these early instruments until the eventual change to Grovers shortly afterwards.