Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

At left, a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer made by Wareham. As Craig Buzzart described, notice how it features considerably more interlocking tabs on its outer casing, which makes the units more sturdy when stacked. Many such features were cut back when it came time for Musitronics to produce their version as can be seen above right. Notice the larger, (and fewer) tabs as well as what appears to be a more economical output jack. According to Craig, the Wareham units also had more 'heft' to them and were built with better materials overall.

However, it must be remembered that Musitronics got both Dan & George 'on-board' with them to help offset the cost of their already expensive MutTron effects units. When it came time for them to produce the Dan Armstrong effects units, there was little funding available and they produced them with what they had. Despite the lack of the higher quality components found in the Wareham units, many of the Dan Armstrong/Musitronics units have since become collectable to musicians.

As can be seen at upper left, the Dan Armstrong effects units manufactured by Musitronics feature their Logo on the front, which is probably more commonly recognized from their MuTron pedals and effects. Internally the Musitronics name can be seen at the top of the circuit board when it's removed from the casing as can be seen in the upper right.

As seen at the upper left, one unique feature of all Dan Armstrong effects units is the ability to use the unit plugged directly into an instrument, or.... alternatively, it could be plugged into an amplifier. The instructions for this change were clearly labeled on the outer casing.

At upper right, and with the cover removed one can see the aforementioned yellow 'plug' wire and blue 'jack' wires - both highlighted here with arrows. By unsoldering these two wires, and exchanging them, one can easily choose where the unit is to be stationed at. Dan went on to add that "there were plans at Musitronics to eventually offer the effects devices in floor stomp box models but they just never got made. Once they were into production it was too easy to just let it continue in its present form. No one seemed to bother following through with it after that."

As seen at left, the inside of the Musitronics unit is compartmentalized. A single 9 volt battery rests in place just underneath the ¼" female guitar jack and mini toggle switch. It is kept separate from the circuit board via a non-conductive fiberboard material, with only enough room to allow the wires to cross under this barrier. Notice the foam rubber material on the cover just underneath the ¼" male guitar plug - strategically placed to keep the battery from moving once the cover is secured back down. However, some players still get nervous above having the battery's metal casing so close to the wiring above and put a strip or two of black electrical tape around the 9v battery.

At upper right, again the Musitronics name can be seen on this Purple Peaker unit, but the letters are smaller on this circuit board than on the one seen above, from my Blue Clipper, which is an older unit.

At upper left the two circuit boards can be seen in a side by side comparison. At the left is the circuit board from my Purple Peaker, sporting smaller letters to make up the Musitronics name, while at right the circuit board from my Blue Clipper features larger letters to make up the name. The Danelectro battery that came with my Peaker unit seems somewhat appropriate. Battery life on these units seem rather lengthy, which would seem to suggest that these units consume very little power.

As can be seen above right, the Dan Armstrong effects units were packaged in a white cardboard box with Dan's name on it, as well as Musitronics, and their logo. Folded and coiled up inside the box is an instruction sheet depicting how to change the battery, as well as once again covering how to convert the unit for use at an amplifier input. It then goes on to advertize by describing the other effects units in the series. Lastly, the one year warranty is listed. This instruction sheet can be seen in the brochures section.