Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

A more modern day Dan Armstrong copy is the LA Luminariste. The name, which means "glow" in French, is advertized as an 'Individualistic model characterized by cutting acrylic bodies'. Seen here this instrument sports a metal cover over a humbucking pickup. Most models ship with a black cover so this may be a replacement pickup.

Because the body is slightly thinner than the original Dan Armstrong · Ampeg model, it is advertized as being somewhat lightweight - about 4.2 kg (approx. 9.4 lbs) - so when the instrument is in the playing position, it is said to have the weight & feel of a Les Paul model guitar.

At left, the LA Luminariste name can be seen etched into the scratchplate in the Dan Armstrong fashion. In the enlarged view, notice the thickness of the scratchplate compared to the original Dan Armstrong models. This is because unlike the original Ampeg models, these instruments feature real wood scratchplates, specifically rosewood - which could make things ugly &/or expensive for importers and thus customers Considering CITES, and the legal ramifications involved. These instruments also feature a chrome plated tray-style bridge with adjustable saddles. Like the original Dan Armstrong · Ampeg model, these instruments employ a single volume & tone control with 3-way selector switch. According to literature, the switch allows for various coil taps of 'parallel', 'single' and 'series'. As can be seen here the control pots are fitted out with chrome plated Telecaster styled knobs with knurled sides & set-screws. Perhaps I'm just too fussy, or too used to the original Dan Armstrong models, but I'm not a fan of that big gap between the pickup ring and the scratchplate.

At right, the 24^3/4" bolt-on maple neck features a rosewood fingerboard that sports... what many have called '24 nicely polished frets'. Being a single pickup guitar - like the original Ampeg model, the neck seats much deeper into the acrylic body, making it more stable than many, if not all, of the two pickup copy models.

Above left, and like most (though not all) of the copy models, the maple neck attaches to the acrylic body using four wood screws in the usual (older) Fender fashion. Below the pickup in this photo one can see the routing in the acrylic from the pickup cavity to the tailpiece. This channel carries the grounding wire from the control cavity to the tailpiece where it lays underneath, and thus grounds the tailpiece.

At right, I don't lnow if it's just the angle of the shot, but it appears that the D and G string tuners are way up high on the headstock, with the D string tuner up front more. In fact, if you look at the bass side tuners, they all appear to be just a bit farther forward of the treble side tuners. The rosewood fingerboard features a bone nut.

At left, is it just me, or does it appear that the Luminariste has a body shape that's just a little off? Specifically in the cut-away horns which doesn't seem to have the looks and the lines of the Armstrong model that's it's copied after. The cut-aways seem more rounded off. Also, it features a scratchplate that's shaped like that for the original Dan Armstrong · Ampeg bass model - in that it does not curve around the backside of the pickup like the original Ampeg guitar models' scratchplate. These guitars all sport EMG pickups with smooth black covers. Literature states that the Luminariste is equipped with EMG's HZ type humbucking pickup, specifically, their H4 model which is designed for bridge position use.

At right, and seen better in the enlarged view, one can see the control cavity components and wiring. Notice too that the pickup clips to the electrical wiring of the guitar unlike the banana type plugs utilized on the original Dan Armstrong · Ampeg model. This is because the HZ model pickups includes what they call EMG's exclusive "Solderless Install System" which, according to advertizements, includes a 500k volume & tone pot, mono output jack, pickup and output cables, ground cable, and a pair mounting screws and springs. So... insofar as the wiring goes, one can say that it's pretty much a 'plug-n-play' type installation.

At left, the headstock shape of the LA Luminariste is also a little bit off compared to the Dan Armstrong model, and features a high gloss finish to boot. While the truss rod cover looks correct, it appears to be quite a bit thicker - again, probably rosewood like the scratchplate. At right, tuners that are styled after Schallers complete the look.

Since the LA Luminariste name means "glow" in French, I guess it should come as no surprise that they also produce a guitar model that has the capability to be illuminated. At left, and only really seen in the enlarged view, the dot position markers on the fingerboard are not perloaid dots, but rather LED's.

At right, since these instruments also feature EMG-HZ series pickups you can also view their Solderless Install System. Although advertized as 'solderless' it should be pointed out that nearly the entire wiring assembly is all pre-soldered. While the pickup output harness clips to the output lugs on the pickup, the opposite end of that harness is pre-soldered to the switch and control pots. The tone control pot has a capacitor already soldered to it. Both pots, in turn, are pre-soldered to the switch and output jack. So all one has to do is mount the pots, the output jack and switch to the scratchplate and then clip the harness to the pickup lugs. So I guess it all depends ones point of view as to whether it's a solderless install or not.

If you look up by the neck set you will notice black colored battery compartment cover that is strategically located to the side of the neck tongue so as to be still hidden from sight behind the scratchplate. Then a blue monochromatic LED is placed inside the control cavity. If you look closely, you will notice wiring leaving the control cavity and travelling up into the neck which will power the aforementioned LED position markers located in the fingerboard. Together this all gives a blue luminous glow to the instrument. Both volume and tone pots are of the push/pull type. By pulling up on the volume knob, the neck LED's light up, while pulling up on the tone control the body LED lights up. The controls work together, or individually and given the shape of the instrument body, it demonstrates the characteristics of acrylic on stage.

At upper left, with the tone control knob pulled up, the LED lights up the acrylic body with a blue tint, while at right, and with both the tone knob and volume knob pulled up, the neck's position markers also light up.

At left, the effect is even more dramatic in the dark, while at right, the entire LED light show can be seen. This can actually be somewhat practical in live performances. While the effect is dramatic in itself, it can also serve to help the player in dark, or even totally blackened conditions.