Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

Above left & right, Stephen Egerton of The Decendants is often seen accessing a Dan Armstrong · Ampeg guitar.

Above left and since 1986, The Descendents lineup consisted of (from left to right) Ray Cooper (guitars), Bill Stevenson (drums), Milo Aukerman (vocals), and Doug Carrion (bass). Cooper is playing what appears to be an Ampeg AMG type guitar, but the earliest known AMG models - the AMG1 was not produced until 1998 at the earliest. Much like Egerton's guitar, it appears the volume &/or tone knob(s) have been removed. Is this where Egerton got the idea to do the same to his Dan Armstrong? One can only speculate, but it seems likely. As for Cooper's guitar seen here, it's likely a custom made wooden instrument based on the Dan Armstrong acrylic model but with a tun-o-matic bridge and what looks like a string-thru design. The neck looks like an original Dan Armstrong · Ampeg neck.

At right, and playing what is probably his 'main' Dan Armstrong · Ampeg axe is obviously modified. As can be seen, a metal replacement makes up the back half of the scratchplate, with only the switch and output jack mounted on it. At first, I wondered if the plate had been badly broken, but after various interviews, I discovered otherwise. One such interview went like this.... "How and why did you do away with knobs?" To which Egerton replied "Years ago I just wired the pickup straight to the jack. It was really a practical matter, because I tend to play harder than I probably should and there was the issue of me slamming my hand into the volume knob or pickup selector switch when I played, and those electronics tended to rust out on me, so it was helpful to have them removed."

"In addition to The Decendants I also play in FLAG — which is a bunch of former members of Black Flag over the many years that they were a band. In that band, in keeping with their original sonic ethos, I play a Dan Armstrong. It’s a pretty modified guitar—not an old one but a reissue." In the same interview Stephen was asked "Why do you use the kill switch?" To which he replied "The Dan Armstrong has that kill switch because in FLAG there’s more feedback happening and I use the switch to quiet things down here and there. If you listen to the old Black Flag records, the way they sometimes edited the songs is that they started with a blast of feedback, kind of spliced into the songs. I sometimes use the kill switch to recreate that effect. I actually played an original Dan Armstrong for many years before I got my Music Man, but it got stolen and I didn't’t have one for many years. When FLAG plays, we sort of have intermittent bursts of playing — the newer Armstrong is the guitar I always use."

Above left & right, the Black Flag reunion act 'FLAG' (Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton). Even the former 'Smiths' member Johnny Marr performed - all as part of 2013's Fun Fun Fun Fest.

At left and right, a double creme colored humbucking pickup has replaced the original, and the metal plate on Egerton's Dan Armstrong guitar can more easily be seen as it comprises the back half of the scratchplate.

Stephen Egerton and Keith Morris in Flag, performing at Punk Rock Bowling 2013.

Regardless of the venue, outdoors or in, sooner or later Stephen accesses his Dan Armstrong plexi guitars.

At left and right, while playing under a cloudy sky, notice the different color shades of the rosewood fingerboard.

At left, a creme colored humbucker can be seen, as can a replacement bridge/tailpiece. At right, and in a frolicking manner, an unusual metal piece adorns the headstock. The Spock LL&P sign on his guitar strap is a nice touch.

At left, Stephen Egerton in the band FLAG. The enlarged view shows that he applied strips of blag tape on his Dan Armstrong · Ampeg plexi guitar in the usual 'Ginn' fashion. At right, Stephen and the rest of FLAG pause for a photo taken on the street. Notice Egertons guitar and the humbucking pickup, as well as a tunable bridge. In both photos, notice the metal plate making up the back half of the scratchplate.

Mike Eginton, bassist for Earthless a mostly instrumental psychedelic rock band tends to utilize his 1970 Dan Armstrong · Ampeg bass far more than any other bass.

Instantly obvious is a different set of tuners. Notice too, the chipping away of the brown resin, in and around the pickup, most noticable in the enlarged view at left. At right, and also seen better in the enlarged view, notice the route of the output cable and how it goes in 'front' of the guitar strap on the bottom peg, before heading downwards. No busted scratchplate here!

At left and right, Eginton and his band Earthless performs at the 2017 Psycho Las Vegas pool party.

At left and right, Earthless performs at 'The Chapel' live-music venue in San Francisco, CA in 2017.

Earthless at Islington Assembly Hall, London in 2018

More from Islington Assembly Hall, London in 2018

At left and right, in unknown venues, notice the steep angle at which Mike positions and plays the bass.

Mike Eginton and Earthless perform onboard a vessel that 'Rocks' - A38, advertized as "he world’s most famous repurposed Ukrainian cargo ship, A38 is a concert venue, cultural center and restaurant - floating on the Danube near the abutment of Petofi Bridge on the Buda-side."

More photos of Eginton in concert aboard A38. Talk about some huge balls - check out his sound on this track entitled Uluru Rock. I listened to it several times as I was so engrossed. I may have to give it another listen after coding this page. Guitarist Isaiah Mitchell's style reminds me alot of Jimi Hendrix.

At left, Eginton during a sound check before their show at Willspub in Orlando while at right, Mike lays down his bass lines at the Bowery Ballroom, NYC in 2016.