Dan Armstrong - Man & Guitars

Another question that I get a lot from readers is in regard to intonation fixes. (imagine that) - but as I mentioned in the Mods section, I'm not into permanently modifying these or any instruments unless they can easily be easily reversed with no tell-tail signs that they were ever there as I feel the value, as well as a piece of history, is lost when this is done.

Fortunately many luthiers, designers and engineers have stepped in and designed products that solve many of these issues without hacking up an instrument to where it's hardly recognizable. At left and right, GodCity Instruments makes replacement tailpieces that attach to the acrylic body that not only uses the same tapped holes as the original, but also lets one use the same factory anchoring screws! Along with Graphtech saddle pieces, it allows for exact intonation as any instrument on the market without hacking up the guitar in anyway.

The one at left is for the re-issue Dan Armstrong guitars, instantly obvious as that guitars' scratchplate employs the additional anchor screw seen just beside the tailpiece. Meanwhile at right, they also make one for vintage instruments although this one is reported to be an Electra model, it will match the 1969-71 model Dan Armstrongs.

As seen at left and right, for a vintage Dan Armstrong bass guitar I recommend trying a Godfrey bridge. This combination bridge/tailpiece is a direct 'drop in replacement' for the Dan Armstrong bridge and secures to the acrylic body using the original factory machine screws so that if you ever sell the instrument, or just want to go back to the original - you can easily swap the bridge back.

Above left and right, the Godfrey fixes all of the problems with intonation and, as said above, requires no alteration to the instrument. Godfrey is on Facebook. Unfortunately the last I knew Godfrey isn't making these at the time of this writing, but you can email them to plead and beg at godfreyguitars@gmail.com.

Notice how the very end of the scratchplate is broken and how a new hole was drilled and tapped for the scratchplate anchoring screw further back. Notice too, the scratchplate has a smooth, shiny texture to it, meaning it's a very early bass.

At left, the Godfrey bridge is a more zoomed-out photo, showing how it looks relative to the rest of the instrument. At right, and seen from the backside, one can't even tell if it's the Godfrey tailpiece/bridge or the original - that's how well 'made-to-match' this bridge is.

Sadly, this instrument has had some alterations done to it. For starters, at right, and seen from the backside, the aforementioned hole that was drilled and tapped for the scratchplate screw can be easily seen. The sad part is that this is one of the more understandable, and hidden alterations that was done. More unreasonable, and seen better in enlarged views of both images, are two holes that have been drilled into the acrylic body - in places where it begs the question... why?

The first one can easily be seen on the upper cut-away horn, while the other one is near the bottom, back by the upper strap peg, seen approximately at the end of the actual strap peg screw itself. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why anyone would drill holes in these two locations and I credit the past owner who didn't fall prey to the temptation of making yet more holes, or worse, routing out the acrylic body for a more tunable bridge. My hats off to the folks at GodCity and Godfrey Instruments and while these 'drop-in' tailpiece/bridges may have to be custom ordered, and made, (they are not stocking items to my knowledge) - it's still nice to know they are turning out nice products as well as viable alternatives to hacking up valuable, and collectable instruments.

The last, most common type question come from players of the Dan Armstrong bass. It seems at one time or another almost every bass has had the thumb rest removed, even if only for awhile. Unfortunately for many, often times the thumb rest, as well as its two mounting screws, get lost in the shuffle.

Unfortunately, no one is making replacements that I know of but one can, in fact, make one from a piece of rosewood providing you have the skills and dimensions. Fortunately I have the overall dimensions of the thumb rest, plus screws - all taken from my Dan Armstrong bass.

At upper left, an enlarged view of one of the two screws that secure the thumb rest to the body of the bass guitar. At upper right, the rosewood thumb rest. The measurements included in these photos are given in inches as well as millimeters and are next to a letter. The letter, then, corresponds to the particular part of the screw (or thumb rest) that the measurement was taken from. They are as follows:

A is the diameter of the screw head.
B is the diameter of the smooth portion of the shaft directly under the screw head.
C is the length of the smooth portion of the shaft.
D is the diameter of the smooth portion of the shaft just before the threads begin.
E is the diameter of the threaded portion of the shaft where the threads begin
F is the length of the threaded portion of the shaft.
G is the diameter of the threaded portion of the shaft where the threads end.
H is the overall length of the screw from top to bottom.
I is the width of the rosewood thumb rest.
J is the distance from the end of the thumb rest to the center of the screw holes.
K is the height of the rosewood thumb rest.
L is the overall length of the rosewood thumb rest.
M is the distance from one screw hole to another on center.

Alternatively, and somewhat ironically, one can acquire or even make an acrylic thumb rest. This is a viable option that not only works well, but also blends in nicely with the rest of the body. It has a cool look all its own and can be found online or, as mentioned above, made relatively easy.

These are the most common requests that have come across my desk over the years, though they are by no means the only ones. I also get email for necks, bodies and most anything for the Dan Armstrong · Ampeg instruments. The online auction sites sometimes have original parts for sale as well.