Dan Armstrong

For a brief point in time several people came together at Dan Armstrong's Guitar Service and made history. Not that they were really trying, for virtually everyone who worked for him mentioned that life in Dan's shop was "pretty much just another day." By mid to late 1971 though, Dan had closed up shop, and moved to England where he would go on to design new products which are featured in this site. Some friends and employees had already left prior to Dan's closing, while others carried on in his place afterwards. Some, like myself, met Dan years later. It is often said that life comes full circle, and perhaps it is true, as decades later, and again for a brief point in time Dan, along with his friends and former employees all came together and graciously contributed to help make this web site a reality. Here they are listed, in 'first-name' alphabetical order - then, and later.

Bill Lawrence

Bill Lawrence, born Willi Lorenz Stich was born in Wahn, Cologne, Germany and came to New York in the early 1960^'s and met Dan in 1965. Shortly afterwards Bill teamed up with Dan Armstrong as he went to work in Dan's shop designing the pickups for what would be the Dan Armstrong · Ampeg instrument line. When Dan moved to England in 1971, Bill remained at the shop and continued to do custom pickup work for much of New York's legendary guitarists. Bill had worked with Gibson in the past, but had once again caught the attention of the Gibson guitar company, and he eventually worked for them in the early 1970^'s. By the mid 1970^'s however, Bill had moved to the Nashville area at the suggestion of his friend Chet Atkins, and started Bill Lawrence pickups, though at the time it was named 'Lawrence Sound Research' but he still maintained his consulting relationship with Gibson. In the 1990^'s he also worked with Fender as a consultant. In 2003 Bill moved from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Corona, California and continued to produce his pickups along with his wife Becky. Sadly, Bill Lawrence passed away on November 2, 2013. Today, Bill's wife Becky continues his legacy manufacturing his products at their California workshop in Corona, California.

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson is a born New Yorker who by the age of 15 had built his first guitar. Years later he relocated to California where he went to work running the vintage electric guitar dept. at Gryphon Stringed Instruments and eventually continued his luthier apprenticing under Gryphon's veteran luthier Frank Ford. Bill continued guitar work for the next 20 years in the Bay area and got to know Dan Armstrong through Dan's lifelong friend Craig Buzzart. As a luthier, and one who has always loved the Dan Armstrong · Ampeg instruments, Bill mentioned his desire to ask Dan several mechanical questions, discuss various guitar repair techniques and "just plain talk shop." Unknown to Bill, Craig immediately got on the phone and called up Dan. Once he had Dan on the line he said to Bill "here you go." Bill and Dan stayed in touch ever since that day, usually by phone and eventually Bill apprenticed under Dan. Years later they again met in person at a NAMM show in 1998. Today Bill lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where with his 30 years of experience he ran his own repair shop called Studio Guitarworks. Bill has since retired.

Carl Thompson

Carl Thompson had just gotten out of the military when Dan Armstrong called him up and asked him to go to work for him at his shop on 48^th St. There, Carl would come to apprentice under Eddie Diehl and he soon discovered that after learning guitar repair it wasn't a huge leap to begin making guitars and basses of his own, and he would begin to fashion instruments in his spare time in Dan's shop. As Dan got more involved with Ampeg and other projects, Carl was asked to do more of the administrative parts of the business such as doing the books and making deposits. When Dan left in 1971 Carl started his own guitar repair business, called the Guitar Lab with Charles LoBue then later with Joel Frutkin. By 1974 he and Joel bought some wood together and began making bass guitars and Russell George bought one of the first ones made, and spread the word around. Later that same year Stanley Clarke came to him asking for a bass-like instrument tuned an octave higher and Carl went to work making the piccolo bass to which Carl credits Stanley with the idea for. Eventually Joel left to pursue a career in teaching leaving Carl working alone which he now prefers. He has since constructed instruments for many of New York's top jazz and studio bassists, as well as musicians around the country, and specializes in repairs and modifications at his shop in Brooklyn, NY.

Dan Armstrong brought everyone, and everything together when he opened up his shop in 1965. With New York already a thriving mecca for jazz and rock musicians Dan's abilities to take even the most demanding musicians instruments and make them play and sound better, coupled with doing studio session work, while performing at nights had him doing much more than just double-duty. By 1968 he, along with Matt Umanov designed the clear acrylic guitar and bass for the Ampeg Co. of New Jersey. After parting ways with Ampeg in 1971 he moved to England with his two sons Kent and Eric where he went on to develop an amplifier line, special effects units, and a unique wooden guitar and bass with a sliding pickup design. He and his wife Vickie returned to the US in the late 1970's but returned to England a few years later until the turn of the century when he settled back in the US, in California. Sadly, Dan passed away on June 8^th of 2004 at the age of 69 as the result of a stroke that led to a fatal heart attack.