Ampeg, Dan Armstrong - plexiglass guitar

Ampeg, Dan Armstrong  - Plexiglass, "See through" guitar 

In 1969 Ampeg, known for its amps for guitars and bass guitars, together with guitar builder Dan Armstrong, presented their plexiglass guitar at the NAMM show in Chicago. It was one of the highlights of the NAMM show that year, as it was the first plexiglass guitar ever. Soon after, the Ampeg Dan Armstrong (ADA) was widely known as the "see through" guitar. The guitar was produced from 1969 - 1971, and several famous rock guitarists played the Ampeg Dan Armstrong, boosting its popularity. Between 1998 and 2001, the ADA, again for a short time, was produced in Japan. More than 40 years after the introduction of the original, the "see through" guitar still looks revolutionary. Since 2006, the plexiglass Ampeg Dan Armstrong is produced again; the same futuristic look, but with some significant changes.

ampeg dan armstrong plexiglass body

The original concept of the Ampeg Dan Armstrong

Dan Armstrong intended to build an electric guitar with excellent sustain, and came up with the idea of using plexiglass for the body of the guitar because of the rigid qualities of the material. Apart from the plexiglass body, the Ampeg Dan Armstrong has more innovative features. One of them is the presence of two strap-buttons on the body, which makes it possible to easily stand the guitar upright, still pretty unique. In my view, the main feature, besides the "see through" body, is the possibility to change the pickups by sliding them in and out the body, and connect them with two plugs. The original ADA gave the choice between 7 single coil pickups, designed by Arstrong and Bill Lawrence! A great idea, and I wonder why other guitar builders didn't "pick up" the concept.
The plexiglass body of the Ampeg Dan Armstrong is somewhat thinner than the average electric guitar body, but still, the guitar is relatively heavy, around 4,5 kg.
One of the main problems of the original design was tuning instability. The way the neck was bolted to the body, "clear off", using large bolts, resulted in less wood in the "tongue " of the neck, which caused the problem.

ampeg dan armstrong plexiglass pickguard

The "new" Ampeg Dan Armstrong, major improvements

To resolve the tuning instability issues, the latest Ampeg Dan Armstrong has a new neck joint, with smaller screws, mounted on the back of the guitar, combined with high quality Grover tuners. With the original ADA equiped with 7 pickups, the new Ampeg Dan Armstrong only has 2 exchangeable pickup, so the original versatility is limited. Like the ADA's produced in Japan between 1998 - 2001, the pickups are designed by Kent Armstrong, Dan's son. Both pickups, one single coil Rock Treble, and one Sustain Treble humbucker, are huge; the room is needed for the large gauge wire, according to Kent Armstrong, used to create better tone.

Last but not least, the neck profile returned to the original profile, instead of the slimmer neck profile of the Japan made ADA's. 

ampeg dan armstrong plexiglass headstock

The Ampeg Dan Armstrong in the "Rock Scene".

Lot's of rockers were, and still are, happy to be seen with a "see through" Ampeg Dan Armstrong. From the original ADA, played in 1969 by Rolling Stones' Keith Richard and Bill Wyman, Leslie West and Paul McCartney, to the latest version, used by the Foo Fighters and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The plexiglass Ampeg Dan Armstrong hasn't lost any of it's attraction.

ampeg dan armstrong plexiglass body back

ampeg dan armstrong plexiglass pickup

Seasick Steve: cheap guitar rocks



seasick steve, guitar

Seasick Steve, raw and uncut on his cheap guitar

One of the biggest surprises on Lowlands 2011 and Pinkpop 2012, (major music festivals in Holland), in my opinion, was the raw and uncut performance of Seasick Steve. Guitarist-singer Seasick Steve plays bluesrock, and his cheap guitars are mostly self-constructed!

Guitar player Seasick Steve

Seasick Steve, over 70 years old, born in Oakland California, rough beard, jeans and baggy shirt, has not allways been succesful in life. He ran away from home at the age of 14, and decided not to settle down. Guitar player Steve performed for years in small bars and blues cafe's. In the 60's he even played guitar on stage with Johny Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins, but he never reached the rock-star status.
In between, as a happy Seasick Steve told in an interview he gave during Pinkpop 2012, he stayed some time in hotels, with in the back of the yard a small basketball court, but with fences around, and no "going home". Despite of that, it was ok, according to Seasick Steve.

seasick steve, cheap guitar

Since the end of 2009, after his appearence on the Jools Holland Show, UK television, his carreer is booming, and in 2006, at the age of 65, he presented his first album. Sinece then, Steve tours a lot, mostly in Europe, with for Holland, the Lowlands 2011 and the Pinkpop 2012 highlights. Seasick Steve seems to enjoy the whole circus, happy, friendly, grateful, and after an unsettled life, he's finally getting his (guitar)act together, now living in the UK and Norway.

Seasick Steve's cigar box guitar and other cheap instruments

seasick steve cigar box guitar

It's not only what Seasick Steve is playing, it's also what he is playing on. No fancy luxery dream-guitar for Steve on stage, Seasick does his act mostly on a cheap or self-constructed guitar. One of these guitars he became famous with, is the "cigar box" guitar, a well beloved object for photographers. This guitar sounds amazing, and only has four strings.



seasick steve's cheap guitar

Another one of Seasicks amazing guitars is his red Fender Coronado. Seasick himself calles this guitar "the biggest piece of shit in the world". It really looks old and worn, with it's, on the body taped, old Harmony humbucker. The guitar has 3 strings, and Seasick tunes it to G. Seasick Steve playes this cheap guitar he bought for $75 on almost every gig.

The guitar Seasick Steve became famous with, due to his performance in the UK show "Top Gear", is made of two wheel-covers from an old English Morris Minor, and a broomstick.
According to Steve, this guitar is only suitable for "slide" playing.

Besides of the guitars mentioned, and some crappy other ones, Seasick Steve also uses an amazing collection of music gear and amps.  Two of these instruments are the one-stringed self-made Diddley Bow, just a piece of wood, a bottle and a humbucker, and the Mississippi Drum Machine with licence plate and carpet design.

Seasick's amplifiers are "state of the art" too: a Roland Cube, and as seen on Pinkpop 2012, some worn out, original vintage Fender Bassman's, almost as old as the master himself, real collector's items.

Seasick Steve on stage

Seasick Steve live on stage

Below is a video of Seasick Steve's performance on the Pinkpop 2012 Festival in Holland. He got great reactions from the public. His live performances are raw and spontaneous, much better than the recordings killed by techniques in a studio. Enjoy, I did!

Seasick Steve on guitar, Pinkpop 2012