Ampeg Dan Armstrong Plexi bass

It's short scale.. but pretty heavy. Looks better than it sounds IMO. I bought mine when I was in HS. I wish I still had it...

 

I used one when they were new. Short scale, heavy and fairly characterless. It sounded like a bass is the best I can say, oh and it looks cool, but you have to wear something that looks good squashed flat.

 

I had a fretless one. Didn't stay with me long. Not that versatile tonally and yes, they're heavy. I'm still not a fretless player and still prefer 34" minimum scale length.

 

The new ones have not yet hit the shelves, I don't think. I looked several weeks ago and it indicated they would be in stock at MF sometime in July.

I didn't so much mind the weight, but they are heavy. You need to try one to see if it is too heavy for you. I loved the neck and I didn't mind the tone from the bright bass pickup, but I didn't care much for the dark pickup. In fact, my dark pickup crashed, and I was able to get a replacement very quickly from St. Louis Music, who was the distributor for the 90's reissue basses.

I like the sound of the original version better. A friend has one of those, and it used a fixed dan armstrong pickup instead of the replaceable one that the late 90's reissue and the current reissue are using.

We A-B'd them when I bought mine and I really liked the tone of the original better. I traded mine after owning it several years. Mine was fretted, and I really would like to have another one but in fretless, which they are not currently offering in this reissue.

The only improvement I could see on the reissue was the use of brass inserts in the rosewood bridge. The original had a straight rosewood bridge with no inserts. The reissue had a wee bit more sustain that I attributed to the brass inserts.

 

So you're saying I definitely have to wear pants when I play it?

 

Heh! Well that depends on whether or not your....."Personality" can withstand being squarshed up against the window!! and check your local ordnances first. Heh!

 

WHY, I NEVER DO!!!!!!

 

What's the name for that again? I know the other end squished against a window is aptly called a "pressed ham".

Anyways, I played a 1990's version at a music store and I disliked the sound (kinda muddy), the weight and the scale (I like 34/35" even having small hands).

It reminded me of my Gibson SG RI for some reason. Not necessarily the sound or the weight but the feel.

 

rooster in a fishtank? turkeyneck under glass? vienna sausage in a ziploc?

 

or "A Squid eating dough in a polyethelene bag...fast and bulbous"

 

I also played one in the '70's, but do not recall sterile or cold as describing the tone at all. More like P bass on steroids. Listen to Geezer's tone on NIB to get a feeling for it.

I also remember one of the keys was to get the right strings. DA sold a special set of light gauge flats called Dan Armstrong Super Strings that really made that puppy sit up and talk.

Don't know about the the RI, but originals rocked.

IMO/IME

 

I just tried an original not too long ago, man that thing was incredible punchy, i mean that thing hit you in the chest with a LMII. It wasnt that heavy but the action was a little low.
some super worn in rounds and man it sounded sooo good.

too bad i couldn't justify $1500 for it, it was in great shape though.

 

+1
and again
+1

It was a bit heavy, but so what? Very punchy and P-like to me. I don't know which pickup the one I played (for a few weeks) had, but it killed through an acoustic 301 with a Marshall Major tube head.

I wish they were 34" scale, but I did like the neck of the original.

 

Sure, but what wouldn't? My $60 POS Korean Beatle Bass copy that I had when I was 14 years old killed through an Acoustic 301, even though it sounded farty, anemic, and dull through every other amp.

 

Well, I guess we'd all better just forget about spending our money on nice basses and all get Acoustic 301's then, eh? ;^)

 

Zombie thread resurrection!

I have a '70 Danny Boy and I find weird how so many people say it's "flat" or "uncharacteristic". More than any other bass I have played or owned, it forces air out of my 810. You can feel your pants vibrate. It's the thuddiest, most physical bass I've ever heard. They are sort of heavy, but not really heavy. The bridge sucks. The short scale is weird looking. The sound is incredible.

 

Zombie thread resurrection! part 2

I've got a 1979 Rickenbacker 4001, a 1980 Gibson Grabber G3 and I love 'em.. but this little Thing of Evil eats them everyday for breakfast and I can pretty much quote everything that has been said by mistergoats on talkbass.com about it.
It takes time, (a lot of) care and maintenance for an instrument that is 46years old now, but yeah it's absolutely one of the "most physical bass I've ever heard".

mine is a late 1970s, probably '71 with two positions toggle switch:
position #1 (toward the neck) is sort of a a 'bass boom' that enhances the deepest possible tones with accentuation on the E and A strings, just like the earliest models DA basses.
in position #2 (bridge) it is more balanced and trebly, less hot and sharper than in #1 and it sounds pretty much like a P-bass with the tone in +5 to me, which I think is fantastic (I'm a huge fan of The Stranglers...)

ps. in position #1, my cat totally freaks out and I can make resonate all the string instruments within one kilometer from my rehearsal room. Also the sustain of this instrument is nuts, it seems to be carved in luc(ifer)ite.....

 

Here's my two cents worth. I own a 1970 model that is museum condition and it plays and sound great. It is a little different because it is 3/4 scale of it takes a bit of getting used to after playing my American Standard Jazz or my 30th anniversary Stingray. Still have the original case with all the paperwork after all these years. I don't play it so I've thought about selling it but am unsure what to charge for it because of the condition and rarity of it.

 

Rich, how about $100 shipped to NY?

Just kidding. Depending on condition these can go for well over 2 grand.